CS/HB 309 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to private provider inspections of 2
onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems; amending 3
s. 381.0065, F.S.; authorizing private provider 4
inspections of onsite sewage treatment and disposal 5
systems under certain conditions; prohibiting the 6
Department of Environmental Protection from charging 7
certain inspection and permit fees; specifying 8
requirements for private providers and onsite sewage 9
treatment and disposal system owners and authorized 10
contractors; authorizing the department to audit the 11
performance of such inspections; providing audit 12
conditions and construction; amending s. 381.00651, 13
F.S.; authorizing private providers to conduct cert ain 14
evaluations and assessments of onsite sewage treatment 15
and disposal systems; providing construction; 16
providing an effective date. 17
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 19
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Section 1. Subsection (8) is added to section 381.0065 , 21
Florida Statutes, to read: 22
381.0065 Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems; 23
regulation.— 24
(8) PRIVATE PROVIDER INSPECTIONS. - 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, ordinance, or policy, 26
the owner of an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system o r a 27
contractor upon the owner's written authorization may hire a 28
private provider to perform an inspection that follows 29
applicable regulatory requirements of the onsite sewage 30
treatment and disposal system and pay the private provider 31
directly if the inspe ction is the subject of a written contract 32
between the private provider or the private provider's firm and 33
the owner or the authorized contractor. 34
(b) An inspection of an onsite sewage treatment and 35
disposal system required under this section may not be conducted 36
by the private provider or authorized representative of the 37
private provider that installed the onsite sewage treatment and 38
disposal system. 39
(c) The department may not charge an inspection fee for an 40
onsite sewage treatment and disposal system inspection performed 41
by a private provider under written contract with an owner or 42
authorized contractor in accordance with this section and 43
department rules. 44
(d) A private provider or an authorized representative of 45
a private provider may perform onsite sewage treatment and 46
disposal system inspections if they are: 47
1. An environmental health professional certified under s. 48
381.0101; 49
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
2. A master septic tank contractor registered under part 50
III of chapter 489; 51
3. A professional engineer licensed under chapter 471 and 52
have passed all parts of the Onsite Sewage Treatment and 53
Disposal System Accelerated Certification Training; or 54
4. Working under the supervision of a licensed 55
professional engineer and have passed all parts of the Onsite 56
Sewage Treatment and Disposal System Accelerated Certification 57
Training. 58
(e) An owner or authorized contractor using a private 59
provider for an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system 60
inspection must provide notice to the department at the time of 61
permit application or by 2 p.m. local time, 2 business days 62
before the first scheduled inspection by the department. The 63
notice must include all of the following information: 64
1. For each private provider or authorized representative 65
performing the inspection: 66
a. Name and firm name, address, telephone number, and e -67
mail address. 68
b. Professional license or certification number. 69
c. Qualification statement or resume. 70
2. An acknowledgement from the owner in substantially the 71
following form: 72
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
I HAVE ELECTED TO USE ONE OR MORE PRIVATE PROVIDERS TO PERFORM 74
AN ONSITE SEWAGE TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL SYSTEM INSPECTION THAT 75
IS THE SUBJECT OF THE ENCLOSED PERMIT APPLICATION. I UNDERSTAND 76
THAT THE DEPARTMENT MAY NOT PERFORM THE REQUIRED ONSITE SEWAGE 77
TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL SYSTEM IN SPECTION TO DETERMINE COMPLIANCE 78
WITH THE APPLICABLE CODES, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT AUTHORIZED BY 79
LAW. INSTEAD, THE INSPECTION WILL BE PERFORMED BY THE LICENSED 80
OR CERTIFIED PRIVATE PROVIDER IDENTIFIED IN THE APPLICATION. BY 81
EXECUTING THIS FORM, I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I HAVE MADE INQUIRY 82
REGARDING THE COMPETENCE OF THE LICENSED OR CERTIFIED PRIVATE 83
PROVIDER AND AM SATISFIED THAT MY INTERESTS ARE ADEQUATELY 84
PROTECTED. I AGREE TO INDEMNIFY, DEFEND, AND HOLD HARMLESS THE 85
DEPARTMENT FROM ANY CLAIMS ARISING FROM MY USE OF THE LICENSED 86
OR CERTIFIED PRIVATE PROVIDER IDENTIFIED IN THE APPLICATION TO 87
PERFORM THE ONSITE SEWAGE TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL SYSTEM 88
INSPECTION THAT IS THE SUBJECT OF THE ENCLOSED PERMIT 89
APPLICATION. ADDITIONALLY, I UNDERSTAND THAT IN THE EVENT THE 90
