Florida Senate - 2013 CS for SB 1160
By the Committee on Health Policy; and Senator Bullard
588-02809-13 20131160c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to onsite sewage treatment and
3 disposal systems; amending s. 381.0065, F.S.;
4 extending the expiration date of building permits and
5 permits issued by the Department of Environmental
6 Protection or by a water management district;
7 providing that the extension of the expiration date
8 does not prohibit conversion from the construction
9 phase to the operation phase upon completion of
10 construction; providing that certain extensions may
11 not exceed a specified number of years; prohibiting
12 certain extensions; requiring onsite sewage treatment
13 and disposal systems to comply with department rules
14 and provide a certain level of treatment; providing
15 that certain onsite sewage treatment and disposal
16 systems installed after a specified date are not
17 required to connect to a sewer until a specified date;
18 authorizing the department to approve and permit a
19 property owner of an owner-occupied, single-family
20 residence as a maintenance entity for the property
21 owner’s own aerobic treatment unit system under
22 certain circumstances; requiring the maintenance
23 entity service agreement to conspicuously disclose
24 that the property owner has the right to maintain his
25 or her own system and is exempt from certain
26 contractor registration requirements; prohibiting a
27 septic tank contractor from being denied access by the
28 manufacturer to aerobic treatment unit system training
29 or spare parts for maintenance entities; providing
30 that component parts for an aerobic treatment unit
31 system may be replaced with parts that meet
32 manufacturer’s specifications; requiring the
33 maintenance entity to maintain documentation for a
34 specified period of time and to provide the
35 documentation to the department upon request;
36 requiring an owner of an aerobic treatment unit system
37 to allow the department to annually inspect each
38 aerobic treatment unit system; providing an effective
39 date.
40
41 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
42
43 Section 1. Paragraphs (l) and (u) of subsection (4) of
44 section 381.0065, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
45 381.0065 Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems;
46 regulation.—
47 (4) PERMITS; INSTALLATION; AND CONDITIONS.—A person may not
48 construct, repair, modify, abandon, or operate an onsite sewage
49 treatment and disposal system without first obtaining a permit
50 approved by the department. The department may issue permits to
51 carry out this section, but shall not make the issuance of such
52 permits contingent upon prior approval by the Department of
53 Environmental Protection, except that the issuance of a permit
54 for work seaward of the coastal construction control line
55 established under s. 161.053 shall be contingent upon receipt of
56 any required coastal construction control line permit from the
57 Department of Environmental Protection. A construction permit is
58 valid for 18 months from the issuance date and may be extended
59 by the department for one 90-day period under rules adopted by
60 the department. A repair permit is valid for 90 days from the
61 date of issuance. An operating permit must be obtained prior to
62 the use of any aerobic treatment unit or if the establishment
63 generates commercial waste. Buildings or establishments that use
64 an aerobic treatment unit or generate commercial waste shall be
65 inspected by the department at least annually to assure
66 compliance with the terms of the operating permit. The operating
67 permit for a commercial wastewater system is valid for 1 year
68 from the date of issuance and must be renewed annually. The
69 operating permit for an aerobic treatment unit is valid for 2
70 years from the date of issuance and must be renewed every 2
71 years. If all information pertaining to the siting, location,
72 and installation conditions or repair of an onsite sewage
73 treatment and disposal system remains the same, a construction
74 or repair permit for the onsite sewage treatment and disposal
75 system may be transferred to another person, if the transferee
76 files, within 60 days after the transfer of ownership, an
77 amended application providing all corrected information and
78 proof of ownership of the property. There is no fee associated
79 with the processing of this supplemental information. A person
80 may not contract to construct, modify, alter, repair, service,
81 abandon, or maintain any portion of an onsite sewage treatment
82 and disposal system without being registered under part III of
83 chapter 489. A property owner who personally performs
84 construction, maintenance, or repairs to a system serving his or
85 her own owner-occupied single-family residence is exempt from
86 registration requirements for performing such construction,
87 maintenance, or repairs on that residence, but is subject to all
88 permitting requirements. A municipality or political subdivision
89 of the state may not issue a building or plumbing permit for any
90 building that requires the use of an onsite sewage treatment and
91 disposal system unless the owner or builder has received a
92 construction permit for such system from the department. A
93 building or structure may not be occupied and a municipality,
94 political subdivision, or any state or federal agency may not
95 authorize occupancy until the department approves the final
96 installation of the onsite sewage treatment and disposal system.
97 A municipality or political subdivision of the state may not
98 approve any change in occupancy or tenancy of a building that
99 uses an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system until the
100 department has reviewed the use of the system with the proposed
101 change, approved the change, and amended the operating permit.
102 (l) 1. Within the Florida Keys area, which is a critical
103 state concern, any building permit and any permit issued by the
104 Department of Environmental Protection or by a water management
105 district pursuant to part IV of chapter 373, which has an
106 expiration date of January 1, 2012, through January 1, 2016, is
107 extended and renewed for a period of 3 years after its
108 previously scheduled expiration date. This extension includes
109 any local government-issued development order or building
110 permit, including certificates of levels of service. This
111 section does not prohibit conversion from the construction phase
112 to the operation phase upon completion of construction and is in
113 addition to any permit extension. Extensions granted under this
114 section; s. 14, chapter 2009-96, Laws of Florida, as
115 reauthorized by s. 47, chapter 2010-147, Laws of Florida; s. 46,
116 chapter 2010-147, Laws of Florida; s. 74, chapter 2011-139, Laws
117 of Florida; or s. 79, chapter 2011-139, Laws of Florida, may not
118 exceed 7 years in total. Specific development order extensions
119 granted pursuant to s. 380.06(19)(c)2., may not be further
120 extended by this section.
