Surprise City Code 58-312(b): permits to repair a commercial sewer lateral

Section 58-312 splits users into two groups. Single-family and duplex users get a limited city repair program for off-property laterals. Subsection (b) covers everyone else: "All other users shall be responsible for cleaning, unstopping, maintaining and repairing the building sewer, sewer lateral and sewer tap free of obstruction and damage from the building drain, at the point of initial discharge, to the public sewer receiving the discharge."

Then comes the permit rule: "Whenever damage requires repair/replacement and off-property excavation, the contractor shall obtain from the city a permit to perform the repair/replacement and an encroachment permit to work in the public right-of-way."

That gives three rules. The owner is responsible from the building drain all the way to the public sewer. Repairs that stay on the property follow the city's normal plumbing permit process. Repairs that reach off the property need the repair permit and the encroachment permit, and the contractor is the one the code names to get them.

• Building sewer, lateral and tap: the private line that carries drainage from your building to the public sewer, including the connection point at the main.
• Point of initial discharge: where drainage leaves the building drain and enters the lateral.
• Off-property excavation: digging in the street, alley or easement outside your lot line.
• Encroachment permit: the city's permission to work in the public right-of-way. The code names it but does not describe its fee or steps.

All users other than single-family and duplex homes: commercial, industrial and multifamily properties. Single-family and duplex owners are covered by subsection (a) of the same section instead. It does not cover the public sewer main or the manhole, which the city maintains.

A restaurant with a collapsed lateral under the street. A camera inspection shows the break 30 feet past the property line. The owner pays for the repair, and the contractor pulls both permits before opening the street.

A clog on the owner's side of the line. The blockage is inside the lot. No right-of-way is involved, so only the normal plumbing permit rules apply.

The edge case: a duplex versus a fourplex. A duplex owner may qualify for the city's limited repair of an off-property lateral under subsection (a). A fourplex owner does not, because subsection (b) applies and the owner carries the whole cost.

1. 1Get a camera inspection and a locate so you know where the failure sits relative to your lot line.
2. 2Hire a licensed plumbing contractor. The code puts the permit duty on the contractor.
3. 3If the dig stays on your lot, ask Community Development (16000 N Civic Center Plaza, 623-222-3000) which plumbing permit applies. Applications go through the Permits and Applications Portal on the city's permits page.
4. 4If the dig crosses the property line, have the contractor ask the city for both the repair permit and the encroachment permit before starting. The code does not list the application steps, so confirm them with the city.
5. 5Call Arizona 811 before any excavation.
6. 6Keep the inspection video and both permits with the building records.

• "The city owns everything in the street." For commercial users, the code makes the owner responsible up to the public sewer.
• "One permit covers it." Off-property digging needs both the repair permit and the encroachment permit.
• "The residential city repair program applies to my business." That program in subsection (a) is for single-family and duplex users only.
• "Every city works like Glendale." Glendale does street-digging repairs at no cost to the owner. Surprise does not for commercial users.

The rule is Surprise Municipal Code Sec. 58-312 on Municode. The section is short, so read subsection (b) yourself. This page does not replace the city's own answer for your job.