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OLR Bill Analysis
HB 5484
AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S
RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING PRIVATE AND SEMIPUBLIC
WELL TESTING.
SUMMARY
Starting October 1, 2022, this bill requires property owners to test the
water quality of their private or semipublic wells:
1. when the well is newly constructed, as under current regulation
(see BACKGROUND) and
2. before selling, purchasing, exchanging, or transferring the
property.
At a minimum, the testing must screen for the following
contaminants: total coliform, nitrate, nitrite, sodium, chloride, iron,
manganese, hardness, turbidity, pH, sulfate, apparent color, odor, lead,
arsenic, and uranium. Within 30 days after completing the test, the
environmental laboratory that does the testing must report the results
to the local health department of the municipality where the property is
located.
The bill requires (1) property owners to complete testing related to a
real estate transaction within 45 days before the transaction occurs and
(2) the prospective buyer to pay for the test. (Presumably, the property
owner would be required to pay for testing related to transactions other
than sales.) For this testing, in addition to reporting to the local health
department, the laboratory must also report the results to the
Department of Public Health (DPH) in a format the department
specifies. The bill makes the laboratory responsible for knowing if the
test is related to a property transaction.
Additionally, current law allows a local or district health director to 2022HB-05484-R000375-BA.DOCX
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require that an existing private or semipublic well be tested for certain
contaminants if he or she reasonably suspects groundwater
contamination. The bill removes arsenic and uranium from the list of
contaminants that must be tested for, but continues required testing for
radium, radon, gross alpha emitters, pesticides, herbicides, or organic
chemicals. (The bill already requires property owners to test these wells
for arsenic and uranium when they are newly constructed or part of a
real estate transaction.)
Lastly, the bill makes technical and conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2022
BACKGROUND
Current Testing Requirements
Local health districts and departments oversee private and
semipublic residential wells, and well owners are responsible for
maintaining the well and testing the quality of their own drinking water.
State regulation requires water quality tests for newly constructed
private residential wells, but neither state law nor regulation requires
testing after the wells are first built.
Therefore, existing private wells are not tested unless the (1)
homeowner arranges for the test or (2) local health department or the
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection tests as part of an
investigation (Conn. Agencies Regs. §§ 19-13-B101 and 19-13-B102).
Additionally, neither state law nor regulation currently requires an
existing well to be tested as a condition of selling a home (Conn.
Agencies Regs. § 19-13-B101). Instead, current law requires a
homeowner to notify the purchaser that information about well testing
is available on the DPH website.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Public Health Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 20 Nay 10 (03/23/2022)