121 2. For the Florida Keys, the department shall adopt a
122 special rule for the construction, installation, modification,
123 operation, repair, maintenance, and performance of onsite sewage
124 treatment and disposal systems which considers the unique soil
125 conditions and water table elevations, densities, and setback
126 requirements. On lots where a setback distance of 75 feet from
127 surface waters, saltmarsh, and buttonwood association habitat
128 areas cannot be met, an injection well, approved and permitted
129 by the department, may be used for disposal of effluent from
130 onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems. The following
131 additional requirements apply to onsite sewage treatment and
132 disposal systems in Monroe County:
133 a.1. The county, each municipality, and those special
134 districts established for the purpose of the collection,
135 transmission, treatment, or disposal of sewage shall ensure, in
136 accordance with the specific schedules adopted by the
137 Administration Commission under s. 380.0552, the completion of
138 onsite sewage treatment and disposal system upgrades to meet the
139 requirements of this paragraph.
140 b.2. In areas not scheduled to go to a centralized sewer,
141 onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems must cease
142 discharge by December 31, 2015, or must comply with department
143 rules and provide the level of treatment which, on a permitted
144 annual average basis, produces an effluent that contains no more
145 than the following concentrations:
146 (I)a. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (CBOD5) of 10 mg/l.
147 (II)b. Suspended Solids of 10 mg/l.
148 (III)c. Total Nitrogen, expressed as N, of 10 mg/l. A
149 system tested and certified to provide at least a 70 percent
150 reduction in Nitrogen is in compliance with this standard.
151 (IV)d. Total Phosphorus, expressed as P, of 1 mg/l.
152
153 In addition, onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems
154 discharging to an injection well must provide basic disinfection
155 as defined by department rule.
156 c.3. On or after July 1, 2010, all new, modified, and
157 repaired onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems must
158 provide the level of treatment described in subparagraph 2.
159 However, In areas scheduled to be served by central sewer by
160 December 31, 2015, if the property owner has paid a connection
161 fee or assessment for connection to the central sewer system, an
162 onsite sewage treatment and disposal system may be repaired to
163 the following minimum standards:
164 (I)a. The existing tanks must be pumped and inspected and
165 certified as being watertight and free of defects in accordance
166 with department rule; and
167 (II)b. A sand-lined drainfield or injection well in
168 accordance with department rule must be installed.
169 d.4. Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems must be
170 monitored for total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations
171 as required by department rule.
172 e.5. The department shall enforce proper installation,
173 operation, and maintenance of onsite sewage treatment and
174 disposal systems pursuant to this chapter, including ensuring
175 that the appropriate level of treatment described in sub
176 subparagraph b. subparagraph 2. is met.
177 f.6. The authority of a local government, including a
178 special district, to mandate connection of an onsite sewage
179 treatment and disposal system is governed by s. 4, chapter 99
180 395, Laws of Florida. Notwithstanding any other provision of law
181 to the contrary, an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system,
182 installed after July 1, 2010, which meets the standards in sub
183 subparagraph b., is not required to connect to a sewer until
184 December 31, 2020.
185 (u)1. The owner of an aerobic treatment unit system shall
186 maintain a current maintenance service agreement with an aerobic
187 treatment unit maintenance entity permitted by the department.
188 The maintenance entity shall obtain a system operating permit
189 from the department for each aerobic treatment unit under
190 service contract. The maintenance entity shall inspect each
191 aerobic treatment unit system at least twice each year and shall
192 report quarterly to the department on the number of aerobic
193 treatment unit systems inspected and serviced. The reports may
194 be submitted electronically.
195 2. The department may approve and permit a property owner
196 of an owner-occupied, single-family residence as a maintenance
197 entity for the property owner’s own aerobic treatment unit
198 system if the system manufacturer’s approved representative
199 certifies in writing that the property owner has received
200 training on the proper installation and service of the system.
201 The maintenance entity service agreement must conspicuously
202 disclose that the property owner has the right to maintain his
203 or her own system and is exempt from contractor registration
204 requirements for performing construction, maintenance, or
205 repairs on the system. However, the property owner is subject to
206 all permitting requirements.
207 3. A manufacture may not deny a septic tank contractor
208 licensed under part III of chapter 489 access to aerobic
209 treatment unit system training or spare parts for maintenance
210 entities. After the original warranty period, component parts
211 for an aerobic treatment unit system may be replaced with parts
212 that meet manufacturer’s specifications but are manufactured by
213 others. The maintenance entity shall maintain documentation for
214 a period of 2 years of the substitute part’s equivalency and
215 shall provide such documentation to the department upon request.
216 4. The owner of an aerobic treatment unit system shall
217 allow the department to inspect during reasonable hours each
218 aerobic treatment unit system at least annually, and such
219 inspection may include collection and analysis of system
220 effluent samples for performance criteria established by rule of
221 the department.
222 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.