Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems (OWTS)

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) permits Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems (OWTS), its term for septic systems, which DEM notes were formerly called Individual Sewage Disposal Systems (ISDS). DEM's File Reviews page lists OWTS among the areas it coordinates file reviews for, and describes that area as all septic folders.

In a Phase I ESA

ASTM E1527-21 does not name septic system records among its standard record sources. Where a property has or had a septic system, the folder is DEM's record of it, and it is the record to ask for.

DEM's Online Services page lists two OWTS permit searches, one for historic records and one for active permits, and it says active permits refer to not-expired applications. The active permits search is the same address the page gives for active Freshwater Wetlands Permits and Water Quality Certifications / Stormwater Permits. Search both.

Where to look a site up

• DEM's Online Services page lists, under Permit Searches, OWTS (Septic) Permits: Historic Records and Active Permits.
• DEM's home page links Septic System Records/Guidance.
• For assistance with OWTS and septic systems, DEM gives (401) 222-3961 and DEM.OWTS@dem.ri.gov.

Getting the file

DEM's file review route covers OWTS folders; see DEM File Reviews. Submit DEM's Request to Inspect and/or Copy Public Records form. DEM says file reviews are scheduled within 10 business days after the request is received and are conducted in its Office of Customer and Technical Assistance on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To schedule a review, DEM gives the mailbox Dem.filereview@dem.ri.gov.

Sources

Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management pages, read October 13, 2026:

• DEM File Reviews, last modified September 24, 2026.
• Online Services, last modified October 5, 2026.
• Welcome, last modified October 8, 2026.