The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Environment, and General
Government
BILL: CS/SB 1058
INTRODUCER: Environment and Natural Resources Committee and Senator Burgess
SUBJECT: Sanitary Sewer Lateral Inspection Programs
DATE: March 23, 2021 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Anderson Rogers EN Fav/CS
2. Reagan Betta AEG Recommend: Favorable
3. AP
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/SB 1058 authorizes counties and municipalities to access any sanitary sewer lateral within
their jurisdictions to investigate, clean, repair, recondition, or replace the sanitary sewer lateral.
The bill adds to and revises the discretionary minimum program requirements for counties and
municipalities which establish an evaluation and rehabilitation program for sanitary sewer
laterals on residential and commercial properties. For counties and municipalities that identify a
defective, damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral and initiate a program to eliminate
extraneous flow, the bill:
Requires notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, by the county or municipality to
the property owner, specifying that the county or municipality intends to access the owner’s
property within 14 days to address the sanitary sewer lateral.
Provides that the county or municipality is responsible for any repair work done on the
private property and is required to ensure that the property is restored to at least its pre-work
conditions after the repair is complete.
Requires that the repair work done to a sanitary sewer lateral by a county or municipality
provide one continuous monolithic pipe system with connections for the structure, mainline,
and cleanout installed and integrated into the continuous monolithic pipe system by a Florida
licensed plumber; and be inspected using a lateral launch or similar CCTV camera system
conducted by a Pipeline Assessment Certification Program (PACP) and Lateral Assessment
and Certification Program (LACP)-certified camera operator.
BILL: CS/SB 1058 Page 2
Authorizes the county or municipality to consider economical methods to repair or replace a
defective, damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral.
The county or municipality may use state or local funds allocated for the purpose of
environmental preservation or the protection of water quality for a sanitary sewer lateral
program.
The bill does not have a fiscal impact on state government.
The bill is effective July 1, 2021.
II. Present Situation:
Sanitary Sewer Laterals
A private sanitary sewer lateral is an underground pipe that connects private plumbing systems to
a public sewer network,1 to convey wastewater from homes and businesses to wastewater
treatment plants.2 The diagram below shows an example of a sanitary sewer lateral
configuration.3
Sanitary sewer laterals are often in poor condition and defects can occur due to aging systems,
structural failure, lack of maintenance, or poor construction and design practices.4 Problems in
1
See State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Design and Specifications Guidelines for Low Pressure
Sewer Systems at xi, available at https://floridadep.gov/sites/default/files/guide_lowpres.pdf (last visited Mar. 1, 2021).
2
Water Environment Federation, Sanitary Sewers (May 2011), available at https://www.wef.org/globalassets/assets-wef/3---
resources/topics/a-n/collection-systems/technical-resources/ss-fact-sheet-with-wider-margins-1.pdf (last visited
Mar. 1, 2021).
3
Water Environment Federation, Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Fact Sheet, available at
https://www.wef.org/globalassets/assets-wef/direct-download-library/public/03---resources/wsec-2017-fs-009---csc---sewer-
rehabilitation---final---9.27.17.pdf (last visited Mar. 1, 2021).
4
Id.
BILL: CS/SB 1058 Page 3
sanitary sewer laterals can have a significant impact on the performance of the sewer system and
treatment plant and can account for half of the infiltration and inflow to sanitary sewers.5
Cracked or broken laterals can allow groundwater and infiltrating rainwater to enter into the
sewer system which, at high levels, can cause problems at the treatment facility or overload the
sewers and cause sanitary sewer overflows.6
The Florida Building Code requires every building in which plumbing fixtures are installed to be
connected to a publicly or investor-owned sewage system, or if none is available, then to an
approved onsite sewage treatment and disposal system.7
There are no statewide requirements for inspections of sanitary sewer laterals. Generally, local
governments are responsible for maintaining sewer mains and the portions of sewer laterals in
public rights-of-way,8 but the property owner is responsible for the maintenance and repair of a
sanitary sewer lateral on the person’s private property.9
Sanitary Sewer Lateral Inspection Programs for Counties and Municipalities
A sanitary sewer lateral is defined in Florida law as “a privately owned pipeline connecting a
property to the main sewer line, which is maintained and repaired by the property owner.”10
Chapter 2020-158, Laws of Florida, encouraged counties and municipalities to establish an
evaluation and rehabilitation program, by July 1, 2022, for sanitary sewer laterals on residential
and commercial properties within the county’s jurisdiction to identify and reduce extraneous
flow from leaking sanitary sewer laterals.11 Counties and municipalities that opt to establish such
a program are authorized to do the following:
Establish a system to identify defective, damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer laterals on
residential and commercial properties within the jurisdiction of the county;
Consider economical methods for a property owner to repair or replace a defective, damaged,
or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral; and
Establish and maintain a publicly accessible database to store information concerning
properties where a defective, damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral has been
identified. For each property, the database must include, but is not limited to, the address of
the property, the names of any persons the county notified concerning the faulty sanitary
sewer lateral, and the date and method of such notification.12
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
The bill amends ss. 125.569 and 166.0481, F.S., relating to counties and municipalities,
respectively. The bill makes the following changes to both sections of law.
