Florida Senate - 2013                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1160
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 609720                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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       The Committee on Health Policy (Braynon) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Paragraphs (l) and (u) of subsection (4) of
    6  section 381.0065, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
    7         381.0065 Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems;
    8  regulation.—
    9         (4) PERMITS; INSTALLATION; AND CONDITIONS.—A person may not
   10  construct, repair, modify, abandon, or operate an onsite sewage
   11  treatment and disposal system without first obtaining a permit
   12  approved by the department. The department may issue permits to
   13  carry out this section, but shall not make the issuance of such
   14  permits contingent upon prior approval by the Department of
   15  Environmental Protection, except that the issuance of a permit
   16  for work seaward of the coastal construction control line
   17  established under s. 161.053 shall be contingent upon receipt of
   18  any required coastal construction control line permit from the
   19  Department of Environmental Protection. A construction permit is
   20  valid for 18 months from the issuance date and may be extended
   21  by the department for one 90-day period under rules adopted by
   22  the department. A repair permit is valid for 90 days from the
   23  date of issuance. An operating permit must be obtained prior to
   24  the use of any aerobic treatment unit or if the establishment
   25  generates commercial waste. Buildings or establishments that use
   26  an aerobic treatment unit or generate commercial waste shall be
   27  inspected by the department at least annually to assure
   28  compliance with the terms of the operating permit. The operating
   29  permit for a commercial wastewater system is valid for 1 year
   30  from the date of issuance and must be renewed annually. The
   31  operating permit for an aerobic treatment unit is valid for 2
   32  years from the date of issuance and must be renewed every 2
   33  years. If all information pertaining to the siting, location,
   34  and installation conditions or repair of an onsite sewage
   35  treatment and disposal system remains the same, a construction
   36  or repair permit for the onsite sewage treatment and disposal
   37  system may be transferred to another person, if the transferee
   38  files, within 60 days after the transfer of ownership, an
   39  amended application providing all corrected information and
   40  proof of ownership of the property. There is no fee associated
   41  with the processing of this supplemental information. A person
   42  may not contract to construct, modify, alter, repair, service,
   43  abandon, or maintain any portion of an onsite sewage treatment
   44  and disposal system without being registered under part III of
   45  chapter 489. A property owner who personally performs
   46  construction, maintenance, or repairs to a system serving his or
   47  her own owner-occupied single-family residence is exempt from
   48  registration requirements for performing such construction,
   49  maintenance, or repairs on that residence, but is subject to all
   50  permitting requirements. A municipality or political subdivision
   51  of the state may not issue a building or plumbing permit for any
   52  building that requires the use of an onsite sewage treatment and
   53  disposal system unless the owner or builder has received a
   54  construction permit for such system from the department. A
   55  building or structure may not be occupied and a municipality,
   56  political subdivision, or any state or federal agency may not
   57  authorize occupancy until the department approves the final
   58  installation of the onsite sewage treatment and disposal system.
   59  A municipality or political subdivision of the state may not
   60  approve any change in occupancy or tenancy of a building that
   61  uses an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system until the
   62  department has reviewed the use of the system with the proposed
   63  change, approved the change, and amended the operating permit.
   64         (l) 1.Within the Florida Keys area, which is a critical
   65  state concern, any building permit and any permit issued by the
   66  Department of Environmental Protection or by a water management
   67  district pursuant to part IV of chapter 373, which has an
   68  expiration date of January 1, 2012, through January 1, 2016, is
   69  extended and renewed for a period of 3 years after its
   70  previously scheduled expiration date. This extension includes
   71  any local government-issued development order or building
   72  permit, including certificates of levels of service. This
   73  section does not prohibit conversion from the construction phase
   74  to the operation phase upon completion of construction and is in
   75  addition to any permit extension. Extensions granted under this
   76  section; s. 14, chapter 2009-96, Laws of Florida, as
   77  reauthorized by s. 47, chapter 2010-147, Laws of Florida; s. 46,
   78  chapter 2010-147, Laws of Florida; s. 74, chapter 2011-139, Laws
   79  of Florida; or s. 79, chapter 2011-139, Laws of Florida, may not
   80  exceed 7 years in total. Specific development order extensions
   81  granted pursuant to s. 380.06(19)(c)2., may not be further
   82  extended by this section.
   83         2. For the Florida Keys, the department shall adopt a
   84  special rule for the construction, installation, modification,
   85  operation, repair, maintenance, and performance of onsite sewage
   86  treatment and disposal systems which considers the unique soil
   87  conditions and water table elevations, densities, and setback
   88  requirements. On lots where a setback distance of 75 feet from
   89  surface waters, saltmarsh, and buttonwood association habitat
   90  areas cannot be met, an injection well, approved and permitted
   91  by the department, may be used for disposal of effluent from
   92  onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems. The following
   93  additional requirements apply to onsite sewage treatment and
   94  disposal systems in Monroe County:
   95         a.1. The county, each municipality, and those special
   96  districts established for the purpose of the collection,
   97  transmission, treatment, or disposal of sewage shall ensure, in
   98  accordance with the specific schedules adopted by the
   99  Administration Commission under s. 380.0552, the completion of
  100  onsite sewage treatment and disposal system upgrades to meet the
  101  requirements of this paragraph.
  102         b.2.In areas not scheduled to go to a centralized sewer,
  103  onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems must cease
  104  discharge by December 31, 2015, or must comply with department
  105  rules and provide the level of treatment which, on a permitted
  106  annual average basis, produces an effluent that contains no more
  107  than the following concentrations:
  108         (I)a. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (CBOD5) of 10 mg/l.
