Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 62-6.002 - [Effective 7/9/2025] Definitions

For the purposes of this chapter, words and phrases have the following meanings:

(1) Absorption surface - the total surface area of soil at the bottom of the drainfield.

(2) Accelerated certification training - a training program established by the Department regarding general onsite sewage treatment and disposal system regulations, including permitting, and inspection topics such as site evaluation, system design, system material and construction standards, regulatory requirements, and soil morphology. The training program requires a minimum of 24 hours of pre-certification coursework which is presented in several parts. Satisfactory completion of the accelerated certification training requires an individual examination and a passing score for each part of the training program.

(3) Aerobic treatment unit - a sewage treatment unit which introduces air into sewage to provide aerobic biochemical stabilization within a treatment receptacle.

(4) Alternative system - any approved onsite sewage treatment and disposal system used in lieu of, including modifications to, a standard subsurface system.

(5) American National Standards Institute, hereafter referred to as ANSI - an organization comprised of trade associations, technical societies, professional groups, consumer organizations, and individual companies with headquarters located at 1430 Broadway, New York, New York 10018. This organization acts as a clearinghouse and coordinating body for voluntary standards activities in the United States, and approves as American National Standards those standards that have been developed according to its principles of openness, due process and consensus. Among its activities is accreditation of third-party certification programs.

(6) American Society for Testing Materials hereafter referred to as ASTM - a technical society with headquarters located at 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, which develops and publishes national standards for the testing and quality assurance of construction materials.

(7) Approved or approval - where a permitted onsite sewage treatment and disposal system is constructed and installed subject to the standards and requirements of this chapter, and the following types of approval:

(a) Construction approval - the Department or a private provider inspector will grant construction approval following a satisfactory construction inspection of the construction and installation of the system. The Department or a private provider inspector, or authorized representative of the private provider inspector, must conduct the construction inspection. The construction approval of the system or a component of the system is only a partial or preliminary approval based on the compliant status of the system at the time of inspection.

(b) Final installation approval - the Department will grant final installation approval after the complete construction and installation of the system and after confirmation that the system complies with the statutory requirements and this chapter's applicable rules, standards, and requirements. "Approved" or "approval" of a final installation does not imply that a system will perform satisfactorily for a specific period of time.

(8) Approved maintenance entity - any person or business entity which has been issued a written permit by the Department to provide maintenance services associated with approved onsite aerobic treatment units or performance-based treatment systems.

(9) Aquifer - a geological formation, group of formations, or part of a formation that is capable of yielding potentially usable quantities of potable water from wells or springs.

(10) Available publicly owned or investor-owned sewerage system - as defined by Section 381.0065(2), F.S.

(11) Base flood - the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

(12) Bedroom - as defined by Section 381.0065(2), F.S.

(13) Building Area - that enclosed habitable area of a dwelling unit, excluding the garage, carport, exterior storage shed, or open or screened patios or decks. Calculations of building area shall be made by measurements of the outside building dimensions. Building area of each additional story of the structure shall be added to determine the total building area.

(14) Commercial Sewage Waste - Non-toxic, non-hazardous wastewater from commercial facilities. Examples of establishments included in this definition are commercial and institutional food operations, commercial laundry facilities with no more than 4 machines, and animal holding facilities.

(15) Construction inspection - critical assessment and evaluation of the construction, installation, modification, abandonment, or repair of an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system performed by an individual qualified under Florida statute or rule to perform the inspection. Each construction inspection does not extend beyond one calendar day.

(16) Department - the Department of Environmental Protection including authorized agents of the individual district offices.

(17) Domestic sewage waste - as defined by Section 381.0065(2), F.S. Domestic sewage is further categorized as:

(a) Blackwater - as defined by Section 381.0065(2), F.S.

(b) Graywater - as defined by Section 381.0065(2), F.S.

