§ 109.407. General public notification requirements.
(a) Violation categories and other situations requiring a public notice. A public water supplier shall give public notice for the following circumstances:
(1) Failure to comply with an applicable State primary MCL or MRDL in Subchapter B (relating to MCLs, MRDLs or treatment technique requirements).
(2) Failure to comply with a prescribed treatment technique requirement in Subchapter B, G, K, L or M.
(3) Failure to perform water quality monitoring, as required by Subchapter C (relating to monitoring requirements) or Subchapter K.
(4) Operation under a variance or an exemption under Subchapter I (relating to variances and exemptions issued by the Department).
(5) Failure to comply with the requirements of any schedule that has been set under a variance or exemption.
(6) Occurrence of a waterborne disease outbreak, as defined in § 109.1 (relating to definitions), or other emergency situation as defined in § 109.701(a)(3)(iii) (relating to reporting and recordkeeping) that adversely affects the quality or quantity of finished water and has a significant potential to have serious adverse effects on human health as a result of short-term exposure.
(7) Availability of unregulated contaminant monitoring data.
(8) Exceedance of the nitrate MCL by noncommunity water systems, when permitted by the Department in writing to exceed the MCL in accordance with 40 CFR 141.11(d) (relating to MCLs for inorganic contaminants).
(9) Other violations or situations determined by the Department to require a public notice under this subchapter.
(b) Definition of public notice tiers. Public notice requirements are divided into three tiers, to take into account the seriousness of the violation or situation and any potential adverse health effects that may be involved. The public notice requirements for each violation or situation identified in subsection (a) is determined by the tier to which it is assigned. This subchapter incorporates by reference the tier assignment for each specific violation or situation in the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations, 40 CFR Part 141, Subpart Q, Appendix A (relating to the tier assignment for each specific NPDWR violation and other situations requiring public notice), unless other tier assignments are established by regulation or order of the Department.
(1) Tier 1 public notice. Required for violations and situations specified in subsection (a) with significant potential to have serious adverse effects on human health as a result of short-term exposure. General violation categories and other situations requiring a Tier 1 public notice are specified in § 109.408(a) (relating to Tier 1 public notice—categories, timing and delivery).
(2) Tier 2 public notice. Required for all other violations and situations in subsection (a) with potential to have serious adverse effects on human health. General violation categories and other situations requiring a Tier 2 public notice are specified in § 109.409(a) (relating to Tier 2 public notice—categories, timing and delivery).
(3) Tier 3 public notice. Required for all other violations and situations in subsection (a) not included in Tier 1 and Tier 2. General violation categories and other situations requiring a Tier 3 public notice are specified in § 109.410(a) (relating to Tier 3 public notice—categories, timing and delivery).
(c) Public notice recipients.
(1) A public water supplier shall provide public notice to persons served by the public water system, in accordance with this subchapter. A public water system that sells or otherwise provides drinking water to another public water system, such as to a consecutive water, bulk water hauling or vended water system, shall give public notice to the owner or operator of the other water system. The other water system is responsible for ensuring that public notice is provided to the persons it serves.
(2) If a public water system has a violation in a portion of the distribution system that is physically or hydraulically isolated from other parts of the distribution system, the Department may allow the water supplier to limit distribution of the public notice to only persons served by that portion of the system which is out of compliance. Permission for limiting distribution of the notice will be granted in writing by the Department.
(3) If a public water system has a violation involving a point-of-entry (POE) device, the Department may allow the water supplier to limit distribution of the public notice to only persons served by that POE device. Permission for limiting distribution of the notice shall be granted in writing by the Department.
(4) If a community water system has a Tier 1 violation, the water supplier shall also notify additional recipients as designated in the community water system’s emergency response plan under § 109.707(a)(2) (relating to emergency response plan).
(5) If a noncommunity water system in which persons 17 years of age or under are cared for or educated, such as a school or day care center, has a Tier 1 violation, the water supplier shall also provide public notice directly to the parent or guardian of those persons.
(6) A water supplier shall provide a copy of the notice to the Department in accordance with § 109.701(a)(4) (relating to reporting and recordkeeping).
(d) Additional requirements. Community water systems shall comply with the planning requirements specified under § 109.702(a)(7) (relating to operation and maintenance plan) and § 109.707.
Authority The provisions of this § 109.407 amended under section 4 of the Pennsylvania Safe Drinking Water Act (35 P.S. § 721.4); and sections 1917-A and 1920-A of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P.S. § § 510-7 and 510-20).
Source The provisions of this § 109.407 adopted August 9, 2002, effective August 10, 2002, 32 Pa.B. 3894; amended June 18, 2004, effective June 19, 2004, 34 Pa.B. 3130; amended May 8, 2009, effective May 9, 2009, 39 Pa.B. 2334; amended December 24, 2009, effective December 26, 2009, 39 Pa.B. 7279. Immediately preceeding text appears at serial pages (344202) to (344204).
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 109.408 (relating to Tier 1 public notice—categories, timing and delivery of notice); and 52 Pa. Code § 69.1601 (relating to general).
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