The
Amended septic tank inspection bill passes Senate committee
By Bruce Ritchie
http://www.thefloridacurrent.com/article.cfm?id=26080781
A Senate compromise bill that would repeal a
statewide septic tank inspection requirement passed its first committee stop
Monday despite concerns among environmentalists.
The septic tank requirement adopted by the
Legislature in 2010 prompted an outcry from rural residents and tea party
activists.
The requirement was passed as part of SB
550, a springs protection bill that received support from
homebuilders and environmentalists.
Last year, the House passed a bill that would
repeal the septic tank requirement. But Sen. Charlie Dean, R-Inverness and
chairman of the Senate Committee on Environmental Preservation and
Conservation, said he didn't want a repeal
without a requirement for inspections in counties with larger first-magnitude
springs.
This year, SB 820 by Dean had required the 19 counties
with those first-magnitude springs to have an inspection program. The bill also
required a 24-inch separation between groundwater and septic tank drain fields
that were installed or repaired after 1983.
On Monday, Dean offered a strike-all
amendment to his SB 820 that closely aligned his bill with a House bill that
would repeal the requirement. HB 999 allows counties to adopt inspection
requirements with restrictions established by the state.
"This is a more comprehensive
review," Dean said, "to get everybody on the same page and the same
playing field."
The bill has support from groups including the Florida
Home Builders Association, Florida Realtors, the Florida
Onsite Wastewater Association and
the Coalition for Property Rights.
The amended bill passed the Dean's committee
by a 7-0 vote and has two more committee stops before it reaches the Senate
floor.
Representatives of Sierra
Club Florida and Audubon
of Florida raised
concerns about the SB 820 changes during the committee meeting.
The bill, as amended Monday, doesn't include
the language about the distance between drain fields and groundwater that is
needed for proper treatment of sewage, said David Cullen, representing Sierra Club Florida. And he said it
doesn't include a provision that prevented counties from excluding areas from
inspections only if doing so will not threaten those first-magnitude springs.
"We very much appreciate the springs
[protection] intent of the bill," Cullen said. "However, the
nexus between the [septic] systems that are inspected and the springs is
removed."
Sharon Witt Glass, a state Tea
Party Network representative,
waived the opportunity to speak because she said the tea party groups haven't
taken a position on the bill and there are more stops ahead for it.
Richard Harrison of Marianna said at the meeting he prefers that the Senate
pass SB 114 to eliminate the inspection
requirement.
If Dean's bill doesn't pass, the inspection requirement from 2010 would remain
in place,
"I believe the Senate should consider
repealing it this year and getting the [inspection requirement] off the
people's backs,"
The Florida League of Cities raised concerns that the bill
prohibits local governments from requiring inspections when homes are sold. The
League also is concerned about super-majority vote required for counties with
first magnitude springs to opt-out of inspections, said Ryan
Matthews, a lobbyist for the League of Cities.
Reporter Bruce Ritchie can be reached
at britchie@thefloridacurrent.com.