(c) Domestic sewage waste ranges:

1. Carbonaceous Biochemical Oxygen Demand (CBOD5), maximum 300 mg/l,

2. Total Suspended Solids (TSS), maximum 200 mg/l,

3. pH, 6 - 8; or within 1 pH unit of the water supply pH; and,

4. Nitrogen (Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen, TKN) maximum 100 mg/l.

(18) Dosing Tank - See Pump Tank.

(19) Drainage Ditch - a trench dug for the purpose of draining water from the land or for transporting water for use on the land. Swales are excluded from this definition.

(20) Drainfield - a system of open-jointed or perforated piping, approved alternative distribution units, or other treatment facilities designed to distribute effluent for filtration, oxidation and absorption by the soil within the zone of aeration.

(21) Dwelling unit - a residence for the housing of a single family whether such residence is a detached structure or a unit of a multiple family building.

(22) Effective capacity - the liquid volume of a tank contained below the liquid level line.

(23) Effective soil depth - the depth of slightly or moderately limited soil material at an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system drainfield site.

(24) Establishment - a multi-family housing, apartment, condominium or townhouse complex, a mobile home park or recreational vehicle park, a non-residential commercial or institutional development or places of business or assembly. An establishment includes all buildings or structures, and the land appertaining thereto and shall have an owners association or other legal entity which is responsible for maintenance and operation of the development's sewage treatment and disposal facilities.

(25) Failure - a condition existing within an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system which prohibits the system from functioning in a sanitary manner and which results in the discharge of untreated or partially treated wastewater onto ground surface, into surface water, into ground water, or which results in the failure of building plumbing to discharge properly.

(26) Filled System - a drainfield system where a portion, but not all, of the drainfield sidewalls are located at an elevation above the elevations of undisturbed native soil on the site.

(27) Flooding - a covering of soil surface by water from any source, such as streams overflowing their banks, runoff from adjacent or surrounding slopes, elevation of the ground water table exceeding that of the soil surface, or combinations of these. Terms also associated with flooding and used elsewhere in this chapter are:

(a) Frequent - flooding which occurs more than once every two years on the average;

(b) Ten year flood elevation - that flood elevation which has a 10 in 100 probability of being equaled or exceeded in any calendar year.

(28) Florida Keys - as defined by Section 381.0065(2), F.S.

(29) Food Establishment Sludge - oils, fats, greases, food scraps and other grease interceptor contents generated by a food operation or institutional food preparation facility using an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system.

(30) Impermeable - when used in reference to Section 381.0065(2), F.S., shall mean a condition where the maximum hydraulic conductivity is less than or equal to 1 x 10^-7 centimeters per second.

(31) Industrial, hazardous or toxic sewage waste - wastewater not otherwise defined as domestic sewage waste or commercial sewage waste. Wastewater carried off by floor drains, utility sinks and equipment drains located in buildings in industrial or manufacturing areas, estimated volumes of commercial sewage wastes exceeding 5,000 gallons per day, wastewater from commercial laundry facilities with more than 4 self-service machines, and wastewater from car and truck washes are included in this definition.

(32) Innovative system - as defined by Section 381.0065(2), F.S.

(33) Installer - a registered septic tank contractor, master septic tank contractor, contractor as defined by paragraph 489.105(3)(m), F.S., or a person who is under the supervision and control of such contractors during the construction, installation, repair, modification, or abandonment of an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system.

(34) Limitation ratings - Soil classification ratings which describe the relative suitability of soils to properly assimilate sewage effluent. The three rating categories for the purpose of this rule are:

(a) Slightly limited - soil materials with favorable properties for the use of a drainfield.

(b) Moderately limited - soil materials that have properties moderately favorable for the use of a drainfield.

(c) Severely limited - soil materials which have one or more properties unsuitable for the use of a drainfield.

(35) Lot - as defined by Section 381.0065(2), F.S.

(36) Mean annual flood line - as defined by Section 381.0065(2), F.S.

