310 CMR 15.215(4)
The disclosure rule
Two duties sit in one short paragraph of the Title 5 regulations. Most people selling a Cape Cod home have never heard of either.
One: find out
The owner of a septic system, or a proposed one, must ascertain whether the property is in a designated Nitrogen Sensitive Area. Not only when selling — this is a standing duty on owners. The state's obligation in return is to publish maps.
Two: disclose before transfer
Before any transfer of title, the seller must disclose to the buyer and to the Board of Health whether the property is subject to an upgrade requiring Best Available Nitrogen Reducing Technology.
Two things in that sentence are easy to miss. It goes to the Board of Health, not just the buyer — so it becomes a filed record. And what must be disclosed is not whether you are in a Nitrogen Sensitive Area, but whether an upgrade requirement applies. That is a conclusion, not a lookup.
The four boxes
- Box 1 — in a Nitrogen Sensitive Area and subject to the upgrade requirement.
- Box 2 — in one, not subject, because a Notice of Intent, Watershed Permit application or De Minimis Load application covers the watershed.
- Box 3 — in one, not subject, because enhanced nitrogen-removing technology was added within the qualifying period and no upgrade has been determined necessary.
- Box 4 — not in a Nitrogen Sensitive Area.
Why box 2 is harder than it looks
The form is anchored entirely to MassDEP's address lookup map. That map tells you whether you are in a designated area and names the estuary — but it says nothing about whether your town filed for your watershed. That fact lives in a separate document the form never mentions.
There is also no field asking whether the filing is still protecting you. A Notice of Intent runs on approved milestones; missing them lets MassDEP start the five-year clock. A permit can be revoked. The form asks for a current legal state and gives you no prompt to check that it is current.
Box 3 and your septic records
Box 3 needs the date nitrogen-reducing technology was installed. Owners who upgraded with approved technology in the ten years before designation are exempt. That date is in your town's Board of Health file — request the septic plan, the as-built and any Certificate of Compliance.
What this does not cover
The Title 5 inspection requirement is separate and older. A passing inspection is required before you transfer title anywhere in Massachusetts, valid two years, or three with documented annual pumping. Nothing about the nitrogen rules changes that.