Private sewer laterals

 New! PSL Program Contractor List

Sign up here to be added to the PSL Program Contractor List. Contractors are required to certify that they and their representatives understand and will comply with the procedures for scheduling and conducting inspections. These procedures are described in the Guidelines for Contractors (Spanish, Chinese). 

A compliance certificate is issued when a private sewer lateral (PSL) is shown to be leak-free. You can check status, schedule an inspection, apply for an exemption, and more using EBMUD’s property search tool.

To learn more about the Private Sewer Lateral program, what cities it applies to, why it’s important for protecting the environment, and more information for contractors, visit www.eastbaypsl.com.

How to obtain a compliance certificate

  1. Check your property's compliance status here.
  2. Hire a contractor to check your PSL and perform repairs or replacement if necessary.
  3. Schedule an EBMUD inspection to verify that the PSL is leak-free (typically, your contractor will do this step).
  4. A compliance certificate will be issued once the PSL passes inspection.

Your property needs a compliance certificate if any of the following applies:

Reason Trigger
Buying or selling property Required to close escrow
Building or remodeling in excess of $100,000 Final permit sign-off
Changing water meter size Changing water meter size

You can always voluntarily obtain a compliance certificate without meeting any of the above triggers.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you cannot obtain a compliance certificate for your PSL before transferring title, you may purchase a time extension certificate (TEC) which will allow 180 days from the TEC issue date for PSL work to be completed.

Instructions available in the Guidelines for Time Extension Certificate

To request an extension, select your property using the property search tool, request a TEC, pay the fee, and mail the $4,500 refundable deposit.

If you’ve received a courtesy letter or notice of violation, it means that your property recently met a trigger that requires a PSL compliance certificate and you have not yet obtained one.

You may also be eligible for a time extension or an exemption, and may file an appeal form to:

  1. Request an extension of time or other temporary relief from a deadline or other requirement that you believe is impossible, infeasible or unreasonably burdensome.
  2. Appeal a decision, action, or determination made by EBMUD within 30 calendar days.

You may download and fill out an appeals form to make that request. Please note that a request to waive a violation follow-up fee is unlikely to be granted if that fee was properly assessed to a noncompliant property.

Homeowners Associations (HOAs), condominiums, and other common interest developments managed by an HOA, were required to certify all PSLs pipes under their maintenance responsibility by July 12, 2021. If your HOA still needs to comply, fill out and return the HOA Statement of Responsibility Form.

Planning to sell?
If you are property owner within an HOA and you are planning to sell your unit, please confirm with your HOA that it submitted a complete Statement of Responsibility form.

Planning to buy?
If you are considering purchasing a property within an HOA, pleasecontact the HOA to request a copy of the statement of responsibility (SOR) submitted to EBMUD, and contact psl@ebmud.com to ensure that EBMUD received the HOA’s SOR. The SOR should be provided to the title company during escrow and defines your and/or the HOA’s PSL maintenance responsibilities. If the property has no maintenance responsibility for PSL, as documented in the SOR, you do not need to obtain a compliance certificate.

You can find additional details in the Guidelines for Condominiums and Other Common Interest Developments.