(37) Mean annual flood line indicators- as used in Section 381.0065(2), F.S. means:

(a) Water stains - shall mean the same as the hydrologic indicator used in the Florida Wetlands Delineation Manual, under the definition of "Water marks";

(b) Hydric adventitious roots - shall mean the same as the hydrologic indicator used in the Florida Wetlands Delineation Manual, under the definition of "Morphological plant adaptations";

(c) Drift lines - shall mean the same as the hydrologic indicator used in the Florida Wetlands Delineation Manual, under the definition of "Drift lines and rafted debris";

(d) Rafted debris - shall mean the same as the hydrologic indicator used in the Florida Wetlands Delineation Manual, under the definition of "Drift lines and rafted debris";

(e) Aquatic mosses and liverworts - shall mean the same as the hydrologic indicator used in the Florida Wetlands Delineation Manual, under the definition of "Aquatic mosses and liverworts";

(f) Moss collars - a proliferation of terrestrial mosses and liverworts that mark the upper limits of the mean annual flood line;

(g) Lichen lines - shall mean the same as the hydrologic indicator used in the Florida Wetlands Delineation Manual, under the definition of "Elevated lichen lines."

(38) Mean high water - the average height of tidal high waters over a 19-year period.

(39) Mean high water line - the intersection of the tidal plane of mean high water with the shore.

(40) Mound system - a drainfield constructed at a prescribed elevation in a prepared area of fill material. All drainfields where any part of the bottom surface of the drainfield is located at or above the elevation of undisturbed native soil in the drainfield area is a mound system.

(41) National Sanitation Foundation International, hereafter referred to as NSF - a not for profit research, education and service organization located at 3475 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106, that develops standards and criteria for equipment, products and services that bear upon health.

(42) Non-potable water well - a well intended exclusively for irrigation purposes, or for supplying water to a heat pump system or a well for receiving discharge water from a heat pump system.

(43) "O" Horizon - the layer of organic matter on the surface of a mineral soil. This soil layer consists of decaying plant residues.

(44) Obstructed land - those areas on a lot or property used for such purposes as pools, concrete slabs, buildings, driveways, parking and similar areas which prohibit, hinder, or affect the installation, operation or maintenance of an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system.

(45) Onsite sewage treatment and disposal system, also referred to as system - as defined by Section 381.0065(2), F.S. Appurtenances installed within the building sewer prior to a treatment receptacle shall not be included in this definition. Systems covered by Chapter 403, F.S., are not included in this definition.

(46) Potable water line - as defined by Section 381.0065(2), F.S.

(47) Potable water well - a source of water used for drinking, culinary or domestic purposes. The following classifications of potable wells are used in this chapter.

(a) Private potable well - a well used only by one or two residences, one of which may be a rental residence.

(b) Public drinking water well - a well serving any drinking water system other than a private water system. Public systems are classified in the following manner:

1. Community public water system - as defined in Section 403.852, F.S., such water system serves a year-round residential population of at least 25 people per day or has a minimum of 15 year-round residential service connections.

2. Non-community public water system - as defined in Section 403.852, F.S., such water system serves a transient population of at least 25 people per day at least 60 days per year or has a minimum of 15 non-residential service connections.

3. Non-transient non-community public water system - as defined in Section 403.852, F.S., such water system is not a community water system, but is a system that regularly serves at least 25 of the same people for over 6 months of the year.

4. Limited use public water system - a public water system not regulated by the Florida Safe Drinking Water Act or Chapter 62-550, 62-555, or 62-560 of the F.A.C., and further specified as limited use commercial public water system which provides piped potable water to one or more non-residential establishments and limited use community public water system which provides piped potable water to five or more private residences or two or more rental residences.

(c) Multi-family water well - a well that is used by three or four residences, one of which may be a rental residence.

(48) Private provider inspector - a person who meets the requirements of subsection 381.0065(8), F.S., who is hired by the owner of the system, or by a contractor with the owner's written authorization, to perform construction inspections pursuant to the applicable regulatory requirements for an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system inspection.

