The Nantucket Board of Health on Aug. 21 approved a local variance to allow an upgraded Title 5 system at 12 Baltimore Street in Madaket, subject to a deed restriction limiting the property to three bedrooms. A more complex request for 113 Hammock Pond Road was continued to the September meeting after the board asked the applicant to provide additional excavation, sand replacement and mitigation details.

12 Baltimore Street: Don Bracken, the engineer for the applicant, described a proposal to replace an undersized three‑bedroom system with a new SeptiTech denitrification system and pressure dispersal soil absorption field. The proposed system required variances from local Madaket setbacks and a local nitrogen‑sensitive area setback; the department recommended approval conditioned on a deed restriction limiting the dwelling to three bedrooms. The board voted to approve the upgrade with the deed restriction and recorded the vote in the meeting roll call.

113 Hammock Pond Road: The applicants described a long permitting history. The property’s existing system dates from 1997 and a certificate of compliance was issued in 2002. Soil logs show a perched water table and redoximorphic indicators near the surface; a prior bank foreclosure inspection in 2017 had flagged the system for groundwater separations. The applicants presented a contractor estimate (about $188,000) to rebuild the system without the relief; their engineers proposed a different approach that would remove an 8‑foot silt/silty layer, replace it with clean sand and install a pressure dispersal absorption system, along with SeptiTech denitrification.

Board members and staff expressed concern about wetland proximity and the color and saturation noted in soil logs; department staff recommended approval of the wetland setback variance but not the requested reduction in the required groundwater separation distance. The applicants said removing the confining layer and replacing it with sand would address the perch water table; they offered to provide additional test pits and construction‑stage documentation and to accept a deed restriction limiting the dwelling to three bedrooms. After discussion the board continued the application to the September meeting to allow the applicants to provide the excavation plan, confirm sand replacement and document proposed mitigation measures.

What the board decided: 12 Baltimore Street—variance approved with a deed restriction to three bedrooms. 113 Hammock Pond Road—continued to September for additional documentation, including a proposed excavation/test‑pit plan showing removal of the confining layer, sand replacement and any necessary shoring or curtain drains; applicants agreed to provide revised plans and to return.

Context and next steps: In both cases the board emphasized minimizing nitrogen export and protecting nearby wetlands. For 113 Hammock Pond Road, staff also suggested the applicants coordinate with conservation commission and obtain any required permits; the board said it will reexamine the 113 Hammock request with the additional data.