Sanitary sewer lateral inspection programs for counties.

(1) As used in this section, the term “sanitary sewer lateral” means a privately owned pipeline connecting a property to the main sewer line which is maintained and repaired by the property owner.

(2) By July 1, 2022, each county is encouraged to establish an evaluation and rehabilitation program for sanitary sewer laterals on residential and commercial properties within the county’s jurisdiction to identify and reduce extraneous flow from leaking sanitary sewer laterals. At a minimum, the program may do all of the following:

(a) Establish a system to identify defective, damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer laterals on residential and commercial properties within the jurisdiction of the county.

(b) Consider economical methods for a property owner to repair or replace a defective, damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral.

(c) Establish and maintain a publicly accessible database to store information concerning properties where a defective, damaged, or deteriorated sanitary sewer lateral has been identified. For each property, the database must include, but is not limited to, the address of the property, the names of any persons the county notified concerning the faulty sanitary sewer lateral, and the date and method of such notification.