Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION
                 Engrossed Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 819
    BY SENATORS MARTIN, BLAIR (MR. PRESIDENT),
   AZINGER, BARRETT, CHAPMAN, CLEMENTS, DEEDS,
    HAMILTON, HUNT, JEFFRIES, KARNES, MAYNARD,
  NELSON, PHILLIPS, QUEEN, ROBERTS, RUCKER, SMITH,
  STOVER, STUART, SWOPE, TARR, TAYLOR, WOELFEL,
                   AND WOODRUM
    [Originating in the Committee on Government Organization; reported February 23, 2024]
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  A BILL to amend and reenact §16-1-4 and §16-1-9a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
         amended, all relating to the regulation of public water systems; and providing that the
         Secretary of the Department of Health may not require public water systems or businesses
         that have backflow prevention assemblies to be inspected more frequently than once in
         10 years.
     Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
     ARTICLE 1. STATE PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM.
     §16-1-4. Proposal of rules by the secretary.
         (a) The secretary may propose legislative rules in accordance with the provisions of §29A-
  3-1 et seq. of this code that include:
         (1) Land usage endangering the public health: Provided, That no rules may be
  promulgated or enforced restricting the subdivision or development of any parcel of land within
  which the individual tracts, lots, or parcels exceed two acres each in total surface area and which
  individual tracts, lots, or parcels have an average frontage of not less than 150 feet even though
  the total surface area of the tract, lot, or parcel equals or exceeds two acres in total surface area,
  and which tracts are sold, leased, or utilized only as single-family dwelling units. Notwithstanding
  the provisions of this subsection, nothing in this section may be construed to abate the authority
 of the department to:
        (A) Restrict the subdivision or development of a tract for any more intense or higher density
 occupancy than a single-family dwelling unit;
        (B) Propose or enforce rules applicable to single-family dwelling units for single-family
 dwelling unit sanitary sewerage disposal systems; or
        (C) Restrict any subdivision or development which might endanger the public health, the
 sanitary condition of streams, or sources of water supply;
        (2) The sanitary condition of all institutions and schools, whether public or private, public
 conveyances, dairies, slaughterhouses, workshops, factories, labor camps, all other places open
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 to the general public and inviting public patronage or public assembly, or tendering to the public
 any item for human consumption and places where trades or industries are conducted;
        (3) Occupational and industrial health hazards, the sanitary conditions of streams, sources
 of water supply, sewerage facilities, and plumbing systems and the qualifications of personnel
 connected with any of those facilities, without regard to whether the supplies or systems are
 publicly or privately owned; and the design of all water systems, plumbing systems, sewerage
 systems, sewage treatment plants, excreta disposal methods, and swimming pools in this state,
 whether publicly or privately owned: Provided, That the secretary may not promulgate rules that
 require a public water supply system or business to have backflow prevention assemblies
 inspected more frequently than once in 10 years;
        (4) Safe drinking water, including:
        (A) The maximum contaminant levels to which all public water systems must conform in
 order to prevent adverse effects on the health of individuals and, if 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;
        (B) The 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 rules promulgated under this section;
 recordkeeping; laboratory certification; as well as procedures and conditions for granting
 variances and exemptions to public water systems from state public water systems rules; and
        (C) The requirements covering the production and distribution of bottled drinking water
 and may establish requirements governing the taste, odor, appearance, and other consumer
 acceptability parameters of drinking water;
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         (5) Food and drug standards, including cleanliness, proscription of additives, proscription
 of sale, and other requirements in accordance with §16-7-1 et seq. of this code as are necessary
 to protect the health of the citizens of this state;
         (6) The training and examination requirements for emergency medical service attendants
 and emergency medical care technician-paramedics; the designation of the health care facilities,
 health care services, and the industries and occupations in the state that must have emergency
 medical services attendants and emergency medical care technician-paramedics employed, and
 the availability, communications, and equipment requirements with respect to emergency medical
 services attendants and to emergency medical care technician-paramedics. Any regulation of
 emergency medical services attendants and emergency medical care technician-paramedics may
 not exceed the provisions of §16-4C-1 et seq. of this code;
         (7) The health and sanitary conditions of establishments commonly referred to as bed and
 breakfast inns. For purposes of this article, "bed and breakfast inn" means an establishment
 providing sleeping accommodations and, at a minimum, a breakfast for a fee. The secretary may
 not require an owner of a bed and breakfast providing sleeping accommodations of six or fewer
 rooms to install a restaurant-style or commercial food service facility. The secretary may not
 require an owner of a bed and breakfast providing sleeping accommodations of more than six
 rooms to install a restaurant-type or commercial food service facility if the entire bed and breakfast
 inn or those rooms numbering above six are used on an aggregate of two weeks or less per year;
         (8) Fees for services provided by the Bureau for Public Health including, but not limited to,
 laboratory service fees, environmental health service fees, health facility fees, and permit fees;
         (9) The collection of data on health status, the health system, and the costs of health care;
         (10) The distribution of state aid to local health departments and basic public health
 services funds in accordance with:
         (A) Base allocation amount for each county;
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        (B) Establishment and administration of an emergency fund of no more than two percent
 of the total annual funds of which unused amounts are to be distributed back to local boards of
 health at the end of each fiscal year;
        (C) A calculation of funds utilized for state support of local health departments;
        (D) Distribution of remaining funds on a per capita weighted population approach which
 factors coefficients for poverty, health status, population density, and health department
 interventions for each county and a coefficient which encourages counties to merge in the
 provision of public health services; and
        (E) The provisions of this subdivision are in effect until the performance standard funding
 formula is created and established by legislative rule.
