Summary — SB 2267 (North Dakota) — Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems
Status and intent
- Introduced March 11, 2025; filed with the Secretary of State April 23, 2025.
- Purpose: create a statutory framework for permitting, licensing, inspection, and enforcement of onsite wastewater treatment systems (septic and similar systems); clarify roles of public health units, boards of health, and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ); repeal an existing technical committee; and establish penalties and an appropriation (text for appropriation/reporting is referenced but not fully shown).
Key provisions and changes
- New chapter to title 23.1 (onsite wastewater treatment systems): establishes definitions (e.g., “department” = DEQ; “install”; “license”; “onsite wastewater treatment system”), licensing and permitting requirements, and administrative procedures (text truncated in places).
- Licensing requirement: individuals must be licensed to engage in the business of installing or servicing onsite wastewater systems. Exemption: a person installing a system on their own premises for their own use is not required to be licensed.
- Enforcement/penalty: installing or servicing an onsite wastewater system without required licensure is defined as a class B misdemeanor (cross-referenced in amended section 43-18-24).
- Appeals: actions by the licensing board denying, modifying, or revoking a permit or license may be appealed to the Department of Environmental Quality by petition for review; the appeal must be filed within ten days of notice (as provided in the bill).
- Public health units’ role (amendment to 23-35-02): public health units must include permitting and inspections of onsite wastewater systems among environmental public health core functions, “in accordance with section 3 of this Act.” A public health unit must conduct a required in-person or virtual inspection within one business day of receiving the inspection request.
- Cooperative agreements: public health units may enter cooperative agreements with a county or city to carry out permitting and inspections within those boundaries; agreements may be terminated per their terms or by any party with at least one year’s written notice.
- Boards of health (amendment to 23-35-08): retain broad public-health powers but may not adopt rules regarding licensing of onsite wastewater system installers.
- Repeal: sections 23-35-02.2 and 23-35-02.3 (the onsite wastewater recycling technical committee) are repealed.
- Rulemaking authority: the relevant board is directed to adopt rules setting standards and procedures for permits, licenses, renewals, denials, suspensions, and revocations (exact board referenced in earlier drafts varies between plumbing board and DEQ; the engrossed bill centers authority in the new title 23.1 chapter and DEQ as “department”).
Who is affected
- Private contractors and businesses that install, service, or inspect onsite wastewater systems (must obtain and maintain licenses).
- Homeowners performing self-installation on their own property (exempt).
- Local public health units and boards of health (assigned permitting/inspection duties; restricted from licensing installers).
- Department of Environmental Quality (administrative review/appeal role and rulemaking/oversight per new chapter).
- Counties and cities (may enter cooperative agreements with public health units).
Procedural/implementation notes
- The bill consolidates and clarifies regulatory authority and compliance procedures for onsite wastewater systems, creates criminal penalties for unlicensed activity, and eliminates the prior technical committee.
- Some provisions were amended in committee and between engrossment stages (e.g., allocation of inspection/licensing duties and explicit one-business-day inspection requirement). Full implementing rules, fee schedules, and any appropriation details would be set out in subsequent DEQ/board rulemaking and by the appropriation language (not fully shown in the available text).
