| (4) The executive director shall consider requests
for alternative capacity requirements in accordance with the following
requirements.
(A) For those requests submitted under the seal of
a licensed professional engineer, the executive director must mail
written acceptance or denial of the proposed alternative capacity
requirements to the public water system within 90 days from the date
of submission. If the executive director fails to mail written notification
within 90 days, the alternative capacity requirements submitted by
a licensed professional engineer automatically become the alternative
capacity requirements for the public water system.
(B) If the executive director denies the request:
(i) the executive director shall mail written notice
to the public water system identifying the specific reason or reasons
for denial and allow 45 days for the public water system to respond
to the reason(s) for denial;
(ii) the denial is final if no response from the public
water system is received within 45 days of the written notice being
mailed; and
(iii) the executive director must mail a final written
approval or denial within 60 days from the receipt of any response
timely submitted by the public water system.
(5) Although elevated storage is the preferred method
of pressure maintenance for systems of over 2,500 connections, it
is recognized that local conditions may dictate the use of alternate
methods utilizing hydropneumatic tanks and on-site emergency power
equipment. Alternative capacity requirements to the elevated storage
requirements may be obtained based on request to and approval by the
executive director. Special conditions apply to systems qualifying
for an elevated storage alternative capacity requirement.
(A) The system must submit documentation sufficient
to assure that the alternate method of pressure maintenance is capable
of providing a safe and uninterrupted supply of water under pressure
to the distribution system during all demand conditions.
(i) A signed and sealed statement by a licensed professional
engineer must be provided which certifies that the pressure maintenance
facilities are sized, designed, and capable of providing a minimum
pressure of at least 35 psi at all points within the distribution
network at flow rates of 1.5 gpm per connection or greater. In addition,
the engineer must certify that the emergency power facilities are
capable of providing the greater of the average daily demand or 0.35
gpm per connection while maintaining distribution pressures of at
least 20 psi or a pressure approved by the executive director, or
35 psi, as required by TWC §13.1394 and §13.1395, respectively,
and that emergency power facilities powering production and treatment
facilities are capable of supplying at least 0.35 gpm per connection
to storage.
(ii) The system's licensed professional engineer must
conduct a hydraulic analysis of the system under peak conditions.
This must include an analysis of the time lag between the loss of
the normal power supply and the commencement of emergency power as
well as the minimum pressure that will be maintained within the distribution
system during this time lag. In no case shall this minimum pressure
within the distribution system be less than 20 psi. The results of
this analysis must be submitted to the executive director for review.
(iii) For existing systems, the system's licensed professional
engineer must provide continuous pressure chart recordings of distribution
pressures maintained during past power failures, if available. The
period reviewed shall not be less than three years.
(iv) A public water system that is an affected utility,
defined in TWC §13.1394 or §13.1395, must conduct the modeling
requirements contained in clauses (i) - (iii) of this subparagraph
using the requirements specified in subsection (h) or (i) of this
section.
(B) Emergency power facilities must be maintained and
provided with necessary appurtenances to assure immediate and dependable
operation in case of normal power interruption. A public water system
that is an affected utility, defined in TWC §13.1394 or §13.1395,
must meet the requirements specified in subsection (h) or (i) of this
section.
(i) The facilities must be serviced and maintained
in accordance with Level 2 maintenance requirements contained in the
current NFPA 110 Standard and the manufacturers' recommendations if
the affected utility serves 1,000 connections or greater, or in accordance
with manufacturer's recommendations and as prescribed in §290.46(m)(8)
of this title if the affected utility serves fewer than 1,000 connections.
(ii) The switching gear must be capable of bringing
the emergency power generating equipment on-line during a power interruption
such that the pressure in the distribution network does not fall below
20 psi or a pressure approved by the executive director, or 35 psi,
as required by TWC §13.1394 and §13.1395, respectively.
(iii) The minimum on-site fuel storage capacity shall
be determined by the fuel demand of the emergency power facilities
and the frequency of fuel delivery. An amount of fuel equal to that
required to operate the emergency power facilities during emergency
operations for a period of at least 48 hours must always be maintained
on site or made readily available.
(iv) Residential rated mufflers or other means of effective
noise suppression must be provided on each emergency power motor.
(C) Battery-powered or uninterrupted power supply pressure
monitors and chart recorders which are configured to activate immediately
upon loss of normal power must be provided for pressure maintenance
facilities. These records must be kept for a minimum of three years
and made available for review by the executive director. Records must
include chart recordings of all power interruptions including interruptions
due to periodic emergency power under-load testing and maintenance.
(6) Any alternative capacity requirement granted under
this subsection is subject to review and revocation or revision by
the executive director. If permission to use an alternative capacity
requirement is revoked, the public water system must meet the applicable
minimum capacity requirements of this section.
(A) The following conditions, if attributable to the
alternative capacity requirements, may constitute grounds for revocation
or revision of established alternative capacity requirements or for
denial of new requests, if the condition occurred within the last
36 months:
(i) documented pressure below 35 psi at any time not
related to line repair, except during firefighting when it cannot
be less than 20 psi;
(ii) water outages due to high water usage;
(iii) mandatory water rationing due to high customer
demand or overtaxed water production or supply facilities;
(iv) failure to meet a minimum capacity requirement
or an established alternative capacity requirement;
(v) changes in water supply conditions or usage patterns
which create a potential threat to public health; or
(vi) any other condition where the executive director
finds that the alternative capacity requirement has compromised public
health or resulted in a degradation of service or water quality.
(B) If the executive director finds any of the conditions
specified in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the process for revocation
or revision of an alternative capacity requirement shall be as follows,
unless the executive director finds that failure of the service or
other threat to public health and safety is imminent under subparagraph
(C) of this paragraph.
(i) The executive director must mail the public drinking
water system written notice of the executive director's intent to
revoke or revise an alternative capacity requirement identifying the
specific reason(s) for the proposed action.
(ii) The public water system has 30 days from the date
the written notice is mailed to respond to the proposed action.
(iii) The public water system has 30 days from the
date the written notice is mailed to request a meeting with the agency's
public drinking water program personnel to review the proposal. If
requested, such a meeting must occur within 45 days of the date the
written notice is mailed.
(iv) After considering any response from or after any
requested meeting with the public drinking water system, the executive
director must mail written notification to the public drinking water
system of the executive director's final decision to continue, revoke,
or revise an alternative capacity requirement identifying the specific
reason(s) for the decision.
Cont'd... |