  109         (II)b. Suspended Solids of 10 mg/l.
  110         (III)c. Total Nitrogen, expressed as N, of 10 mg/l. A
  111  system tested and certified to provide at least a 70 percent
  112  reduction in Nitrogen is in compliance with this standard.
  113         (IV)d. Total Phosphorus, expressed as P, of 1 mg/l.
  114  
  115  In addition, onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems
  116  discharging to an injection well must provide basic disinfection
  117  as defined by department rule.
  118         c.3.On or after July 1, 2010, all new, modified, and
  119  repaired onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems must
  120  provide the level of treatment described in subparagraph 2.
  121  However, In areas scheduled to be served by central sewer by
  122  December 31, 2015, if the property owner has paid a connection
  123  fee or assessment for connection to the central sewer system, an
  124  onsite sewage treatment and disposal system may be repaired to
  125  the following minimum standards:
  126         (I)a. The existing tanks must be pumped and inspected and
  127  certified as being watertight and free of defects in accordance
  128  with department rule; and
  129         (II)b. A sand-lined drainfield or injection well in
  130  accordance with department rule must be installed.
  131         d.4. Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems must be
  132  monitored for total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations
  133  as required by department rule.
  134         e.5. The department shall enforce proper installation,
  135  operation, and maintenance of onsite sewage treatment and
  136  disposal systems pursuant to this chapter, including ensuring
  137  that the appropriate level of treatment described in sub
  138  subparagraph b. subparagraph 2. is met.
  139         f.6. The authority of a local government, including a
  140  special district, to mandate connection of an onsite sewage
  141  treatment and disposal system is governed by s. 4, chapter 99
  142  395, Laws of Florida. Notwithstanding any other provision of law
  143  to the contrary, an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system,
  144  installed after July 1, 2010, which meets the standards in sub
  145  subparagraph b., is not required to connect to a sewer until
  146  December 31, 2020.
  147         (u)1. The owner of an aerobic treatment unit system shall
  148  maintain a current maintenance service agreement with an aerobic
  149  treatment unit maintenance entity permitted by the department.
  150  The maintenance entity shall obtain a system operating permit
  151  from the department for each aerobic treatment unit under
  152  service contract. The maintenance entity shall inspect each
  153  aerobic treatment unit system at least twice each year and shall
  154  report quarterly to the department on the number of aerobic
  155  treatment unit systems inspected and serviced. The reports may
  156  be submitted electronically.
  157         2. The department may approve and permit a property owner
  158  of an owner-occupied, single-family residence as a maintenance
  159  entity for the property owner’s own aerobic treatment unit
  160  system if the system manufacturer’s approved representative
  161  certifies in writing that the property owner has received
  162  training on the proper installation and service of the system.
  163  The maintenance entity service agreement must conspicuously
  164  disclose that the property owner has the right to maintain his
  165  or her own system and is exempt from contractor registration
  166  requirements for performing construction, maintenance, or
  167  repairs on the system. However, the property owner is subject to
  168  all permitting requirements.
  169         3. A manufacture may not deny a septic tank contractor
  170  licensed under part III of chapter 489 access to aerobic
  171  treatment unit system training or spare parts for maintenance
  172  entities. After the original warranty period, component parts
  173  for an aerobic treatment unit system may be replaced with parts
  174  that meet manufacturer’s specifications but are manufactured by
  175  others. The maintenance entity shall maintain documentation for
  176  a period of 2 years of the substitute part’s equivalency and
  177  shall provide such documentation to the department upon request.
  178         4. The owner of an aerobic treatment unit system shall
  179  allow the department to inspect during reasonable hours each
  180  aerobic treatment unit system at least annually, and such
  181  inspection may include collection and analysis of system
  182  effluent samples for performance criteria established by rule of
  183  the department.
  184         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.
  185  
  186  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  187         And the title is amended as follows:
  188         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  189  and insert:
  190                        A bill to be entitled                      
  191         An act relating to onsite sewage treatment and
  192         disposal systems; amending s. 381.0065, F.S.;
  193         extending the expiration date of building permits and
  194         permits issued by the Department of Environmental
  195         Protection or by a water management district;
  196         providing that the extension of the expiration date
  197         does not prohibit conversion from the construction
  198         phase to the operation phase upon completion of
  199         construction; providing that certain extensions may
  200         not exceed a specified number of years; prohibiting
  201         certain extensions; requiring onsite sewage treatment
  202         and disposal systems to comply with department rules
  203         and provide a certain level of treatment; providing
  204         that certain onsite sewage treatment and disposal
  205         systems installed after a specified date are not
  206         required to connect to a sewer until a specified date;
  207         authorizing the department to approve and permit a
  208         property owner of an owner-occupied, single-family
  209         residence as a maintenance entity for the property
  210         owner’s own aerobic treatment unit system under
  211         certain circumstances; requiring the maintenance
  212         entity service agreement to conspicuously disclose
  213         that the property owner has the right to maintain his
  214         or her own system and is exempt from certain
  215         contractor registration requirements; prohibiting a
  216         septic tank contractor from being denied access by the
  217         manufacturer to aerobic treatment unit system training
  218         or spare parts for maintenance entities; providing
  219         that component parts for an aerobic treatment unit
  220         system may be replaced with parts that meet
  221         manufacturer’s specifications; requiring the
  222         maintenance entity to maintain documentation for a
  223         specified period of time and to provide the
  224         documentation to the department upon request;
  225         requiring an owner of an aerobic treatment unit system
  226         to allow the department to annually inspect each
  227         aerobic treatment unit system; providing an effective
  228         date.