Aqueduct and sewer works: from the permit to the AAA connection

It is Chapter 9.6 of Joint Regulation No. 9473, "Aqueduct and Sewer Works". Its provisions apply to aqueduct and sewer works carried out independently or as part of building something else. For those projects, the technical specifications in force required by the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority are adopted, including every element, requirement and technical detail in the latest versions of the regulations and codes promulgated by the AAA and adopted by OGPe. The chapter deals with potable water and sanitary sewer; it does not touch electricity.

The Recomendación Vía Certificación — the fast route — is conditional. For new construction: not exceeding six equivalent units, that is, projected consumption not exceeding 2,400 gallons per day and not requiring a meter larger than one inch in diameter; the connection point to the AAA’s potable water and sanitary sewer infrastructure being close enough not to require off-site works; and the water and sewer service laterals reaching the connection point without affecting other lots. For remodelling of existing structures: the proposed action representing no change of use, no increase in projected consumption and no increase in the equivalent-unit computation; the structure being served by a meter of equal or smaller diameter than the existing one; evidence of the existing service and registered account no more than two years old; no increase in meter diameter and no new services or laterals required; the sanitary discharges being domestic and not process discharges; and reuse of the existing laterals, having made sure they are in adequate condition.

• Filing through OGPe’s Unified Information System (SUI), before the applicable permits are granted.Verified against the official source
• Meeting the technical specifications in force required by the AAA, under the regulations and codes promulgated by the Authority and adopted by OGPe.Verified against the official source
• For the Recomendación Vía Certificación: that the proponent certifies the action qualifies, making sure the connection to the AAA’s pipes is viable and the systems can take the additional impact.Verified against the official source
• Informing the AAA of the start of the construction work.Verified against the official source
• Not segmenting applications: each project is filed and evaluated as a whole.Verified against the official source
• Carrying out the works under an Inspector designated by the project owner, who renders at least one monthly inspection report with a copy to the AAA.Verified against the official source
• For the connection: obtaining the AAA’s final endorsement for the Permiso Único, which includes payment of impact fees and other applicable charges and delivery of as-built plans and works completion reports.Verified against the official source

• Site plans with the project’s location and a reference point with Lambert coordinates, preferably NAD 83; a 1:2,000 parcel plan with reference points or a survey plan; and a sketch or location map with road number, kilometre and current reference places.
• Detail on the project’s scope and its elements.
• If the project is developed in stages, a Work Programme with the start and end dates of each stage.
• For the construction permit: a digital file of the plans to scale, north-oriented and in DXF format, with a polygon of the project’s territorial extent georeferenced to NAD 83, stating the unit of measure and the NAD 83 revision used.
• Construction plans sealed and signed by the responsible professional, covering the connection to the AAA’s systems, the relocation or extension of works, and installations to be transferred to the AAA for operation.
• For remodelling through the certification route: evidence of the existing service and registered account, no more than two (2) years old.
• For the connection: as-built plans and works completion reports, and — where the infrastructure is to be maintained or operated by the AAA — the documents for its transfer, conveyance and warranty and the constitution of the applicable rights of way.

1. 1

   Step 1: What falls under this chapter

   The chapter’s provisions apply to aqueduct and sewer works carried out independently or as part of building something else. And for those projects the technical specifications in force required by the AAA are adopted: every element, requirement and technical detail in the latest versions of the regulations and codes promulgated by the Authority and adopted by OGPe. That is: the technical rule is not in the Joint Regulation — it is in the AAA’s codes, and the Joint Regulation adopts them.

