CS/CS/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; specifying 6
requirements for private providers and onsite sewage 7
treatment and disposal system owners and authorized 8
contractors; authorizing the Department of 9
Environmental Protection to audit the performance of a 10
specified percentage of such inspections; providing 11
audit conditions and construction; requiring the 12
department to adopt rules and to initiate rulemaking 13
by a specified date; requiring the department to 14
submit a report on private provider inspections of 15
onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems to the 16
Legislature by a specified date; providing a report 17
requirement; providing an effective date. 18
19
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 20
21
Section 1. Subsection (8) is added to section 381.0065, 22
Florida Statutes, to read: 23
381.0065 Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems; 24
regulation.— 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
(8) PRIVATE PROVIDER INSPECTIONS. - 26
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, ordinance, or policy, 27
the owner of an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system or a 28
contractor upon the owner's written authorization may hire a 29
private provider to perform an inspection that follows 30
applicable regulatory requirements of the onsite sewage 31
treatment and disposal sys tem. 32
(b) An inspection of an onsite sewage treatment and 33
disposal system required under this section may not be conducted 34
by the private provider or authorized representative of the 35
private provider that installed the onsite sewage treatment and 36
disposal system. 37
(c) A private provider or an authorized representative of 38
a private provider may perform onsite sewage treatment and 39
disposal system inspections if they are: 40
1. An environmental health professional certified under s. 41
381.0101; 42
2. A master septic tank contractor registered under part 43
III of chapter 489; 44
3. A professional engineer licensed under chapter 471 and 45
have passed all parts of the Onsite Sewage Treatment and 46
Disposal System Accelerated Certification Training; or 47
4. Working under th e supervision of a licensed 48
professional engineer and have passed all parts of the Onsite 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
Sewage Treatment and Disposal System Accelerated Certification 50
Training. 51
(d) An owner or authorized contractor using a private 52
provider for an onsite sewage treatme nt and disposal system 53
inspection must provide notice to the department at the time of 54
permit application or by 2 p.m. local time, 2 business days 55
before the first scheduled inspection by the department. The 56
notice must include all of the following informa tion: 57
1. For each private provider or authorized representative 58
performing the inspection: 59
a. Name and firm name, address, telephone number, and e -60
mail address. 61
b. Professional license or certification number. 62
c. Qualification statement or resume. 63
2. An acknowledgement from the owner in substantially the 64
following form: 65
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I HAVE ELECTED TO USE ONE OR MORE PRIVATE PROVIDERS TO PERFORM 67
AN ONSITE SEWAGE TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL SYSTEM INSPECTION THAT 68
IS THE SUBJECT OF THE ENCLOSED PERMIT APPLICATION. I UNDERSTAND 69
THAT THE DEPARTMENT MAY NOT PERFORM THE REQUIRED ONSITE SEWAGE 70
TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL SYSTEM INSPECTION TO DETERMINE COMPLIANCE 71
WITH THE APPLICABLE CODES, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT AUTHORIZED BY 72
LAW. INSTEAD, THE INSPECTION WILL BE PERFORMED BY THE L ICENSED 73
OR CERTIFIED PRIVATE PROVIDER IDENTIFIED IN THE APPLICATION. BY 74
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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
EXECUTING THIS FORM, I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I HAVE MADE INQUIRY 75
REGARDING THE COMPETENCE OF THE LICENSED OR CERTIFIED PRIVATE 76
PROVIDER AND AM SATISFIED THAT MY INTERESTS ARE ADEQUATELY 77
PROTECTED. I AGREE TO INDEMNIFY, DEFEND, AND HOLD HARMLESS THE 78
DEPARTMENT FROM ANY CLAIMS ARISING FROM MY USE OF THE LICENSED 79
OR CERTIFIED PRIVATE PROVIDER IDENTIFIED IN THE APPLICATION TO 80
PERFORM THE ONSITE SEWAGE TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL SYSTEM 81
INSPECTION THAT IS THE SUBJECT OF THE ENCLOSED PERMIT 82
APPLICATION. ADDITIONALLY, I UNDERSTAND THAT IN THE EVENT THE 83
ONSITE SEWAGE TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL SYSTEM DOES NOT COMPLY WITH 84
APPLICABLE RULES AND LAW, I WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REMEDIATING 85
THE SYSTEM IN ACCORDANCE WITH EXISTING LAW. 86
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If an owner or authorized contractor makes any changes to the 88
listed private provider or the service to be performed by the 89
private provider, the owner or the authorized contractor must 90
update the notice to reflect the change within 1 b usiness day 91
after the change. The change of an authorized representative 92
identified in the permit application does not require a revision 93
of the permit and the department may not charge a fee for making 94
such change. 95
(e) The department may audit up to 25 percent of private 96
providers each year to ensure the accurate performance of onsite 97
sewage treatment and disposal system inspections. Work on an 98
onsite sewage treatment and disposal system may proceed after 99
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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
inspection and approval by a private provider if the owner or 100
authorized contractor has given notice of the inspection 101
pursuant to paragraph (d) and, subsequent to such inspection and 102
approval, such work may not be delayed for completion of an 103
inspection audit by the department unless deficiencies are fo und 104
in the audit. 105
(f) This subsection does not prevent the department from 106
investigating complaints. 107
(g) The department shall adopt rules to implement this 108
subsection and must initiate such rulemaking by August 31, 2022. 109
Section 2. The Department of Environmental Protection 110
shall submit a report no later than October 1, 2023, to the 111
President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of 112
Representatives on the use of private providers for onsite 113
sewage treatment and disposal system inspections. The report 114
must include the number of onsite sewage treatment and disposal 115
system inspections performed by private providers. 116
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 117