Passed by the Senate March 2, 2011 YEAS 28   BRAD OWEN ________________________________________ President of the Senate Passed by the House April 7, 2011 YEAS 52   FRANK CHOPP ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives | I, Thomas Hoemann, Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5364 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth. THOMAS HOEMANN ________________________________________ Secretary | |
Approved April 18, 2011, 2:23 p.m. CHRISTINE GREGOIRE ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | April 19, 2011 Secretary of State State of Washington |
State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2011 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 02/09/11.
AN ACT Relating to public water system operating permits; and amending RCW 70.119A.110.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 70.119A.110 and 2003 1st sp.s. c 5 s 18 are each
amended to read as follows:
(1) No person may operate a group A public water system unless the
person first submits an application to the department and receives an
operating permit as provided in this section. A new application must
be submitted upon any change in ownership of the system. ((Any person
operating a public water system on July 28, 1991, may continue to
operate the system until the department takes final action, including
any time necessary for a hearing under subsection (3) of this section,
on a permit application submitted by the person operating the system
under the rules adopted by the department to implement this section.))
(2) The department may require that each application include the
information that is reasonable and necessary to determine that the
system complies with applicable standards and requirements of the
federal safe drinking water act, state law, and rules adopted by the
department or by the state board of health.
(3) Following its review of the application, its supporting
material, and any information received by the department in its
investigation of the application, the department shall issue or deny
the operating permit. The department shall act on initial permit
applications as expeditiously as possible, and shall in all cases
either grant or deny the application within one hundred twenty days of
receipt of the application or of any supplemental information required
to complete the application. The applicant for a permit shall be
entitled to file an appeal in accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW if the
department denies the initial or subsequent applications or imposes
conditions or requirements upon the operator. Any operator of a public
water system that requests a hearing may continue to operate the system
until a decision is issued after the hearing.
(4) At the time of initial permit application or at the time of
permit renewal the department may impose such permit conditions,
requirements for system improvements, and compliance schedules as it
determines are reasonable and necessary to ensure that the system will
provide a safe and reliable water supply to its users.
(5) Operating permits shall be issued for a term of one year, and
shall be renewed annually, unless the operator fails to apply for a new
permit or the department finds good cause to deny the application for
renewal.
(6) Each application shall be accompanied by an annual fee ((as
follows:)).
(a) The annual fee for public water supply systems serving fifteen
to forty-nine service connections shall be twenty-five dollars.
(b) The annual fee for public water supply systems serving fifty to
three thousand three hundred thirty-three service connections shall be
based on a uniform per service connection fee of one dollar and fifty
cents per service connection.
(c) The annual fee for public water supply systems serving three
thousand three hundred thirty-four to fifty-three thousand three
hundred thirty-three service connections shall be based on a uniform
per service connection fee of one dollar and fifty cents per service
connection plus ten cents for each service connection in excess of
three thousand three hundred thirty-three service connections.
(d) The annual fee for public water supply systems serving fifty-
three thousand three hundred thirty-four or more service connections
shall be ten thousand dollars.
(e) In addition to the fees under (a) through (d) of this
subsection, the department may charge an additional one-time fee of
five dollars for each service connection in a new water system.
(f) Until June 30, 2007, in addition to the fees under (a) through
(e) of this subsection, the department may charge municipal water
suppliers, as defined in RCW 90.03.015, an additional annual fee
equivalent to twenty-five cents for each residential service connection
for the purpose of funding the water conservation activities in RCW
70.119A.180
(7) The department shall adopt rules, in accordance with chapter
34.05 RCW, necessary to implement this section.
(8) The department shall establish by rule categories of annual
operating permit fees based on system size, complexity, and number of
service connections. Fees charged must be sufficient to cover, but may
not exceed, the costs to the department of administering a program for
safe and reliable drinking water. The department shall use operating
permit fees to monitor and enforce compliance by group A public water
systems with state and federal laws that govern planning, water use
efficiency, design, construction, operation, maintenance, financing,
management, and emergency response.
(((7))) (9) The annual per-connection fee may not exceed one dollar
and fifty cents. The department ((may)) shall phase-in ((the))
implementation ((for any group of systems provided)) of any annual fee
increase greater than ten percent, and shall establish the schedule for
implementation ((is established)) by rule. ((Prior to implementing the
operating permit requirement on water systems having less than five
hundred service connections, the department shall form a committee
composed of persons operating these systems. The committee shall be
composed of the department of health, two operators of water systems
having under one hundred connections, two operators of water systems
having between one hundred and two hundred service connections, two
operators of water systems having between two hundred and three hundred
service connections, two operators of water systems having between
three hundred and four hundred service connections, two operators of
water systems having between four hundred and five hundred service
connections, and two county public health officials. The members shall
be chosen from different geographic regions of the state. This
committee shall develop draft rules to implement this section. The
draft rules will then be subject to the rule-making procedures in
accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW.)) Rules established by the
department prior to 2020 must limit the annual operating permit fee for
any public water system to no greater than one hundred thousand
dollars.
(((8))) (10) The department shall notify existing public water
systems of the requirements of RCW 70.119A.030, 70.119A.060, and this
section at least one hundred twenty days prior to the date that an
application for a permit is required pursuant to RCW 70.119A.030,
70.119A.060, and this section.
(((9))) (11) The department shall issue one operating permit to any
approved satellite system management agency. Operating permit fees for
approved satellite system management agencies ((shall be one dollar per
connection per year for the total number of connections under the
management of the approved satellite agency. The department shall
define by rule the meaning of the term "satellite system management
agency." If a statutory definition of this term exists, then the
department shall adopt by rule a definition consistent with the
statutory definition)) must be established by the department by rule.
Rules established by the department must set a single fee based on the
total number of connections for all group A public water systems owned
by a satellite management agency.
(((10))) (12) For purposes of this section, "group A public water
system" and "system" mean those water systems with fifteen or more
service connections, regardless of the number of people; or a system
serving an average of twenty-five or more people per day for sixty or
more days within a calendar year, regardless of the number of service
connections.