Emeryville Sewer Lateral Rules: The Strictest in the Program

Emeryville joined EBMUD's regional program on August 22, 2011. Both the City and EBMUD adopted new sewer lateral ordinances that year, and the City's current Wastewater Collection Ordinance took effect March 19, 2015. The City says its ordinance is stricter than EBMUD's, so if you follow Emeryville's rules you'll meet EBMUD's too. In practice that means a City permit for every lateral job, even a test with no work, and a City inspector on site from start to finish.

Quick facts. Certificate: EBMUD Compliance Certificate. Owner's part: the whole lateral. City permit: required for any repair, replacement, abandonment, or verification test. Inspections: about five City visits, and EBMUD plus the City witness the test. Contact: City of Emeryville, (510) 596-4300.

When you need a test

The City lists the same three triggers as EBMUD, with one detail worth noticing in its wording of the remodel rule:

• Sale of the property
• Construction or remodeling on the property totaling over $100,000 within 3 years
• A change in the size of the water meter

The City adds that most laterals won't pass unless some repair or replacement is done, so plan on work, not just a test.

A permit for everything except clearing a clog

Emeryville Municipal Code Section 7-8.202 requires a sewer lateral permit before a new lateral, any repair, replacement, or abandonment, or a verification test on an existing lateral. EBMUD's own guidelines call this out: Emeryville is the one city in the program where you need a permit even to test as-is. The only exception is clearing a stoppage.

How to apply:

• Submit the application in person at the Emeryville Civic Center reception desk, 1333 Park Avenue, or email it to the Public Works permit team at encroachment-permit@emeryville.org. Printed copies have to be on 8.5 by 11 inch paper.
• Include a certificate of insurance, a current Emeryville business license, and plans or a traffic control plan if needed. The City has to be named as certificate holder and additional insured, with at least $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate.
• The permit also covers work in the street, so you don't need a separate excavation or encroachment permit for the lateral.

Owners can't do it themselves

Only an appropriately licensed contractor can apply for and do the work. Under the City code, an owner-builder can't do permitted lateral work unless they're a licensed contractor themselves. The City also limits who works where:

• Public right-of-way: contractors with an A, C-34, or C-42 license
• Private property only: contractors with a C-36 plumbing license

Permit fees

These are the amounts on the City's current permit application, which lists fees effective July 1, 2025. The City's inspection visits are included in the permit fee. EBMUD's $407 Compliance Certificate fee is separate.

For a typical house with one lateral being repaired or replaced, that works out to the $252 administrative fee plus $788, before any deposit. The deposit comes back after a signed final inspection, but the City keeps it if the work doesn't get final approval within one year of the estimated end date. The City says to check the application for the most current fees.

Inspections: plan on about five

Call Emeryville's Public Works inspector before any work starts, and give 48 hours' notice to pwinspections@emeryville.org. The City says the inspector usually comes about five times per project, following its published inspection schedule. The verification test can't happen until after the inspector's third visit, and it has to be witnessed by both EBMUD and the City inspector. The permit form says work is prohibited at night, on weekends, and on holidays, and weekend work needs Public Works approval in advance.

Before digging, the City asks you to call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000 to check whether a small gas line has been bored through your sewer lateral.

Pipe and cleanout rules

Emeryville limits what new laterals can be made of:

• Vitrified clay pipe (VCP)
• High density polyethylene SDR-17 (HDPE)
• Ductile iron pipe
• Epoxy resin cured-in-place liner, only with Public Works approval

PVC is prohibited. Cleanouts have to be two-way and cast iron. Normally you need two, one about 2 feet inside the curb line and one about 2 feet from the building. A zero-lot-line property can use a single cleanout near the building. Connections to the house plumbing and the City main need watertight rubber couplings with stainless steel bands. Roof leaders, area drains, and sump pumps have to come off the sewer.

Exemptions

• EBMUD may issue a verification test exemption if the lateral was fully replaced in the past 10 years and you have a signed, final building permit showing when. That exemption lasts 10 years from the permit date.
• If the City replaced your lower lateral in the past 10 years during a sewer project, the City may exempt the lower part. You still need to test the upper lateral if a trigger applies.

Certificate length

The City says a certificate is good for 7 years if the lateral was left as-is or repaired, and 20 years if the whole lateral was replaced or lined.

Condos, HOAs and large commercial sites

Emeryville set its own deadlines for these. HOAs had until July 12, 2021 to pass a test on all their laterals and get a certificate, and had to file a reserve study with Public Works by January 1, 2017. Commercial sites with more than 1,000 feet of private sewer had to file a Corrective Action Work Plan by June 2016, and a sale or a remodel over $100,000 on one of these sites requires a new work plan, approved by EBMUD too. If you manage one of these properties, check with Public Works on where yours stands.

Related guides

• How to get an EBMUD Compliance Certificate, step by step
• Selling a home: who pays, the Time Extension Certificate, and exempt transfers
• What the certificate and the work cost
• Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda side by side

Other nearby cities

• Berkeley
• Alameda
• Piedmont
• Albany
• El Cerrito and Kensington
• Oakland