Surety Bond Encyclopedia

Septic Waste Bond - Pueblo, CO in Colorado

Brief Summary

Pueblo will not issue a septic waste business permit until a $5,000 license and performance bond naming the City of Pueblo is in the file. The bond is a small, fixed amount, it is set by city code rather than by fleet size, and once it is issued it goes into the same packet as your insurance certificates and truck inspection paperwork.

Pueblo Municipal Code 16-10-2(a)(8) requires every septic waste business permit applicant to post a $5,000 license and performance bond written by a corporate surety authorized in Colorado, with the City of Pueblo as obligee. Permits are issued by the Wastewater Director, cost $100 a year, and expire at 11:59 p.m. on December 31 unless renewed.

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How to Apply for a Septic Waste Bond:

Confirm your work fits the Section 16-10-1 definition of a septic waste business. Pumping, hauling through the City and discharging to the City sewer all count.
Legal business name exactly as it appears with the Colorado Secretary of State, since the application asks for it in that form.
Owner or officer names and home addresses for the bond application.
Purchase the $5,000 license and performance bond with the City of Pueblo named as obligee.
Get a Pueblo City-County Health Department inspection certificate for each truck.
Submit the bond, insurance certificates, vehicle list and $100 fee to the Pueblo Wastewater Department at 1300 S. Queens Ave.

Detailed Information About the Colorado Septic Waste Bond:

Who has to post this bond

Chapter 10 of Title XVI of the Pueblo Municipal Code defines a septic waste business broadly. It covers anyone who cleans out or drains septic tanks, cesspools, privy vaults, portable toilets or grease traps within the City, anyone who hauls sewage, septic waste, cesspool waste, grease trap cleanings or similar liquid waste by truck anywhere within or through the City, and anyone discharging hauled waste into the City sewer system. Portable toilet companies, grease trap service companies and haulers based outside Pueblo who drive loads through town all fall inside that definition. There is no exemption in the chapter for businesses that were already operating.

What the bond guarantees

Section 16-10-2(a)(8) sets the bond at a penal sum of $5,000. It must be executed by the applicant and a corporate surety authorized to issue bonds in Colorado. The bond is conditioned on four things. The business will operate in line with all laws and ordinances, it will comply with Title XVI, it will pay all cleanup costs for any spill resulting from its operations, and it will promptly pay all sewer user and high strength surcharge fees as they come due. The city's application form states that the obligee must be the City of Pueblo.

The rest of the permit packet

The bond is one item on a list. Section 16-10-2(a) also requires a nonrefundable $100 annual permit fee, the names and addresses of the owners or officers, a list of every vehicle with make, model, year, VIN, title number, plate and tank capacity, a certificate of inspection from the Pueblo City-County Health Department for each vehicle, the address where the trucks are parked, general liability and property damage insurance of at least $400,000 per occurrence and aggregate, and proof of Colorado workers' compensation coverage. The application allows a signed waiver for a sole owner with no employees.

Keeping the permit active

Every permit expires at 11:59 p.m. on December 31 and is renewed by resubmitting all required items with the annual fee. Under Section 16-10-4, the Wastewater Director may suspend or revoke a permit if a required bond or insurance policy is cancelled, terminated or allowed to expire, so the bond has to stay in force for as long as you hold the permit.

Eligibility and Requirements for a Colorado Septic Waste Bond:

Bond amount of exactly $5,000, set by Pueblo Municipal Code 16-10-2(a)(8).
Corporate surety authorized to issue bonds in Colorado.
City of Pueblo named as obligee.
General liability and property damage insurance of at least $400,000 per occurrence and aggregate.
Workers' compensation coverage under Colorado law, or the city's sole proprietor waiver.

Colorado Septic Waste Bond FAQs:

We only haul through Pueblo and dump somewhere else. Do we still need the permit and bond?

Yes. The code defines a septic waste business to include hauling sewage, septic waste, grease trap cleanings or similar liquid waste by truck anywhere within or through the City, so the permit and the $5,000 bond apply even if you never discharge at the James R. DiIorio Water Reclamation Facility.

Does the bond amount go up if we run more trucks?

No. Section 16-10-2(a)(8) sets one penal sum of $5,000 for the business. Each truck still needs its own Health Department inspection certificate and must be listed on the application.

What can the city claim against the bond for?

The bond covers violations of law and of Title XVI, the cost of cleaning up a spill caused by your operation, and unpaid sewer user and high strength surcharge fees.

When does the permit expire?

Every septic waste business permit expires at 11:59 p.m. on December 31. You renew by resubmitting the required items and the $100 annual fee, and the bond must remain in force throughout.

How is the premium set?

The surety prices the bond from the $5,000 amount and an underwriting review of the business owners, mainly personal credit. You see the actual quote when you apply.