The code adopted by this Article is hereby amended by substituting the following sections or portions of sections for those sections or portions of sections with corresponding numbers of the 2009 Edition of the International Plumbing Code or where there is no corresponding section in the code the following sections shall be enacted as additions to the code.

101.1 Title:  These regulations shall be known as the Plumbing Code of Columbia, Missouri, hereinafter referred to as "this code."

101.5 License Required:

(a)    No individual shall engage in the business of plumbing in the City of Columbia unless licensed as a master plumber under the provisions of this code.

(b)    No individual, firm, partnership or corporation shall engage in the business of installing, repairing or altering plumbing unless the plumbing work performed in the course of such business is under the general supervision of a licensed master plumber, and under the direct supervision of a licensed master plumber or licensed journeyman plumber employed on such installation or alteration full time to assure proper and accurate work as prescribed by this code.

(c)    No person who has obtained a master plumber's license shall allow his name to be used by another person for the purpose of obtaining permits, or for doing business or work under this license.  Every person licensed shall notify the board of the address of his place of business, if any, and the name under which such business is carried on, and shall give immediate notice to the board of any change in either.

(d)    All work authorized by a plumbing permit shall be done under the direct supervision of a licensed master or journeyman plumber.  

(e)    A maximum 1:3, journeyman to apprentice plumber ratio is allowed.

101.6  Board of plumbing examiners:  There is hereby created a board of plumbing examiners, consisting of five (5) members, one of whom shall be the director of public works or the director’s designee, who shall be a non-voting, ex-officio secretary of the board; a second member, who shall be a master plumber; a third member, who shall be a journeyman plumber; and a fourth member and a fifth member, who shall be persons not engaged in, working at, employed by, or connected with plumbing, a plumbing firm, contractor, or the plumbing industry. Members appointed by the council shall be residents of the City of Columbia .   Members shall be appointed by the council at the second regular meeting of the council in May, biennially in odd-numbered years, for a term of two (2) years, beginning on the first day of June and serving until their successors are appointed and qualified. The second and third members of the board shall have at least six (6) years in, or working at, the plumbing business at the time of their appointment.  The first meeting of the calendar year, the board shall select one of its members to serve as chair and the code official shall designate a clerk from the department to serve as secretary to the board, who shall keep a detailed record of all proceedings on file in the building and site development   division.    

101.7 Meetings of the board:  The board shall meet on call of the chair or a majority of the membership, and the call shall include the time, place and purpose of such meetings. Applicants scheduled for examination at such meetings shall be notified at least three (3) days prior to the date of the meeting. The chair of the board is authorized to excuse any member from attendance at a board meeting; provided, that the member requested to be excused before the meeting.  Any member who is absent, without being excused, from twenty-five (25) percent of the regular board meetings held in a calendar year shall automatically forfeit the office.  It shall be the duty of the chair to promptly notify the council of the vacancy.  The members shall serve without compensation.

101.8  Examination and certification:  The board shall establish standards and procedures for the qualifications, examination, and licensing of master plumbers, journeyman plumbers, residential plumbers and apprentice plumbers, and shall issue an appropriate certificate of competency to each person who meets the qualifications therefore and successfully passes the standard examination for master plumber or journeyman plumber as prepared and published by   Thomson Prometric, ATTN: National Construction Program, 1260 Energy Lane, St. Paul, MN 55108 or the ICC National Standardized Examinations Program, www.iccsafe.org/contractor (1-877-783-3926) for Contractor Trades Testing.  The board shall keep an official record of all transactions.

101.8.1 Reciprocity:  The board will honor licenses issued from other jurisdictional areas provided the applicant meets the minimum experience requirements of the City of Columbia, Missouri, and provides certification of having satisfactorily completed the examination by one of the two testing agencies noted in 101.8 applicable for the type of license requested.

101.9 Re-examinations:  Any person, who fails to pass the examination, as prescribed by the board, may apply for re-examination after the expiration of thirty (30) days.

101.10 Temporary permit: The board may issue a temporary license pending the examination, providing the applicant holds a similar license from an equivalent board.  Such permit shall not be valid for more than sixty (60) days.

101.11 Application:  Any person desiring to be certified as a licensed plumber shall make written application to the board. Applicants are required to appear and interview before the board of plumbing examiners unless waived by the board.  A fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) must be submitted with the application.  The fee shall be refunded to the applicant if the applicant appears at the board meeting at which the interview is scheduled.

