House File 834 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE
BY COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS
(SUCCESSOR TO HF 783)
(SUCCESSOR TO HF 414)
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to persons commercially cleaning toilet units and
2 private sewage disposal facilities by providing regulations,
3 fees, and civil penalties, and making appropriations.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
5 TLSB 1343HZ 81
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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 455B.171, Code 2005, is amended by
1 2 adding the following new subsection:
1 3 NEW SUBSECTION. 32A. "Toilet unit" means a portable or
1 4 fixed tank or vessel holding untreated human waste without
1 5 secondary wastewater treatment that is emptied for disposal.
1 6 "Toilet unit" does not include a portable or fixed tank or
1 7 vessel holding untreated human waste that is part of a
1 8 recreational vehicle or marine vessel.
1 9 Sec. 2. Section 455B.172, subsection 5, unnumbered
1 10 paragraph 2, Code 2005, is amended to read as follows:
1 11 The department shall by rule adopt standards for the
1 12 commercial cleaning of private sewage disposal facilities,
1 13 including but not limited to septic tanks and pits used to
1 14 collect waste in livestock confinement structures, and for the
1 15 disposal of waste from the facilities. The standards shall
1 16 not be in conflict with the state building code adopted
1 17 pursuant to section 103A.7. A person shall not commercially
1 18 clean such facilities or dispose of waste from such facilities
1 19 unless the person has been issued a license by the department.
1 20 The department shall be exclusively responsible for adopting
1 21 the standards and issuing licenses. However, county boards of
1 22 health shall enforce the standards and licensing requirements
1 23 established by the department. The department may contract
1 24 for the delegation of the authority for inspection of land
1 25 application sites, record reviews, and equipment inspections
1 26 to a county board of health. In the event of entering into
1 27 such a contract, the department shall retain concurrent
1 28 authority over such activities. Application for the license
1 29 shall be made in the manner provided by the department.
1 30 Licenses expire one year from the date of issue unless revoked
1 31 and may be renewed in the manner provided by the department.
1 32 The license or license renewal fee is twenty=five dollars. A
1 33 license application shall include registration applications
1 34 for each vehicle used by the applicant for purposes of
1 35 collecting septage from private sewage disposal facilities and
2 1 each vehicle used by the applicant for purposes of applying
2 2 septage to land. Septic disposal management plans shall be
2 3 submitted to the department and approved annually as a
2 4 condition of licensing and shall also be filed annually with
2 5 the county board of health in the county where a proposed
2 6 septage application site is located. The septic disposal
2 7 management plan shall include, but not be limited to, the
2 8 sites of septage application, the anticipated volume of
2 9 septage applied to each site, the area of each septage
2 10 application site, the type of application to be used at each
2 11 site, the volume of septage expected to be collected from
2 12 private sewage disposal facilities, and a list of registered
2 13 vehicles collecting septage from private sewage disposal
2 14 facilities and applying septage to land. The annual license
2 15 or license renewal fee for a person commercially cleaning
2 16 private sewage disposal facilities shall be established by the
2 17 department based on the volume of septage that is applied to
2 18 land. A septic management fund is created in the state
2 19 treasury under the control of the department. Annual license
2 20 and license renewal fees collected pursuant to this section
2 21 shall be deposited in the septic management fund and are
2 22 appropriated to the department for purposes of contracting
2 23 with county boards of health to conduct land application site
2 24 inspections, record reviews, and septic cleaning equipment
2 25 inspections. A person violating this section or the rules
2 26 adopted pursuant to this section as determined by the
2 27 department is subject to a civil penalty of not more than
2 28 twenty=five two hundred fifty dollars. The department shall
2 29 adopt rules related to, but not limited to, recordkeeping
2 30 requirements, application procedures and limitations,
2 31 contamination issues, loss of septage, failure to file a
2 32 septic disposal management plan, application by vehicles that
2 33 are not properly registered, wrongful application, and
2 34 violations of a septic disposal management plan. Each day
2 35 that a violation continues constitutes a separate offense.
