2019 -- S 0820

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LC002108

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO WATERS AND NAVIGATION - PUBLIC DRINKING WATER SUPPLY

SYSTEM PROTECTION

     Introduced By: Senators Euer, Goldin, and Bell

     Date Introduced: April 30, 2019

     Referred To: Senate Environment & Agriculture

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Sections 46-15.3-5.1 and 46-15.3-7.5 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-

15.3 entitled "Public Drinking Water Supply System Protection" are hereby amended to read as

follows:

     46-15.3-5.1. Water supply systems management plans.

     (a) All parties involved in the supply, transmission, and/or distribution of drinking water

shall prepare, maintain, and carry out a water supply system management plan as described by

this chapter. This requirement applies, without limitations, to:

     (1) All municipalities subject to chapter 22.2 of title 45, the Comprehensive Planning and

Land Use Regulation Act. The executive summary of the water supply system management plan

including the demand management goals and plans for water conservation and efficient use of

water, of any water supplier providing service in any municipality, shall be incorporated in the

services and facilities element of the plan for that municipality required by subdivision 45-22.2-

6(6);

     (2) All municipalities, municipal departments and agencies, districts, authorities or other

entities engaged in or authorized to engage in the supply, treatment, transmission, or distribution

of drinking water on a wholesale or retail basis, referred to herein as "water suppliers", which

obtain, transport, purchase, or sell more than fifty million (50,000,000) gallons of water per year.

     (b) A water supply system management plan shall be prepared in the format, and shall

address each of the topics, listed in this section, to the extent that each is relevant to the

municipality or water supplier, the water source(s), the water system(s), and the area served or

eligible to be served. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, water supply

management plans shall be in conformity with all applicable provisions of the Federal Safe

Drinking Water Act [42 U.S.C. § 300f et seq.], chapter 13 of this title, Public Drinking Water

Supply, and chapter 14 of this title, Contamination of Drinking Water, as administered by the

department of health. Any other topic of interest may be included.

     (c) A water supply system management plan shall include, without limitation, the

following components:

     (1) The water supply management component of the water supply system management

plan shall include, without limitation:

     (i) A statement of the goals that the plan is designed to achieve, including, but not limited

to, goals for:

     (A) Water resource protection;

     (B) Demand management, which shall include goals as appropriate for managing peak

and seasonal use of water; and

     (C) Supply development as necessary and with consideration of source water availability;

and

     (D) System management, including system safety, resilience and reliability, infrastructure

maintenance, repair, and reduction of leakage.

     (ii) A description of the water system(s) covered, including sources of water, the service

area, present and anticipated future users, and other important characteristics;

     (iii) Data collection in a form that can be accepted directly into the Rhode Island

Geographic Information System;

     (iv) Demand management measures that will achieve a high level of efficiency in the use

of a limited resource, through the application of metering of one hundred percent (100%) of the

water used; sanitary device retrofit; performance of and compliance with water use audits for

major industrial, commercial, institutional, governmental, agricultural and other outdoor water

users; education and information; and use of appropriate fees, rates, and charges to influence use

demand management measures shall include such restrictions on use; as may be necessary to

meet or exceed targets for water use, including seasonal use, that are established by the water

resources board; and the water resources board is hereby expressly directed and authorized to

establish and maintain no later than July 31, 2010, by rule targets for water use and methods for

achieving the targets, which shall as appropriate take into account differing conditions among

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watershed and water supply areas;

     (v) System management measures to insure that the following elements are optimally

operated and maintained, including: leak detection and repair; meter installation and replacement;

and frequency of reading meters. Maintenance or reduction of leakage to stated goals shall be

considered an essential component of system management;

     (vi) Supply management measures to insure present and future availability of drinking

water in adequate quantity and quality, including protection of the capacity and quality of

drinking water sources; retaining water sources for standby or future use that are or can be

improved to drinking water quality; reactivation of any water sources not in use; interconnection

of systems for ongoing, standby, or emergency use; supply augmentation;

     (vii) Emergency management, including risk assessment; responses to temporary or

permanent loss of supplies due to natural or manmade causes; extraordinary treatment processes;

interruptions in the delivery system; and contamination of water sources or delivery systems;

     (viii) The water supply system management plans of water suppliers shall document that

coordination has been accomplished with those plans of other suppliers in the vicinity and with

operators of wastewater treatment and disposal facilities serving all or part of the same area or

that a good faith effort to do so has been made. Plans shall be consistent with applicable local

comprehensive plans and shall be integrated into the water supply plans of the municipality or

municipalities in which the service area is or is planned to be located. Conversely, the local

comprehensive plans shall be consistent with water supply plans;

     (ix) Water supply system management plans shall designate the person or organization

responsible for taking each action, others who must participate, and the time period in which each

action is to be taken. The capital, operating, and maintenance cost (if any) of each action shall be

estimated and the anticipated source of funds shall be identified;

     (x) Water suppliers subject to this chapter shall utilize methods to implement

management measures necessary to achieve the findings, intent, and objectives of this chapter.

The water supplier may be required to document the validity or effectiveness of any management

measure, implementation method, or other provision or action included in its plan.

     (2) The water quality protection component of the water supply system management plan

shall include, without limitations, those items enumerated in § 46-15.3-7.

     (3) The leak detection and repair component of the water supply system management

plan shall include, without limitation:

     (i) Methodology for leak detection;

     (ii) Detailed program for the conducting of required repairs to the water supply system;

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     (iii) Impact assessment studies on the ability of the supplier to provide for peak demand

services;

     (iv) A priority list of actions for implementing these management measures;

     (v) Every supplier of public water encompassed under this section shall conduct periodic

leak detection consistent with stated goals for leakage, however no less frequently than once

every ten (10) years.

