Senate Bill 2275

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) Nothing in this chapter shall preclude a certified professional evaluator or licensed professional engineer from providing services relating to the design of an individual on-site wastewater disposal system to comply with this chapter, except for performance-based systems as specified in Section 41-67-3(3). A certified professional evaluator or licensed professional engineer shall notify the department in writing of those services being provided, including the type of treatment, the type of disposal, and the property address for the treatment and disposal system. Construction or installation shall not begin before authorization by the department. The department shall respond within ten (10) business days with authorization that the certified professional evaluator or licensed professional engineer fulfills the requirements of the law.

(2) 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 licensed professional engineer provides services relating to the design, construction or installation of an individual on-site wastewater disposal system to comply with this chapter. All regulations shall be applied uniformly in all areas of the state and shall take into consideration and make provision for different types of soil in the state when performing soil and site evaluations. 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 all 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, a licensed professional engineer 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 permit/recommendation that specifies all types of individual on-site wastewater disposal systems that are suitable for installation on the lot or tract.

(3) 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.

(4) 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 thirty (30) 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.

(5) (a) The certified installer shall notify the department at least twenty-four (24) hours before beginning installation 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) A certified installer, or designated agent thereof, 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 department environmentalist, or unless a department environmentalist does not arrive for inspection within thirty (30) minutes of the designated and agreed upon time, in which case a certified installer, or designated agent thereof, may submit an affidavit of proper installation to the department for final approval.

(6) 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.

(7) 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, and shall be exempt from the provisions of Section 41-67-5(2), provided that:

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

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

(c) The person who installed the individual on-site wastewater disposal system provides the department with a signed affidavit attesting that the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b) are met.

(8) 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, 2014.