3 1 However, the total civil penalty shall not exceed five hundred
3 2 dollars per year. The penalty shall be assessed for a
3 3 violation occurring ten days following written notice of the
3 4 violation delivered to the person by the department or a
3 5 county board of health for the duration of time commencing
3 6 with the time the violation begins and ending the time the
3 7 violation is corrected. The septic disposal management plan
3 8 may be examined to determine the duration of the violation.
3 9 Moneys collected by the department or a county board of health
3 10 from the imposition of civil penalties shall be deposited in
3 11 the general fund of the state. Moneys collected by a county
3 12 board of health from the imposition of civil penalties shall
3 13 be deposited in the general fund of the county.
3 14 Sec. 3. Section 455B.172, Code 2005, is amended by adding
3 15 the following new subsection:
3 16 NEW SUBSECTION. 5A. a. The department shall by rule
3 17 adopt standards for the commercial cleaning of toilet units
3 18 and for the disposal of waste from toilet units. Waste from
3 19 toilet units shall be disposed of at a wastewater treatment
3 20 facility and shall not be applied to land. The department may
3 21 contract for the delegation of the authority for inspection of
3 22 record reviews and equipment inspections for such units to a
3 23 county board of health. In the event of entering into such a
3 24 contract, the department shall retain concurrent authority
3 25 over such activities.
3 26 b. A person shall not commercially clean toilet units or
3 27 dispose of waste from such units unless the person has been
3 28 issued a license by the department. The department shall be
3 29 exclusively responsible for adopting the standards and issuing
3 30 licenses. However, county boards of health shall enforce the
3 31 standards and licensing requirements established by the
3 32 department. Application for the license shall be made in the
3 33 manner provided by the department. Licenses expire one year
3 34 from the date of issue unless revoked and may be renewed in
3 35 the manner provided by the department. A license application
4 1 shall include registration applications for each vehicle used
4 2 by the applicant for purposes of collecting waste from toilet
4 3 units and each vehicle used by the applicant for purposes of
4 4 transporting waste from toilet units to a wastewater treatment
4 5 facility. The annual license or license renewal fee for a
4 6 person commercially cleaning toilet units shall be established
4 7 by the department based on the number of trucks or vehicles
4 8 used by the licensee for purposes of commercial cleaning of
4 9 toilet units and for the disposal of waste from the toilet
4 10 units. For purposes of this subsection, "vehicle" includes a
4 11 trailer.
4 12 c. A toilet unit fund is created in the state treasury
4 13 under the control of the department. Annual license and
4 14 license renewal fees collected pursuant to this subsection
4 15 shall be deposited in the toilet unit fund and are
4 16 appropriated to the department for purposes of contracting
4 17 with county boards of health to conduct record reviews and
4 18 toilet unit cleaning equipment inspections.
4 19 d. A person violating this section or the rules adopted
4 20 pursuant to this section as determined by the department is
4 21 subject to a civil penalty of not more than five hundred
4 22 dollars. Each day that a violation continues constitutes a
4 23 separate offense. The penalty shall be assessed for the
4 24 duration of time commencing with the time the violation begins
4 25 and ending with the time the violation is corrected. Moneys
4 26 collected by the department from the imposition of civil
4 27 penalties shall be deposited in the general fund of the state.
4 28 Moneys collected by a county board of health from the
4 29 imposition of civil penalties shall be deposited in the
4 30 general fund of the county.
4 31 EXPLANATION
4 32 This bill relates to persons commercially cleaning toilet
4 33 units and private sewage disposal facilities and makes
4 34 appropriations.
4 35 The bill allows the department of natural resources to
5 1 contract for the delegation of the authority for the
5 2 inspection of land application sites, record reviews, and
5 3 equipment inspections to county boards of health. In the
5 4 event of entering into such a contract, the department shall
5 5 retain concurrent authority over such activities.
5 6 The bill requires septic disposal management plans to be
5 7 submitted to the department and approved annually as a
5 8 condition of licensing and to be filed annually with the
5 9 county board of health in the county where a proposed septage
5 10 application site is located. The bill requires a license
5 11 application to include registration applications for each
5 12 vehicle used by the applicant for purposes of collecting
5 13 septage from private sewage disposal facilities and each
5 14 vehicle used by the applicant for purposes of applying septage
5 15 to land.
