Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 62-6.012 - Standards for the Construction, Operation, and Maintenance of Aerobic Treatment Units

When aerobic treatment units are used for treating domestic and commercial sewage waste, each unit must be installed, operated and maintained in conformance with the following provisions:

(1) Aerobic treatment units designed to treat up to 1, 500 gallons of sewage waste per day must be listed by a third party certifying program approved by the Department. Aerobic treatment units must be in compliance with at least one of the following standards: Class I systems as defined by NSF International Standard/American National Standard (NSF/ANSI) 40-2020, "Residential Wastewater Treatment Systems" (November 2020); nitrogen reduction as defined by NSF/ANSI 245-2020, "Wastewater Treatment Systems - Nitrogen Reduction" (November 2020); or onsite residential and commercial water reuse treatment systems as defined by NSF/ANSI 350-2020, "Onsite Residential and Commercial Water Reuse Treatment Systems" (April 2020). These NSF/ANSI standards are hereby adopted and incorporated by reference, have been deemed copyright protected, and are available for inspection as provided in subsection (6) below. An approved third party certifying program must comply with the following provisions in order for units which it has certified to be approved for use in Florida:

(a) Be accredited by the American National Standards Institute.

(b) Have established procedures which send representatives to distributors in Florida on a recurring basis to conduct evaluations to assure that distributors of certified aerobic units are providing proper maintenance, have sufficient replacement parts available, and are maintaining service records.

(c) Notify the Department of the results of monitoring visits to manufacturers and distributors annually, within 60 days of the conclusion of the calendar year. Approved distributors must be reported by the manufacturer to the certifying agency.

(d) Submit completion reports on testing for review by the Department.

(e) Provide a registered certification mark or seal which must be affixed in a conspicuous location on the units it has certified. This mark or seal will alert persons evaluating or maintaining the unit that the unit is in compliance with the NSF/ANSI standard appropriate for the application.

(2) The following additional requirements must also apply to the construction, design, and operation of aerobic treatment units treating up to 1, 500 gallons per day:

(a) An appropriate mechanism must be provided to make access ports vandal, tamper, and child resistant as specified by the manufacturer and accepted by the certifying program.

(b) A minimum of a 4-inch diameter sampling access port located between the treatment unit outlet and the drainfield.

(c) A visual and audio warning device must be installed in a conspicuous location so that activation of such warning device will alert property occupants of aerobic unit malfunction or failure. The visual and auditory signals must continue to be functional in the event of an electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic malfunction of the system provided power is available to the system and must resume once power is restarted following the power outage. This does not mandate a battery back-up for the alarm system. If installed outside, the alarm must be waterproof.

(d) Each unit must be designed or equipped so that regardless of unusual patterns or frequencies of sewage flow into the system effluent discharged to the drainfield will be in compliance with the applicable standards of subsection (1), above.

(e) Minimum required treatment capacities for systems serving any structure, building or group of buildings must be based on estimated daily sewage flows as determined from Table IV.

TABLE IV AEROBIC SYSTEMS PLANT SIZING
RESIDENTIAL:
Number of Bedrooms	Building Area in square feet	Minimum Required Treatment Capacity Gallons Per Day
1 or 2	Up to 1200	400
3	1201-2250	400
4	2251-3300	500

NON-RESIDENTIAL:
Estimated Sewage Flow in Gallons Per Day	Minimum Required Treatment Capacity in Gallons Per Day
0-400	400
401-500	500
501-600	600
601-700	700
701-750	750
751-800	800
801-1,000	1,000
1,001-1,200	1,200
1,201-1,500	1,500

Footnotes to Table IV

1. Where the number of bedrooms and the corresponding building area in Table IV do not coincide, the criteria which results in the greatest required treatment capacity must apply. For each additional bedroom or each additional 750' square feet of building area, or fraction thereof in a dwelling unit, treatment capacity must be increased by 60 gallons. For aerobic treatment units treating sewage from more than one dwelling unit or from residential establishments sized as other per occupant or those exceeding 2 occupants per bedroom, the minimum required treatment capacity must be 100 gallons greater than the combined estimated sewage flow from Table I.

2. These figures assume that the aerobic system will be treating domestic strength sewage with CBOD₅ and suspended solids values typically not exceeding 300 and 200 milligrams per liter, respectively. For wastewaters with higher CBOD₅, higher suspended solids values, or for facilities that exhibit short-term hydraulic surge conditions, additional treatment or pre-treatment facilities are required when specified by design engineers, plant manufacturers, or by the Department.