2. 2

   Step 2: The six filings that go through the SUI

   The regulation lists six filings that must be made through OGPe’s Unified Information System before the applicable permits are granted. First, the Infrastructure Works Recommendation, Plan Approval and Plan Amendment Approval Request, covering three things: construction of aqueduct or sanitary sewer works proposing to connect to the AAA’s system — including, without limitation, potable water distribution systems, sanitary collection systems, pump stations, wells and tanks; relocation of existing water or sanitary sewer infrastructure; and improvements to water or sanitary sewer systems. Second, the Recomendación Vía Certificación Request. Third, the Non-Domestic Sanitary Discharge Authorisation Request. Fourth, the Significant Users Sanitary Discharge Permit Request. Fifth, the Bulk Discharge Permit Request. And sixth, the Pretreatment Installations Authorisation Request.

3. 3

   Step 3: The recommendation request: three documents

   Every recommendation request on aqueduct or sewer works must include three things. Site plans including the project’s location and a reference point with Lambert coordinates, preferably North American Datum 1983, a 1:2,000 parcel plan with reference points or a survey plan, and a sketch or location map with road number, kilometre and current reference places. Detail on the project’s scope and its elements. And, if the project is to be developed in stages, a work programme with each stage’s start and end dates.

4. 4

   Step 4: The construction permit is the professional’s job

   The construction-permit list is long and written for the responsible engineer or architect, not the owner. It asks, among other things, for the digital plan file in DXF format with a polygon georeferenced to NAD 83; sealed and signed plans covering the connection to the AAA’s systems, the relocation or extension of works and the installations to be transferred to the Authority; hydraulic and structural calculations; a detailed analysis of any mechanical system; the licensed professional’s certification that the design concept conforms to the recommendations obtained in the pre-consultation or through the Recommendation Request to OGPe, with a copy of the documents OGPe issued; a topographic plan referenced to Mean Sea Level and a grading plan; and a geotechnical study meeting Section 5.1.2.2 on landslide-risk and other subsoil-condition analysis. The plans must also illustrate twelve classes of existing conditions in the area, from true north to rights of way, and — if the infrastructure is transferred to the AAA — carry seven notes the Authority requires. We do not transcribe the full list here: it is in the regulation and it is the signing professional’s responsibility. And one zoning detail: permits and authorisations in historic sites and zones, plazas de recreo and surrounding blocks — the towns’ founding centres — require the recommendation of the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña.

5. 5

   Step 5: The fast route: six units, 2,400 gallons, one inch

   This is the part most people can use. The applicant may file with OGPe the Recomendación Vía Certificación Request provided it meets the requirements for that filing. For new construction projects, conditional on three things: not exceeding six equivalent units, that is, projected consumption not exceeding 2,400 gallons per day and not requiring a meter larger than one inch in diameter; the connection point to the AAA’s potable water and sanitary sewer infrastructure being close enough not to require off-site works; and the service laterals, for both potable water and sanitary sewer, reaching the connection point without affecting other lots.

6. 6

   Step 6: The fast route for remodelling

   For remodelling projects on existing structures, the certification is conditional on six things: the proposed action representing no change of use, no increase in projected consumption and no increase in the equivalent-unit computation; the existing structure being served by a meter of equal or smaller diameter than the existing one; evidence of the existing service and registered account, no more than two years old; no increase in meter diameter and no new services or laterals required; the sanitary discharges being domestic, not process discharges; and the existing water or sanitary sewer laterals being reused, having made sure they are in adequate condition.

7. 7

   Step 7: What the fast route does NOT save you

   The regulation warns bluntly: the Recomendación Vía Certificación is granted to speed up obtaining the construction permit, but under no circumstances should this be read as exempting you from the processes required during the construction phase, as established by the AAA, leading to eventual final acceptance and authorisation to connect to the Authority’s systems. In addition, the proponent must certify the proposed action qualifies, making sure the connection to the AAA’s pipes is viable and the systems can take the additional impact; must include with the request the filing documents the AAA requires; and must inform the AAA of the start of construction. If, on checking and reviewing the certified plans and documents, the Authority notices any irregularity, deficiency, omission or error, the professional who certified the plans and the project owner are notified, and that makes it necessary to file the project again through OGPe by the conventional recommendation-request route. And one rule that forecloses a trick: the proponent must not segment applications; each project is filed and evaluated as a whole.