101.12  Master plumber's bond: Before the issuance of a certificate of competency to a contracting master plumber or the registration of a plumbing contractor, the applicant shall file a surety bond for not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), subject to the approval of the city counselor, conditioned that the applicant will indemnify and keep harmless the City of Columbia from all liability, from any accident or damages arising from negligence or non-skillfulness in doing or protecting applicant’s work, or for any unfaithful or inadequate work done in pursuance of the license, and that applicant will also restore the street, sidewalk, pavement or other public property or right-of-way, and fill all excavations to be made, so as to leave the sidewalk, street, pavement or other public property or right-of-way in as good shape or condition as applicant found them, and indemnify and keep the city harmless from any damage suffered by the failure to do and keep and maintain them in good repair in accordance with public works department standards and specifications of the City of Columbia, Missouri, for a period of one (1) year next thereafter, and that applicant will pay all fines imposed for the violation of any rule or regulation adopted by the city and in force during the term of the license and pay all fees set forth in this ordinance.

101.13 Expiration and revocation of certificate:  All certificates of competency issued by the board shall be valid from the date of issuance until the renewal date as listed in Section 101.15, or when revoked by the board.  Business licenses required of plumbers, contractors, and contracting master plumbers shall expire annually in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 13 of the Code of Ordinances.

The board may revoke any certificate if obtained through non-disclosure, misstatement, or misrepresentation of a material fact, or if a penalty has been imposed upon a certificate holder under the provisions of this ordinance.  Before a certificate can be revoked, the certificate holder shall have notice in writing enumerating the charges against the certificate holder, and be entitled to a hearing by the board, not sooner than five days from receipt of the notice.  The certificate holder shall be given an opportunity to present testimony, oral or written, and shall have the right to cross-examination.  All testimony shall be given under oath.  The board shall have the power to administer oaths.  The decision of the board shall be based upon the evidence produced at the hearing and made a part of the record thereof.  Any person aggrieved by a decision of the board may appeal to the circuit court as provided in chapter 536 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri.  A person whose certificate has been revoked shall not be permitted to apply for renewal within one year of the date of revocation.

101.14 License fees:  A plumbing contractor or contracting master plumber shall pay annual business license fees to the City of Columbia in an amount to be determined under the provisions of chapter 13 of the Code of Ordinances.  A master plumber, a journeyman plumber, and apprentice plumber employed by a licensed plumbing contractor shall pay no business license fees.

101.14.1 Certificate fees:  Certificate fees are as follows;

City of Columbia Journeyman Certificate    $30.00

City of Columbia Master Certificate    $90.00

101.15 Certificate renewal: A master plumber, journeyman plumber or a maintenance journeyman plumber certificate shall be renewed every three (3) years. The renewal fee is thirty dollars ($30.00) for a journeyman certificate, ninety dollars ($90.00) for a master certificate. Reexamination is not a renewal requirement. Failure to renew by the January 1 date of the renewal year shall result in expiration of the certificate. An individual requesting renewal of an expired certificate must apply for a new plumbing certificate and shall pay a fee according to the following schedule:

1.    Ten dollars ($10.00) from January 2 to March 30 of the first year after expiration.

2.    Fifty dollars ($50.00) from April 1 to December 31 of the first year after expiration.

3.    One hundred dollars ($100.00) after January 2 of the second year after expiration plus an additional one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each additional year or fraction of a year after expiration.

101.16 Qualifications for examination:

1.    Submit completed application to the director of public works including name, address, telephone number, type of certificate requested, and other information as required.

2.    Prove four thousand (4,000) hours of active employment under direct supervision of a master plumber, as a journeyman plumber or be registered with the State of Missouri as a licensed professional engineer and be actively engaged in the business of plumbing contracting. Time enrolled in an appropriate plumbing trade school or plumbing training program beyond the journeyman level may be considered by the board as partial fulfillment of this requirement.

3.    List names, address and telephone number of all previous employers under which applicant has worked as an apprentice or journeyman plumber, including dates and years. Provide evidence of hours worked, employment records, time cards, etc.

4.    Successfully complete examination as required by the board of plumbing examiners.

1.    Submit a completed application to the director of public works including name, address, telephone number, type of certificate requested, and other information as required.

2.    Prove eight thousand (8,000) hours of active, on the job training only, during employment, under the supervision of a journeyman plumber, as an apprentice plumber. Time enrolled in an appropriate plumbing trade school or plumbing apprenticeship training program may be considered by the board as partial fulfillment of this requirement.

3.    List names, address and telephone number of all previous employers under which applicant has worked as an apprentice including dates and years. Provide evidence of hours worked, employment records, time cards, etc.

4.    Successfully complete examination as required by the board of plumbing examiners.

Applicants for examination shall:

1.    Submit a completed application to the director of public works including name, address, telephone number, type of certificate requested, and other information as required.

