Public Health Committee
Environment Committee
Government Administration and Elections Committee
AN ACT CONCERNING WATER SUPPLY PLANS AND WATER DIVERSIONS
SUMMARY: This act:
1. requires water companies' supply plans, beginning January 1, 2004, to include an evaluation of source water protection measures for all sources of water supply;
2. requires water companies to give the Public Health Department (DPH) sabotage prevention and response procedures separate from their water supply plans and exempts these procedures from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act;
3. changes the deadline for entities required to submit information on their water diversions to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) from July 1, 2002 to no later than six months after DEP publishes notice of the deadline and a form on which to submit the information;
4. changes the conditions under which local health directors may issue a permit for a new well on residential property within 200 feet of a public water supply and allows them to issue permits to replace wells under the same conditions;
5. requires the DPH commissioner to adopt regulations clarifying the conditions under which well permit exceptions can be granted when premises are connected to a public water supply; and
6. sets conditions under which a local health director, regardless of DPH regulations, can permit use of a well or installation of a replacement well for a single family home within 200 feet of a public water supply.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2002, except for the water diversion data submission deadline change, which is effective on passage.
WATER SUPPLY PLANS
Beginning January 1, 2004, the act requires water companies' supply plans to include an evaluation of source water protection measures for all sources of their water supply. The evaluation must be based on identification of critical lands to be protected and incompatible land uses that could contaminate a public water drinking source. By law, water companies serving over 1,000 people or 250 consumers must submit a plan at least every five years to the public health commissioner. The commissioner must distribute copies to the DEP, Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC), and Office of Policy and Management.
The act also requires DPH to include in its currently required water supply plan regulations describing the contents of these evaluations. They must be adopted in consultation with DEP and DPUC.
SABOTAGE PLANS
The act requires water companies to give the DPH sabotage prevention and response procedures separate from their water supply plans and makes these plans confidential and exempt them from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. It specifically exempts from disclosure procedures established by municipally owned water companies.
WATER DIVERSION INFORMATION
PA 01-202 required companies, towns, and other entities that withdraw substantial amounts of water from wells or surface sources to provide DEP with information about their water diversions by July 1, 2002, whether or not the diversion was registered or eligible for registration. The act eliminates this deadline and, instead, requires the information to be submitted within six months after DEP publishes a dated notice of the deadline. As under current law, the data must be submitted on a form DEP develops in consultation with DPH, DPUC, and the Agriculture Department. The act requires DEP to publish a dated notice of the form's availability.
WELL PERMITS
Residential Exceptions
DPH regulations generally prohibit private wells on residential property within 200 feet of a public water supply. Prior law allowed local health directors to issue permits for wells in this situation only if:
1. the DPUC has ordered the public water system to reduce the demand on it,
2. the well water is not used for human consumption,
3. the well is not connected to the public water supply, and
4. use of the well does not impair the purity or adequacy of the supply or service to the system's customers.
The act allows local health directors to issue a permit for a new or replacement well only if:
1. the well water is used only for irrigation or other outdoor purpose, is not used for human consumption, and a reduced pressure device is installed to protect against a cross-connection with the public water supply;
2. the well replaces one that was used at the premises for domestic purposes (DPH regulations define domestic purposes as drinking, bathing, washing clothes and dishes, and cooking) and is subject to water quality testing when it is installed and at least every 10 years afterward or as requested by the health director; or
3. DPUC has ordered the public water system to reduce the demand on it, the well is not connected to the public water supply, and use of the well does not impair the purity or adequacy of the supply or service to the system's customers.
Regulation Authorization
The act requires the DPH commissioner to adopt regulations clarifying criteria under which a well permit exception may be granted and describing conditions that must be imposed when a well is permitted at premises that are connected to the public water supply. The regulations must:
1. address the well's water quality,
2. address the extent to which the well is not to be connected to the public water supply and the means to achieve that end,
3. address installation of reduced pressure devices for backflow prevention and inspecting and testing these devices,
4. provide for notice of the permit to the public water supplier, and
5. identify the extent and frequency for testing the well's water quality.
Single Family Regulatory Exception
The act allows a local health director, regardless of DPH regulations, to authorize under certain conditions an existing well's use or its replacement at a single family residence located within 200 feet of a public water supply. This can occur:
1. for a replacement well used for domestic purposes if (a) the premises are not connected to the public water supply, (b) the water quality is tested at installation and at least every 10 years afterward or as requested by the health director, (c) the testing shows the well meets the Public Health Code's water quality standards for wells, and (d) all other regulatory requirements are met and
2. for a new or replacement well on a premises served by a public water supply if (a) it is used solely for irrigation or some other outdoor purpose, (b) it is permanently and physically separated from the home's internal plumbing, and (c) a reduced pressure device is installed to protect against a cross-connection with the public water supply.
BACKGROUND
DPH Well Regulations
DPH regulations prohibit a local health director from approving a well permit for a residential dwelling if a community water system is available and the lot line of the parcel where the dwelling is located is within 200 feet of the water line. But the DPH commissioner can waive this prohibition if (1) he finds the situation will not adversely affect the quality or adequacy of the water supply or the water company's service, (2) the water system cannot adequately supply pure water, or (3) construction problems warrant an exception (Conn. Agency Regs. , § 19-13-B51m).
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