Septic services in Florida
Florida regulates onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems (OSTDS) — what most residents call septic systems — through its Onsite Sewage Program, which is in the middle of a historic shift. Under the 2020 Clean Waterways Act (SB 712), authority is transferring from the Department of Health to the Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) in a county-by-county rollout that began July 1, 2021. During the transition, county health department staff continue handling permits and inspections, now under FDEP's direction. Septic is no small matter here: roughly 2.6 million systems serve about 30% of Floridians, accounting for an estimated 12% of all septic systems in the United States, and a large share are decades old. The state's sandy soils, high water tables, and proximity to springs and coastal waters make nutrient pollution a central regulatory concern. That drove HB 1379 (2023), which now requires enhanced nitrogen-reducing systems (ENR-OSTDS) for new installs on small lots within impaired-water and Basin Management Action Plan areas, and for all lot sizes inside the Indian River Lagoon Protection Program. Contractors must register under Chapter 489 as Registered or Master Septic Tank Contractors, verifiable through FDEP's public search. Notably, Florida law bars any government from requiring a septic inspection at point of sale, and the state mandates no fixed pumping schedule for conventional tanks — though lenders and prudence often dictate otherwise.