Florida Senate - 2023 SB 1420 By Senator Rodriguez 40-00542-23 20231420__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to sanitary sewer lateral inspection 3 programs; amending ss. 125.569 and 166.0481, F.S.; 4 defining the term continuous monolithic pipe system; 5 authorizing counties and municipalities, respectively, 6 to access sanitary sewer laterals within their 7 jurisdictions for specified purposes; requiring 8 counties and municipalities to notify private property 9 owners within a specified timeframe if the county or 10 municipality intends to access the owners sanitary 11 sewer lateral; specifying requirements for such 12 notification; providing that counties and 13 municipalities that establish evaluation and 14 rehabilitation programs are responsible for all work 15 done on private property; requiring counties and 16 municipalities to ensure property is restored to pre 17 work condition; specifying requirements for counties 18 and municipalities repair work; requiring counties and 19 municipalities that establish programs to consider 20 economical methods for the counties and 21 municipalities, rather than the property owners, to 22 complete such work; authorizing a program established 23 by a county or a municipality to evaluate and 24 rehabilitate sanitary sewer laterals on residential 25 and commercial properties to use state or local funds 26 allocated for environmental preservation or the 27 protection of water quality; providing that counties 28 and municipalities may establish and implement 29 alternative evaluation and rehabilitation programs to 30 identify and reduce extraneous flow from leaking 31 sanitary sewer laterals; providing an effective date. 32 33 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 34 35 Section 1.Section 125.569, Florida Statutes, is amended to 36 read: 37 125.569County sanitary sewer lateral inspections 38 inspection programs for counties. 39 (1)As used in this section, the term: 40 (a)Continuous monolithic pipe system means a pipe system 41 without any joints or seams, including all points where the pipe 42 connects to the structure, mainline, and cleanout. 43 (b)Sanitary sewer lateral means a privately owned 44 pipeline connecting a property to the main sewer line which is 45 maintained and repaired by the property owner. 46 (2)A county may access any sanitary sewer lateral within 47 its jurisdiction to investigate, clean, repair, recondition, or 48 replace the sanitary sewer lateral. 49 (3)By July 1, 2022, Each county may is encouraged to 50 establish an evaluation and rehabilitation program for sanitary 51 sewer laterals on residential and commercial properties within 52 the countys jurisdiction to identify and reduce extraneous flow 53 from leaking sanitary sewer laterals. At a minimum, the program 54 may do all of the following: 55 (a)Establish a system to identify defective, damaged, or 56 deteriorated sanitary sewer laterals on residential and 57 commercial properties within the jurisdiction of the county. If 58 a county identifies a defective, damaged, or deteriorated 59 sanitary sewer lateral and initiates a program to eliminate 60 extraneous flow, the county: 61 1.Must notify the property owner of the issue by certified 62 mail, return receipt requested. The notice must specify that 63 within 14 days after receiving the notice, the county intends to 64 access the owners property to address the defective, damaged, 65 or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral. The notice must identify 66 the issue, inform the property owner that he or she will be 67 indemnified and held harmless in the repair process, and provide 68 a proposed timeline and plan for the duration of the project, 69 including start and completion dates. 70 2.Is responsible for any repair work done on the private 71 property. If any disruption of the property is necessary to 72 access the sanitary sewer lateral, the county must ensure that 73 the property is restored to at least its pre-work condition 74 after the repair is complete. Any repair work done to a sanitary 75 sewer lateral must meet all of the following requirements: 76 a.Provide one continuous monolithic pipe system. The 77 connections for the structure, mainline, and cleanout must be 78 installed and integrated into the continuous monolithic pipe 79 system by a Florida-licensed plumber. 80 b.Be inspected using a lateral launch or similar CCTV 81 camera system operated by a Pipeline Assessment Certification 82 Program (PACP)- and Lateral Assessment Certification Program 83 (LACP)-certified camera operator. The contractor must produce 84 and provide the county with a PACP- and LACP-certified report 85 describing the conditions in the continuous monolithic pipe 86 system and the respective connections to the main sewer pipe and 87 the structure. 