        (b) The secretary shall not review any repair or modernization of equipment at a public
 pool facility as long as such activity does not change the scope of the facility or its current use
 and such activity does not exceed $25,000 in planned cost.
     §16-1-9a. Regulation of public water systems.
         (a) The commissioner secretary shall regulate public water systems as prescribed in this
  section.
         (b) The commissioner secretary shall establish by legislative rule, in accordance with
  §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code:
         (1) The maximum contaminant levels to which all public water systems shall conform in
  order to prevent adverse effects on the health of individuals;
         (2) Treatment techniques that reduce the contaminant or contaminants to a level which
  will not adversely affect the health of the consumer;
         (3) 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;
        (4) Minimum requirements for:
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         (A) Sampling and testing;
         (B) System operation;
         (C) 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;
         (D) Recordkeeping;
         (E) Laboratory certification; and
         (F) Procedures and conditions for granting variances and exemptions to public water
 systems from state public water systems' regulations;
         (5) Requirements covering the production and distribution of bottled drinking water;
         (6) Requirements governing the taste, odor, appearance, and other consumer
 acceptability parameters of drinking water;
         (7) Any requirements for a water supply system the commissioner determines is
 necessary to be equipped with a backflow prevention assembly, all maintenance activities must
 be documented and provided to the commissioner upon request: Provided, That the secretary
 may not require inspection of any backflow prevention assembly more frequently than once in 10
 years; and
         (8) Any other requirement the commissioner secretary finds necessary to effectuate the
 provisions of this article.
         (c) The commissioner secretary, or his or her authorized representative or designee, may
 enter 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) The commissioner secretary, or his or her authorized representative or designee, may
 conduct an evaluation necessary to assure the public water system meets federal safe drinking
 water requirements. The public water system shall provide a written response to the
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 commissioner secretary within 30 days of receipt of the evaluation by the public water system,
 addressing corrective actions to be taken as a result of the evaluation.
        (e)(1) Any individual or entity who violates any provision of this article, or any of the rules
 or orders issued pursuant to this article, is liable for a civil penalty not less than $1,000 nor more
 than $5,000. Each day's violation shall constitute a separate offense.
        (2) For a willful violation of a provision of this article, or of any of the rules or orders issued
 under this article, an individual or entity shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $10,000
 and each day's violation shall be grounds for a separate penalty.
        (3) Civil penalties are payable to the commissioner secretary. All moneys collected under
 this section shall be deposited into a restricted account known as the Safe Drinking Water Fund.
 All moneys deposited into the fund shall be used by the commissioner secretary to provide
 technical assistance to public water systems.
        (f) The commissioner secretary, or his or her authorized representative or designee, may
 also seek injunctive relief in the circuit court of the county in which all or part of the public water
 system is located for threatened or continuing violations.
        (g) By July 1, 2020, a public water system supplying water to the public within the state
 shall immediately, but in no instance later than six hours, report the occurrence and the lifting of
 each advisory to local departments of health and to the local office of emergency management
 911 answering point.
        (h) By January 1, 2022, a public water system shall make available to interested customers
 boiled water advisories promptly through a text or a voice alert mass notification system.
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Statutes affected: 
Introduced Version: 16-1-4, 16-1-9a
Committee Substitute: 16-1-4, 16-1-9a
Engrossed Committee Substitute: 16-1-4, 16-1-9a