Bill Text: FL H0727 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Onsite Sewage Treatment and Disposal Systems

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Failed) 2010-04-30 - Died in Committee on Health Care Regulation Policy (HFPC), companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/CS/SB 550 (Ch. 2010-205) [H0727 Detail]

Download: Florida-2010-H0727-Introduced.html

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HB 727

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to onsite sewage treatment and disposal
3	systems; amending s. 381.0065, F.S.; requiring owners of
4	onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems to have such
5	systems periodically inspected; providing an exception;
6	directing the Department of Health to administer an onsite
7	sewage treatment and disposal system inspection program;
8	requiring the department to adopt rules implementing
9	program standards, procedures, and requirements; requiring
10	system owners to pay the costs of required inspections and
11	pump-outs; requiring inspections and pump-outs to be
12	performed by registered septic tank or master septic tank
13	contractors; providing notice requirements; providing
14	definitions; creating s. 381.00656, F.S.; requiring the
15	department to administer a grant program to assist owners
16	in the repair of specified onsite sewage treatment and
17	disposal systems; providing eligibility and program
18	requirements; authorizing the department to prioritize
19	applications; requiring the department to adopt rules;
20	requiring the department to seek to award grants in each
21	fiscal year to the extent of funds available and to carry
22	forward excess funds; amending s. 381.0066, F.S.; revising
23	the fees for application review, permit issuance, or
24	system inspection of onsite sewage treatment and disposal
25	systems; establishing fees for the filing of onsite sewage
26	treatment and disposal system inspection reports;
27	providing for deposit and use of the fees collected;
28	amending s. 489.557, F.S.; revising the fees for septic
29	tank contractor and master septic tank contractor
30	registrations; providing for deposit and use of the fees
31	collected; providing an effective date.
32
33	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
34
35	Section 1. Subsection (5) of section 381.0065, Florida
36	Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (6), and a new
37	subsection (5) is added to that section to read:
38	381.0065 Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems;
39	regulation.-
40	(5) PERIODIC INSPECTIONS.--
41	(a) Effective July 1, 2013, the owner of an onsite sewage
42	treatment and disposal system, excluding a system that is
43	required to obtain an operating permit, shall have the system
44	inspected at least once every 5 years to assess the fundamental
45	operational condition of the system, prolong the life of the
46	system, and identify any failure within the system. The
47	department shall administer an onsite sewage treatment and
48	disposal system inspection program for that purpose and shall
49	adopt rules implementing the program standards, procedures, and
50	requirements, including, but not limited to, a schedule for a 5-
51	year inspection cycle; a county-by-county implementation plan
52	phased in over a 10-year period with first priority given to
53	those areas within a springshed protection area identified by
54	the Department of Environmental Protection; minimum standards
55	for a functioning system; requirements for the pump-out or
56	repair of a failing system; and enforcement procedures for
57	failure of a system owner to obtain an inspection of the system
58	and failure of a contractor to timely report inspection results
59	to the department and the system owner.
60	(b) The department's Procedure for Voluntary Inspection
61	and Assessment of Existing Systems shall be applied to
62	inspections under this subsection, except as otherwise provided.
63	All inspection procedures used by an inspector must be
64	documented and nothing in this subsection limits the amount of
65	detail an inspector may provide at his or her professional
66	discretion. The inspection must include a tank inspection, a
67	drainfield inspection, and a written assessment of the condition
68	of the system, and, if necessary, a disclosure statement
69	pursuant to the department's procedure.
70	(c) If documentation of a tank pump-out or a permitted new
71	installation, repair, or modification of the system within the
72	previous 3 years is provided, which states the capacity of the
73	tank and indicates that the condition of the tank is not a
74	sanitary or public health nuisance pursuant to department rule,
75	a pump-out of the system is not required.
76	(d) Owners are responsible for paying the cost of the
77	inspection and any required pump-out pursuant to department rule
78	and may not request partial inspections or the omission of
79	portions of the inspection.
80	(e) Each inspection or pump-out required under this
81	subsection must be performed by a septic tank contractor or
82	master septic tank contractor registered under part III of
83	chapter 489.
84	(f) Prior to any inspection deadline, the department must
85	provide a minimum of 60 days' notice to owners that their
86	systems must be inspected by that deadline. The notice must
87	include a provision which states that the purpose of the
88	inspection is to assess the fundamental operational condition of
89	the system, prolong the life of the system, and identify any
90	failure within the system, and not to determine code compliance,
91	require a complete upgrade or overhaul of a system to meet
92	current code requirements, or demonstrate that the system will
93	adequately serve the use to be placed upon it by the current or
94	any subsequent owner. The department must include a copy of the
95	Procedure for Voluntary Inspection and Assessment of Existing
