Senate Bill 2690

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 41-67-6, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO REIMBURSE LANDOWNER FOR DIMINISHED VALUE OF LAND ADJACENT TO A LAKE IF THE DEPARTMENT FAILS TO APPROVE AN INDIVIDUAL ON-SITE WASTEWATER DISPOSAL SYSTEM FOR PROPERTY PURCHASED PRIOR TO JULY 1, 2008; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 41-67-6, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

41-67-6. (1) Within five (5) working days following receipt of the notice of intent and plot plan by an owner, lessee or developer of any lot or tract of land, the department shall conduct a soil and site evaluation, except in cases where a certified professional evaluator or registered professional engineer provides services relating to the design, construction or installation of an individual on-site wastewater disposal system to comply with this chapter. Within ten (10) additional working days, the department shall make recommendations to the owner, lessee or developer of the type or types of individual on-site wastewater disposal systems suitable for installation on the lot or tract, unless there are conditions requiring further investigation that are revealed in the initial evaluation. In making recommendations on the type or types of individual on-site wastewater disposal systems suitable for installation on a lot or tract, personnel of the department shall use best professional judgment based on rules and regulations adopted by the board, considering the type or types of systems which are installed and functioning on lots or tracts near the subject lot or tract. To the extent practicable, the recommendations shall give the owner, lessee or developer maximum flexibility and a maximum number of options consistent with the federal Clean Water Act, consistent with maintaining the wastes on the property of the generator and consistent with protection of the public health. The system or systems recommended shall be environmentally sound and cost-effective. The department or a certified professional evaluator shall provide complete information, including all applicable requirements and regulations on all systems recommended. The owner, lessee or developer shall have the right to choose among systems. The department shall provide the owner, lessee or developer with a form that specifies all types of individual on-site wastewater disposal systems that are suitable for installation on the lot or tract and lists all installers of those systems that are certified by the department. Approval of the design, construction or installation of an individual on-site wastewater disposal system by the department is required, except as otherwise provided in subsection (9) of this section. Upon completion of installation of the system, the department shall approve the design, construction or installation of that system, as requested, if the system is designed, constructed and installed, as the case may be, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the board. Whenever a person requests approval of an individual on-site wastewater disposal system and has met the requirements in subsection (7), the department must approve or disapprove the request within five (5) working days. If the department disapproves the request, the department shall state in writing the reasons for the disapproval. Homeowners may apply for a variance from the department by submitting a report for a proposed system to the department from a certified professional evaluator or registered professional engineer that the proposed wastewater treatment system will properly treat and maintain wastewater on the property and proof of errors and omissions insurance. The department shall grant the variance but still have authority for final approval to inspect that the system is installed as designed. All forms from the department relating to allowed wastewater systems shall include the variance option as an alternative. If the department does not respond to the request within ten (10) calendar days, the request for approval of the individual on-site wastewater disposal system shall be deemed approved.

(2) Within thirty (30) days of receipt of a request for determination of suitability of individual on-site wastewater disposal systems in a subdivision, the department shall advise the developer in writing either that all necessary information needed for determination of suitability has been received or state the additional information needed by the department for determination of suitability.

(3) Whenever a developer requests a determination of suitability of individual on-site wastewater disposal systems in a subdivision, the department must make the determination within forty-five (45) days after receipt of all necessary information needed for the determination of suitability from the developer. The department shall state in writing the reasons for its determination.

(4) (a) The installer or certified professional evaluator shall notify the department at least twenty-four (24) hours before beginning construction of an individual on-site wastewater disposal system and, at that time, schedule a time for inspection of the system with the appropriate county department of health.

(b) An installer shall not cover his work with soil or other surface material unless the installer has received authorization to cover the system after an inspection by a county department of health inspector, or unless a health inspector does not arrive for inspection after twenty-four (24) hours from the notification to the department beginning construction, in which case, an installer may submit an affidavit of proper installation to the department for final approval.

(5) A person may not design, construct or install, or cause to be designed, constructed or installed an individual on-site wastewater disposal system that does not comply with this chapter and rules and regulations of the board.

(6) If any person or contractor fails to obtain final approval or submit an affidavit of proper installation to the department in the installation of the system, the board, after due notice and hearing, may levy an administrative fine not to exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00). Each wastewater system installed not in compliance with this chapter or applicable rules and regulations of the board may be considered a separate offense.

(7) After construction or installation of the individual on-site wastewater disposal system, the property owner or his agent shall provide a final approval request containing the following to the department:

(a) A signed affidavit from the installer or certified professional evaluator and any additional required documentation that the system was installed in compliance with all requirements, regulations and permit conditions applicable to the system installed; and

(b) For any advanced treatment system, an affidavit from the property owner agreeing to a continuing maintenance agreement on the installed system at the end of the required manufacturer's maintenance agreement.

(8) The property owner shall keep a continuing maintenance agreement with a certified installer or qualified homeowner on all advanced treatment systems in perpetuity.

(a) All systems existing on July 1, 2008, shall be grandfathered in until the system is reapproved or the system is replaced.

(b) Any person violating this subsection shall be subject to the penalties and damages as provided in Section 41-67-28(5).

(9) Any lot or tract that is two (2) acres or larger shall be exempt from the requirements of this chapter and regulations of the department relating to approval of individual on-site wastewater disposal systems by the department, provided that:

(a) All wastewater is contained on the lot or tract;

(b) No water course, as defined in Section 51-3-3(h), of Mississippi or the United States is impacted; and

(c) A certified installer provides the department with a signed affidavit attesting that the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b) are met.

(10) If the department fails to approve an individual on-site wastewater disposal system for a tract of land adjacent to a lake and the person is prohibited from building on the tract, the department shall reimburse the person for the diminished value of his property. This subsection shall apply only to property purchased prior to July 1, 2008.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2012.