Sec. 22a-416. (Formerly Sec. 25-26). Pollution of waterways. Qualifications of operators. Delegation of authority.
Sec. 22a-416. (Formerly Sec. 25-26). Pollution of waterways. Qualifications of
operators. Delegation of authority. (a) The Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall examine all existing or proposed disposal systems, and shall compel their
operation in a manner which shall conserve and protect the natural resources and environment of Connecticut and protect the public health, safety and welfare.
(b) No disposal system shall be built or operated until the plan or design of the
same and the method of operation thereof have been filed with said commissioner and
approved by him, and no such system or facility shall be extended or replaced, until the
plan for the same has been approved by him. This subsection shall not apply to any
disposal system treating a discharge for which a permit has been issued under section
22a-430 or 22a-430b.
(c) The commissioner may, by regulations adopted in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, delegate to municipalities or regional sewer authorities the authority
to review and approve plans and specifications for the design and construction of sanitary
sewers. Such regulations may include, but not be limited to, provisions for (1) minimum
design and construction requirements, (2) the retention of such authority by the commissioner for certain types of facilities or environmentally sensitive areas, and (3) the identity of municipalities and regional sewer authorities to which such authority is delegated.
(d) As used in this section the terms "class I", "class II", "class III" and "class
IV" mean the classifications of wastewater treatment plants provided for in regulations
adopted by the Department of Environmental Protection. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection may establish requirements for the presence of approved operators
at pollution abatement facilities. Applicants for class I and class II certificates shall
only be required to pass the relevant standardized national examination prepared by the
Association of Boards of Certification for Wastewater Treatment Facility Operators.
Applicants for class III and class IV certificates shall only be required to pass the relevant
standardized national examination prepared by the Association of Boards of Certification for Wastewater Treatment Facility Operators supplemented with additional questions submitted by the commissioner to such board. Operators with certificates issued
by the commissioner prior to May 16, 1995, shall not be required to be reexamined.
The commissioner shall administer and proctor the examination of all applicants. The
qualifications of the operators at such facilities shall be subject to the approval of the
commissioner. The commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, requiring all operators at pollution abatement facilities to satisfactorily complete, on a regular basis, a state-certified training course, which may include
training on the type of municipal pollution abatement facility at which the operator is
employed and training concerning regulations promulgated during the preceding year.
Any applicant for certification who passed either the examination prepared and administered on December 8, 1994, by the commissioner or the examination prepared by the
Association of Boards of Certification for Wastewater Treatment Facility Operators and
administered on December 8, 1994, by the commissioner shall be issued the appropriate
certificate in accordance with the regulations adopted under this section.
(1949 Rev., S. 4034; 1957, P.A. 364, S. 10; February, 1965, P.A. 385, S. 1; 508; 1967, P.A. 656, S. 66; 1969, P.A. 307;
1971, P.A. 688, S. 1; 845, S. 16; 872, S. 74; P.A. 73-555, S. 2, 10; P.A. 86-239, S. 5, 14; P.A. 90-69; 90-301, S. 2, 8; P.A.
93-428, S. 22, 39; P.A. 94-89, S. 9; P.A. 95-34, S. 1, 2.)
History: 1965 acts substituted commissioner of health for state department of health, gave commissioner power to
examine refuse disposal areas, required that their plan and design be filed with commissioner, and required that methods
of operation of disposal plants and areas be approved; 1967 act specified that plan or design and method of operation be
approved by commissioner; 1969 act substituted "volume reduction" plants and areas for "disposal" plants and areas,
required that qualifications of operators of such plants be subject to approval of health department and referred to "chapter
474a" rather than "part I"; 1971 acts clarified that sewage discharge points which may directly or indirectly cause pollution
be investigated, deleted references to refuse volume reduction plants and areas, transferred duties of commissioner and
department of health and of water resources commission to commissioner of environmental protection and deleted necessity
for approval to build systems or plants and qualifying phrase characterizing systems or plants requiring approval as those
"the effluent or discharge from which may directly or indirectly mingle or come into contact with the waters of the state";
P.A. 73-555 replaced references to sewage systems and plants with references to pollution abatement systems and plants,
required operation of systems so as to conserve and protect natural resources and environment and public safety and welfare
and deleted prohibition against discharge of "sewage prejudicial to the public health" into waters of the state, essentially
rephrasing provisions for economy of expression; Sec. 25-26 transferred to Sec. 22a-416 in 1983; P.A. 86-239 deleted
provision requiring commissioner to investigate points of existing or potential discharges which may cause water pollution;
P.A. 90-69 added Subsec. (b) authorizing the delegation of certain authority to municipal and regional sewer authorities;
P.A. 90-301 added Subsec. (c) re qualifications of approved operators; P.A. 93-428 made part of the former Subsec. (a)
into a new Subsec. (b), adding exemptions from this section for certain disposal systems, and relettered former Subsecs.
(b) and (c) accordingly, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 94-89 added provision in Subsec. (d) requiring relevant national
examination for operators; P.A. 95-34 amended Subsec. (d) to provide for qualifications of different classes of operators
and to delete authority of the commissioner to adopt regulations re testing of facility operators, effective May 16, 1995.
Annotations to former section 25-26:
Cited. 176 C. 33.
Right of property owner to collect damages for town nuisance, not affected. 30 CS 401.
Annotation to present section:
Cited. 218 C. 703.