(f) There must be no bypass capability designed into the system which will allow waste to be discharged to the drainfield without undergoing all the treatment processes necessary to achieve the desired effluent quality. Bypassing, removing, or excluding any component or components of a system after the system has received final installation approval is prohibited.

(g) Effluent from an aerobic treatment unit must be disposed of on the owner's property in conformance with other requirements of this chapter.

(h) Where slightly limited soil textures exist on a site, the required drainfield size may be reduced by 25 percent from the requirements in subsection 62-6.008(5), or paragraph 62-6.009(3)(d), F.A.C. This must apply to all aerobic treatment units permitted under Rule 62-6.012, F.A.C.

(i) To apply for approval of aerobic treatment unit models, a manufacturer, distributor or seller of aerobic treatment units must furnish, to the Department a written request for approval, a copy of the completion reports, owner manual, part list, and engineering drawings showing the design and construction details of all models of approved aerobic treatment units to be constructed or installed under the provisions of this rule in Portable Document Format (PDF) or other electronic format accepted by the Department. The documentation submitted must demonstrate for each unit model, the treatment unit tank in which it will be installed, and its installation and operation, complies with all provisions of this chapter. The applicant must respond to requests for additional information about their application for aerobic treatment unit approval from the Onsite Sewage Program within 60 calendar days after receipt of a request for additional information. The Department will forward these reports and drawings to Division and District offices. No aerobic unit will receive final installation approval until the unit is found to be in compliance with all provisions of this rule, including compliance with design and construction details shown on the engineering plans filed with the Department.

(j) Manufacturers must provide to the Onsite Sewage Program a listing of approved maintenance entities they have authorized to provide service in the state and must demonstrate that the entire state is covered by at least one maintenance entity. A system using a manufacturer's unit must not be approved in the state if the manufacturer cannot demonstrate that there are maintenance entities to service it.

(k) A manufacturer of a specific brand or model of an approved aerobic treatment unit must provide to the Department written assurance that spare mechanical and structural parts, as well as the mechanisms used to make the access ports vandal, tamper, and child resistant, are available, upon request, for purchase, to all approved maintenance entities.

(l) Where an aerobic treatment unit is used, a current, unexpired aerobic treatment unit maintenance contract between the property owner or lessee and an approved maintenance entity must be one of the required conditions of system approval.

(m) A copy of the signed maintenance agreement between the property owner or property lessee and an approved maintenance entity must be provided to the Department by the maintenance entity. The maintenance agreement must:

1. Initially be for a period of at least 2 years and subsequent maintenance agreement renewals must be for at least 1 year periods for the life of the system.

2. Provide that a maintenance entity which desires to discontinue the provision of maintenance services, notify in writing, the property owners and lessees and the Department at least 30 days prior to discontinuance of service.

3. Provide that, if a private maintenance entity discontinues business, property owners who have previously contracted with the discontinued maintenance service must, within 30 days of the service termination date, contract with an approved maintenance service and provide the Department a copy of the newly signed maintenance agreement.

4. Provide that each aerobic unit is inspected by an approved maintenance entity at least two times each year. Aerobic treatment units serving commercial establishments must be inspected four times per year. The maintenance entity must furnish to the Department a listing of all aerobic units inspected or serviced during the respective reporting period. As a minimum, reports must indicate the system owner or building lessee, the street address of the system, the date of system inspection or service and a statement as to the maintenance or service performed. The maintenance entity must also include a list of the owners who have refused to renew their maintenance agreement.

(n) The maintenance entity must furnish to the Department of Health, county health department a report of all aerobic treatment units inspected or serviced during the respective reporting period. As a minimum, reports must indicate the operating permit, system owner or building lessee, the street address of the system, the date of system inspection or service and a statement as to the maintenance or service performed. The maintenance entity must also include a list of the owners who have refused to renew their maintenance agreement.

(o) The Department must, at least annually, inspect the maintenance and performance of aerobic treatment units. The Department must also inspect each authorized maintenance entity, including review of their service records and maintenance agreements.

