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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 834
January Session, 2021
AN ACT CONCERNING WA TER QUALITY NOTIFICATION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 19a-37 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 2
(a) As used in this section: 3
(1) "Laboratory or firm" means an environmental laboratory 4
registered by the Department of Public Health pursuant to section 19a-5
29a; 6
(2) "Private well" means a water supply well that meets all of the 7
following criteria: (A) Is not a public well; (B) supplies a population of 8
less than twenty-five persons per day; and (C) is owned or controlled 9
through an easement or by the same entity that owns or controls the 10
building or parcel that is served by the water supply well; 11
(3) "Public well" means a water supply well that supplies a public 12
water system; 13
(4) "Semipublic well" means a water supply well that (A) does not 14
meet the definition of a private well or public well, and (B) provides 15
water for drinking and other domestic purposes; and 16 Substitute Bill No. 834
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(5) "Water supply well" means an artificial excavation constructed by 17
any method for the purpose of obtaining or providing water for 18
drinking or other domestic, industrial, commercial, agricultural, 19
recreational or irrigation use, or other outdoor water use. 20
(b) The Commissioner of Public Health may adopt regulations in the 21
Public Health Code for the preservation of the public health pertaining 22
to (1) protection and location of new water supply wells or springs for 23
residential or nonresidential construction or for public or semipublic 24
use, and (2) inspection for compliance with the provisions of municipal 25
regulations adopted pursuant to section 22a-354p. 26
(c) The Commissioner of Public Health shall adopt regulations, in 27
accordance with chapter 54, for the testing of water quality in private 28
residential wells and semipublic wells. Any laboratory or firm which 29
conducts a water quality test on a private well serving a residential 30
property or semipublic well shall, not later than thirty days after the 31
completion of such test, report the results of such test to (1) the public 32
health authority of the municipality where the property is located, and 33
(2) the Department of Public Health in a format specified by the 34
department, provided such report shall only be required if the party for 35
whom the laboratory or firm conducted such test informs the laboratory 36
or firm identified on the chain of custody documentation submitted 37
with the test samples that the test was conducted in connection with the 38
sale of such property. No regulation may require such a test to be 39
conducted as a consequence or a condition of the sale, exchange, 40
transfer, purchase or rental of the real property on which the private 41
residential well or semipublic well is located. 42
(d) Prior to the sale, exchange, purchase, transfer or rental of real 43
property on which a residential well is located, the owner shall provide 44
the buyer or tenant notice that educational material concerning private 45
well testing is available on the Department of Public Health web site. 46
Failure to provide such notice shall not invalidate any sale, exchange, 47
purchase, transfer or rental of real property. If the seller or landlord 48
provides such notice in writing, the seller or landlord and any real estate 49 Substitute Bill No. 834
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licensee shall be deemed to have fully satisfied any duty to notify the 50
buyer or tenant that the subject real property is located in an area for 51
which there are reasonable grounds for testing under subsection (g) or 52
(j) of this section. 53
(e) The Commissioner of Public Health shall adopt regulations, in 54
accordance with chapter 54, to clarify the criteria under which the 55
commissioner may issue a well permit exception and to describe the 56
terms and conditions that shall be imposed when a well is allowed at a 57
premises (1) that is connected to a public water supply system, or (2) 58
whose boundary is located within two hundred feet of an approved 59
community water supply system, measured along a street, alley or 60
easement. Such regulations shall (A) provide for notification of the 61
permit to the public water supplier, (B) address the quality of the water 62
supplied from the well, the means and extent to which the well shall not 63
be interconnected with the public water supply, the need for a physical 64
separation, and the installation of a reduced pressure device for 65
backflow prevention, the inspection and testing requirements of any 66
such reduced pressure device, and (C) identify the extent and frequency 67
of water quality testing required for the well supply. 68
(f) No regulation may require that a certificate of occupancy for a 69
dwelling unit on such residential property be withheld or revoked on 70
the basis of a water quality test performed on a private residential well 71
pursuant to this section, unless such test results indicate that any 72
maximum contaminant level applicable to public water supply systems 73
for any contaminant listed in the public health code has been exceeded. 74
No administrative agency, health district or municipal health officer 75
may withhold or cause to be withheld such a certificate of occupancy 76
except as provided in this section. 77
(g) The local director of health may require a private residential well 78
or semipublic well to be tested for arsenic, radium, uranium, radon or 79
gross alpha emitters, when there are reasonable grounds to suspect that 80
such contaminants are present in the groundwater. For purposes of this 81
subsection, "reasonable grounds" means (1) the existence of a geological 82 Substitute Bill No. 834
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area known to have naturally occurring arsenic, radium, uranium, 83
radon or gross alpha emitter deposits in the bedrock; or (2) the well is 84
located in an area in which it is known that arsenic, radium, uranium, 85
radon or gross alpha emitters are present in the groundwater. 86
(h) Except as provided in subsection (i) of this section, the collection 87
of samples for determining the water quality of private residential wells 88
and semipublic wells may be made only by (1) employees of a 89
laboratory or firm certified or approved by the Department of Public 90
Health to test drinking water, if such employees have been trained in 91
sample collection techniques, (2) certified water operators, (3) local 92
health departments and state employees trained in sample collection 93
techniques, or (4) individuals with training and experience that the 94
Department of Public Health deems sufficient. 95
(i) Any owner of a residential construction, including, but not limited 96
to, a homeowner, on which a private residential well is located or any 97
general contractor of a new residential construction on which a private 98
residential well is located may collect samples of well water for 99
submission to a laboratory or firm for the purposes of testing water 100
quality pursuant to this section, provided (1) such laboratory or firm has 101
provided instructions to said owner or general contractor on how to 102
collect such samples, and (2) such owner or general contractor is 103
identified to the subsequent owner on a form to be prescribed by the 104
Department of Public Health. No regulation may prohibit or impede 105
such collection or analysis. 106
(j) The local director of health may require private residential wells 107
and semipublic wells to be tested for pesticides, herbicides or organic 108
chemicals when there are reasonable grounds to suspect that any such 109
contaminants might be present in the groundwater. For purposes of this 110
subsection, "reasonable grounds" means (1) the presence of nitrate-111
nitrogen in the groundwater at a concentration greater than ten 112
milligrams per liter, or (2) that the private residential well or semipublic 113
well is located on land, or in proximity to land, associated with the past 114
or present production, storage, use or disposal of organic chemicals as 115 Substitute Bill No. 834
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identified in any public record. 116
(k) The owner of any residential or commercial property shall notify 117
each tenant of any leased or rented unit located on such property and 118
the lessee of such property whenever any testing of the water supply for 119
such property indicates that the water exceeds a maximum contaminant 120
level applicable to water supply systems for any contaminant listed in 121
the Public Health Code or for any contaminant listed on the state 122
drinking water action level list established pursuant to section 22a-471. 123
Not later than twenty-four hours after receiving notification of the 124
results of such testing, the owner shall forward a copy of such 125
notification to each such tenant and lessee. The local director of health 126
shall take all reasonable steps to verify that such owner forwarded the 127
notice required pursuant to this subsection. 128
[(k)] (l) Any water transported in bulk by any means to a premises 129
currently supplied by a private well or semipublic well where the water 130
is to be used for purposes of drinking or domestic use shall be provided 131
by a bulk water hauler licensed pursuant to section 20-278h. No bulk 132
water hauler shall deliver water without first notifying the owner of the 133
premises of such delivery. Bulk water hauling to a premises currently 134
supplied by a private well or semipublic well shall be permitted only as 135
a temporary measure to alleviate a water supply shortage. 136
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2021 19a-37
PH Joint Favorable Subst.