A bill for an act
relating to health; establishing a program to test private residential water supply
wells for contaminants and make payments for costs to remediate contaminated
wells; authorizing rulemaking; classifying certain data; requiring reports;
establishing penalties; appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in
Minnesota Statutes, chapter 103I.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
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This act may be cited as the Minnesota Private Residential Well Testing and Remediation
Act.
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The purpose of this act is to ensure that owners and users of private residential water
supply wells are able to secure safe drinking water from these wells by:
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(1) establishing an expedited, efficient process to test water from private residential
water supply wells for nitrates, arsenic, or other contaminants to determine if contaminants
exceed applicable public health standards;
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(2) providing funding to test water from private residential water supply wells for
contaminants;
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(3) for private residential wells that are contaminated, providing state payments for the
cost of treatment equipment necessary to remediate contaminant levels and for the cost of
reconstructing existing private residential wells or drilling new private residential wells and
sealing existing wells; and
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(4) making an adequate supply of free, safe drinking water available to users of private
residential wells that are contaminated.
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The terms defined in this section apply to sections 103I.25
to 103I.255 unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
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"Accredited laboratory" means a laboratory accredited
by the commissioner under section 144.98 to test water for contaminants.
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"Claimant" means one of the following persons eligible to submit
an application for payment under section 103I.253: an owner or lessee of the property on
which a contaminated private residential well is located; or the spouse, a dependent, or a
legal representative of the owner or lessee.
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"Contaminated" means:
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(1) containing one or more substances of public health concern in excess of the maximum
contaminant level established for that substance in Code of Federal Regulations, title 40,
chapter 141; or
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(2) containing one or more substances of public health concern in excess of the health
risk limit established for that substance in Minnesota Rules, parts 4717.7500 to 4717.7900.
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"Groundwater" has the meaning given in section 115.01,
subdivision 6.
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"Local unit of government" means the governing
body of a county, statutory city, or home rule charter city.
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"Point of entry treatment" means full-service water
treatment applied to water entering a house or building for the purpose of reducing
contaminants in the water distributed throughout the house or building. In point of entry
treatment, outside faucets may be excluded from treatment.
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"Point of use treatment" means water treatment applied
to a single tap for the purpose of reducing contaminants in water at one or more outlets.
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"Private
residential water supply well" or "private residential well" means a water supply well that
is used to supply water for human consumption and that is not a public water supply well,
as that term is defined in Minnesota Rules, part 4725.0100, subpart 37a.
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The commissioner shall establish and administer
a program to test private residential water supply wells in the state for contaminants and a
program to make payments for remediation costs for private residential water supply wells
in the state that are contaminated.
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The commissioner may adopt rules to implement sections 103I.25
to 103I.255. In adopting any rules under this subdivision, the commissioner must consult
with licensed water conditioning contractors, the Plumbing Board, and the Advisory Council
on Wells and Borings.
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The commissioner shall administer a program to
test private residential water supply wells for contaminants. In administering the program,
the commissioner must:
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(1) provide grants to local units of government and tribal governments to fund tests of
private residential wells in the jurisdiction of the local unit of government or tribal
government;
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(2) establish minimum standards for local and tribal well testing programs, including
standards for the collection of water samples, personnel collecting samples, laboratory
analyses, and follow-up services after testing, and oversee local and tribal well testing
programs that receive grants under this section to ensure compliance with these minimum
standards;
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(3) provide technical assistance to local units of government and tribal governments
operating a local or tribal well testing program;
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(4) educate the public about the local and tribal well testing programs available in the
state and the importance of testing private residential wells for contaminants; and
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(5) specify contaminants for which all local and tribal well testing programs must test
and specify additional contaminants for which local and tribal well testing programs may
test.
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A local unit of government or tribal government seeking a grant
under this section shall apply to the commissioner at a time and in a manner established by
the commissioner. In its application, a local unit of government or tribal government must
specify how the local unit of government or tribal government will notify owners and users
of private res