Category: Guides

Most septic permit delays in Miami-Dade come down to one thing: incomplete submittals. Here is the exact information we ask every client for before we start a design — gather it early and your project moves faster.

New Construction or Commercial Development

For commercial construction, especially new developments, permits are essential from day one. Site selection matters: the right location and design produce a more efficient, longer-lasting system. Bring your architectural site plan and floor plan to the first conversation.

Replacing or Modifying an Existing System

For a property evaluation we need:

1. An inspection of the existing system
2. A survey with elevation information
3. Five months of water bill records — real usage data drives correct sizing

New System Design

1. Architectural floor plan
2. Architectural site plan
3. Survey elevation details
4. Plumbing plan

The Forms

Florida’s DH4015 application package (all four pages plus instructions) is available for download on our Resources page, along with Miami-Dade DERM site plan documents. Not sure which apply to you? That’s part of our service — we prepare and submit the package.

This article is general information, not engineering or legal advice for a specific property. Requirements change — always confirm current rules with Miami-Dade RER/DERM or consult a licensed Professional Engineer about your project.

If you run — or are building — a restaurant, cafeteria, bakery, or any food-service operation in South Florida, a properly designed grease trap system is what stands between you and failed inspections, blocked lines, and re-permitting. Here’s what a designer needs from you, and why each piece matters.

The Three Things Every Grease Trap Design Starts With

1. Architectural floor plan of the food preparation, cooking, and processing areas — the layout determines where grease-laden flow originates and how it routes.
2. A description of your process — a fryer-heavy kitchen, a bakery, and a juice bar produce very different waste streams.
3. Seats or meals served per day — capacity drives sizing. An undersized trap fails inspections; an oversized one wastes money and space.

Why Sizing Is Engineering, Not Guesswork

Grease trap capacity is calculated case by case from your actual operation — maximum flows, fixture counts, and meal volumes. We perform those calculations for every design, then produce the drawings and handle the permit submission.

Our Track Record

We have designed grease trap systems for dozens of South Florida food-service businesses — from hotels on Miami Beach to restaurant rows in Hialeah and Coral Gables. If it serves food in Miami-Dade, we have probably designed for something like it.

This article is general information, not engineering or legal advice for a specific property. Requirements change — always confirm current rules with Miami-Dade RER/DERM or consult a licensed Professional Engineer about your project.

Since January 1, 2023, Miami-Dade County no longer accepts conventional septic systems for new construction or total replacements. If you’re building, redeveloping, or replacing a failed system anywhere in the county, Ordinance 22-83 changed what your engineer must design — here’s what it means in practice.

What Ordinance 22-83 Did

On July 7, 2022, the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners adopted Ordinance 22-83, creating more rigorous standards for onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems (OSTDS — the formal name for septic systems). The ordinance added Section 24-42.7 to the County Code, and effective January 1, 2023, the Water and Wastewater Division of DERM reviews every new and total-replacement septic system in the county.

The Four System Types

The ordinance classifies septic systems into four tiers:

• Type 1 — conventional septic systems. No longer allowed for new development or total replacements anywhere in Miami-Dade.
• Types 2, 3, and 4 — performance-based systems with enhanced levels of pollutant reduction, with Type 4 being the most advanced.

This applies to residential, commercial, and industrial developments served by an OSTDS.

What This Means for Your Project

Performance-based systems are engineered systems — they must be designed, calculated, and sealed for your specific property, soils, and use. That makes choosing your designer the first real step of any septic project in Miami-Dade today. An experienced Professional Engineer will select the right system type, produce the design DERM expects to see, and handle the permit submission.

Official resources: the county’s OSTDS program page and the OSTDS Guidance Manual. Forms are on our Resources page.

This article is general information, not engineering or legal advice for a specific property. Requirements change — always confirm current rules with Miami-Dade RER/DERM or consult a licensed Professional Engineer about your project.