HB 1347 -- On-Site Sewage Treatment

Co-Sponsors:  Naeger, Nordwald

This bill makes numerous changes in laws regulating on-site
sewage treatment systems.

The Department of Health will develop a mandatory registration
program for on-site sewage treatment system installers,
designers, soil scientists, service maintenance contractors, loan
evaluators, administrative authorities, and other licensed
professionals.  The program will include continuing education
requirements and training developed in conjunction with an
advisory professional and accreditation standards committee of at
least 14 members.  The committee will include at least two
members from each licensed profession and representatives from
the departments of Health and Natural Resources.

The Department of Health is required to promulgate one set of
rules on the state standards for on-site sewage treatment
systems.  Local ordinances may differ from state standards if the
local ordinances demonstrate accepted public health principles.
The department may review local ordinances no more frequently
than annually; aggrieved local authorities may appeal to the
State Board of Health and the Administrative Hearing Commission.
The bill also replaces the soil percolation test option in the
current state standards with a soil morphology test requirement.
If a soil morphology test cannot be reasonably obtained,
percolation tests will be accepted until January 1, 2004.  The
department will certify and define by rule a list of persons
qualified to perform soil morphology tests.

Permits, with fees capped at $175, are required for the
construction or major modification of regulated on-site systems.
To provide opportunities for inspection, the appropriate
administrative authority must be notified before 9:00 a.m. on the
day prior to work commencement, and again before 9:00 a.m. on the
second day prior to work completion.  Penalties for improper
operation, construction, or major modification of regulated
systems are increased from infractions to class C misdemeanors;
the penalty for not providing proper notice is reduced from a
class C misdemeanor to an infraction.  The bill also repeals the
authority of the Department of Health to charge a fee up to $50
for an inspection requested in conjunction with a real estate
transaction and authorizes the department to allow private
licensed contractors to perform these inspections.

Further, the bill replaces the requirement that repairs to
malfunctioning systems or nuisance abatements must be made within
60 days with a requirement that repairs be made by a time
established by the department.  The department may investigate
nuisance complaints received from anyone, not just aggrieved
parties or adjacent landowners, and, after receiving a complaint,
may enter premises to determine if there is probable cause that a
violation exists.  The Attorney General, as well as the local
prosecuting attorney, may institute proceedings in noncompliance
cases and seek temporary restraining orders in health
emergencies.

Finally, the bill clarifies which types of sewage treatment
systems are regulated by the state standards for on-site systems
and which are regulated by clean water law.

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated October 11, 2002 at 9:01 am