H. B. 3018
(By Delegates Staton, Manuel, Amores, Wills and Mahan)
____________
[Introduced March 27, 2001; referred to the Committee
the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section nine-a, article one, chapter
sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to public and
community water systems, administrative penalties and a
technical assistance connection fee.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section nine-a, article one, chapter sixteen of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. STATE PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM.
§16-1-9a. Public water system and community water system
defined; regulation of maximum contaminant levels in water
systems; authorization of inspections; violations;
criminal, civil and administrative penalties; safe drinking water penalty fund.
(a) A public water system is any water supply or system
that regularly supplies or offers to supply water for human
consumption through pipes or other constructed conveyances, if
serving at least an average of twenty-five individuals per day
for at least sixty days per year, or which has at least fifteen
service connections, and shall include: (1) Any collection,
treatment, storage and distribution facilities under the
control of the owner or operator of such system and used
primarily in connection with such system; and (2) Any
collection or pretreatment storage facilities not under such
control which are used primarily in connection with such
system. A public water system does not include a system that
meets all of the following conditions: (1) Consists only of
distribution and storage facilities (and does not have any
collection and treatment facilities); (2) Obtains all of its
water from, but is not owned or operated by, a public water
system that otherwise meets the definition; (3) Does not sell
water to any person; and (4) Is not a carrier conveying
passengers in interstate commerce.
(b)(1) The secretary shall prescribe by legislative rule
the maximum contaminant levels to which all public water
systems shall conform in order to prevent adverse effects on the health of individuals, and, if the secretary considers
appropriate, treatment techniques that reduce the contaminant
or contaminants to a level which will not adversely affect the
health of the consumer. The rule shall contain provisions to
protect and prevent contamination of wellheads and well fields
used by public water supplies so that contaminants do not reach
a level that would adversely affect the health of the consumer.
(2) The secretary shall further prescribe by legislative
rule minimum requirements for: Sampling and testing; system
operation; public notification by a public water system on
being granted a variance or exemption or upon failure to comply
with specific requirements of this section and regulations
promulgated under this section; record keeping; laboratory
certification; as well as procedures and conditions for
granting variances and exemptions to public water systems from
state public water systems regulations.
(3) In addition, the secretary shall establish by
legislative rule, in accordance with article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code, requirements covering the
production and distribution of bottled drinking water and may
by legislative rule, in accordance with article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code, establish requirements governing
the taste, odor, appearance and other consumer acceptability parameters of drinking water.
(c) Authorized representatives of the bureau have right
of entry to any part of a public water system, whether or not
the system is in violation of a legal requirement, for the
purpose of inspecting, sampling or testing, and shall be
furnished records or information reasonably required for a
complete inspection.
(d)(1) Any individual, partnership, association,
syndicate, company, firm, trust, corporation, government
corporation, institution, department, division, bureau, agency,
federal agency, or any entity recognized by law who violates
any provision of this section, or any of the rules or orders
issued pursuant to this section, is guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than
fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, and each
day's violation shall constitute a separate offense. The
commissioner or his or her authorized representative may also
seek injunctive relief in the circuit court of the county in
which all or part of the public water system is situated for
threatened or continuing violations.
(2) For a willful violation of a provision of this
section, or of any of the rules or orders issued under this
section for which a penalty is not otherwise provided under subdivision (3) of this subsection, an individual, partnership,
association, syndicate, company, firm, trust, corporation,
government corporation, institution, department, division,
bureau, agency, federal agency, or entity recognized by law,
upon a finding of a willful violation by the circuit court of
the county in which the violation occurs, shall be subject to a
civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars, and each
day's violation shall be grounds for a separate penalty.
(3) The commissioner or his or her authorized
representative shall have authority to assess administrative
penalties and initiate any proceedings necessary for the
enforcement of drinking water rules. The administrative penalty
for a violation of any drinking water rule is a minimum of one
thousand dollars per day per violation and a maximum of two
thousand five hundred dollars per day per violation for systems
serving more than ten thousand persons, a minimum of two
hundred fifty dollars per day per violation and a maximum of
five hundred dollars per day per violation for systems serving
over three thousand three hundred persons up to and including
ten thousand persons, a minimum of one hundred dollars per day
per violation and a maximum of two hundred dollars per day per
violation for systems serving three thousand three hundred or
fewer persons, and each day's violation shall be grounds for a separate penalty. In any action brought to enforce drinking
water rules, the administrative penalty may not exceed an
aggregate amount of five thousand dollars for systems serving a
population of less than ten thousand persons and may not exceed
twenty-five thousand dollars for systems serving a population
of ten thousand persons or more. Penalties are payable to the
commissioner. All moneys collected under this section shall be
deposited into a restricted account known as the safe drinking
water penalty fund previously created in the office of the
state treasurer. All money deposited into the fund shall be
used by the commissioner to provide technical assistance to
public water systems.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to change administrative
penalties to comply with federal requirements.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.