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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6615
January Session, 2021
AN ACT CONCERNING SA FE DRINKING WATER.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2021) (a) As used in this section: 1
(1) "Bottled water" has the same meaning as defined in section 21a-2
150 of the general statutes; 3
(2) "Drinking water" means water, treated or untreated, intended for 4
human use and consumption, including, but not limited to, drinking, 5
bathing, showering, cooking, dishwashing and maintaining oral 6
hygiene; 7
(3) "Fill station" means a location at which customers of a water 8
company may obtain drinking water from a water company that is not 9
affected by an event impacting the quality or quantity of drinking water 10
being provided to consumers; 11
(4) "Consumer" has the same meaning as provided in section 25a-32a 12
of the general statutes; and 13
(5) "Water company" has the same meaning as provided in section 25-14
32a of the general statutes. 15
(b) A water company shall provide to its consumers an alternative 16
source of drinking water as a temporary measure when there is a water 17 Substitute Bill No. 6615
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main break, loss of system pressure or other event that the water 18
company determines may last more than eight consecutive hours and 19
that the Department of Public Health determines may affect the quality 20
or quantity of water being provided to such consumers. Alternative 21
sources of water include bulk water provided by a bulk water hauler 22
licensed pursuant to section 20-278h of the general statutes, bottled 23
water or a fill station. A water company shall update its emergency 24
response plan prepared pursuant to section 25-32d of the general 25
statutes or pursuant to section 19-13-B102 of the regulations of 26
Connecticut state agencies, as applicable, to include information 27
regarding how such water company will comply with this section. 28
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2021) A water company shall 29
provide tier 1 notices to its consumers in the languages predominantly 30
spoken by the consumers in the water company's service area. A water 31
company shall update its emergency response plan prepared pursuant 32
to section 25-32d of the general statutes or pursuant to section 19-13-33
B102 of the regulations of Connecticut state agencies to include 34
information regarding the provision of such multilingual 35
communications. For purposes of this section, "water company" has the 36
same meaning as provided in section 25-32a of the general statutes and 37
"tier 1 notices" has the same meaning as provided in section 19-13-B102 38
of the regulations of Connecticut state agencies. 39
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2021) If the Governor proclaims that 40
a state of civil preparedness emergency, pursuant to section 28-9 of the 41
general statutes, or a public health emergency, pursuant to section 19a-42
131 of the general statutes, exists, each community water system shall 43
report the community water system's operational status to WebEOC as 44
soon as practicable, but not later than eight hours after the time of such 45
proclamation, and at any time thereafter that the status of such system 46
changes. For purposes of this section, "community water system" means 47
a public water system that serves at least twenty-five residents, and 48
"WebEOC" means a web-based emergency management information 49
system used by the state to document routine and emergency events or 50 Substitute Bill No. 6615
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incidents and provide a real-time common operating picture and 51
resource request management tool for emergency managers at the local 52
and state levels during exercises, drills, local or regional emergencies or 53
state-wide emergencies. 54
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2021) (a) As used in this section: 55
(1) "Consumer" has the same meaning as provided in section 25-32a 56
of the general statutes; 57
(2) "Owner" means the person or entity that owns or controls the 58
small community water system; and 59
(3) "Small community water system" has the same meaning as 60
provided in section 19a-37e of the general statutes. 61
(b) Not later than January 1, 2025, each owner of a small community 62
water system shall complete a small community water system capacity 63
implementation plan on a form prescribed by the Department of Public 64
Health demonstrating that such owner has the managerial, technical 65
and financial capacity to continue to own and operate such system and 66
shall implement such plan. Following the completion of the initial small 67
community water system capacity implementation plan, each small 68
community water system shall update such small community water 69
system capacity implementation plan annually and make such small 70
community water system capacity implementation plan available to the 71
department upon request. Such plan shall include: 72
(1) A description of the small community water system, including the 73
number of consumers and persons served, and sources of drinking 74
water; 75
(2) Ownership and management information, including the type of 76
ownership structure and the current names, addresses and telephone 77
numbers of the owners, certified operators and emergency contact 78
persons for the small community water system; 79 Substitute Bill No. 6615
