A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide more effective testing and evaluation of disinfection byproducts for wholesalers and purchasers of drinking water.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  On the effective date of the revised permanent rule that the Environmental Management Commission is required to adopt pursuant to Section 3 of this act, the Commission and the Department of Environmental Quality shall implement 15A NCAC 18C .1502 (Monitoring of Consecutive Public Water Systems) as provided in Section 2 of this act.
SECTION 2.  Notwithstanding 15A NCAC 18C .1502, the Director of the Division of Water Resources shall require public water systems that (i) supply water to one or more other public water systems and (ii) obtain all or part of their water from surface water sources to conduct sampling and analysis for applicable disinfection byproducts at or near all points of delivery to consecutive systems and provide the consecutive system with the sampling results. Consecutive systems providing water to other consecutive systems shall conduct sampling and analysis for applicable disinfection byproducts at or near all points of delivery to those other consecutive systems and provide the other consecutive systems with the sampling results. If the sampling results exceed the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for any applicable disinfection byproduct, the supplying water system and any consecutive water systems shall complete a joint operational evaluation signed by a responsible official for each water system participating in the evaluation. Representatives from all participating water systems shall meet no less frequently than quarterly to evaluate the effectiveness of measures implemented based on the operational evaluation until all water systems have meet the MCL for all applicable disinfection byproducts for four consecutive calendar quarters. For purposes of this section, "applicable disinfection byproducts" shall mean TTHMs (Total Trihalomethanes) and HAA5 (Haloacetic Acids), as those terms are more particularly defined in the Stage 2 Disinfection Byproducts Rule issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (71 FR 388, January 4, 2006).
SECTION 3.  The Environmental Management Commission shall adopt rules to amend 15A NCAC 18C .1502 (Monitoring of Consecutive Public Water Systems) consistent with Section 2 of this act. Notwithstanding G.S. 150B‑19(4), the rule adopted by the Commission pursuant to this section shall be substantively identical to the provisions of Section 2 of this act. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are not subject to Part 3 of Article 2A of Chapter 150B of the General Statutes. Rules adopted pursuant to this section shall become effective as provided in G.S. 150B‑21.3(b1) as though 10 or more written objections had been received as provided by G.S. 150B‑21.3(b2).
SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law. Section 2 of this act expires on the date that rules adopted pursuant to Section 3 of this act become effective.