88 (b)Consider economical methods for the county a property 89 owner to repair or replace a defective, damaged, or deteriorated 90 sanitary sewer lateral. 91 (c)Establish and maintain a publicly accessible database 92 to store information concerning properties where a defective, 93 damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral has been 94 identified. For each property, the database must include, but is 95 not limited to, the address of the property, the names of any 96 persons the county notified concerning the faulty sanitary sewer 97 lateral, and the date and method of such notification. 98 (d)Use state or local funds allocated for the purpose of 99 environmental preservation or the protection of water quality. 100 (4)Notwithstanding subsection (3), a county may elect to 101 establish and implement an alternative evaluation and 102 rehabilitation program to identify and reduce extraneous flow 103 from leaking sanitary sewer laterals. 104 Section 2.Section 166.0481, Florida Statutes, is amended 105 to read: 106 166.0481Municipal sanitary sewer lateral inspections 107 inspection programs for municipalities. 108 (1)As used in this section, the term: 109 (a)Continuous monolithic pipe system means a pipe system 110 without any joints or seams, including all points where the pipe 111 connects to the structure, mainline, and cleanout. 112 (b)Sanitary sewer lateral means a privately owned 113 pipeline connecting a property to the main sewer line which is 114 maintained and repaired by the property owner. 115 (2)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 (3)By July 1, 2022, Each municipality may is encouraged to 119 establish an evaluation and rehabilitation program for sanitary 120 sewer laterals on residential and commercial properties within 121 the municipalitys 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 deteriorated sanitary sewer laterals on residential and 126 commercial properties within the jurisdiction of the 127 municipality. If a municipality identifies a defective, damaged, 128 or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral and initiates a program 129 to eliminate extraneous flow, the municipality: 130 1.Must notify the property owner of the issue by certified 131 mail, return receipt requested. The notice must specify that 132 within 14 days after receiving the notice, the municipality 133 intends to access the owners property to address the defective, 134 damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral. The notice must 135 identify the issue, inform the property owner that he or she 136 will be indemnified and held harmless in the repair process, and 137 provide a proposed timeline and plan for the duration of the 138 project, including start and completion dates. 139 2.Is responsible for any repair work done on the private 140 property. If any disruption of the property is necessary to 141 access the sanitary sewer lateral, the municipality must ensure 142 that the property is restored to at least its pre-work condition 143 after the repair is complete. Any repair work done to a sanitary 144 sewer lateral must meet all of the following requirements: 145 a.Provide one continuous monolithic pipe system. The 146 connections for the structure, mainline, and cleanout must be 147 installed and integrated into the continuous monolithic pipe 148 system by a Florida-licensed plumber. 149 b.Be inspected using a lateral launch or similar CCTV 150 camera system operated by a Pipeline Assessment Certification 151 Program (PACP)- and Lateral Assessment Certification Program 152 (LACP)-certified camera operator. The contractor must produce 153 and provide the county with a PACP- and LACP-certified report 154 describing the conditions in the continuous monolithic pipe 155 system and the respective connections to the main sewer pipe and 156 the structure. 157 (b)Consider economical methods for the municipality a 158 property owner to repair or replace a defective, damaged, or 159 deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral. 160 (c)Establish and maintain a publicly accessible database 161 to store information concerning properties where a defective, 162 damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral has been 163 identified. For each property, the database must include, but is 164 not limited to, the address of the property, the names of any 165 persons the municipality notified concerning the faulty sanitary 166 sewer lateral, and the date and method of such notification. 167 (d)Use state or local funds allocated for the purpose of 168 environmental preservation or the protection of water quality. 169 (4)Notwithstanding subsection (3), a municipality may 170 elect to establish and implement an alternative evaluation and 171 rehabilitation program to identify and reduce extraneous flow 172 from leaking sanitary sewer laterals. 173 Section 3.This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.