8. 8

   Step 8: If the plans must be amended

   Construction plans for aqueduct or sanitary sewer works previously certified may be amended before or after the works begin, provided the professional files the amendment request through OGPe’s electronic filing system; the plans must meet the same requirements and follow the same procedure as the original request. But one case forces you back a step: if the amendments include changes in projected water consumption or sanitary discharge, the proposed load or other changes affecting the connection conditions, a new Recommendation Request must be filed before filing the amendment. And in every case, the alteration or change proposed in the amendment may not be carried out until OGPe approves the requested amendment.

9. 9

   Step 9: The inspector and the monthly report

   Every construction project for which plan approval was required must be carried out under an inspector designated by the project owner, who must see that the works are built to the approved plans. The inspector prepares inspection reports for the various stages built and gives a copy to the AAA; each report carries observations, comments and detail on the works’ progress. At least one monthly report is due, and if no construction took place in the period concerning aqueduct and sewer works, that must be reported too. Every sheet is sealed and signed by the owner-designated inspector, thereby certifying that the inspections and tests stated were inspected and performed by them and meet the AAA’s requirements; and they must not include in the report any inspection or test they did not perform or supervise. Every inspection request must state the stretches, elements and tests to be validated by the AAA and include the corresponding certified reports; the AAA may provide a model format with the minimum information.

10. 10

    Step 10: The connection: the final endorsement and the Permiso Único

    This is the last stretch. The owner-designated inspector or the authorised professional must file certified inspection reports with the AAA as the works progress, and the AAA reserves the right to inspect with its own authorised personnel. Every request to connect a project to be served by the aqueduct and sewer systems must be preceded by the AAA’s final endorsement for the Permiso Único, under that entity’s procedures, which includes, among other things, payment of impact fees and other applicable charges, and delivery of as-built plans and works completion reports. Once OGPe issues a Permiso Único — after the AAA’s final endorsement and the inspector’s certification that the works comply with the plans, regulations and applicable laws, and any other certification or requirement previously set by the Authority — the owner or authorised representative may request, through OGPe, that the AAA connect the project for service. Where the works include infrastructure to be maintained or operated by the AAA, the documents for its transfer, conveyance and warranty must be filed and the applicable rights of way constituted.

11. 11

    Step 11: And what happens if the works do not match the plans

    The regulation closes with two sentences worth keeping in mind. The first favours the project: the AAA will connect the project to its system without delay, unless it finds deficiencies that put life, safety or property at risk. The second is the reverse: in every case where the AAA finds the built work departs from the plans, regulations and applicable laws certified before OGPe, it must start the corresponding administrative process and refer the case immediately to the Planning Board’s Audit and Compliance Office.

The chapter’s six filings are made through OGPe’s Unified Information System (SUI), before the applicable permits are granted, and plan amendments through OGPe’s electronic filing system. The AAA issues the final endorsement for the Permiso Único, receives the inspection reports and ultimately makes the connection; and the connection request is made through OGPe. Permits and authorisations in historic sites and zones and in the towns’ founding centres also require the recommendation of the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña.

• Believing the Recomendación Vía Certificación exempts you from the AAA’s processes during construction.
• Segmenting the project into several applications instead of filing it as a whole.
• Exceeding the six equivalent units, the 2,400 gallons per day or the one-inch meter and still using the certification route.
• Filing a remodelling through certification with service evidence and an account more than two years old.
• Failing to inform the AAA of the start of construction.
• Carrying out a plan change before OGPe approves the amendment.
• Amending consumption or discharge without first filing a new Recommendation Request.
• Signing inspection reports including tests the inspector neither performed nor supervised.
• Requesting the connection without the AAA’s final endorsement for the Permiso Único.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos (OGPe)

  OGPe

  docs.pr.gov

• Permit Management Office

  ogpe

  ogpe.pr.gov

• Aqueduct and Sewer Authority

  aaa

  www.acueductos.pr.gov