5
Id.
6
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Private Sewer Laterals (Jun. 2014), available at
https://www3.epa.gov/region1/sso/pdfs/PrivateSewerLaterals.pdf (last visited Mar. 1, 2021).
7
Chapter 7, § 701.2 Florida Building Code – Plumbing 6th Edition (July 2017).
8
See, e.g., Sewer Laterals, http://www.beachapedia.org/Sewer_Laterals (last visited Mar. 1, 2021).
9
Sections 125.569 and 166.0481, F.S.
10
Chapter 2020-150, Laws of Fla.
11
Sections 125.569 and 166.0481, F.S.
12
Id.
BILL: CS/SB 1058 Page 4
The bill defines the term “continuous monolithic pipe system” to mean a pipe system with no
joints or seams anywhere, including all points where it connects to the structure, the mainline,
and the cleanout.
The bill authorizes counties and municipalities to access any sanitary sewer lateral within its
jurisdiction to investigate, clean, repair, recondition, or replace the sanitary sewer lateral.
The bill deletes the deadline by which counties are encouraged to establish a sanitary sewer
lateral evaluation and rehabilitation program.
The bill adds to and revises the discretionary minimum program requirements for counties and
municipalities that establish an evaluation and rehabilitation program for sanitary sewer laterals
on residential and commercial properties. For a county or municipality that identifies a defective,
damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral and initiates a program to eliminate extraneous
flow, the bill:
Requires the county or municipality to notify the property owner of the issue by certified
mail, return receipt requested. The notice must specify that the county or municipality
intends to access the owner’s property within 14 days after receiving the notice to address the
defective, damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral. The notice must identify the issue,
inform the property owner that he or she will be indemnified and held harmless in the repair
process, and provide a proposed timeline and plan for the duration of the project, including
start and completion dates.
Provides that the county or municipality is responsible for any repair work done on the
private property. The bill requires the county or municipality to ensure that the property is
restored to at least its pre-work conditions after the repair is complete if it is necessary to
disrupt the property to access the sanitary sewer lateral.
Requires that the repair work done to a sanitary sewer lateral by a county or municipality
meets the following requirements:
o Provide one continuous monolithic pipe system with connections for the structure,
mainline, and cleanout installed and integrated into the continuous monolithic pipe
system by a Florida licensed plumber; and
o Be inspected using a lateral launch or similar CCTV camera system conducted by a
Pipeline Assessment Certification Program (PACP) and Lateral Assessment and
Certification Program (LACP)-certified camera operator. The contractor must produce
and provide the county or municipality with a PACP- and LACP-certified report
describing the conditions of the continuous monolithic pipe system and the connections
to the main sewer pipe and structure.
Authorizes the county or municipality to consider economical methods for the county or
municipality, rather than the homeowner, to repair or replace a defective, damaged, or
deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral.
The bill authorizes the county or municipality to use state or local funds allocated for the purpose
of environmental preservation or the protection of water quality for a sanitary sewer lateral
program.
The bill takes effect on July 1, 2021.
BILL: CS/SB 1058 Page 5
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
The bill adds discretionary requirements to the evaluation and rehabilitation program that
counties and municipalities may establish for sanitary sewer laterals. The bill is not a
mandate because it does not require the expenditure of funds for the program.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
None.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
None.
C. Government Sector Impact:
None.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VII. Related Issues:
None.
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill substantially amends the following sections of the Florida Statutes: 125.569 and
166.0481.
BILL: CS/SB 1058 Page 6
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Substantial Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
CS by Environment and Natural Resources on March 15, 2021:
Revises the notice requirement to require notice by certified mail, return receipt
requested.
Clarifies that state or local funds can be used for the protection of water quality.
Deletes the deadline by which counties are encouraged to establish a sanitary sewer
lateral evaluation and rehabilitation program.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.
Statutes affected: S 1058 Filed: 125.569, 166.0481
S 1058 c1: 125.569, 166.0481