The director of environmental protection may enter into an agreement with a political subdivision or investor-owned public utility that owns or operates a disposal system and that intends to extend the sewerage lines of its disposal system or to increase the number of service connections to its sewerage system, which agreement authorizes a qualified official or employee of the political subdivision or investor-owned public utility, as determined by the director, to review plans for the extension of the sewerage system or increase in the number of service connections for compliance with this chapter and the rules adopted under it and to certify to the director whether the plans comply with this chapter and the rules adopted under it. If, pursuant to such an agreement, the official or employee of the political subdivision or investor-owned public utility designated in the agreement certifies to the director that the plans comply with this chapter and the rules adopted under it and if the plans and certification are accompanied by an administrative service fee calculated in accordance with division (L)(2) of section 3745.11 of the Revised Code, the director, by final action, shall approve the plans without further review. The director or the director's authorized representative may inspect the construction or installation of an extension of a sewerage system or additional service connections for which plans have been approved under this section.

The approval of plans by the director pursuant to this section constitutes the approval of the plans for the purposes of any rules adopted under division (E) of section 6111.03 of the Revised Code that require the approval of plans for extensions of sewerage systems or increases in the number of service connections to sewerage systems.

As used in this section, "investor-owned public utility" means a person, other than an individual, that is a sewage disposal system company, as defined in section 4905.03 of the Revised Code, and that is not owned or operated by a municipal corporation or operated not-for-profit.

Amended by 132nd General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 49, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2017.

Effective Date: 11-26-1997 .