Subsurface sewage disposal systems (SSDS) consist of a house sewer, a septic tank followed by a leaching system, any necessary pumps and siphons, and a groundwater control system upon which the operation of the leaching system depends. This interpretation focuses mainly on the septic tank leaching field and groundwater control system Soil Potential Ratings Soil potential ratings indicate the relative quality of a soil for a particular use compared to othersoils in a given area, in this case the State of Connecticut.The rating criteria were developed by a committee of State and local sanitarians, engineers, and installers. The soils data was provided by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and the performance and site conditions for a typical system were defined. This information provided a standard against which various combinations of properties of soils within Connecticut could be compared.The engineering and installation practices used to overcome various soil limitations were listed, and their costs estimated. This information was used to identify limitations and costs associated with installing an SSDS on each soil in Connecticut. Soils with no or minor limitations for the installation of an SSDS were rated the highest. Conversely, soils requiring extensive site modification and design were rated the lowest. The ease of system installation, and therefore cost, formed the basis of the rating scheme.Rating ClassesThe rating class definitions refer to installation of an SSDS that meets State and local health code regulations. Soils with high potential have characteristics that meet the performance standard. A typical system can be installed at a cost of "x", which represents the going rate for installing an SSDS. The actual value of x varies depending upon many factors unrelated to soil properties. The cost of installing a leaching field is expressed as a multiple of x and called the cost factor. For example, a cost factor of 3x to and 3.5x means that the estimated cost of installing a leaching field in the particular soil ranges from 3 to 3.5 times m