65-163. Public water supply systems and water treatment residues; regulation; permits; investigations.
65-163
65-163. Public water supply systems and water treatment residues;regulation; permits;investigations.(a) (1) No person shall operate a public water supply system within thestate without a public water supply system permit from the secretary. Anapplication for a public water supply system permit shall be submittedfor review and approval prior to construction and shall include: (A) Acopy of the plans and specifications for the construction of the publicwater supply system or the extension thereof; (B) a description of thesource from which the water supply is to be derived; (C) the proposedmanner of storage, purification or treatment for the supply; and (D)such other data and information as required by the secretary ofhealth and environment. No source of water supply in substitution foror in addition to the source described in the application or in anysubsequent application for which a public water supply system permit isissued shall be used by a public water supply system, nor shall anychange be made in the manner of storage, purification or treatment ofthe water supply without an additional public water supply system permitobtained in a manner similar to that prescribed by this section from thesecretary.
(2) Whenever application is made to thesecretary for a publicwater supply system permit under the provisions of this section, itshall be the duty of the secretary to examine the application withoutdelay and, as soon as possible thereafter, to grant or deny the publicwater supply system permit subject to any conditions which may beimposed by the secretary to protect the public health and welfare.
(3) The secretary may adopt rules and regulations establishing a programof annual certification by public water supply systems that have staffqualified to approve the extension of distribution systems without thenecessity of securing an additional permit for the extensionprovided the plansfor the extension are prepared by a professional engineer as defined by K.S.A.74-7003, and amendments thereto.
(b) (1) Whenever a complaint is made to the secretary by any city of thestate, by a local health officer, or by a county or joint board ofhealth concerning the sanitary quality of any water supplied to thepublic within the county in which the city, local health officer or county orjoint board of health is located, the secretary shall investigate thepublic water supply system about which the complaint is made. Wheneverthe secretary has reason to believe that a public water supply systemwithin the state is being operated in violation of an applicable statelaw or an applicable rule and regulation of the secretary, the secretarymay investigate the public water supply system.
(2) Whenever an investigation of any public water supply system isundertaken by the secretary, it shall be the duty of the supplier ofwater under investigation to furnish to the secretary information todetermine the sanitary quality of the water supplied to the public andto determine compliance with applicable state laws and rules andregulations. The secretary may issue an order requiring changes in thesource or sources of the public water supply system or in the manner ofstorage, purification or treatment utilized by the public water supplysystem before delivery to consumers, or distribution facilities,collectively or individually, as may in the secretary's judgment benecessary to safeguard the sanitary quality of the water and bring aboutcompliance with applicable state law and rules and regulations. Thesupplier of water shall comply with the order of the secretary.
(c) (1) As used in this subsection (c), "municipal water treatmentresidues" means anysolid, semisolid or liquid residue generated during the treatment of water in apublic water supply system treatment works.
(2) A public water supply system may place or store municipal watertreatment residuesresulting from sedimentation, coagulation or softening treatment processes inbasins on land under the ownership and control of the public water supplysystem operator provided that such storage or placement is approved andpermitted by the secretary under this section as part of the public watersupply system.
(3) The secretary shall adopt uniform and comprehensive rules andregulations for the location, design and operation of such basins. Such rulesand regulations shall require permit applications by the public water suppliersfor such basins to include a copy of the plans and specifications for thelocation and construction of each basin, the means of conveyance of thetreatment residues to such basins, the content of treatment residues, theproposed method of basinoperation and closure, the method of any anticipated expansion andany other data andinformation required by the secretary.
(4) Whenever complaint is made to the secretary by the mayor of any city ofthe state, by a local health officer or by a county or joint board of health,or whenever an investigation is undertaken at the initiative of the secretary,relating to any alleged violation of the provisions of the permit for placementor storage of municipal water treatment residuesin such basins, the public water supply systemoperator shall furnishall information the secretary requires. If the secretary finds that there isany violation of the terms of the permit, that the means of placement andstorage exceed the terms of the permit or that any other condition exists byreason of the means of placement and storage that may be detrimental to thehealth of any inhabitants of the state or to the environment, the secretaryshall have the authority to issue an order amending the permit or otherwiserequiring the operator to perform remedial measures to curtail or prevent suchdetrimental conditions.
(d) Orders of the secretary under this section, and hearings thereon,shall be subject to the provisions of the Kansas administrative procedureact. Any action of thesecretary pursuant to this section is subject to review in accordance withthe act for judicial review and civil enforcement of agency actions. Thecourt on review shall hearthe case without delay.
(e) The secretary shall establish by rule and regulation a system of feesfor the inspection and regulation of public water supplies.No such fee shall exceed $.002 per 1,000 gallons of water sold at retail by apublic water supply system. All such fees shall be paid quarterly in the mannerprovided for fees imposed on retail sales by public water supply systemspursuant to K.S.A. 82a-954, and amendments thereto. The secretary shallremit all moneys collected for such feesto the state treasurer in accordance with the provisions of K.S.A. 75-4215,and amendments thereto. Upon receipt of each such remittance,the state treasurer shall deposit the entire amount in the state treasuryto the credit of the public water supply fee fund createdby K.S.A. 65-163c, and amendments thereto.
(f) There is hereby created an advisory committee to make recommendationsregarding: (1) Fees to be adopted by the secretary under subsection (e); (2)means of strengthening on-site technical assistance to public water supplysystems; (3) standards for on-site and classroom water treatment operatorcertification programs; (4) other matters concerning public water supplies; and(5) to advise the secretary regarding expenditure of moneys in the public watersupply fee fund created by K.S.A. 65-163c, and amendments thereto. Suchadvisory committee shall consist of one member appointed by the secretary torepresent the department of health and environment, one member appointed by thedirector of the Kansas water office to represent such office and two membersappointed by the secretary as follows: One from three nominations submitted bythe Kansas section of the American waterworks association, and one from threenominations submitted by the Kansas rural water association. Members of theadvisory committee shall serve without compensation or reimbursement ofexpenses. The advisory committee shall meet at least four times each year oncall of the secretary or a majority of the members of the committee.
History: L. 1907, ch. 382, § 3;L. 1909, ch. 226, § 1;R.S. 1923, 65-163;L. 1943, ch. 219, § 1;L. 1974, ch. 352, § 22;L. 1977, ch. 212, § 2;L. 1980, ch. 182, § 22;L. 1983, ch. 204, § 1;L. 1986, ch. 318, § 82;L. 1992, ch. 188, § 1;L. 1994, ch. 126, § 1;L. 1996, ch. 160, § 1;L. 2001, ch. 5, § 210;L. 2004, ch. 145, § 17; July 1, 2005.