Fla. Stat. § 381.0065
(2) DEFINITIONS.--As used in ss. 381.0065-381.0067, the term:
(a) "Available," as applied to a publicly owned or investor-owned sewerage system, means that the publicly owned or investor-owned sewerage system is capable of being connected to the plumbing of an establishment or residence, is not under a Department of Environmental Protection moratorium, and has adequate permitted capacity to accept the sewage to be generated by the establishment or residence; and:
1. For a residential subdivision lot, a single-family residence, or an establishment, any of which has an estimated sewage flow of 1,000 gallons per day or less, a gravity sewer line to maintain gravity flow from the property's drain to the sewer line, or a low pressure or vacuum sewage collection line in those areas approved for low pressure or vacuum sewage collection, exists in a public easement or right-of-way that abuts the property line of the lot, residence, or establishment.
2. For an establishment with an estimated sewage flow exceeding 1,000 gallons per day, a sewer line, force main, or lift station exists in a public easement or right-of-way that abuts the property of the establishment or is within 50 feet of the property line of the establishment as accessed via existing rights-of-way or easements.
3. For proposed residential subdivisions with more than 50 lots, for proposed commercial subdivisions with more than 5 lots, and for areas zoned or used for an industrial or manufacturing purpose or its equivalent, a sewerage system exists within one-fourth mile of the development as measured and accessed via existing easements or rights-of-way.
4. For repairs or modifications within areas zoned or used for an industrial or manufacturing purpose or its equivalent, a sewerage system exists within 500 feet of an establishment's or residence's sewer stub-out as measured and accessed via existing rights-of-way or easements.
(j) "Potable water line" means any water line that is connected to a potable water supply source, but the term does not include an irrigation line with any of the following types of backflow devices:
1. For irrigation systems into which chemicals are not injected, any atmospheric or pressure vacuum breaker or double check valve or any detector check assembly.
2. For irrigation systems into which chemicals such as fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides are injected, any reduced pressure backflow preventer.
(3) DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH.--The department shall:
(4) PERMITS; INSTALLATION; AND CONDITIONS.--A person may not construct, repair, modify, abandon, or operate an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system without first obtaining a permit approved by the department. The department may issue permits to carry out this section. A construction permit is valid for 18 months from the issuance date and may be extended by the department for one 90-day period under rules adopted by the department. A repair permit is valid for 90 days from the date of issuance. An operating permit is valid for 1 year from the date of issuance and must be renewed annually. If all information pertaining to the siting, location, and installation conditions or repair of an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system remains the same, a construction or repair permit for the onsite sewage treatment and disposal system may be transferred to another person, if the transferee files, within 60 days after the transfer of ownership, an amended application providing all corrected information and proof of ownership of the property. There is no fee associated with the processing of this supplemental information. A person may not contract to construct, modify, alter, repair, service, abandon, or maintain any portion of an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system without being registered under part III of chapter 489. A property owner who personally performs construction, maintenance, or repairs to a system serving his or her own owner-occupied single-family residence is exempt from registration requirements for performing such construction, maintenance, or repairs on that residence, but is subject to all permitting requirements.
(e) Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems must not be placed closer than:
1. Seventy-five feet from a private potable well.
2. Two hundred feet from a public potable well serving a residential or nonresidential establishment having a total sewage flow of greater than 2,000 gallons per day.
3. One hundred feet from a public potable well serving a residential or nonresidential establishment having a total sewage flow of less than or equal to 2,000 gallons per day.
4. Seventy-five feet from surface waters.
5. Fifty feet from any nonpotable well.
6. Ten feet from any storm sewer pipe, to the maximum extent possible, but in no instance shall the setback be less than 5 feet.
7. Fifteen feet from the design high-water line of retention areas, detention areas, or swales designed to contain standing or flowing water for less than 72 hours after a rainfall or the design high-water level of normally dry drainage ditches or normally dry individual-lot stormwater-retention areas.
(f) All provisions of this section and rules adopted under this section relating to soil condition, water table elevation, distance, and other setback requirements must be equally applied to all lots, with the following exceptions:
1. Any residential lot that was platted and recorded on or after January 1, 1972, or that is part of a residential subdivision that was approved by the appropriate permitting agency on or after January 1, 1972, and that was eligible for an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system construction permit on the date of such platting and recording or approval shall be eligible for an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system construction permit, regardless of when the application for a permit is made. If rules in effect at the time the permit application is filed cannot be met, residential lots platted and recorded or approved on or after January 1, 1972, shall, to the maximum extent possible, comply with the rules in effect at the time the permit application is filed. At a minimum, however, those residential lots platted and recorded or approved on or after January 1, 1972, but before January 1, 1983, shall comply with those rules in effect on January 1, 1983, and those residential lots platted and recorded or approved on or after January 1, 1983, shall comply with those rules in effect at the time of such platting and recording or approval. In determining the maximum extent of compliance with current rules that is possible, the department shall allow structures and appurtenances thereto which were authorized at the time such lots were platted and recorded or approved.
