FAQs

Not all unsewered properties can be developed for residential use.  You must be able to legally build an onsite wastewater disposal system (“septic system”) for your proposed dwelling, otherwise you will not receive a building permit to construct. The sections below will provide detailed answers to this question, but for convenience, the primary things you…
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The Connection to Public Sewer Regulations (22 GAR §25111) requires that the septic system be properly abandoned.  This will be a part of your permit requirements for connection to public sewer.  Proper abandonment requires having the contents of your septic tank pumped out by a plumbing contractor and filled completely with earth, sand, gravel or…
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If public sewer is available, and you don’t qualify for a variance, you must connect within the timeframes provided in the Guam Toilet Facilities and Sewer Disposal Act (10 GCA Chapter 48) and the Connection to Public Sewer Regulations (22 GAR Chapter 25), which in general is five (5) years from the time public sewer…
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There are some situations in which connection to public sewer may not be possible or practical.  The Connection to Public Sewer Regulations at 22 GAR §25108 allows for variances in specific situations as follows.  In each case, a written request for the variance must be submitted to the Administrator for review, following the application requirements…
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The short answer is yes, but there are some exceptions for which the Administrator of GEPA may grant a variance.   The first thing to determine is whether public sewer is “available” to your home per its official meaning in Guam’s laws and regulations.  You are only required to connect to public sewer if it…
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GEPA does not get involved in real estate transactions, but can accommodate some requests for inspection and determination of existing septic systems to be “adequate”, depending on the availability of Agency resources. In many of the cases where GEPA has been asked to provide such statements, the specific request has been related to dwellings with…
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The applicable laws and regulations do not provide for variances to the setback requirements, soil percolation requirements, lot size requirements, or other septic system design requirements.  The Individual Wastewater Disposal System Regulations at 22 GAR §12105(k) provides for the ability for anyone who is denied a permit to request a hearing before the Guam EPA…
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GEPA has no legal authority to provide a variance from any requirement of the relevant laws or regulations governing onsite wastewater disposal systems (septic systems), except for some of the requirements related to connection to public sewer.  See the sections titled “If sewer is installed in my neighborhood, do I have to connect even if…
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You may have heard about products which claim to “rejuvenate” your septic system, or to eliminate the need to pump your septic tank. Though there is no evidence that most of these products cause any harm, there is also little evidence that they provide any benefit. Ordinary household sewage provides all the natural bacteria a…
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Failure due to clogging usually happens over a longer period of time (often many years), and is more common in soils that have slower percolation rates (for example less than 1 inch per 30 minutes), or have a high clay content.  This type of failure is mostly caused by the occupants of the house and…
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A septic system most often fails because the soil absorption system (the leaching field or trench) stops accepting liquid.  This can occur due to clogging of the soil over time, or due to saturation of the surrounding soils with water from some other source (such as stormwater runoff from outside areas, or rising groundwater). The…
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No structure may be built on top of any portion of a septic system.  A setback of 10 feet is required between any structure and the septic tank, and 20 feet between any structure and the soil absorption system.  In addition, no structure may be built within the space reserved for absorption system replacement, or…
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Conversion of an existing single-family dwelling to a duplex may or may not be permissible depending on the size of the lot. See the Section titled “Is my lot size large enough to permit a septic system?” above for more details. If the lot size is adequate to accommodate two dwelling units (for example, within…
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Generally speaking, unless your septic system was designed with additional capacity, any addition to your home will require modification or replacement of your septic tank and/or soil absorption system (leaching field or trench).  Additions to a home served by a septic system must be reviewed and approved by the GEPA Water Pollution Control Program and…
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Within the aquifer (as defined by the GPZ), the only building types that may be served with a septic system are single family dwellings and duplexes, based on the combined requirements of the Guam Water Quality Standards (22 GAR Chapter 5) and the Individual Wastewater Disposal System Regulations (22 Gar Chapter 12).   Outside the…
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The Individual Wastewater Disposal System Regulations at 22 GAR §12105(k) provides for the ability for anyone who is denied a permit to request a hearing before the GEPA Board of Directors, which shall affirm, modify, or revoke the denial, or issue the permit on the basis of evidence presented at the hearing.  Such request must…
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The Guam Toilet Facilities and Sewage Disposal System at 10 GCA Chapter 48 allow for only two methods of wastewater disposal for any building, including single family dwellings: connection to public sewer, or connection to an approved septic system.  Other alternatives that are sometimes used in other places, such as holding tanks, are not currently…
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The answer to this question depends on the stage of development.  If you are interested in purchasing a property, you should work with your realtor to disclose known conditions that may restrict the installation of a septic system, in addition to doing your own basic research to make sure the property location does not trigger…
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It’s important to realize that Guam’s Individual Wastewater Disposal System Regulations requires that you also set aside adequate space for a replacement absorption system (leaching field or trench) of the same size as required for initial construction.  This is to ensure that you are able to recover in the event of a failed septic system,…
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The short answer to this is that a percolation test should be performed for every proposed new septic system, as well as a deeper observation pit to check for the presence of conditions below the proposed absorption bed that might make construction of a septic system impossible, or cause an early failure. Not all soils…
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