| (a) General applicability. This subchapter shall apply
to all public water systems as described in each section, unless the
system:
(1) consists only of distribution and storage facilities
(and does not have any production and treatment facilities);
(2) obtains all of its water from, but is not owned
or operated by, a public water system to which such standards apply;
(3) does not sell water to any person;
(4) is not a carrier which conveys passengers in interstate
commerce; and
(5) is subject to plumbing restrictions and inspections
by the public water system which provides the water.
(b) Variances and exemptions. Variances and exemptions
may be granted at the discretion of the executive director according
to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), 42 United States Code (USC), §300g-4
and §300g-5, and according to National Primary Drinking Water
Regulations Implementation, Subpart K, 40 Code of Federal Regulations §§142.301
- 142.313. The executive director may not approve variances or exemptions
from:
(1) the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for Escherichia coli, nitrate, nitrite, or total
nitrate and nitrite;
(2) the maximum residual disinfection level for chlorine
dioxide; or
(3) the treatment technique requirements for filtration
and disinfection.
(4) Variances are prohibited for rules addressing microbial
contaminants, including rules in §290.109 - 209.111 and §290.116
of this title (relating to Microbial Contaminants; Disinfectant Residuals;
Surface Water Treatment; and Groundwater Corrective Actions and Treatment
Techniques).
(c) Extensions. An extension to the compliance deadline
for an MCL or treatment technique that becomes effective on or after
January 1, 2002, may be granted at the discretion of the executive
director in accordance with the SDWA, 42 USC, §300g-1(b)(10).
(1) The executive director may extend the effective
date of an MCL or treatment technique for up to two years if all of
the following conditions apply:
(A) there are no acute violations associated with the
new MCL or treatment technique for which the extension is being granted;
(B) the executive director determines that granting
the extension will not result in an unreasonable risk to public health;
(C) the extension is granted only to public water systems
that were in operation on the date that the MCL or treatment technique
was promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA);
(D) the executive director determines that capital
improvements are needed to comply with the new MCL or treatment technique;
(E) the executive director approves a schedule identifying
the capital improvements necessary to bring the system into compliance
with the new MCL or treatment technique; and
(F) the EPA has not already incorporated a two-year
extension into the effective date for the new MCL or treatment technique
requirement.
(2) An application for an extension must be submitted
to the executive director in writing by the owner or responsible party
of the water system. The request must include a statement identifying
the new MCL or treatment technique which is not being met and a general
long range plan for meeting the new requirement.
(3) The executive director may issue an extension covering
a group or class of systems with a common MCL or treatment technique
which is not met without individual applications.
(d) Motion to overturn. Any person may file a motion
to overturn the executive director's decision to grant or deny a variance,
exemption, or extension under this section according to the procedures
set out in §50.139 of this title (relating to Motion to Overturn
Executive Director's Decision).
(e) Monitoring schedule. All monitoring required by
this chapter shall be conducted in a manner and on a schedule approved
by the executive director in concurrence with the requirements of
the administrator of the EPA.
(f) Modified monitoring. When a public water system
supplies water to one or more other public water systems, the executive
director may modify the monitoring requirements imposed by this chapter
to the extent that the interconnection of the systems justifies treating
them as a single system for monitoring purposes. Any modified monitoring
shall be conducted pursuant to a schedule specified by the executive
director in concurrence with the requirements of the administrator
of the EPA.
(g) The owner or operator of a public water system
shall ensure that the executive director is provided with a copy of
the results of any test, measurement, or analysis required by this
subchapter. The copies shall be submitted within the first ten days
following the month in which the result is received by the public
water system, or the first ten days following the end of the required
monitoring period as provided by this subchapter, whichever occurs
first.
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| Source Note: The provisions of this §290.102 adopted to be effective September 13, 2000, 25 TexReg 8880; amended to be effective May 16, 2002, 27 TexReg 4127; amended to be effective January 9, 2008, 33 TexReg 198; amended to be effective March 30, 2017, 42 TexReg 1466 |