2. Lots platted before 1972 are subject to a 50-foot minimum surface water setback and are not subject to lot size requirements. The projected daily flow for domestic onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems for lots platted before 1972 may not exceed:
a. Two thousand five hundred gallons per acre per day for lots served by public water systems as defined in s. 403.852.
b. One thousand five hundred gallons per acre per day for lots served by water systems regulated under s. 381.0062.
(g) 1. The department may grant variances in hardship cases which may be less restrictive than the provisions specified in this section. If a variance is granted and the onsite sewage treatment and disposal system construction permit has been issued, the variance may be transferred with the system construction permit, if the transferee files, within 60 days after the transfer of ownership, an amended construction permit application providing all corrected information and proof of ownership of the property and if the same variance would have been required for the new owner of the property as was originally granted to the original applicant for the variance. There is no fee associated with the processing of this supplemental information. A variance may not be granted under this section until the department is satisfied that:
a. The hardship was not caused intentionally by the action of the applicant;
b. No reasonable alternative exists for the treatment of the sewage; and
c. The discharge from the onsite sewage treatment and disposal system will not adversely affect the health of the applicant or the public or significantly degrade the groundwater or surface waters. Where soil conditions, water table elevation, and setback provisions are determined by the department to be satisfactory, special consideration must be given to those lots platted before 1972.
2. The department shall appoint a variance review and advisory committee, which shall meet monthly to recommend agency action on variance requests. The board consists of the following:
a. The Division Director for Environmental Health of the department or his or her designee.
b. A representative from the county health departments.
c. A representative from the home building industry.
d. A representative from the septic tank industry.
e. A representative from the Department of Environmental Protection. Members shall be appointed for a term of 3 years, with such appointments being staggered so that the terms of no more than two members expire in any one year. Members shall serve without remuneration, but may be reimbursed for per diem and travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061.
(h) A construction permit may not be issued for an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system in any area zoned or used for industrial or manufacturing purposes, or its equivalent, where a publicly owned or investor-owned sewage treatment system is available, or where a likelihood exists that the system will receive toxic, hazardous, or industrial waste. An existing onsite sewage treatment and disposal system may be repaired if a publicly owned or investor-owned sewerage system is not available within 500 feet of the building sewer stub-out and if system construction and operation standards can be met. This paragraph does not require publicly owned or investor-owned sewerage treatment systems to accept anything other than domestic wastewater.
1. A building located in an area zoned or used for industrial or manufacturing purposes, or its equivalent, when such building is served by an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system, must not be occupied until the owner or tenant has obtained written approval from the department. The department shall not grant approval when the proposed use of the system is to dispose of toxic, hazardous, or industrial wastewater or toxic or hazardous chemicals.
2. Each person who owns or operates a business or facility in an area zoned or used for industrial or manufacturing purposes, or its equivalent, or who owns or operates a business that has the potential to generate toxic, hazardous, or industrial wastewater or toxic or hazardous chemicals, and uses an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system that is installed on or after July 5, 1989, must obtain an annual system operating permit from the department. A person who owns or operates a business that uses an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system that was installed and approved before July 5, 1989, need not obtain a system operating permit. However, upon change of ownership or tenancy, the new owner or operator must notify the department of the change, and the new owner or operator must obtain an annual system operating permit, regardless of the date that the system was installed or approved.
3. The department shall periodically review and evaluate the continued use of onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems in areas zoned or used for industrial or manufacturing purposes, or its equivalent, and may require the collection and analyses of samples from within and around such systems. If the department finds that toxic or hazardous chemicals or toxic, hazardous, or industrial wastewater have been or are being disposed of through an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system, the department shall initiate enforcement actions against the owner or tenant to ensure adequate cleanup, treatment, and disposal.
(i) An onsite sewage treatment and disposal system for a single-family residence that is designed by a professional engineer registered in the state and certified by such engineer as complying with performance criteria adopted by the department must be approved by the department subject to the following:
1. The performance criteria applicable to engineer-designed systems must be limited to those necessary to ensure that such systems do not adversely affect the public health or significantly degrade the groundwater or surface water. Such performance criteria shall include consideration of the quality of system effluent, the proposed total sewage flow per acre, wastewater treatment capabilities of the natural or replaced soil, water quality classification of the potential surface-water-receiving body, and the structural and maintenance viability of the system for the treatment of domestic wastewater. However, performance criteria shall address only the performance of a system and not a system's design.
2. The technical review and advisory panel shall assist the department in the development of performance criteria applicable to engineer-designed systems. Workshops on the development of the rules delineating such criteria shall commence not later than September 1, 1996, and the department shall advertise such rules for public hearing no later than October 1, 1997.
