HB 661 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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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 sanitary sewer lateral inspection 2
programs; amending ss. 125.569 and 166.0481, F.S.; 3
providing definitions; authorizing counties and 4
municipalities to access sanitary sewer mainlines 5
within or outside its jurisdiction for specified 6
purposes; authorizing counties and municipalities to 7
access sanitary sewer laterals within their 8
jurisdictions for specified purposes; requiring 9
counties and municipalities to provide specified 10
notice to private property owners, issue certain 11
permits, and assume certain legal and financial 12
responsibility; providing requirements for sanitary 13
sewer lateral repairs; requiring counties and 14
municipalities to consid er economical methods for 15
them, rather than property owners, to complete certain 16
work; authorizing counties and municipalities to use 17
certain state and local funds for specified purposes; 18
providing an effective date. 19
20
Be It Enacted by the Legislature o f the State of Florida: 21
22
Section 1. Section 125.569, Florida Statutes, is amended 23
to read: 24
125.569 County sanitary sewer lateral inspections 25
HB 661 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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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 programs for counties .— 26
(1) As used in this section, the term : 27
(a) "Continuous monolithic pipe system" means a pipe 28
system with no joints or seams, including all points where it 29
connects to the structure, the mainline, and the cleanout. 30
(b) "Sanitary sewer lateral" means a privately owned 31
pipeline connecting a property to the main sewer line whic h is 32
maintained and repaired by the property owner. 33
(c) "Sanitary sewer mainline" means the sanitary sewage 34
works excluding the sanitary building sewer and the Wastewater 35
Treatment Facility. 36
(2) A county may access any sanitary sewer mainline it 37
owns or maintains within or outside its jurisdiction to 38
investigate, clean, repair, recondition, or replace the sanitary 39
sewer mainline. 40
(3) A county may access any sanitary sewer lateral within 41
its jurisdiction to investigate, clean, repair, recondition, or 42
replace the sanitary sewer lateral. 43
(4)(2) By July 1, 2022, Each county is encouraged to 44
establish an evaluation and rehabilitation program for sanitary 45
sewer laterals on residential and commercial properties within 46
the county's jurisdiction to identify a nd reduce extraneous flow 47
from leaking sanitary sewer laterals. At a minimum, the program 48
may do all of the following: 49
(a) Establish a system to identify defective, damaged, or 50
HB 661 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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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
deteriorated sanitary sewer laterals on residential and 51
commercial properties within the jurisdiction of the county. If 52
a county identifies a defective, damaged, or deteriorated 53
sanitary sewer lateral and initiates a program to eliminate 54
extraneous flow, the county: 55
1. Shall notify the property owner of the issue by 56
certified mail, return receipt requested. The notice must 57
specify that within 14 days after receiving the notice, the 58
county will access the owner's property to address the 59
defective, damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral. The 60
notice must identify the issue, inform the property owner that 61
the owner will be indemnified and held harmless in the repair 62
process, and provide a proposed timeline and plan for the 63
duration of the project, including start and completion dates. 64
2. Shall issue any permit required to ad dress the 65
defective, damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral to be 66
repaired under the program. 67
3. Is responsible for any repair work done on the private 68
property. If any disruption of the property is necessary to 69
access the sanitary sewer lateral , the county shall ensure that 70
the property is restored to at least its pre -work condition 71
after the repair is complete. Any repair work done to a sanitary 72
sewer lateral must meet all of the following requirements: 73
a. Provide one continuous monolithic pipe system. The 74
connections for the structure, mainline, and cleanout must be 75
HB 661 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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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
installed and integrated into the continuous monolithic pipe 76
system by a plumber licensed by a municipality or county; and 77
b. Be inspected using a lateral launch or similar CCTV 78
camera system conducted by a Pipeline Assessment Certification 79
Program (PACP) and Lateral Assessment Certification Program 80
(LACP) certified camera operator. The contractor must produce 81
and provide the county with a PACP and LACP certified report 82
describing the conditions of the continuous monolithic pipe 83
system and the respective connections to the main sewer pipe and 84
the structure. 85
(b) Consider economical methods for the county a property 86
owner to repair or replace a defective, damaged, or deteriorated 87
sanitary sewer lateral. 88
(c) Establish and maintain a publicly accessible database 89
to store information concerning properties where a defective, 90
damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral has been 91
identified. For each property, the database must include, but is 92
not limited to, the address of the property, the names of any 93
persons the county notified concerning the faulty sanitary sewer 94
lateral, and the date and method of such notification. 95
(d) Use state or lo cal funds allocated for the purpose of 96
environmental preservation or the protection of water quality. 97
Section 2. Section 166.0481, Florida Statutes, is amended 98
to read: 99
166.0481 Municipal sanitary sewer lateral inspections 100
HB 661 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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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 programs for mun icipalities.— 101
(1) As used in this section, the term : 102
(a) "Continuous monolithic pipe system" means a pipe 103
system with no joints or seams, including all points where it 104
connects to the structure, the mainline, and the cleanout. 105
(b) "Sanitary sewer lateral" means a privately owned 106
pipeline connecting a property to the main sewer line which is 107
maintained and repaired by the property owner. 108
(c) "Sanitary sewer mainline" means the sanitary sewage 109
works excluding the sanitary building sewer and the Wastew ater 110
Treatment Facility. 111
(2) A municipality may access any sanitary sewer mainline 112
it owns or maintains within or outside its jurisdiction to 113
investigate, clean, repair, recondition, or replace the sanitary 114
sewer mainline. 115
(3) A municipality may access any sanitary sewer lateral 116
within its jurisdiction to investigate, clean, repair, 117
recondition, or replace the sanitary sewer lateral. 118
(4)(2) By July 1, 2022, Each municipality is encouraged to 119
establish an evaluation and rehabilitation program for sanit ary 120
sewer laterals on residential and commercial properties within 121
the municipality's jurisdiction to identify and reduce 122
extraneous flow from leaking sanitary sewer laterals. At a 123
minimum, the program may do all of the following: 124
(a) Establish a system to identify defective, damaged, or 125
HB 661 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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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
deteriorated sanitary sewer laterals on residential and 126
commercial properties within the jurisdiction of the 127
municipality. If a municipality identifies such a defective, 128
damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral and initiates a 129
program to eliminate extraneous flow, the municipality: 130
1. Shall notify the property owner of the issue by 131
certified mail, return receipt requested. The notice must 132
specify that within 14 days after receiving the notice, the 133
municipality intends to access the owner's property to address 134
the defective, damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral. 135
The notice must identify the issue, inform the property owner 136
that the owner will be indemnified and held harmless in the 137
repair process, and pro vide a proposed timeline and plan for the 138
duration of the project, including start and completion dates. 139
2. Shall issue any permit required to address the 140
defective, damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral to be 141
repaired under the program. 142
3. Is responsible for any repair work done on the private 143
property. If any disruption of the property is necessary to 144
access the sanitary sewer lateral, the municipality shall ensure 145
that the property is restored to at least its pre -work 146
conditions after the r epair is complete. Any repair work done to 147
a sanitary sewer lateral must meet all of the following 148
requirements: 149
a. Provide one continuous monolithic pipe system. The 150
HB 661 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0661-00
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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
connections for the structure, mainline, and cleanout must be 151
installed and integrated into the continuous monolithic pipe 152
system by a plumber licensed by a municipality or county; and 153
b. Be inspected using a lateral launch or similar CCTV 154
camera system and conducted by a Pipeline Assessment 155
Certification Program (PACP) and Lateral Assessm ent and 156
Certification Program (LACP) certified camera operator. The 157
contractor must produce and provide the municipality with a PACP 158
and LACP certified report describing the conditions of the 159
continuous monolithic pipe system and the respective connections 160
to the main sewer pipe and the structure. 161
(b) Consider economical methods for the municipality a 162
property owner to repair or replace a defective, damaged, or 163
deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral. 164
(c) Establish and maintain a publicly accessible database 165
to store information concerning properties where a defective, 166
damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral has been 167
identified. For each property, the database must include, but is 168
not limited to, the address of the property, the names of any 169
persons the municipality notified concerning the faulty sanitary 170
sewer lateral, and the date and method of such notification. 171
(d) Use state or local funds allocated for the purpose of 172
environmental preservation or the protection of water quality. 173
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 174