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(3) Service area maps; 80
(4) Facilities maps, including the location of and specific information 81
regarding sources, storage facilities, treatment facilities, pressure zones, 82
booster pumps, hydrants, distribution lines, valves and sampling 83
points; 84
(5) A description of such system's cross-connection control program; 85
(6) A description of such system's source water protection program; 86
(7) A copy of such system's emergency response plan required 87
pursuant to section 19-13-B102 of the regulations of Connecticut state 88
agencies; 89
(8) A capital improvement program, including the schedule that 90
identifies all capital improvements scheduled for a five-year planning 91
period and capital improvements or major projects scheduled for a 92
twenty-year planning period; 93
(9) Water production and consumption information; 94
(10) Information regarding public water systems that are nearby, 95
including the distance from the small community water system and type 96
of public water system, if any. Such information shall be based on the 97
coordinated water system plan approved by the Commissioner of 98
Public Health pursuant to section 25-33h of the general statutes for the 99
water utility coordinating committee in which such small community 100
water system is located; and 101
(11) Financial capacity information, including: 102
(A) An evaluation of the small community water system's fiscal plan 103
prepared pursuant to section 19a-37e of the general statutes; 104
(B) A summary of the income and expenses for the five years 105
preceding the date of submission of the plan; 106 Substitute Bill No. 6615
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(C) A five-year balanced operation budget; 107
(D) Water rate structure and fees charged, including information 108
regarding how such rates and fees are updated and whether such rates 109
and fees are sufficient to maintain cash flow stability and to fund the 110
capital improvement program, as well as any emergency 111
improvements; and 112
(E) An evaluation that has considered the affordability of water rates. 113
(c) On or before July 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, the small 114
community water system shall provide a summary of its small 115
community water system capacity plan in the small community water 116
system's consumer confidence report required by section 19-13-B102 of 117
the regulations of Connecticut state agencies. 118
(d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a small 119
community water system that is (1) regulated by the Public Utilities 120
Regulatory Authority, (2) subject to the requirements set forth in section 121
25-32d of the general statutes, or (3) a state agency. 122
(e) The provisions of this section shall be deemed to relate to the 123
purity and adequacy of water supplies for the purposes of the 124
imposition of a penalty under section 25-32e of the general statutes. 125
(f) The commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance with the 126
provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes, to carry out the 127
provisions of this section. 128
Sec. 5. Section 21a-150b of the general statutes is repealed and the 129
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 130
(a) Qualified employees of a bottler shall collect samples of water 131
from each approved source used by such bottler not less than once 132
annually to test for contaminants for which allowable levels have been 133
established in accordance with 21 CFR 165.110 and regulations adopted 134
pursuant to sections 21a-150 to 21a-150j, inclusive, as amended by this 135 Substitute Bill No. 6615
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act, and not less than once every three years to test for contaminants for 136
which monitoring is required pursuant to sections 21a-150 to 21a-150j, 137
inclusive, as amended by this act, but for which no allowable level has 138
been established. Qualified employees of an approved laboratory shall 139
analyze such samples to determine whether such source complies with 140
the provisions of sections 21a-150 to 21a-150j, inclusive, as amended by 141
this act, any regulation adopted pursuant to said sections and any 142
allowable contaminant level set forth in 21 CFR 165.110. Microbiological 143
analysis shall be conducted not less than once each calendar quarter if 144
the source of such water is other than a public water supply and shall 145
be in addition to any sampling and analysis conducted by any 146
government agency or laboratory. 147
(b) Qualified employees of a bottler shall collect samples of water 148
from any source used by such bottler when such bottler knows or has 149
reason to believe that water obtained from such source contains an 150
unregulated contaminant in an amount which may adversely affect the 151
health or welfare of the public. Qualified employees of an approved 152
laboratory shall analyze such samples periodically to determine 153
whether water obtained from any such source is safe for public 154
consumption or use. 155
(c) On or before January 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, qualified 156
employees of a bottler shall (1) collect samples of water from each 157
approved source that is located in the state, that has been inspected and 158
approved by the Department of Public Health pursuant to subdivision 159
(2) of subsection (a) of section 21a-150a and is used by such bottler, prior 160
to any treatment, to test for perfluoroalkyl substances and other 161
