Florida Senate - 2021 CS for SB 1058
By the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources; and
Senator Burgess
592-02885-21 20211058c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to sanitary sewer lateral inspection
3 programs; amending ss. 125.569 and 166.0481, F.S.;
4 defining the term “continuous monolithic pipe system”;
5 authorizing counties and municipalities, respectively,
6 to access sanitary sewer laterals within their
7 jurisdiction for specified purposes; requiring
8 counties and municipalities to notify private property
9 owners within a specified timeframe if the county or
10 municipality intends to access the owner’s sanitary
11 sewer lateral; providing that counties and
12 municipalities that establish programs are legally and
13 financially responsible for all work done; requiring
14 counties and municipalities that establish programs to
15 consider economical methods for the counties and
16 municipalities, rather than the property owners, to
17 complete such work; authorizing a program established
18 by a county or a municipality to evaluate and
19 rehabilitate sanitary sewer laterals on residential
20 and commercial properties to use state or local funds
21 allocated for environmental preservation or the
22 protection of water quality; providing an effective
23 date.
24
25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26
27 Section 1. Section 125.569, Florida Statutes, is amended to
28 read:
29 125.569 County sanitary sewer lateral inspections
30 inspection programs for counties.—
31 (1) As used in this section, the term:
32 (a) “Sanitary sewer lateral” means a privately owned
33 pipeline connecting a property to the main sewer line which is
34 maintained and repaired by the property owner.
35 (b) “Continuous monolithic pipe system” means a pipe system
36 with no joints or seams anywhere, including all points where it
37 connects to the structure, the mainline, and the cleanout.
38 (2) A county may access any sanitary sewer lateral within
39 its jurisdiction to investigate, clean, repair, recondition, or
40 replace the sanitary sewer lateral.
41 (3) By July 1, 2022, Each county is encouraged to establish
42 an evaluation and rehabilitation program for sanitary sewer
43 laterals on residential and commercial properties within the
44 county’s jurisdiction to identify and reduce extraneous flow
45 from leaking sanitary sewer laterals. At a minimum, the program
46 may do all of the following:
47 (a) Establish a system to identify defective, damaged, or
48 deteriorated sanitary sewer laterals on residential and
49 commercial properties within the jurisdiction of the county. If
50 a county identifies a defective, damaged, or deteriorated
51 sanitary sewer lateral and initiates a program to eliminate
52 extraneous flow, the county:
53 1. Shall notify the property owner of the issue by
54 certified mail, return receipt requested. The notice must
55 specify that within 14 days after receiving the notice, the
56 county intends to access the owner’s property to address the
57 defective, damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral. The
58 notice must identify the issue, inform the property owner that
59 he or she will be indemnified and held harmless in the repair
60 process, and provide a proposed timeline and plan for the
61 duration of the project, including start and completion dates.
62 2. Is responsible for any repair work done on the private
63 property. If any disruption of the property is necessary to
64 access the sanitary sewer lateral, the county shall ensure that
65 the property is restored to at least its pre-work conditions
66 after the repair is complete. Any repair work done to a sanitary
67 sewer lateral must meet all of the following requirements:
68 a. Provide one continuous monolithic pipe system. The
69 connections for the structure, mainline, and cleanout must be
70 installed and integrated into the continuous monolithic pipe
71 system by a Florida-licensed plumber; and
72 b. Be inspected using a lateral launch or similar CCTV
73 camera system conducted by a Pipeline Assessment Certification
74 Program (PACP)- and Lateral Assessment and Certification Program
75 (LACP)-certified camera operator. The contractor must produce
76 and provide the county with a PACP- and LACP-certified report
77 describing the conditions of the continuous monolithic pipe
78 system and the respective connections to the main sewer pipe and
79 the structure.
80 (b) Consider economical methods for the county a property
81 owner to repair or replace a defective, damaged, or deteriorated
82 sanitary sewer lateral.
83 (c) Establish and maintain a publicly accessible database
84 to store information concerning properties where a defective,
85 damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral has been
86 identified. For each property, the database must include, but is
87 not limited to, the address of the property, the names of any
88 persons the county notified concerning the faulty sanitary sewer
89 lateral, and the date and method of such notification.
90 (d) Use state or local funds allocated for the purpose of
91 environmental preservation or the protection of water quality.
92 Section 2. Section 166.0481, Florida Statutes, is amended
93 to read:
94 166.0481 Municipal sanitary sewer lateral inspections
95 inspection programs for municipalities.—
96 (1) As used in this section, the term:
97 (a) “Sanitary sewer lateral” means a privately owned
98 pipeline connecting a property to the main sewer line which is
99 maintained and repaired by the property owner.
100 (b) “Continuous monolithic pipe system” means a pipe system
101 with no joints or seams anywhere, including all points where it
102 connects to the structure, the mainline, and the cleanout.
103 (2) A municipality may access any sanitary sewer lateral
104 within its jurisdiction to investigate, clean, repair,
105 recondition, or replace the sanitary sewer lateral.
106 (3) By July 1, 2022, Each municipality is encouraged to
107 establish an evaluation and rehabilitation program for sanitary
108 sewer laterals on residential and commercial properties within
109 the municipality’s jurisdiction to identify and reduce
110 extraneous flow from leaking sanitary sewer laterals. At a
111 minimum, the program may do all of the following:
112 (a) Establish a system to identify defective, damaged, or
113 deteriorated sanitary sewer laterals on residential and
114 commercial properties within the jurisdiction of the
115 municipality. If a municipality identifies such a defective,
116 damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral and initiates a
117 program to eliminate extraneous flow, the municipality:
118 1. Shall notify the property owner of the issue by
119 certified mail, return receipt requested. The notice must
120 specify that within 14 days after receiving the notice, the
121 municipality intends to access the owner’s property to address
122 the defective, damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral.
123 The notice must identify the issue, inform the property owner
124 that he or she will be indemnified and held harmless in the
125 repair process, and provide a proposed timeline and plan for the
126 duration of the project, including start and completion dates.
127 2. Is responsible for any repair work done on the private
128 property. If any disruption of the property is necessary to
129 access the sanitary sewer lateral, the municipality must ensure
130 that the property is restored to at least its pre-work
131 conditions after the repair is complete. Any repair work done to
132 a sanitary sewer lateral must meet all of the following
133 requirements:
134 a. Provide one continuous monolithic pipe system. The
135 connections for the structure, mainline, and cleanout must be
136 installed and integrated into the continuous monolithic pipe
137 system by a Florida-licensed plumber; and
138 b. Be inspected using a lateral launch or similar CCTV
139 camera system and conducted by a Pipeline Assessment
140 Certification Program (PACP)- and Lateral Assessment and
141 Certification Program (LACP)-certified camera operator. The
142 contractor must produce and provide the county with a PACP- and
143 LACP-certified report stating the conditions of the continuous
144 monolithic pipe system and the respective connections to the
145 main sewer pipe and the structure.
146 (b) Consider economical methods for the municipality a
147 property owner to repair or replace a defective, damaged, or
148 deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral.
149 (c) Establish and maintain a publicly accessible database
150 to store information concerning properties where a defective,
151 damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral has been
152 identified. For each property, the database must include, but is
153 not limited to, the address of the property, the names of any
154 persons the municipality notified concerning the faulty sanitary
155 sewer lateral, and the date and method of such notification.
156 (d) Use state or local funds allocated for the purpose of
157 environmental preservation or the protection of water quality.
158 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.