5 16 The bill requires the department to establish an annual
5 17 licensing and renewal fee structure for persons commercially
5 18 cleaning private sewage disposal facilities based on the
5 19 volume of septage that is applied to land. The bill provides
5 20 that such fees shall be deposited in the septic management
5 21 fund created in the bill and are appropriated to the
5 22 department for purposes of contracting with county boards of
5 23 health to conduct land application site inspections, record
5 24 reviews, and septic cleaning equipment inspections.
5 25 The bill increases the civil penalty for violations of the
5 26 regulations relating to commercial cleaning of private sewage
5 27 disposal facilities from $25 to $250. Each day that a
5 28 violation continues constitutes a separate offense. The bill
5 29 eliminates a maximum annual civil penalty amount of $500.
5 30 The bill requires the department to adopt rules related to,
5 31 but not limited to, recordkeeping requirements, application
5 32 procedures and limitations, contamination issues, loss of
5 33 septage, failure to file a septic disposal management plan,
5 34 application by vehicles that are not properly registered,
5 35 wrongful application, and violations of a septic disposal
6 1 management plan.
6 2 The bill provides that a civil penalty shall be assessed
6 3 for the duration of time commencing with the time the
6 4 violation begins and ending the time the violation is
6 5 corrected. The bill provides that the septic disposal
6 6 management plan may be examined to determine the duration of
6 7 the violation. The bill provides that moneys collected by the
6 8 department from the imposition of civil penalties shall be
6 9 deposited in the general fund of the state. The bill provides
6 10 that moneys collected by a county board of health from the
6 11 imposition of civil penalties shall be deposited in the
6 12 general fund of the county.
6 13 The bill requires the department to adopt standards for the
6 14 commercial cleaning of toilet units and for the disposal of
6 15 waste from toilet units. The bill defines a toilet unit to
6 16 mean a portable or fixed tank or vessel holding untreated
6 17 human waste without secondary wastewater treatment that is
6 18 emptied for disposal. The bill requires waste from toilet
6 19 units to be disposed of at a wastewater treatment facility and
6 20 prohibits land application of such waste.
6 21 The bill allows the department to contract for the
6 22 delegation of the authority for inspection of record reviews
6 23 and equipment inspections to a county board of health and
6 24 requires that the department retain concurrent authority over
6 25 such activities.
6 26 The bill prohibits a person from commercially cleaning a
6 27 toilet unit or disposing of waste from a toilet unit unless
6 28 the person has been issued a license by the department. The
6 29 bill provides that a license application shall include
6 30 registration applications for each vehicle used by the
6 31 applicant for purposes of collecting waste from toilet units
6 32 and each vehicle used by the applicant for purposes of
6 33 transporting waste from toilet units to a wastewater treatment
6 34 facility. The bill provides that the annual license or
6 35 license renewal fee shall be established by the department
7 1 based on the number of trucks or vehicles used by the
7 2 licensee.
7 3 The bill creates a toilet unit fund in the state treasury
7 4 under the control of the department. The bill provides that
7 5 annual license and license renewal fees shall be deposited in
7 6 the fund and are appropriated to the department for purposes
7 7 of contracting with county boards of health to conduct record
7 8 reviews and toilet unit cleaning equipment inspections.
7 9 The bill provides that violations of the regulations
7 10 relating to the cleaning of toilet units are subject to a
7 11 civil penalty of not more than $500. The bill provides that
7 12 each day that a violation continues constitutes a separate
7 13 offense. The bill provides that the penalty shall be assessed
7 14 for the duration of time commencing with the time the
7 15 violation begins and ending with the time the violation is
7 16 corrected. The bill provides that moneys collected by the
7 17 department from the imposition of civil penalties shall be
7 18 deposited in the general fund of the state. The bill provides
7 19 that moneys collected by a county board of health from the
7 20 imposition of civil penalties shall be deposited in the
7 21 general fund of the county.
7 22 LSB 1343HZ 81
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