San Marcos Municipal Code Art. VIII Public Agencies

The provisions of Articles I through VII, inclusive, of this article shall not apply to a sanitary district, County water district, community service district, public utility district, or any other district, municipality, or State agency empowered by the State law to acquire, construct, or operate public sewage facilities (hereafter in this article referred to as public agencies), except to the extent that the governing body thereof specifically subjects itself or its works thereto.

For the protection of the public health and safety, minimum standards for the design and construction of facilities hereafter constructed by a public agency for the transporting or disposal of sewage or industrial waste (hereafter in this article referred to as "sewer facilities") shall be established in the following manner: The Director with the advice and assistance of engineers for such public agencies and others designated by said Director, shall propose such minimum standards to the Board of Supervisors for adoption by it after public hearing. Any revisions shall be proposed and adopted in the same manner. The said standards adopted pursuant to this section are set forth in the "San Diego Area - Regional County Standard Drawings" and the "Standard Specifications for Public Works Construction" copies of which are on file in the Office of the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors. All plans and specifications for any sewer facilities constructed in the City and all work performed and materials used in the construction of any such facilities shall conform to the minimum standards adopted as provided in this section. No work will be done on any such sewer facility until the plans and specifications therefor shall have been approved as provided in this article.

Any public agency intending to construct any sewer facilities shall, within a reasonable time (not less than ten days) before awarding a contract, file plans and specifications therefor with the Director. The Director shall, within a reasonable time (not more than 30 days) after such filing, examine the same and ascertain whether or not they conform to the minimum standards adopted pursuant to Section 8.48.470. He shall issue his certificate thereon if he finds that said plans and specifications meet said minimum standards, or if he finds that such plans and specifications fail to meet said minimum standards he shall specify in which particulars they do not. The Director may waive minimum standards when he finds reasonable compliance is provided in the plans and specifications.

In the event the Director shall report that said plans and specifications fail to meet the minimum standards established pursuant to Section 8.48.470, the engineer for the public agency shall have the right to appeal such decision to an Engineering Review Board.

There is established an Engineering Review Board to be appointed in each instance of appeal as hereinafter provided. Said Engineering Review Board shall consist of three members who are Civil Engineers (registered in the State of California), one appointed by the engineer for the public agency affected, one appointed by the Director, and the third to be selected by the two so appointed. No member of said Engineering Review Board shall be an employee of the County, the public agency, or its engineer.

Said Engineering Review Board shall determine whether or not such plans and specifications conform to the minimum standards adopted pursuant to Section 8.48.470 hereof and shall issue its decision in writing. The decision of said Engineering Review Board shall be final, unless either the Director or the engineer for the public agency appeals said decision to the Board of Supervisors at its next regular meeting. On appeal the Board of Supervisors shall fully hear said appeal and its decision shall be final.

It shall be the responsibility of the public agency to inspect said facilities during construction and to cause the same to conform to the minimum standards. The Director may in his discretion cause periodic inspections to be made of said facilities and shall report in writing to the engineer of the public agency any particulars in which the construction of said facilities does not conform to said minimum standards. In the event there arises a difference of opinion as between the Director and the engineer for the public agency as to whether or not the construction of said facilities does conform to said minimum standards, said difference of opinion shall be resolved and determined by an Engineering Review Board appointed in the manner provided in Section 8.48.500 and with the powers provided in Section 8.48.510. The decision of said Engineering Review Board may be appealed to the Board of Supervisors as provided in Section 8.48.510 and its decision shall be final.

It shall be the responsibility of each public agency to establish standards for sewage facilities constructed by others for acceptance by the agency which standards must not be lower than those established pursuant to Section 8.48.470. It shall be the responsibility of each agency to inspect all such construction and to cause the same to so conform.