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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5484
February Session, 2022
LCO No. 3346
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S
RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING PRIVATE AND SEMIPUBLIC
WELL TESTING.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 19a-37 of the 2022 supplement to the general 1
statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 2
(Effective October 1, 2022): 3
(a) As used in this section: 4
(1) "Laboratory or firm" means an environmental laboratory 5
registered by the Department of Public Health pursuant to section 19a-6
29a; 7
(2) "Private well" means a water supply well that meets all of the 8
following criteria: (A) Is not a public well; (B) supplies a residential 9
population of less than twenty-five persons per day; and (C) is owned 10
or controlled through an easement or by the same entity that owns or 11
controls the building or parcel that is served by the water supply well; 12 Raised Bill No. 5484
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(3) "Public well" means a water supply well that supplies a public 13
water system; 14
(4) "Semipublic well" means a water supply well that (A) does not 15
meet the definition of a private well or public well, and (B) provides 16
water for drinking and other domestic purposes; and 17
(5) "Water supply well" means an artificial excavation constructed by 18
any method for the purpose of obtaining or providing water for 19
drinking or other domestic, industrial, commercial, agricultural, 20
recreational or irrigation use, or other outdoor water use. 21
(b) The Commissioner of Public Health may adopt regulations, [in the 22
regulations of Connecticut state agencies] in accordance with chapter 54, 23
for the preservation of the public health pertaining to (1) protection and 24
location of new water supply wells or springs for residential or 25
nonresidential construction or for public or semipublic use, and (2) 26
inspection for compliance with the provisions of municipal regulations 27
adopted pursuant to section 22a-354p. 28
(c) (1) On and after October 1, 2022, prior to the sale, exchange, 29
purchase or transfer of real property served by a private or semipublic 30
well, the owner of such property shall test the water quality of such well. 31
Such test shall be completed and the results of such test obtained by the 32
owner not earlier than forty-five days before such sale, exchange, 33
purchase or transfer. Such test shall include, but need not be limited to, 34
testing for total coliform, nitrate, nitrite, sodium, chloride, iron, 35
manganese, hardness, turbidity, pH, sulfate, apparent color, odor, lead, 36
arsenic and uranium. The prospective buyer of such property shall pay 37
the cost of such test. 38
(2) Any laboratory or firm which conducts a water quality test on a 39
private well or semipublic well shall determine if such test is being 40
conducted in connection with the sale, exchange, purchase or transfer of 41
real property, pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection. 42
(3) Any laboratory or firm which conducts a water quality test on a 43 Raised Bill No. 5484
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private well or semipublic well in connection with the sale, exchange, 44
purchase or transfer of the real property shall, not later than thirty days 45
after the completion of such test, report the results of such test to (A) the 46
local health authority of the municipality where the property is located, 47
and (B) the Department of Public Health in a format specified by the 48
department. 49
(4) The Commissioner of Public Health shall adopt regulations, in 50
accordance with chapter 54, for the testing of water quality in private 51
wells and semipublic wells. [Any laboratory or firm which conducts a 52
water quality test on a private well serving a residential property or 53
semipublic well shall, not later than thirty days after the completion of 54
such test, report the results of such test to (1) the public health authority 55
of the municipality where the property is located, and (2) the 56
Department of Public Health in a format specified by the department, 57
provided such report shall only be required if the party for whom the 58
laboratory or firm conducted such test informs the laboratory or firm 59
identified on the chain of custody documentation submitted with the 60
test samples that the test was conducted in connection with the sale of 61
such property. No regulation may require such a test to be conducted as 62
a consequence or a condition of the sale, exchange, transfer, purchase or 63
rental of the real property on which the private well or semipublic well 64
is located.] 65
(d) Prior to the [sale, exchange, purchase, transfer or] rental of real 66
property on which a private or semipublic well is located, the owner 67
shall provide the [buyer or] tenant notice that educational material 68
concerning private well testing is available on the Department of Public 69
Health web site. Failure to provide such notice shall not invalidate any 70
[sale, exchange, purchase, transfer or] rental of real property. If the 71
[seller or] landlord provides such notice in writing, the [seller or] 72
landlord and any real estate licensee shall be deemed to have fully 73
satisfied any duty to notify the [buyer or] tenant that the subject real 74
property is located in an area for which there are reasonable grounds for 75
testing under subsection (g) or (j) of this section. 76 Raised Bill No. 5484
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(e) The Commissioner of Public Health shall adopt regulations, in 77
