§ 87-98. Bernard Allen Memorial Emergency Drinking Water Fund.
§ 87‑98. Bernard AllenMemorial Emergency Drinking Water Fund.
(a) The Bernard AllenMemorial Emergency Drinking Water Fund is established under the control anddirection of the Department. The Fund shall be a nonreverting, interest‑bearingfund consisting of monies appropriated by the General Assembly or madeavailable to the Fund from any other source and investment interest credited tothe Fund.
(b) The Fund may beused to pay for notification, to the extent practicable, of persons aged 18 andolder who reside in any dwelling unit, and the senior official in charge of anybusiness, at which drinking water is supplied from a private drinking waterwell or improved spring that is located within 1,500 feet of, and at risk from,known groundwater contamination. The senior official in charge of the businessshall take reasonable measures to notify all employees of the business of thegroundwater contamination, including posting a notice of the contamination in aform and at a location that is readily accessible to the employees of thebusiness. The Fund may also be used by the Department to pay the costs oftesting of private drinking water wells and improved springs for suspectedcontamination up to once every three years upon request by a person who uses thewell and for the temporary or permanent provision of alternative drinking watersupplies to persons whose drinking water well or improved spring iscontaminated. Under this subsection, an alternative drinking water supplyincludes the repair or replacement of a contaminated well or the connection toa public water supply.
(c) The Departmentshall disburse monies from the Fund based on financial need and on the risk topublic health posed by groundwater contamination and shall give priority to theprovision of services under this section to instances when an alternativesource of funds is not available. The Fund shall not be used to providealternative water supply to households with incomes greater than three hundredpercent (300%) of the current federal poverty level. The Fund may be used toprovide alternative drinking water supplies if the Department determines thatthe concentration of one or more contaminants in the private drinking waterwell or improved spring exceeds the federal maximum contaminant level, or thefederal drinking water action level as defined in 40 Code of FederalRegulations § 141.1 through § 141.571 (1 July 2007) and 40 Code of FederalRegulations § 143.3 (1 July 2007). For a contaminant for which a federalmaximum contaminant level or drinking water action level has not beenestablished, the State groundwater standard established by the EnvironmentalManagement Commission for the concentration of that contaminant shall be usedto determine whether the Fund may be used to provide alternative drinking watersupplies. The Fund may also be used to provide alternative drinking watersupplies as provided in this section if the Department determines that theconcentration of one or more contaminants in a private drinking water well isincreasing over time and that there is a significant risk that theconcentration of a contaminant will exceed the federal maximum contaminantlevel or drinking water action level, or the State groundwater standard. Adetermination of the concentration of a contaminant shall be based on a sampleof water collected from the private drinking water well within the past 12months.
(c1) In disbursing moniesfrom the Fund, the Department shall give preference to provision of permanentreplacement water supplies by connection to public water supplies and repair orreplacement of contaminated wells over the provision of temporary watersupplies. In providing alternative drinking water supplies, the Departmentshall give preference to connection to a public water supply system or toconstruction of a new private drinking water well over the use of a filtrationsystem if the Department determines that the costs of periodic requiredmaintenance of the filtration system would be cost‑prohibitive for usersof the alternative drinking water supply.
(c2) If the Departmentprovides an alternative drinking water supply by extension of a waterline, theDepartment may disburse from the Fund no more than ten thousand dollars($10,000) per household or other service connection. No more than one‑thirdof the total cost of the project may be paid from the Fund. The Department maycombine monies from the Fund with monies from other sources in order to pay thetotal cost of the project.
(c3) The Fund shall beused to provide alternative drinking water supplies only if the Departmentdetermines that the person or persons who are responsible for the contaminationof the private drinking water well is or are not financially viable or cannotbe identified or located and if the Department determines that one of thefollowing applies:
(1) The contamination ofthe private drinking water well is naturally occurring.
(2) The owner of theproperty on which the private drinking water well is located did not cause orcontribute to the contamination or control the source of the contamination.
(3) The source of thecontamination is the application or disposal of a hazardous substance orpesticide that occurred without the consent of the owner of the property onwhich the private drinking water well is located.
(c4) The Department mayuse up to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) of the monies in the Fund topay the personnel and other direct costs associated with the implementation ofthis section.
(c5) The Fund shall notbe used for remediation of groundwater contamination.
(c6) Nothing in thissection expands, contracts, or modifies the obligation of responsible partiesunder Article 9 or 10 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes, this Article, orArticle 21A of this Chapter to assess contamination, identify receptors, orremediate groundwater or soil contamination.
(d) The Departmentshall establish criteria by which the Department is to evaluate applicationsand disburse monies from this Fund and may adopt any rules necessary toimplement this section.
(e) The Department, inconsultation with the Commission for Public Health and local healthdepartments, shall report no later than 1 October of each year to theEnvironmental Review Commission, the House of Representatives and SenateAppropriations Subcommittees on Natural and Economic Resources, and the FiscalResearch Division of the General Assembly on the implementation of thissection. The report shall include the purpose and amount of all expendituresfrom the Fund during the prior fiscal year, a discussion of the benefits anddeficiencies realized as a result of the section, and may also includerecommendations for any legislative action. (2006‑255, s. 5.2; 2007‑182, s. 2; 2007‑323,s. 12.2(a); 2008‑107, s. 12.1.)