3. A person electing to utilize an engineer-designed system shall, upon completion of the system design, submit such design, certified by a registered professional engineer, to the county health department. The county health department may utilize an outside consultant to review the engineer-designed system, with the actual cost of such review to be borne by the applicant. Within 5 working days after receiving an engineer-designed system permit application, the county health department shall request additional information if the application is not complete. Within 15 working days after receiving a complete application for an engineer-designed system, the county health department either shall issue the permit or, if it determines that the system does not comply with the performance criteria, shall notify the applicant of that determination and refer the application to the department for a determination as to whether the system should be approved, disapproved, or approved with modification. The department engineer's determination shall prevail over the action of the county health department. The applicant shall be notified in writing of the department's determination and of the applicant's rights to pursue a variance or seek review under the provisions of chapter 120.
4. The owner of an engineer-designed performance-based system must obtain an annual system operating permit from the department. The department shall inspect the system at least annually and may collect system-effluent samples if appropriate to determine compliance with the performance criteria. The fee for the annual operating permit shall be collected beginning with the second year of system operation.
5. If an engineer-designed system fails to properly function or fails to meet performance standards, the system shall be re-engineered, if necessary, to bring the system into compliance with the provisions of this section.
(n) The department shall appoint a research review and advisory committee, which shall meet at least semiannually. The committee shall advise the department on directions for new research, review and rank proposals for research contracts, and review draft research reports and make comments. The committee is comprised of:
1. A representative of the Division of Environmental Health of the Department of Health.
2. A representative from the septic tank industry.
3. A representative from the home building industry.
4. A representative from an environmental interest group.
5. A representative from the State University System, from a department knowledgeable about onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems.
6. A professional engineer registered in this state who has work experience in onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems.
7. A representative from the real estate profession.
8. A representative from the restaurant industry.
9. A consumer. Members shall be appointed for a term of 3 years, with the appointments being staggered so that the terms of no more than four members expire in any one year. Members shall serve without remuneration, but may be reimbursed for per diem and travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061.
(5) ENFORCEMENT; RIGHT OF ENTRY; CITATIONS.--
(b) 1. The department may issue citations that may contain an order of correction or an order to pay a fine, or both, for violations of ss. 381.0065-381.0067, part I of chapter 386, or part III of chapter 489 or the rules adopted by the department, when a violation of these sections or rules is enforceable by an administrative or civil remedy, or when a violation of these sections or rules is a misdemeanor of the second degree. A citation issued under ss. 381.0065-381.0067, part I of chapter 386, or part III of chapter 489 constitutes a notice of proposed agency action.
2. A citation must be in writing and must describe the particular nature of the violation, including specific reference to the provisions of law or rule allegedly violated.
3. The fines imposed by a citation issued by the department may not exceed $500 for each violation. Each day the violation exists constitutes a separate violation for which a citation may be issued.
4. The department shall inform the recipient, by written notice pursuant to ss. 120.569 and 120.57, of the right to an administrative hearing to contest the citation within 21 days after the date the citation is received. The citation must contain a conspicuous statement that if the recipient fails to pay the fine within the time allowed, or fails to appear to contest the citation after having requested a hearing, the recipient has waived the recipient's right to contest the citation and must pay an amount up to the maximum fine.
5. The department may reduce or waive the fine imposed by the citation. In determining whether to reduce or waive the fine, the department must consider the gravity of the violation, the person's attempts at correcting the violation, and the person's history of previous violations including violations for which enforcement actions were taken under ss. 381.0065-381.0067, part I of chapter 386, part III of chapter 489, or other provisions of law or rule.
6. Any person who willfully refuses to sign and accept a citation issued by the department commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
7. The department, pursuant to ss. 381.0065-381.0067, part I of chapter 386, or part III of chapter 489, shall deposit any fines it collects in the county health department trust fund for use in providing services specified in those sections.
8. This section provides an alternative means of enforcing ss. 381.0065-381.0067, part I of chapter 386, and part III of chapter 489. This section does not prohibit the department from enforcing ss. 381.0065-381.0067, part I of chapter 386, or part III of chapter 489, or its rules, by any other means. However, the department must elect to use only a single method of enforcement for each violation.
History.--ss. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ch. 75-145; s. 72, ch. 77-147; s. 1, ch. 77-174; ss. 1, 2, ch. 77-308; s. 1, ch. 78-430; s. 1, ch. 79-45; s. 1, ch. 82-10; s. 37, ch. 83-218; ss. 43, 46, ch. 83-310; s. 1, ch. 84-119; s. 4, ch. 85-314; s. 5, ch. 86-220; s. 14, ch. 89-324; s. 26, ch. 91-297; ss. 1, 10, 11, ch. 93-151; s. 40, ch. 94-218; s. 352, ch. 94-356; s. 1033, ch. 95-148; ss. 1, 3, ch. 96-303; s. 116, ch. 96-410; s. 181, ch. 97-101; s. 21, ch. 97-237.
Note.--Former s. 381.272.