accordance with chapter 54, to clarify the criteria under which the 78
commissioner may issue a well permit exception and to describe the 79
terms and conditions that shall be imposed when a well is allowed at a 80
premises (1) that is connected to a public water supply system, or (2) 81
whose boundary is located within two hundred feet of an approved 82
community water supply system, measured along a street, alley or 83
easement. Such regulations shall (A) provide for notification of the 84
permit to the public water supplier, (B) address the quality of the water 85
supplied from the well, the means and extent to which the well shall not 86
be interconnected with the public water supply, the need for a physical 87
separation, and the installation of a reduced pressure device for 88
backflow prevention, the inspection and testing requirements of any 89
such reduced pressure device, and (C) identify the extent and frequency 90
of water quality testing required for the well supply. 91
(f) No regulation may require that a certificate of occupancy for a 92
dwelling unit on such residential property be withheld or revoked on 93
the basis of a water quality test performed on a private well pursuant to 94
this section, unless such test results indicate that any maximum 95
contaminant level applicable to public water supply systems for any 96
contaminant listed in the regulations of Connecticut state agencies has 97
been exceeded. No administrative agency, health district or municipal 98
health officer may withhold or cause to be withheld such a certificate of 99
occupancy except as provided in this section. 100
(g) The local director of health may require a private well or 101
semipublic well to be tested for [arsenic,] radium, [uranium,] radon or 102
gross alpha emitters, when there are reasonable grounds to suspect that 103
such contaminants are present in the groundwater. For purposes of this 104
subsection, "reasonable grounds" means (1) the existence of a geological 105
area known to have naturally occurring [arsenic,] radium, [uranium,] 106
radon or gross alpha emitter deposits in the bedrock; or (2) the well is 107
located in an area in which it is known that arsenic, radium, uranium, 108
radon or gross alpha emitters are present in the groundwater. 109 Raised Bill No. 5484
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(h) Except as provided in subsection (i) of this section, the collection 110
of samples for determining the water quality of private wells and 111
semipublic wells may be made only by (1) employees of a laboratory or 112
firm certified or approved by the Department of Public Health to test 113
drinking water, if such employees have been trained in sample 114
collection techniques, (2) certified water operators, (3) local health 115
departments and state employees trained in sample collection 116
techniques, or (4) individuals with training and experience that the 117
Department of Public Health deems sufficient. 118
(i) Any owner of a residential construction, including, but not limited 119
to, a homeowner, on which a private well is located or any general 120
contractor of a new residential construction on which a private well is 121
located may collect samples of well water for submission to a laboratory 122
or firm for the purposes of testing water quality pursuant to this section, 123
provided (1) such laboratory or firm has provided instructions to said 124
owner or general contractor on how to collect such samples, and (2) such 125
owner or general contractor is identified to the subsequent owner on a 126
form to be prescribed by the Department of Public Health. No 127
regulation may prohibit or impede such collection or analysis. 128
(j) The local director of health may require private wells and 129
semipublic wells to be tested for pesticides, herbicides or organic 130
chemicals when there are reasonable grounds to suspect that any such 131
contaminants might be present in the groundwater. For purposes of this 132
subsection, "reasonable grounds" means (1) the presence of nitrate-133
nitrogen in the groundwater at a concentration greater than ten 134
milligrams per liter, or (2) that the private well or semipublic well is 135
located on land, or in proximity to land, associated with the past or 136
present production, storage, use or disposal of organic chemicals as 137
identified in any public record. 138
(k) Any water transported in bulk by any means to a premises 139
currently supplied by a private well or semipublic well where the water 140
is to be used for purposes of drinking or domestic use shall be provided 141
by a bulk water hauler licensed pursuant to section 20-278h. No bulk 142 Raised Bill No. 5484
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water hauler shall deliver water without first notifying the owner of the 143
premises of such delivery. Bulk water hauling to a premises currently 144
supplied by a private well or semipublic well shall be permitted only as 145
a temporary measure to alleviate a water supply shortage. 146
(l) On and after October 1, 2022, the owner of each newly constructed 147
private well or semipublic well shall test the water quality of such well. 148
Such test shall include, but need not be limited to, testing for total 149
coliform, nitrate, nitrite, sodium, chloride, iron, manganese, hardness, 150
turbidity, pH, sulfate, apparent color, odor, lead, arsenic and uranium. 151
The results of such test shall be reported in accordance with the 152
provisions of section 19-13-B101 of the regulations of Connecticut state 153
agencies. 154
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2022 19a-37
PH Joint Favorable
APP Joint Favorable