Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1136
By Senator Trumbull
2-01501A-24 20241136__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the regulation of water resources;
3 amending s. 373.323, F.S.; revising the qualification
4 requirements a person must meet in order to take the
5 water well contractor license examination; updating
6 the reference to the Florida Building Code standards
7 that a licensed water well contractor’s work must
8 meet; amending s. 373.333, F.S.; authorizing certain
9 authorities who have been delegated enforcement powers
10 by water management districts to apply disciplinary
11 guidelines adopted by the districts; requiring that
12 certain notices be delivered by certified, rather than
13 registered, mail; making technical changes; amending
14 s. 373.336, F.S.; prohibiting a person or business
15 entity from advertising water well drilling or
16 construction services in specified circumstances;
17 amending s. 381.0065, F.S.; deleting provisions
18 relating to the variance review and advisory committee
19 for onsite sewage treatment and disposal system
20 permits; providing an effective date.
21
22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24 Section 1. Subsections (3) and (10) of section 373.323,
25 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
26 373.323 Licensure of water well contractors; application,
27 qualifications, and examinations; equipment identification.—
28 (3) An applicant who meets all of the following
29 requirements is eligible shall be entitled to take the water
30 well contractor licensure examination:
31 (a) Is at least 18 years of age.
32 (b) Has at least 2 years of experience in constructing,
33 repairing, or abandoning water wells permitted in this state.
34 The applicant must demonstrate satisfactory proof of such
35 experience shall be demonstrated by providing:
36 1. Evidence of the length of time he or she the applicant
37 has been engaged in the business of the construction, repair, or
38 abandonment of water wells as a major activity, as attested to
39 by a letter from a water well contractor or a letter from a
40 water well inspector employed by a governmental agency.
41 2. A list of at least 10 water wells permitted in this
42 state which he or she that the applicant has constructed,
43 repaired, or abandoned within the preceding 5 years. Of these
44 wells, at least seven must have been constructed, as defined in
45 s. 373.303(2), by the applicant. The list must shall also
46 include:
47 a. The name and address of the owner or owners of each
48 well.
49 b. The location, primary use, and approximate depth and
50 diameter of each well that the applicant has constructed,
51 repaired, or abandoned.
52 c. The approximate date the construction, repair, or
53 abandonment of each well was completed.
54 (c) Has completed the application form and remitted a
55 nonrefundable application fee.
56 (10) Water well contractors licensed under this section may
57 install, repair, and modify pumps and tanks in accordance with
58 the Florida Building Code, Plumbing; Section 614-Wells Section
59 612—Wells Pumps And Tanks Used For Private Potable Water
60 Systems. In addition, licensed water well contractors may
61 install pumps, tanks, and water conditioning equipment for all
62 water systems.
63 Section 2. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 373.333,
64 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
65 373.333 Disciplinary guidelines; adoption and enforcement;
66 license suspension or revocation.—
67 (1) The department shall adopt by rule disciplinary
68 guidelines applicable to each specific ground for disciplinary
69 action which may be imposed by the water management districts,
70 providing each water management district and representatives of
71 the water well contracting industry with meaningful opportunity
72 to participate in the development of the disciplinary guideline
73 rules as they are drafted. The disciplinary guidelines must
74 shall be adopted by each water management district. The
75 guideline rules must shall be consistently applied by the water
76 management districts, or by an authority to whom a water
77 management district has delegated enforcement powers, and must
78 do all of the following shall:
79 (a) Specify a meaningful range of designated penalties
80 based upon the severity and repetition of specific offenses.
81 (b) Distinguish minor violations from those which endanger
82 public health, safety, and welfare or contaminate the water
83 resources.
84 (c) Inform the public of likely penalties which may be
85 imposed for proscribed conduct.
86
87 A specific finding of mitigating or aggravating circumstances
88 shall allow a water management district to impose a penalty
89 other than that provided in the guidelines. Disciplinary action
90 may be taken by any water management district, regardless of
91 where the contractor’s license was issued.
