Florida Senate - 2013 CS for CS for SB 1160
By the Committees on Environmental Preservation and
Conservation; and Health Policy; and Senator Bullard
592-04034-13 20131160c2
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 requiring onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems
5 to comply with rules of the Department of
6 Environmental Protection and provide a certain level
7 of treatment; providing that certain onsite sewage
8 treatment and disposal systems installed after a
9 specified date are not required to connect to a sewer
10 until a specified date; providing for
11 nonapplicability; deleting a provision that requires a
12 maintenance entity to obtain a system operating
13 permit; authorizing the department to approve and
14 permit a property owner of an owner-occupied, single
15 family residence as a maintenance entity for the
16 property owner’s own aerobic treatment unit system
17 under certain circumstances; requiring the maintenance
18 entity service agreement to conspicuously disclose
19 that the property owner has the right to maintain his
20 or her own system and is exempt from certain
21 contractor registration requirements; prohibiting a
22 septic tank contractor from being denied access by the
23 manufacturer to aerobic treatment unit system training
24 or spare parts for maintenance entities; providing
25 that component parts for an aerobic treatment unit
26 system may be replaced with parts that meet
27 manufacturer’s specifications; requiring the
28 maintenance entity to maintain documentation for a
29 specified period of time and to provide the
30 documentation to the department upon request;
31 providing an effective date.
32
33 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
34
35 Section 1. Paragraphs (l) and (u) of subsection (4) of
36 section 381.0065, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
37 381.0065 Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems;
38 regulation.—
39 (4) PERMITS; INSTALLATION; AND CONDITIONS.—A person may not
40 construct, repair, modify, abandon, or operate an onsite sewage
41 treatment and disposal system without first obtaining a permit
42 approved by the department. The department may issue permits to
43 carry out this section, but shall not make the issuance of such
44 permits contingent upon prior approval by the Department of
45 Environmental Protection, except that the issuance of a permit
46 for work seaward of the coastal construction control line
47 established under s. 161.053 shall be contingent upon receipt of
48 any required coastal construction control line permit from the
49 Department of Environmental Protection. A construction permit is
50 valid for 18 months from the issuance date and may be extended
51 by the department for one 90-day period under rules adopted by
52 the department. A repair permit is valid for 90 days from the
53 date of issuance. An operating permit must be obtained prior to
54 the use of any aerobic treatment unit or if the establishment
55 generates commercial waste. Buildings or establishments that use
56 an aerobic treatment unit or generate commercial waste shall be
57 inspected by the department at least annually to assure
58 compliance with the terms of the operating permit. The operating
59 permit for a commercial wastewater system is valid for 1 year
60 from the date of issuance and must be renewed annually. The
61 operating permit for an aerobic treatment unit is valid for 2
62 years from the date of issuance and must be renewed every 2
63 years. If all information pertaining to the siting, location,
64 and installation conditions or repair of an onsite sewage
65 treatment and disposal system remains the same, a construction
66 or repair permit for the onsite sewage treatment and disposal
67 system may be transferred to another person, if the transferee
68 files, within 60 days after the transfer of ownership, an
69 amended application providing all corrected information and
70 proof of ownership of the property. There is no fee associated
71 with the processing of this supplemental information. A person
72 may not contract to construct, modify, alter, repair, service,
73 abandon, or maintain any portion of an onsite sewage treatment
74 and disposal system without being registered under part III of
75 chapter 489. A property owner who personally performs
76 construction, maintenance, or repairs to a system serving his or
77 her own owner-occupied single-family residence is exempt from
78 registration requirements for performing such construction,
79 maintenance, or repairs on that residence, but is subject to all
80 permitting requirements. A municipality or political subdivision
81 of the state may not issue a building or plumbing permit for any
82 building that requires the use of an onsite sewage treatment and
83 disposal system unless the owner or builder has received a
84 construction permit for such system from the department. A
85 building or structure may not be occupied and a municipality,
86 political subdivision, or any state or federal agency may not
87 authorize occupancy until the department approves the final
88 installation of the onsite sewage treatment and disposal system.
89 A municipality or political subdivision of the state may not
90 approve any change in occupancy or tenancy of a building that
91 uses an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system until the
92 department has reviewed the use of the system with the proposed
93 change, approved the change, and amended the operating permit.