ONSITE SEWAGE TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL SYSTEM DOES NOT COMPLY WITH 91
APPLICABLE RULES AND LAW, I WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REMEDIATING 92
THE SYSTEM IN ACCORDANCE WITH EXISTING LAW. 93
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If an owner or authorized contractor makes any changes to the 95
listed private provider or the service to be performed by the 96
private provider, the owner or the authorized contractor must 97
update the notice to reflect the change within 1 business day 98
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
after the change. The change of an authorized representative 99
identified in the permit applicat ion does not require a revision 100
of the permit and the department may not charge a fee for making 101
such change. 102
(f) The department may audit up to 25 percent of private 103
providers each year to ensure the accurate performance of onsite 104
sewage treatment and d isposal system inspections. Work on an 105
onsite sewage treatment and disposal system may proceed after 106
inspection and approval by a private provider if the owner or 107
authorized contractor has given notice of the inspection 108
pursuant to paragraph (e) and, subse quent to such inspection and 109
approval, such work may not be delayed for completion of an 110
inspection audit by the department unless deficiencies are found 111
in the audit. 112
(g) This subsection does not prevent the department from 113
investigating complaints. 114
(h) The department shall adopt rules to implement this 115
subsection and must initiate such rulemaking by August 31, 2022. 116
Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (6) and subsection 117
(8) of section 381.00651, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 118
381.00651 Periodic evaluation and assessment of onsite 119
sewage treatment and disposal systems. — 120
(6) The requirements for an onsite sewage treatment and 121
disposal system evaluation and assessment program are as 122
follows: 123
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
(b) Qualified contractors. —Each evaluation required under 124
this subsection must be performed by a qualified contractor, who 125
may be a private provider or an authorized representative of a 126
private provider as described in s. 381.0065(8)(d) septic tank 127
contractor or master septic tank contractor regist ered under 128
part III of chapter 489, a professional engineer having 129
wastewater treatment system experience and licensed under 130
chapter 471, or an environmental health professional certified 131
under this chapter in the area of onsite sewage treatment and 132
disposal system evaluation . Evaluations and pump -outs may also 133
be performed by an authorized employee working under the 134
supervision of an individual listed in this paragraph; however, 135
all evaluation forms must be signed by a qualified contractor in 136
writing or by electronic signature. 137
(8) The county health department, in coordination with the 138
department, shall administer any evaluation program on behalf of 139
a county, or a municipality within the county, that has adopted 140
an evaluation program pursuant to this sect ion. In order to 141
administer the evaluation program, the county or municipality, 142
in consultation with the county health department, may develop a 143
reasonable fee schedule to be used solely to pay for the costs 144
of administering the evaluation program. Such a fee schedule 145
shall be identified in the ordinance that adopts the evaluation 146
program. When arriving at a reasonable fee schedule, the 147
estimated annual revenues to be derived from fees may not exceed 148
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
reasonable estimated annual costs of the program. Fees sh all be 149
assessed to the system owner during an inspection and separately 150
identified on the invoice of the qualified contractor. Fees 151
shall be remitted by the qualified contractor to the county 152
health department. 153
(a) The county health department's administ rative 154
responsibilities include the following: 155
1.(a) Providing a notice to the system owner at least 60 156
days before the system is due for an evaluation. The notice may 157
include information on the proper maintenance of onsite sewage 158
treatment and disposal systems. 159
2.(b) In consultation with the department, providing 160
uniform disciplinary procedures and penalties for qualified 161
contractors who do not comply with the requirements of the 162
adopted ordinance, including, but not limited to, failure to 163
provide the evaluation report as required in this subsection to 164
the system owner and the county health department. Only the 165
county health department may assess penalties against system 166
owners for failure to comply with the adopted ordinance, 167
consistent with existing r equirements of law. 168
(b) This subsection does not authorize the department to 169
charge an inspection fee for an onsite sewage treatment and 170
disposal system inspection performed by a private provider in 171
accordance with s. 381.0065(8). 172
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 173