(3) An aerobic treatment unit used for treating domestic or commercial sewage flows in excess of 1, 500 gallons per day, or a combination of aerobic treatment units treating flows according to paragraph 62-6.004(4)(a) or (b), F.A.C., must be designed and certified by an engineer licensed in the State of Florida. The design must include an assessment of wastewater strength. The certification must state that the unit is capable of consistently meeting, at minimum, secondary treatment standards for CBOD₅ and TSS established in paragraph 62-6.025(11)(d), F.A.C., Table IXb. In addition, the following requirements must also be met:

(a) The owner or lessee of a system must comply with the applicable safety, maintenance and operational requirements of subsection (2), above. Unless the system owner or lessee is a state licensed wastewater treatment plant operator, the owner or lessee is required to have a system maintenance agreement with a permitted aerobic unit maintenance entity which has at least a Class D state certified operator who has been certified under the provisions of Chapter 62-602, F.A.C.

(b) A permitted aerobic unit maintenance entity must collect effluent quality samples and submit the sample analysis reports to the Department. Effluent quality samples for CBOD₅ and suspended solids must be collected at least semi-annually and such samples must be analyzed by a Department-approved laboratory.

(c) Written sample analysis reports must be submitted to the Department by no later than the 15th of the next month following the semi-annual sampling period. However, if the sample analysis for CBOD₅ or suspended solids exceeds secondary treatment standards by more than 100 percent, the maintenance entity or certified operator must notify the Department by telephone or in person within 24 hours after receipt of sample analysis results.

(d) The Department must monitor the maintenance and performance of aerobic treatments units as required by paragraph (m), above.

(4) No aerobic treatment unit must be serviced or repaired by a person or entity engaged in an aerobic treatment unit maintenance service until the service entity has obtained an annual written permit issued on Form DEP 4013 effective 06-21-2022, Operating Permit, adopted and incorporated by reference at https://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-14365, from the Department in the county where the service company is located. Each service entity must employ at least one plumbing contractor licensed under Section 489.105(3)(m), F.S., septic tank contractor registered under Part III of Chapter 489, F.S., or a state-licensed wastewater treatment plant operator, who is responsible for maintenance and repair of all systems under contract. Application for a Maintenance Service Permit, Form DEP 4066, effective 06-21-2022, herein adopted and incorporated by reference at https://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-14366, must be made to the Department. Copies of these documents are available as provided in subsection (6), below. The application must contain the following information:

(a) Evidence that the maintenance entity possesses a manufacturer's maintenance and operations manual and has received training from the manufacturer in proper installation and service of the unit and has received written approval from the manufacturer to perform service on their units. The manual must contain detailed instructions on proper operation and maintenance procedures, a replacement parts list for all models being installed and maintained, a statement giving the capabilities of each unit, instructions on how to detect a malfunctioning unit and what to expect from a properly functioning unit.

(b) A signed statement from the applicant attesting that the applicant has adequate staff, possesses proper equipment and has sufficient spare structural and mechanical parts and components to perform routine system monitoring and servicing and is able to make a service response within 36 hours after notification of the need for emergency repairs.

(c) Payment of $25.00 to the Department per annum for the aerobic treatment unit maintenance service permit.

(5) Emergency service necessary to prevent or eliminate an imminent sanitary nuisance condition caused by failure of a mechanical component of any aerobic treatment unit must be reported by the approved aerobic unit maintenance entity, in writing, to the Department no later than 5 working days after the date of the emergency service.

(6) All materials incorporated herein may be obtained from the Department of Environmental Protection, Onsite Sewage Program at www.floridadep.gov or 2600 Blair Stone Road, MS #3596, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400 or Florida Department of State, Florida Administrative Code and Register, R.A. Gray Building, 500 South Bronough Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250. Reference materials deemed copyright protected are available for inspection at the same address.

Notes

Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 62-6.012

Rulemaking Authority 381.0065(3)(a), 381.0065(4)(e), 489.553(3) FS. Law Implemented 381.0065, Part I 386 FS.

New 3-17-92, Amended 1-3-95, Formerly 10D-6.0541, Amended 11-19-97, 4-21-02, 6-18-03, 5-24-04, 11-26-06, 6-25-09, 4-28-10, 7-31-18, Formerly 64E-6.012, Amended by Florida Register Volume 48, Number 110, June 7, 2022 effective 6/21/2022.

New 3-17-92, Amended 1-3-95, Formerly 10D-6.0541, Amended 11-19-97, 4-21-02, 6-18-03, 5-24-04, 11-26-06, 6-25-09, 4-28-10, 7-31-18, Formerly 64E-6.012, Amended 6-21-22.