96	Systems and information about the grant program established
97	pursuant to s. 381.00656 with the notice.
98	(g) As used in this subsection:
99	1. "Failure" or "failing" means a condition that exists
100	within an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system that
101	prohibits the system from functioning in a sanitary manner and
102	results in the discharge of untreated or partially treated
103	wastewater onto the surface of the ground or into surface waters
104	or groundwaters or results in the failure of building plumbing
105	to discharge properly. For the purposes of this subsection, a
106	system may not be deemed in failure solely because the system
107	does not have the minimum separation distance between the
108	drainfield and groundwater table.
109	2. "Repair" means any replacement of or modification or
110	addition to a failing system which is necessary to allow the
111	system to function in accordance with its design or is necessary
112	to eliminate a public health or pollution hazard, including the
113	use of any treatment method that is intended to improve the
114	functioning of any part of the system or to prolong or sustain
115	the length of time the system functions, excluding:
116	a. The service or replacement of mechanical or electrical
117	parts of an approved onsite sewage treatment and disposal system
118	with like kind and quality parts.
119	b. Any minor structural corrections to a tank or
120	distribution box.
121	c. The use of an authorized additive in indoor building
122	plumbing by the system owner.
123	d. The removal of the contents of any tank or the
124	installation of an approved outlet filter device without
125	disturbing the drainfield.
126	e. The replacement of any broken tank lid.
127	f. The splicing of a drip emitter line, provided the
128	emitter is not eliminated.
129	Section 2. Section 381.00656, Florida Statutes, is created
130	to read:
131	381.00656 Grant program for repair of onsite sewage
132	treatment and disposal systems.-Effective July 1, 2013, the
133	department shall administer a grant program to assist owners of
134	failing onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems identified
135	pursuant to s. 381.0065 or the rules adopted thereunder. A grant
136	under the program may be awarded to an owner only for the
137	purpose of repairing a failing system serving a single-family
138	residence occupied by an owner with a family income of less than
139	or equal to 200 percent of the federal poverty level at the time
140	of application. When possible, program grants shall be used to
141	install or modify nongravity onsite sewage treatment and
142	disposal systems. The department may prioritize applications for
143	an award of grant funds based upon the severity of a system's
144	failure, its relative environmental impact, the income of the
145	family, or any combination thereof. The department shall adopt
146	rules establishing the grant application and award process,
147	including an application form. The department shall seek to make
148	grants in each fiscal year equal to the total amount of grant
149	funds available, with any excess funds used for grant awards in
150	subsequent fiscal years.
151	Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
152	381.0066, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (m) is
153	added to that subsection, to read:
154	381.0066 Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems;
155	fees.-
156	(2) The minimum fees in the following fee schedule apply
157	until changed by rule by the department within the following
158	limits:
159	(a) Application review, permit issuance, or system
160	inspection, including repair of a subsurface, mound, filled, or
161	other alternative system or permitting of an abandoned system: a
162	fee of not less than $25, or more than $125, plus an additional
163	$5. The additional $5 collected pursuant to this paragraph shall
164	be used to fund the grant program established under s.
165	381.00656.
166	(m) Filing an inspection report under s. 381.0065(5): a
167	fee of not less than $75, or more than $150. Twenty-five percent
168	of the fee collected pursuant to this paragraph shall be used to
169	fund the grant program established under s. 381.00656.
170
171	The funds collected pursuant to this subsection must be
172	deposited in a trust fund administered by the department, to be
173	used for the purposes stated in this section and ss. 381.0065
174	and 381.00655.
175	Section 4. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) of
176	section 489.557, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
177	489.557 Fees, establishment.-
178	(1) The department shall, by rule, establish fees as
179	follows:
180	(a) For septic tank contractor registration:
181	1. Application and examination fee: not less than $25 or
182	more than $75.
183	2. Initial registration fee: not less than $50 or more
184	than $100, plus an additional $50. The additional $50 collected
185	pursuant to this subparagraph shall be used to fund the grant
186	program established under s. 381.00656.
187	3. Renewal of registration fee: not less than $50 or more
188	than $100, plus an additional $50. The additional $50 collected
189	pursuant to this subparagraph shall be used to fund the grant
190	program established under s. 381.00656.
191	(b) For master septic tank contractor registration:
192	1. Application and examination fee: not less than $25 or
193	more than $75.
194	2. Initial registration fee: not less than $50 or more
195	than $100, plus an additional $50. The additional $50 collected
196	pursuant to this subparagraph shall be used to fund the grant
197	program established under s. 381.00656.
198	3. Renewal of registration fee: not less than $50 or more
199	than $100, plus an additional $50. The additional $50 collected
200	pursuant to this subparagraph shall be used to fund the grant
201	program established under s. 381.00656.
202	Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.