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ALTON — The Alton Board of Selectmen pulled double duty at its Jan. 29 meeting, briefly becoming the Board of Health in order to rule on two requests from Tom Varney of Varney Engineering for special waivers on private septic systems.

The first request came from a resident on O'Neil Road, who needs to replace a failed septic system in order to build a larger house on the site, which sits near Half Moon Lake.

Varney wanted to install a holding tank 89 feet from the lake, but needed a waiver from the board to do so because town bylaws require a minimum distance of 100 feet between a holding tank and any body of water.

"[The waiver] is for 11 feet," explained town Health Officer Brian Boyers. "I don't think it will make much of a difference at all."

The board voted unanimously to grant the waiver.

A resident on Rustic Shores Rd., also near Half Moon Lake, wanted to upgrade to an aerated, "clean solution" treatment system that would remove bacteria from the water. The holding tank for this system would be 57 feet from the lake.

When Selectwoman Pat Fuller called attention to the possibility that the system might contaminate nearby wells, Boyers advised the board that clean solution systems are ultimately subject to state approval.

"If the state's not happy with this, they're not going to let it go," Boyers said.

The board granted the waiver on two conditions: that the system must meet with the state's approval, and that the property owner use the site only for seasonal use.

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