92 (3) Such notice must shall be served in the manner required
93 by law for the service of process upon a person in a civil
94 action or by certified registered United States mail to the last
95 known address of the person. The water management district shall
96 send copies of such notice only to persons who have specifically
97 requested such notice or to entities with which the water
98 management district has formally agreed to provide such notice.
99 Notice alleging a violation of a rule setting minimum standards
100 for the location, construction, repair, or abandonment of wells
101 must shall be accompanied by an order of the water management
102 district requiring remedial action which, if taken within the
103 time specified in such order, will effect compliance with the
104 requirements of this part and regulations issued hereunder. Such
105 order is shall become final unless a request for hearing as
106 provided in chapter 120 is made within 30 days after from the
107 date of service of such order. Upon compliance, notice must
108 shall be served by the water management district in a timely
109 manner upon each person and entity who received notice of a
110 violation, stating that compliance with the order has been
111 achieved.
112 Section 3. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 373.336,
113 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
114 373.336 Unlawful acts; penalties.—
115 (1) It is unlawful for any person or business entity, as
116 applicable, to do any of the following:
117 (a) Practice water well contracting without an active
118 license issued pursuant to this part.
119 (b) Construct, repair, or abandon a water well, or operate
120 drilling equipment for such purpose, unless employed by or under
121 the supervision of a licensed water well contractor or exempt
122 under s. 373.326.
123 (c) Give false or forged evidence to obtain a license.
124 (d) Present as his or her own the license of another.
125 (e) Use or attempt to use a license to practice water well
126 contracting which license has been suspended, revoked, or placed
127 on inactive status.
128 (f) Engage in willful or repeated violation of this part or
129 of any department rule or regulation or water management
130 district or state agency rule or regulation relating to water
131 wells which endangers the public health, safety, and welfare.
132 (g) Advertise water well drilling or construction services
133 if the business entity is not owned by a licensed water well
134 contractor or does not employ a full-time water well contractor.
135 (3) A Any person who violates any provision of this part or
136 a regulation or an order issued hereunder commits shall, upon
137 conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree,
138 punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. Continuing
139 violation after an order or a conviction constitutes shall
140 constitute a separate violation for each day so continued.
141 Section 4. Paragraphs (h) and (w) of subsection (4) of
142 section 381.0065, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
143 381.0065 Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems;
144 regulation.—
145 (4) PERMITS; INSTALLATION; CONDITIONS.—A person may not
146 construct, repair, modify, abandon, or operate an onsite sewage
147 treatment and disposal system without first obtaining a permit
148 approved by the department. The department may issue permits to
149 carry out this section, except that the issuance of a permit for
150 work seaward of the coastal construction control line
151 established under s. 161.053 shall be contingent upon receipt of
152 any required coastal construction control line permit from the
153 department. A construction permit is valid for 18 months after
154 the date of issuance and may be extended by the department for
155 one 90-day period under rules adopted by the department. A
156 repair permit is valid for 90 days after the date of issuance.
157 An operating permit must be obtained before the use of any
158 aerobic treatment unit or if the establishment generates
159 commercial waste. Buildings or establishments that use an
160 aerobic treatment unit or generate commercial waste shall be
161 inspected by the department at least annually to assure
162 compliance with the terms of the operating permit. The operating
163 permit for a commercial wastewater system is valid for 1 year
164 after the date of issuance and must be renewed annually. The
165 operating permit for an aerobic treatment unit is valid for 2
166 years after the date of issuance and must be renewed every 2
167 years. If all information pertaining to the siting, location,
168 and installation conditions or repair of an onsite sewage
169 treatment and disposal system remains the same, a construction
170 or repair permit for the onsite sewage treatment and disposal
171 system may be transferred to another person, if the transferee
172 files, within 60 days after the transfer of ownership, an
173 amended application providing all corrected information and
174 proof of ownership of the property. A fee is not associated with
175 the processing of this supplemental information. A person may
176 not contract to construct, modify, alter, repair, service,
177 abandon, or maintain any portion of an onsite sewage treatment
178 and disposal system without being registered under part III of
179 chapter 489. A property owner who personally performs
180 construction, maintenance, or repairs to a system serving his or
181 her own owner-occupied single-family residence is exempt from
182 registration requirements for performing such construction,
183 maintenance, or repairs on that residence, but is subject to all
184 permitting requirements. A municipality or political subdivision
185 of the state may not issue a building or plumbing permit for any
186 building that requires the use of an onsite sewage treatment and
187 disposal system unless the owner or builder has received a
188 construction permit for such system from the department. A
189 building or structure may not be occupied and a municipality,
190 political subdivision, or any state or federal agency may not
191 authorize occupancy until the department approves the final
192 installation of the onsite sewage treatment and disposal system.