(49) Pump tank - a tank, or dedicated section of a multi-compartment tank used to locate a pump that is used to distribute effluent to a drainfield, or other part of an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system.

(50) Regulatory floodway - means the channel of a river or other water course and adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than a designated height.

(51) Repair - replacement of or modifications or additions to a failing system which are necessary to allow the system to function in accordance with its design or must be made to eliminate a public health or pollution hazard. Servicing or replacing with like kind mechanical or electrical parts of an approved onsite sewage treatment and disposal system; or making minor structural corrections to a tank, or distribution box, does not constitute a repair. The use of any treatment method that is intended to improve the functioning of any part of the system, or to prolong or sustain the length of time the system functions, shall be considered a repair. The use of any non-prohibited additive by the system owner, through the building plumbing, shall not be considered a repair. Removal of the contents of any tank or the installation of an approved outlet filter device, where the drainfield is not disturbed, shall not be considered a repair. Replacement of a broken lid to any tank shall not be considered a repair. Splicing a drip emitter line where no emitter is eliminated shall not be considered a repair.

(52) Septage - as defined by Section 381.0065(2), F.S. Excluded from this definition are the contents of portable toilets, holding tanks, and grease interceptors.

(53) Septic tank - a watertight receptacle constructed to promote separation of solid and liquid components of wastewater, to provide limited digestion of organic matter, to store solids, and to allow clarified liquid to discharge for further treatment and disposal into a drainfield.

(54) Spoil material - any part of the existing drainfield, any adjacent soil material within 24 inches vertically and 12 inches horizontally of the drainfield, and any soil that has visible signs of effluent that has been removed as part of a repair, modification or abandonment of an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system.

(55) Standard subsurface drainfield system - an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system drainfield consisting of a distribution box or header pipe and a drain trench or absorption bed with all portions of the drainfield sidewalls installed below the elevation of undisturbed native soil.

(56) Subdivision - as defined by Section 381.0065(2), F.S.

(57) Surface water bodies - are classified as.

(a) Permanent nontidal surface water body - as defined by Section 381.0065(2), F.S.

(b) Tidally influenced surface water body-as defined by Section 381.0065(2), F.S.

(58) Swale - a manmade, vegetatively-stabilized trench which contains contiguous areas of standing or flowing water for less than 72 hours following a rainfall event. A swale has a top width-to-depth ratio of the cross-section equal to or greater than 6:1, or side slopes equal to or greater than 3 feet horizontal to 1 foot vertical.

(59) Temporary - a single period or an accumulation of periods not exceeding 120 total days in any 365-day period.

(60) Toxic or hazardous chemical - as defined by Section 381.0065(2), F.S.

(61) Undisturbed native soil - soil which has been deposited onto a site by the actions of nature and which has not been disturbed or altered by the activities of man.

(62) Water table elevation - the upper surface of the groundwater or that level below which the soil or underlying rock material is wholly saturated with water. Water table elevation is measured from the soil surface downward to the upper level of saturated soil or up to the free water level.

(63) Wettest season - that period of time each year in which the ground water table elevation can normally be expected to be at its highest elevation.

Notes

Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 62-6.002

Rulemaking Authority 381.0064, 381.0065(3)(a), 381.0065(3)(c), 381.0065(8)(h) FS. Law Implemented 381.0064, 381.0065 FS.

New 12-22-82, Amended 2-5-85, Formerly 10D-6.42, Amended 3-17-92, 1-3-95, Formerly 10D-6.042, Amended 11-19-97, 3-22-00, 11-26-06, 7-16-13, Formerly 64E-6.002, Amended by Florida Register Volume 51, Number 122, June 24, 2025 effective 7/9/2025.

New 12-22-82, Amended 2-5-85, Formerly 10D-6.42, Amended 3-17-92, 1-3-95, Formerly 10D-6.042, Amended 11-19-97, 3-22-00, 11-26-06, 7-16-13, Formerly 64E-6.002.