94 (l) For the Florida Keys, the department shall adopt a
95 special rule for the construction, installation, modification,
96 operation, repair, maintenance, and performance of onsite sewage
97 treatment and disposal systems which considers the unique soil
98 conditions and water table elevations, densities, and setback
99 requirements. On lots where a setback distance of 75 feet from
100 surface waters, saltmarsh, and buttonwood association habitat
101 areas cannot be met, an injection well, approved and permitted
102 by the department, may be used for disposal of effluent from
103 onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems. The following
104 additional requirements apply to onsite sewage treatment and
105 disposal systems in Monroe County:
106 1. The county, each municipality, and those special
107 districts established for the purpose of the collection,
108 transmission, treatment, or disposal of sewage shall ensure, in
109 accordance with the specific schedules adopted by the
110 Administration Commission under s. 380.0552, the completion of
111 onsite sewage treatment and disposal system upgrades to meet the
112 requirements of this paragraph.
113 2. Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems must cease
114 discharge by December 31, 2015, or must comply with department
115 rules and provide the level of treatment which, on a permitted
116 annual average basis, produces an effluent that contains no more
117 than the following concentrations:
118 a. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (CBOD5) of 10 mg/l.
119 b. Suspended Solids of 10 mg/l.
120 c. Total Nitrogen, expressed as N, of 10 mg/l, or a
121 reduction in nitrogen of at least at 70 percent. A system that
122 has been tested and certified to reduce nitrogen concentrations
123 by at least 70 percent is deemed to be in compliance with this
124 standard.
125 d. Total Phosphorus, expressed as P, of 1 mg/l.
126
127 In addition, onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems
128 discharging to an injection well must provide basic disinfection
129 as defined by department rule.
130 3. In areas not scheduled to be served by a central sewer,
131 onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems must, by December
132 31, 2015, comply with department rules and provide the level of
133 treatment described in subparagraph 2.
134 4.3. On or after July 1, 2010, all new, modified, and
135 repaired onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems must
136 provide the level of treatment described in subparagraph 2.
137 However, In areas scheduled to be served by central sewer by
138 December 31, 2015, if the property owner has paid a connection
139 fee or assessment for connection to the central sewer system,
140 the property owner may install a holding tank with a high water
141 alarm, or an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system that
142 meets may be repaired to the following minimum standards:
143 a. The existing tanks must be pumped and inspected and
144 certified as being watertight and free of defects in accordance
145 with department rule; and
146 b. A sand-lined drainfield or injection well in accordance
147 with department rule must be installed.
148 5.4. Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems must be
149 monitored for total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations
150 as required by department rule.
151 6.5. The department shall enforce proper installation,
152 operation, and maintenance of onsite sewage treatment and
153 disposal systems pursuant to this chapter, including ensuring
154 that the appropriate level of treatment described in sub
155 subparagraph b. subparagraph 2. is met.
156 7.6. The authority of a local government, including a
157 special district, to mandate connection of an onsite sewage
158 treatment and disposal system is governed by s. 4, chapter 99
159 395, Laws of Florida.
160 8. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
161 contrary, an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system
162 installed after July 1, 2010, which meets the standards in
163 subparagraph 2., is not required to connect to a sewer until
164 December 31, 2020. This subparagraph does not apply to chapter
165 28-19.310, F.A.C.
166 (u)1. The owner of an aerobic treatment unit system shall
167 maintain a current maintenance service agreement with an aerobic
168 treatment unit maintenance entity permitted by the department.
169 The maintenance entity shall obtain a system operating permit
170 from the department for each aerobic treatment unit under
171 service contract. The maintenance entity shall inspect each
172 aerobic treatment unit system at least twice each year and shall
173 report quarterly to the department on the number of aerobic
174 treatment unit systems inspected and serviced. The reports may
175 be submitted electronically.
176 2. The department may approve and permit a property owner
177 of an owner-occupied, single-family residence as a maintenance
178 entity for the property owner’s own aerobic treatment unit
179 system if the system manufacturer’s approved representative
180 certifies in writing that the property owner has received
181 training on the proper installation and service of the system.
182 The maintenance entity service agreement must conspicuously
183 disclose that the property owner has the right to maintain his
184 or her own system and is exempt from contractor registration
185 requirements for performing construction, maintenance, or
186 repairs on the system. However, the property owner is subject to
187 all permitting requirements.
188 3. A manufacturer may not deny a septic tank contractor
189 licensed under part III of chapter 489 access to aerobic
190 treatment unit system training or spare parts for maintenance
191 entities. After the original warranty period, component parts
192 for an aerobic treatment unit system may be replaced with parts
193 that meet manufacturer’s specifications but are manufactured by
194 others. The maintenance entity shall maintain documentation for
195 a period of 2 years of the substitute part’s equivalency and
196 shall provide such documentation to the department upon request.
197 4. The owner of an aerobic treatment unit system shall
198 allow the department to inspect during reasonable hours each
199 aerobic treatment unit system at least annually, and such
200 inspection may include collection and analysis of system
201 effluent samples for performance criteria established by rule of
202 the department.
203 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.