193 A municipality or political subdivision of the state may not
194 approve any change in occupancy or tenancy of a building that
195 uses an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system until the
196 department has reviewed the use of the system with the proposed
197 change, approved the change, and amended the operating permit.
198 (h)1. The department may grant variances in hardship cases
199 which may be less restrictive than the provisions specified in
200 this section. If a variance is granted and the onsite sewage
201 treatment and disposal system construction permit has been
202 issued, the variance may be transferred with the system
203 construction permit, if the transferee files, within 60 days
204 after the transfer of ownership, an amended construction permit
205 application providing all corrected information and proof of
206 ownership of the property and if the same variance would have
207 been required for the new owner of the property as was
208 originally granted to the original applicant for the variance. A
209 fee is not associated with the processing of this supplemental
210 information. A variance may not be granted under this section
211 until the department is satisfied that:
212 1.a. The hardship was not caused intentionally by the
213 action of the applicant;
214 2.b. A reasonable alternative, taking into consideration
215 factors such as cost, does not exist for the treatment of the
216 sewage; and
217 3.c. The discharge from the onsite sewage treatment and
218 disposal system will not adversely affect the health of the
219 applicant or the public or significantly degrade the groundwater
220 or surface waters.
221
222 Where soil conditions, water table elevation, and setback
223 provisions are determined by the department to be satisfactory,
224 special consideration must be given to those lots platted before
225 1972.
226 2. The department shall appoint and staff a variance review
227 and advisory committee, which shall meet monthly to recommend
228 agency action on variance requests. The committee shall make its
229 recommendations on variance requests at the meeting in which the
230 application is scheduled for consideration, except for an
231 extraordinary change in circumstances, the receipt of new
232 information that raises new issues, or when the applicant
233 requests an extension. The committee shall consider the criteria
234 in subparagraph 1. in its recommended agency action on variance
235 requests and shall also strive to allow property owners the full
236 use of their land where possible. The committee consists of the
237 following:
238 a. The Secretary of Environmental Protection or his or her
239 designee.
240 b. A representative from the county health departments.
241 c. A representative from the home building industry
242 recommended by the Florida Home Builders Association.
243 d. A representative from the septic tank industry
244 recommended by the Florida Onsite Wastewater Association.
245 e. A representative from the Department of Health.
246 f. A representative from the real estate industry who is
247 also a developer in this state who develops lots using onsite
248 sewage treatment and disposal systems, recommended by the
249 Florida Association of Realtors.
250 g. A representative from the engineering profession
251 recommended by the Florida Engineering Society.
252
253 Members shall be appointed for a term of 3 years, with such
254 appointments being staggered so that the terms of no more than
255 two members expire in any one year. Members shall serve without
256 remuneration, but if requested, shall be reimbursed for per diem
257 and travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061.
258 (w) A governmental entity, including a municipality,
259 county, or statutorily created commission, may not require an
260 engineer-designed performance-based treatment system, excluding
261 a passive engineer-designed performance-based treatment system,
262 before the completion of the Florida Onsite Sewage Nitrogen
263 Reduction Strategies Project. This paragraph does not apply to a
264 governmental entity, including a municipality, county, or
265 statutorily created commission, which adopted a local law,
266 ordinance, or regulation on or before January 31, 2012.
267 Notwithstanding this paragraph, an engineer-designed
268 performance-based treatment system may be used to meet the
269 requirements of the variance review and advisory committee
270 recommendations.
271 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.