Perc Tests and Soil Evaluations in Maine

Called here: Site Evaluation (Licensed Site Evaluator) (this state no longer performs a literal perc test)

For a typical system in an organized municipality, hire a Licensed Site Evaluator to dig observation holes and complete the HHE-200 with the site plan, soil logs, elevations, cross-section, and disposal-system design. File it with the town's Local Plumbing Inspector (LPI), who reviews the application and issues the permit. In an unorganized area, the Department appoints an LPI or performs those duties directly. An incomplete or nonconforming application must be rejected in writing within 14 days, with reasons; conforming work must be permitted as soon as practicable and no later than 20 days after review is complete. Do not start early. The permit covers work started within 24 months. Notify the LPI at least 24 hours before inspection; inspections occur after site preparation and before final backfilling.

Maine has no acreage exemption: a first-time system requires a site evaluation on any lot size when sewage or wastewater will be placed underground where none was before. A replacement septic tank, an alternative toilet other than a pit privy, and certain in-kind component replacements outside the disposal area can be exempt from a full site evaluation with the LPI's required sign-off. Minor pump or siphon repairs, clearing a building-sewer blockage without excavation or component exposure, and sealing a tank leak need no permit, while excavation affecting the disposal area generally does. New fill cannot be brought in solely to make a failing waterfront lot pass. Existing fill must be at least 40 years old inside the shoreland zone or 20 years old outside it, with approval assigned to the Department inside the Shoreland Area and the LPI outside it, plus the rule's other conditions.

No current evaluator-published price was found for Maine, so ask two or three Licensed Site Evaluators serving the property and confirm whether each quote includes the HHE-200 design, observation-hole excavation, travel, and LPI follow-up. The evaluator's bill is separate from permit charges. For a complete non-engineered system, Maine's current permitting page lists a $250 base fee, a $62.50 administrative fee, and a $15 Water Quality Surcharge, totaling $327.50 before local additions. Other scheduled minimums include $200 for a complete engineered system, $100 for a primitive system, $150 for a disposal-field-only permit, and $50 for an alternative-toilet-only permit. Engineered systems also have a separate $100 Department review fee. Confirm the current total with the permitting authority.

The available rule research did not identify a direct frozen-ground restriction on digging a site-evaluation test pit, but installation has separate moisture and frost constraints. Fine-soil excavation exposing a disposal field's bottom or sidewalls generally cannot occur above the soil's plastic limit, and disposal fields should not be installed in frozen ground or below-freezing air; peat fields cannot be installed when the ground or peat is frozen. If seasonal high groundwater cannot be determined from the soil profile, monitoring wells may be used. The first reading must occur on or before April 1, followed by readings at least every seven days through June 15 or until the site is found unacceptable. That window applies only to the monitoring method. Ask the evaluator and installer how site conditions affect scheduling.

Maine uses a Licensed Site Evaluator, not a timed percolation tester. The evaluator digs observation holes, reads the soil profile, and completes the HHE-200 design and permit application. Applicants qualify through relevant education and experience or a high school diploma plus four years of experience, then must pass written and field tests with scores of at least 70. Licenses renew every two years on March 1 of odd-numbered years and require 12 hours of continuing training. For an engineered system, a Maine-licensed Professional Engineer designs the system while a Licensed Site Evaluator supplies the observation-hole logs and soil-profile descriptions. Check Maine CDC's published list before hiring, or contact the licensing program to verify a specific license.

Maine CDC Subsurface Wastewater Program · Verify a license