2.    Prove six thousand (6,000) hours of active employment as an apprentice plumber. Time enrolled in an appropriate plumbing trade school or apprenticeship training program may be considered by the board as partial fulfillment of this requirement.

3.    List names, address and telephone number of all previous employers under which applicant has worked as an apprentice including dates and years. Provide evidence of hours worked.

4.    Successfully complete examination as required by the board of plumbing examiners.  

1.    Submit completed application to the director of public works including name, address, telephone number, type of certificate requested, and other information as required.

2.    Prove six thousand (6,000) hours of active employment as an apprentice plumber. Time enrolled in an appropriate plumbing trade school or apprenticeship program may be considered by the board as partial fulfillment of this requirement.

3.    List names, address and telephone number of all previous employers under which applicant has worked as an apprentice including dates and years. Provide evidence of hours worked.

4.    Successfully complete examination as required by the board of plumbing examiners.

1.    Submit completed application to the director of public works including name, address, telephone number, employer’s name, signature of a licensed master plumber, and other information as required.

Section 103  DIVISION OF BUILDING AND SITE DEVELOPMENT

103.1  Director:  The administration and enforcement of this ordinance shall be the duty of the director of public works, who is hereby authorized to take such action as may be reasonably necessary to enforce the provisions of this code.  Such persons may be appointed and authorized as assistants or representatives of the director as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this code.

103.2 Appointment:  Delete

103.3    Deputies: Delete

103.4  Relief from personal responsibility:  The code official, officer or employee charged with the enforcement of this code, while acting for the jurisdiction, shall not thereby be rendered liable personally, and is hereby relieved from all personal liability for any damage accruing to persons or property as a result of any act required or permitted in the discharge of official duties. Any suit instituted against an officer or employee because of an act performed by that officer or employee in the lawful discharge of duties and under the provisions of this code shall be defended by the legal representative of the jurisdiction until the final termination of the proceedings.  The code official or any subordinate shall not be liable for costs in any action, suit or proceeding that is instituted in pursuance of the provisions of this code; and any officer of the building and site development division, acting in good faith and without malice, shall be free from liability for acts performed under any of its provisions or by reason of any act or omission in the performance of official duties in connection therewith.

103.5  Restriction of employees:  An employee connected with the division of   building and site development shall not be engaged in or directly or indirectly connected with the furnishing of labor, materials or appliances for the construction, alteration or maintenance of a building, or the preparation of construction documents thereof, unless that person is the owner of the building; nor shall such employee engage in any work that conflicts with official duties or with the interests of the division.

106.4  By whom application is made:  Application for a permit shall be made by a licensed master plumber, except as provided herein.  Plumbing permits may be issued to the general contactor, on behalf of the master plumber, for new one and two family dwellings and building alteration or building additions for one and two family dwellings   to install all or part of any plumbing system.  All plumbing work must be performed by a plumber licensed by the City of Columbia, or as allowed by ordinance.

Any permit required by this code may be issued to any person to do any work regulated by this code in a single-family dwelling used exclusively for living purposes, including the usual accessory buildings and quarters in connection with such buildings, provided the person is a bona fide owner of the dwelling, will occupy the dwelling, and will personally purchase all material and perform all labor authorized by the permit.  Any person obtaining a permit under this section shall not be issued another permit within two (2) years.

The applicant shall meet all qualifications established by rules promulgated with this code or by ordinance, resolution, or statute.  The full names and addresses of the owner, lessee, applicant and of the responsible officers, if the owner or lessee is a corporate body, shall be stated in the application.

Exception:    Plumbers holding a maintenance plumbers certificate who are regular employees of the firm or corporation for which the work is to be performed, may obtain a permit to do plumbing work on the premises of the firm or corporation provided the work is not associated with work requiring a building permit.

106.6.6.2 Fee schedule: For the purpose of this code, any fixture, accessory, appliance or equipment of any nature requiring a permanent or rigid connection to any sewer or water line, will be classified as a fixture and the permit will be assessed as such.  The plumbing permit fees shall be as follows:

$48.60    for each tap or opening into any public sewer, or private sewer that is connected to a public sewer

$ 3.78    per fixture for the first twenty-five fixtures, and for each additional fixture or opening, $1.08

$ 2.16    for each floor drain, garage drain, or any other fixture, appliance, or waste line connecting directly with the drainage system of the building

Any required re-inspection will be charged in accordance with the Building Code of Columbia, Missouri.

In no case shall the fee for permits be less than sixteen dollars and twenty cents ($16.20) for structures not previously plumbed or alterations of, or extensions to, existing plumbing.

