| (1) No person may begin construction on a new public
water system before receiving written approval of plans and specifications
and, if required, approval of a business plan from the executive director.
No person may begin construction of modifications to a public water
system without providing notification to the executive director and
submitting and receiving approval of plans and specifications if requested
in accordance with subsection (j) of this section.
(2) The executive director shall be notified in writing
by the design engineer or the owner before construction is started.
(3) Upon completion of the water works project, the
engineer or owner shall notify the executive director in writing as
to its completion and attest to the fact that the completed work is
substantially in accordance with the plans and change orders on file
with the commission.
(i) Changes in previously approved plans and specifications.
Any addenda or change orders which may involve a health hazard or
relocation of facilities, such as wells, treatment units, and storage
tanks, shall be submitted to the executive director for review and
approval.
(j) Changes in existing systems or supplies. Public
water systems shall notify the executive director prior to making
any significant change or addition to the system's production, treatment,
storage, pressure maintenance, or distribution facilities. Significant
changes in existing systems or supplies shall not be instituted without
the prior approval of the executive director.
(1) Public water systems shall submit plans and specifications
to the executive director for the following significant changes:
(A) proposed changes to existing systems which result
in an increase or decrease in production, treatment, storage, or pressure
maintenance capacity;
(B) proposed changes to the disinfection process used
at plants that treat surface water or groundwater that is under the
direct influence of surface water including changes involving the
disinfectants used, the disinfectant application points, or the disinfectant
monitoring points;
(C) proposed changes to the type of disinfectant used
to maintain a disinfectant residual in the distribution system;
(D) proposed changes in existing distribution systems
when the change is greater than 10% of the number of connections,
results in the water system's inability to comply with any of the
applicable capacity requirements of §290.45 of this title, or
involves interconnection with another public water system; and
(E) any other material changes specified by the executive
director.
(2) Public water systems shall notify the executive
director in writing of the addition of treatment chemicals, including
long-term treatment changes, that will impact the corrosivity of the
water. These are considered to be significant changes that require
written approval from the executive director.
(A) Examples of long-term treatment changes that could
impact the corrosivity of the water include the addition of a new
treatment process or modification of an existing treatment process.
Examples of modifications include switching secondary disinfectants,
switching coagulants, and switching corrosion inhibitor products.
Long-term changes can include dose changes to existing chemicals if
the system is planning long-term changes to its finished water pH
or residual inhibitor concentration. Long-term treatment changes would
not include chemical dose fluctuations associated with daily raw water
quality changes.
(B) After receiving the notification, the executive
director will determine whether the submittal of plans and specifications
will be required. Upon request of the executive director, the water
system shall submit plans and specifications in accordance with the
requirements of subsection (d) of this section.
(3) Plans and specifications may not be required for
changes that are specifically addressed in paragraph (1)(D) of this
subsection in the following situations:
(A) Unless plans and specifications are required by
Chapter 293 of this title (relating to Water Districts), the executive
director will not require another state agency or a political subdivision
to submit planning material on distribution line improvements if the
entity has its own internal review staff and complies with all of
the following criteria:
(i) the internal review staff includes one or more
licensed professional engineers that are employed by the political
subdivision and must be separate from, and not subject to the review
or supervision of, the engineering staff or firm charged with the
design of the distribution extension under review;
(ii) a licensed professional engineer on the internal
review staff determines and certifies in writing that the proposed
distribution system changes comply with the requirements of §290.44
of this title (relating to Water Distribution) and will not result
in a violation of any provision of §290.45 of this title;
(iii) the state agency or political subdivision includes
a copy of the written certification described in this subparagraph
with the initial notice that is submitted to the executive director.
(B) Unless plans and specifications are required by
Chapter 293 of this title, the executive director will not require
planning material on distribution line improvements from any public
water system that is required to submit planning material to another
state agency or political subdivision that complies with the requirements
of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph. The notice to the executive
director must include a statement that a state statute or local ordinance
requires the planning materials to be submitted to the other state
agency or political subdivision and a copy of the written certification
that is required in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
(4) Public water systems shall notify the executive
director in writing of proposed replacement or change of membrane
modules, which may be a significant change. After receiving the notification,
the executive director will determine whether the submittal of plans
and specifications will be required. Upon request of the executive
director, the system shall submit plans and specifications in accordance
with the requirements of subsection (d) of this section. In its notification
to the executive director, the system shall include the following
information:
(A) The membrane module make/type, model, and manufacturer;
(B) The membrane plant's water source (groundwater,
surface water, groundwater under the direct influence of surface water,
or other);
(C) Whether the membrane modules are used for pathogen
treatment or not;
(D) Total number of membrane modules per membrane unit;
and
(E) The number of membrane modules being replaced or
changed for each membrane unit.
(5) Public water systems that furnish for public or
private use drinking water containing added fluoride may not permanently
terminate the fluoridation of water unless it provides both written
notice to the executive director 60 days before the termination and
written notice to customers as required by §290.122(j) of this
title (relating to Public Notification).
(k) Planning material acceptance. Planning material
for improvements to an existing system which does not meet the requirements
of all sections of this subchapter will not be considered unless the
necessary modifications for correcting the deficiencies are included
in the proposed improvements, or unless the executive director determines
that reasonable progress is being made toward correcting the deficiencies
and no immediate health hazard will be caused by the delay.
(l) Exceptions. Requests for exceptions to one or more
of the requirements in this subchapter shall be considered on an individual
basis. Any water system which requests an exception must demonstrate
to the satisfaction of the executive director that the exception will
not compromise the public health or result in a degradation of service
or water quality.
(1) The exception must be requested in writing and
must be substantiated by carefully documented data. The request for
an exception shall precede the submission of engineering plans and
specifications for a proposed project for which an exception is being
requested.
(2) Any exception granted by the commission is subject
to revocation.
(3) Any request for an exception which is not approved
by the commission in writing is denied.
(4) The executive director may establish site-specific
requirements for systems that have been granted an exception. The
requirements may include, but are not limited to: site-specific design,
operation, maintenance, and reporting requirements.
Cont'd... |