unregulated contaminants, and (2) have such samples analyzed by an 162
environmental laboratory registered by the Department of Public 163
Health pursuant to section 19a-29a that has the Environmental 164
Protection Agency approved certification to conduct such analysis. For 165
purposes of this subsection, "unregulated contaminant" means a 166
contaminant for which the Commissioner of Public Health, pursuant to 167
section 22a-471, has set a level at which such contaminant creates or can 168 Substitute Bill No. 6615
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reasonably be expected to create an unacceptable risk of injury to the 169
health or safety of persons drinking such source of water. 170
Sec. 6. Section 21a-150d of the general statutes is repealed and the 171
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 172
(a) A laboratory which analyzes any water sample in accordance with 173
any provision of sections 21a-150 to 21a-150j, inclusive, as amended by 174
this act, shall report the results of such analysis to the bottler of such 175
water. 176
(b) Such results shall be available for inspection by the Department 177
of Consumer Protection. 178
(c) A bottler shall report any result which indicates that a water 179
sample contains contaminants in an amount exceeding any applicable 180
standard to the Department of Consumer Protection not later than 181
twenty-four hours after learning of such result. 182
(d) A bottler shall report the results of the analysis conducted 183
pursuant to subsection (c) of section 21a-150b, as amended by this act, 184
to the Department of Public Health and the Department of Consumer 185
Protection not later than nine calendar days after receipt of the results 186
from the environmental laboratory. If such results exceed the level set 187
by the Commissioner of Public Health pursuant to section 22a-471 for 188
such perfluoroalkyl substances and other unregulated contaminants, 189
the Department of Public Health may require such bottler to discontinue 190
use of its approved source until such source no longer creates an 191
unacceptable risk of injury to the health or safety of persons drinking 192
the bottled water that comes from such source. The Department of 193
Public Health shall notify the Department of Consumer Protection of 194
any source for which the Department of Public Health has discontinued 195
use until such source no longer creates an unacceptable risk of injury to 196
the health or safety of the persons drinking the bottled water that comes 197
from such source. For purposes of this section, "unregulated 198
contaminant" means a contaminant for which the Commissioner of 199 Substitute Bill No. 6615
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Public Health, pursuant to section 22a-471, has set a level at which such 200
contaminant creates or can reasonably be expected to create an 201
unacceptable risk of injury to the health or safety of the persons drinking 202
such source of water. 203
[(d)] (e) All records of any sampling or analysis conducted in 204
accordance with the provisions of sections 21a-150 to 21a-150j, inclusive, 205
as amended by this act, shall be maintained on the premises of the 206
bottler for not less than five years. 207
Sec. 7. Section 25-40a of the general statutes is repealed and the 208
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 209
(a) Not later than twenty-four hours after obtaining a public water 210
system test result that shows a contaminant at a level that is in violation 211
of the federal Environmental Protection Agency national primary 212
drinking water standards, the environmental laboratory that performed 213
the test shall notify any persons who requested such test and the 214
Department of Public Health, in a form and manner prescribed by the 215
Commissioner of Public Health, of such test result. For purposes of this 216
subsection, "contaminant" means e. coli, lead, nitrate and nitrite. 217
(b) Not later than five business days after receiving notice that a 218
public water system is in violation of the federal Environmental 219
Protection Agency national primary drinking water standards, the 220
Commissioner of Public Health, or the commissioner's designee, shall 221
give written or electronic notification of such violation to the chief 222
elected official of the municipality where such public water system is 223
located and of any municipality that is served by such public water 224
system. 225
Sec. 8. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2021) Each health care institution, 226
as defined in section 19a-490 of the general statutes, required to obtain 227
potable water as a temporary measure to alleviate a water supply 228
shortage shall obtain such potable water from (1) a bulk water hauler, 229
licensed pursuant to section 20-278h of the general statutes, or (2) a 230 Substitute Bill No. 6615
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bottler, as defined in section 21a-150 of the general statutes. 231
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 3 October 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 4 October 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 5 October 1, 2021 21a-150b
Sec. 6 October 1, 2021 21a-150d
Sec. 7 October 1, 2021 25-40a
Sec. 8 October 1, 2021 New section
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 5(b)(11)(A), "fiscal plan" was changed to "fiscal and asset
management plan" for accuracy.
PH Joint Favorable Subst.