1.3 Plan Review, Plan Approval & Product Approvals (SPS 382.20)
Key Takeaways
Health care facilities (hospitals, nursing homes, ambulatory surgery and renal dialysis centers, CBRFs, inpatient hospices) need department plan review regardless of fixture count (Table 382.20-1).
Public buildings with 16 or more plumbing fixtures go to an agent municipality or the department; water heaters, floor drains, storm inlets, roof drains, MPP sprinklers and hose bibbs count as fixtures.
Grease interceptors, garage catch basins, oil and car wash interceptors for public buildings, private water mains and chemical waste systems also need plan review (Table 382.20-2).
Plans are signed by a Wisconsin architect, engineer or plumbing designer, or by a master plumber, master plumber-restricted or utility contractor with license number.
DSPS decides plan reviews within 15 business days; approval expires 2 years after the approval date if construction has not started, and approved plans must stay on site.
Two lists, two reviewers (SPS 382.20 (1))
Table 382.20-1: submit to the department, wherever the project is located (except direct fixture replacements):
| Line | Installation |
|---|---|
| 1 | All plumbing serving hospitals, nursing homes, ambulatory surgery centers, renal dialysis centers, CBRFs and inpatient hospices, regardless of fixture count |
| 2 | 16 or more fixtures in buildings owned by a metropolitan or sanitary sewer district |
| 3 | 16 or more fixtures in state-owned buildings |
| 4 | Alternate and experimental plumbing systems |
| 5 | Testable backflow assemblies serving health care facilities |
| 6 | Stormwater and clearwater detention, treatment and infiltration systems serving a public building or facility |
| 7 | Onsite residential and commercial water reuse treatment systems |
| 8 | Potable water storage systems |
| 9 | Potable water treatment by chemical injection (not one- and 2-family dwellings) |
| 10 | Medical or high-purity water |
| 11 | Mixed wastewater holding devices |
| 12 | Multipurpose piping systems (not one- and 2-family dwellings) |
Agent municipalities may review lines 6, 7 and 11 when authorized.
Table 382.20-2: submit to the agent municipality if the project is inside one; otherwise to the department:
| Line | Installation |
|---|---|
| 1 | New work, additions and alterations involving 16 or more plumbing fixtures in public buildings |
| 2 | Grease interceptors for public buildings |
| 3 | Garage catch basins, car wash interceptors and oil interceptors for public buildings and facilities |
| 4 | Sanitary dump stations |
| 5 | Private water mains |
| 6 | Water and drain systems for manufactured home communities and campgrounds (first-class city agents only) |
| 7 | Private interceptor main sewers larger than 4 inches sized for gravity flow |
| 8 | Chemical waste systems regardless of fixture count (first-class city agents only) |
| 9 | Stormwater systems for public buildings with a drainage area of 1 acre or more |
| 10 | Mixed wastewater holding devices |
Counting fixtures. For the 16-fixture test, count water heaters, floor drains, storm inlets, roof drains, MPP fire sprinklers and hose bibbs along with ordinary fixtures. For phased projects such as malls or office parks, count every proposed fixture on a common building sewer, water service or storm sewer. Zero-lot-line row houses with individual services and sewers are not public buildings for this purpose. A direct plumbing fixture replacement (one that doesn't add load or change the piping) needs no submittal.
One- and 2-family dwellings follow the Uniform Dwelling Code permit process under SPS 320.09 instead.
Worked example. A restaurant remodel adds 6 fixtures to a building with 12, plus a new exterior grease interceptor. The 18 total fixtures cross the 16-fixture threshold, and the grease interceptor independently requires review under Table 382.20-2. If the city is an agent municipality, submit there; otherwise submit to DSPS.
Plans, signatures and processing (SPS 382.20 (4) to (10))
- Submit one complete set of clear, permanent plans and one copy of the specifications, with the address and owner's name, plus enough data to show compliance.
- Who signs: a Wisconsin registered architect, engineer or plumbing designer (sign and seal under A-E 2), or a master plumber, master plumber-restricted service or appliance, or utility contractor (sign, date and include license number on each sheet or the index sheet). Pump installers may sign plans for their own installations.
- DSPS decides within 15 business days (SPS 302.07 (3)). Plans that substantially conform get a conditional approval; non-code conditions must be corrected before or during installation. Plans that don't conform are denied in writing.
- Priority review appointments are available for the fee in SPS 302.09.
- The responsible plumber keeps at least one stamped set of plans and specifications on site, open to DSPS inspection.
- Revisions affecting code compliance must be approved in writing before installation.
- Approval expires 2 years after the date on the approval letter if construction hasn't started. Approvals may be revoked for false statements.
- Department approval is not an assumption of design responsibility.
- Fees for plan review and variances are in SPS 302.64 and 302.52. Agent municipalities set their own by ordinance.
Agent municipalities (SPS 382.20 (2))
DSPS designates municipalities to review plans within their limits. Their plumbing inspectors must be licensed master or journeyman plumbers. Appointments are renewed every 5 years, and an agent may waive jurisdiction on any project and send it to DSPS.
Variances, alternates and experiments
- Petition for variance under ch. SPS 303 on form SBD-9890 with a fee, showing equivalency. Regular petitions are decided within 30 business days and priority petitions within 10.
- Alternate plumbing systems that meet the intent of SPS 382 and 384 may receive written approval, decided within 3 months, possibly with conditions or an expiration date.
- Experimental systems get a separate approval for each project, decided within 6 months. They are inspected at least annually, and within 5 years the department may order removal, grant alternate approval or extend the experiment.
- Modifying an approved alternate or experimental system voids the approval unless it is resubmitted.
Product approvals and listings (SPS 384.10 to 384.12)
Products must conform to SPS 382 to 384 and ch. 145 before they are sold or installed. Product categories in Table 384.10 need written department approval, decided within 40 business days. All products must be listed by an ANSI-accredited third party acceptable to DSPS and marked per their standard. Non-conforming products may use alternate or experimental approval under SPS 384.50.
For the 16-fixture plan review threshold in Table 382.20-2, which items are counted as plumbing fixtures?
Only water closets, urinals and lavatories, because the rest are appliances
All fixtures, plus water heaters, floor and roof drains, storm inlets, MPP sprinklers and hose bibbs
Only fixtures that use hot water, including water heaters but excluding hose bibbs
Only fixtures discharging to the building drain, excluding roof drains and storm inlets
Plumbing for a new 40-bed nursing home has 12 fixtures. Where must the plans be submitted?
To the local agent municipality because there are fewer than 16 fixtures
No plan review is required
To the department, regardless of fixture count
To the county health department
When does a DSPS plumbing plan approval expire under SPS 382.20 (10) (b)?
2 years after the approval date if construction has not commenced
6 months after approval
When the master plumber's license expires
It never expires
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.