Florida's New Septic Tank Law Explained

As of 1/11/2011, SB 550 will require that all septic tank owners have their tanks pumped and inspected every five years. The inspection requirement will be phased in over the following 5 years. The Florida Department of Health is drafting rules to enforce compliance. This must be done whether the tanks have shown any problems or not. Inspection and pumping will probably cost in the neighborhood of $400 to $500. This rule will cost the state's 2,600,000 septic-using homeowners a grand total of approximately $1.3 billion dollars every 5 years for inspections alone.

If your tank fails the state inspection, it must be repaired or replaced and brought up to the new inspection standards. To completely replace some drain fields, the cost will be in the range of $3,000-9,000 or more, plus the inspection fees. If you fail to have your tank inspected, the fine is $500 per day plus you may also be charged with a misdemeanor. If your septic does not pass and you can't afford to repair it, and cannot qualify for a grant, you may not be allowed to live in your house. The law provides for termination of electric service for those owners who have a non-compliant, non-government certified septic system.

At this time, some state legislators have made statements that they'd like to see this law repealed.

We all want a clean environment, but I'm personally wondering if the extra costs will actually be of more benefit to the environment or to the bureaucracy which will be needed to monitor the new law's requirements. Why not do away with the inspection requirement, since septics are amost always inspected when the house sells?