106.6.3 Fee refunds.  The code official shall authorize the refunding of fees as follows:

1.    The full amount of any fee paid hereunder which was erroneously paid or collected.

2.    Not more than seventy-five (75) percent of the permit fee paid when no work has been done under a permit issued in accordance with this code.

3.    Delete in its entirety.

The code official shall not authorize the refunding of any fee paid, except upon written application filed by the original permittee not later than one hundred eighty (180) days after the date of fee payment.

108.4 Penalties:  Any person who shall violate a provision of this code or shall fail to comply with any of the requirements thereof or who shall install plumbing work in violation of an approved plan or directive of the code official, or of a permit or certificate issued under the provisions of this code, shall be guilty of an ordinance violation, punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or by imprisonment not exceeding ninety (90) days, or both such fine and imprisonment.  Each day that a violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense.

108.5 Stop work orders.  Upon notice from the code official, work on any plumbing system that is being done contrary to the provisions of this code or in a dangerous or unsafe, manner, shall immediately cease.  Such notice shall be in writing and shall be given to the owner of the property, or to the owner’s agent, or to the person doing the work.  The notice shall state the conditions under which work is authorized to resume.  Where an emergency exists, the code official shall not be required to give a written notice prior to stopping the work.  Any person who shall continue any plumbing work in or about the structure after having been served with a stop work order, except such work as that person is directed to perform to remove a violation or unsafe conditions, shall be liable to a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) or more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00).

109.1 Application for appeal:  Any aggrieved person shall have the right to petition the building construction codes commission regarding a decision of the code official to refuse to grant a modification of the provisions of this code covering the manner of construction or materials to be used in the erection, alteration or repair of a plumbing system.  Application for appeal shall be filed in accordance with the procedures set out in Section 113 of the International  Building Code as amended and adopted by the City of Columbia, Missouri.

109.2 through 109.7 Delete.

305.6.1 Sewer Depth: Building sewers that connect to private sewage disposal systems shall be a minimum of thirty (30) inches below finish grade at the point of septic tank connection.  Building sewers shall be a minimum of thirty (30) inches below grade.

405.3.1.1 Water closets, urinals, lavatories, bidets: All water closets shall be spaced at least fifteen (15) inches from the centerline of the fixture to any wall or plumbing fixture except the centerline of the water closet may be spaced twelve (12) inches if located next to the bathtub.

410.1 Add exception:  In business, mercantile, and storage occupancies where drinking fountains are required, the following exceptions are permitted to substitute for one hundred percent (100%) of the required drinking fountains if the required number is not greater than one (1):

    1.    A water cooler or bottled water dispenser;

    2.    Individual bottles of water;

    3.    A break room sink, bar sink, or kitchen sink provided all sinks have an approved standard faucet per IPC 424.1.

602.3 Individual water supply. Where a potable public water supply is not available, individual sources of potable water supply shall be used.

602.3.1 Availability.  A potable public water supply system shall be considered available to a building when any portion of the property is located within two hundred twenty-five (225) feet of the public water main.

606.1 Location of fullopen valves.  Full-open valves shall be installed in the following locations:

1.    On the building water service pipe from the public water supply near the curb.

2.    On the water distribution supply pipe at the entrance into the structure.

3.    On the discharge side of every water meter.

     Exception: Water meters not located inside a building.

4.    On the base of every water riser pipe in occupancies other than multiple-family residential occupancies which are two (2) stories or less in height and in one- and two-family residential occupancies.

5.    On the top of every water down-feed pipe in occupancies other than one- and two-family residential occupancies.

6.    On the entrance to every water supply pipe to a dwelling unit, except where supplying a single fixture equipped with individual stops.

7.    On the water supply pipe to a gravity or pressurized water tank.

8.    On the water supply pipe to every water heater.

701.2 Sewer required:  Every building in which plumbing fixtures are installed and every premises having drainage piping shall be connected to a public sewer, where available, or where a public sewer is not available, a private sewage disposal system shall be provided conforming to Chapter 29 of the Code of Ordinances and the Building Code of Columbia, Missouri.

701.2.1 Public system available:  A public sewer system shall be considered available to a building when any portion of the property is located within two hundred twenty-five (225) feet of the public water main or sewer.

(Ord. No. 14117 § 1, 7-5-94; Ord. No. 14248 § 1, 10-10-94; Ord. No. 15395, § 1, 10-20-97; Ord. No. 17503, § 1, 11-4-02; Ord. No. 17658, § 1, 4-21-03; Ord. No. 18802, § 1, 12-5-05; Ord. No. 19353, § 1, 1-2-07; Ord. No. 19675, § 3, 9-17-07; Ord. No. 20908, § 1, 3-21-11)