     46-15.3-7.5. Completion and filing of water supply system management plans.

     (a) Each party required by this chapter to prepare and maintain a water supply system

management plan shall complete and adopt an initial plan adhering to the schedule as previously

approved by the water resources board.

     (b) Municipalities and water suppliers subject to the requirements of § 46-15.3-5.1 of this

chapter shall file a copy of all plans and amendments thereto with the water resources board. The

plans shall be treated as confidential documents.

     (c) The water resources board shall establish procedures that permit parties that review

the plans under rules adopted by the water resources board to obtain sensitive information

essential to performance of their reviews, including minimum measures necessary to transmit,

use, store, and maintain such sensitive information under conditions that insure its security to the

maximum possible. These procedures may include designation of those persons within each

reviewing agency authorized to use or inspect sensitive information, and exclusion of all others.

An executive summary containing an:

     (1) Introduction;

     (2) Background;

     (3) A general system description containing:

     (i) Water supply sources;

     (ii) Water treatment facilities;

     (iii) Storage facilities;

     (iv) Pumping stations;

     (v) Raw water and finished water transmission facilities;

     (vi) Distribution facilities including low to high service;

     (vii) Planned extensions;

     (viii) Interconnections;

     (ix) Populations served and projections;

     (x) Major users;

     (xi) Metering;

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     (xii) Legal agreements;

     (xiii) Leakage;

     (xiv) Demand management;

     (xv) Supply management;

     (xvi) Available water;

     (xvii) Safe yield;

     (xviii) Anticipated future demands;

     (xix) Capital improvement;

     (xx) Rate structure;

     (xxi) Financial management;

     (xxii) Emergency management;

     (xxiii) Water supply source protection; and

     (xxiv) General policies shall be developed.

     (4) This summary shall be distributed as the public document. The water resources board

shall be authorized to recover and secure water supply management plans and water supply

system management plans previously distributed to other than water resources board and

designated review agencies and replaced by executive summaries as provided herein.

     (d) Municipalities and water suppliers subject to § 46-15.3-5.1 shall review their plans at

least once every five (5) years, and shall amend or replace their plan as may be necessary to

conform with the provisions of § 46-15.3-5.2 to remain current.

     (e) A municipality or water supplier subject to § 46-15.3-5.1 of this chapter may request,

in writing, that the water resources board extend the time in which to complete and submit filings

required by this chapter, not to exceed one year. A request shall be approved only upon

demonstration that an extension is justified by extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of

the municipality or water supplier. An extension, if approved, shall not waive any of the

requirements of § 46-15.3-7.6. This provision does not apply to the section on emergency

management. Should a municipality or water supplier fail to submit a filing as provided herein, a

determination of non-compliance shall be made by the water resources board.

     SECTION 2. Chapter 46-15.3 of the General Laws entitled "Public Drinking Water

Supply System Protection" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

     46-15.3-5.2. Water security.

     (a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the "water security act of 2019."

     (b) Purposes of this section are as follows:

     (1) To secure to all of the people of the state access to safe drinking water for their

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household and their daily use, and as necessary to providing for their health and welfare and

preserving their right to the enjoyment of the natural resources of the state;

     (2) To ensure:

     (i) That income is not a determinant of access to safe drinking water;

     (ii) That the full costs of maintaining drinking water supply systems are taken into

account;

     (iii) That drinking water supply systems costs are not increased except as necessary to

provide for infrastructure and system improvements to ensure high water quality to persons using

the system for water supply, and to ensure the well-being of the ecosystem and the natural

environment; and

     (iv) That increases in system costs are equitably allocated to system users; and

     (3) To address constructively global warming and climate change issues as those have a

bearing on the reliability, resilience, and costs of water supply systems serving diverse

communities in the state, and taking into account, as appropriate, social and economic as well as

environmental impacts.

     (c) Maintenance of water supply system management plans.

     (1) The water resources board, in consultation with Rhode Island infrastructure bank, the

department of health, the department of environmental management, the division of statewide

planning, and the division of public utilities, shall, by May 1, 2020, promulgate guidelines for

maintaining water supply system management plans, which guidelines shall include, but not be

limited to, requirements for system improvements necessary to address immediate and long-term

risks to public health and to provide for overall system resilience in the face of climate change

risks, including sea level rise, flooding, higher precipitation levels, droughts, and heat impacts.

The development of the guidelines shall provide for community input, consistent with principles

of environmental justice. For purposes of this section, "environmental justice" is defined as the

fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin,

or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental

laws, regulations, and policies with the goal that everyone enjoys the same degree of protection

from environmental and health hazards, and equal access to the decision-making process to have

a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work. The guidelines shall include mandatory

provisions pertaining to development of cost estimates for such system improvements. The

guidelines shall provide for exemptions for water suppliers that have issued, since January 1,

2017, updated water supply management plans that substantially address the matters required to

be considered in the guidelines.

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     (2) All water suppliers, as defined in § 46-15.3-5.1(a)(2), except as exempted as provided

for in subsection (c)(1) of this section, shall prepare and submit to the water resources board by

June 1, 2022, an updated water supply system management plan consistent with the guidelines,

for review under the provisions of this chapter.

     (3) The Rhode Island infrastructure bank, in consultation with the water resources board,

the department of health, the department of environmental management, the division of statewide

planning, and the division of public utilities, shall, on or before January 1, 2023, report its

findings and recommendations regarding:

     (i) The costs and the benefits of implementing necessary water supply system

improvements consistent with the guidelines; and

     (ii) A strategy for financing the implementation of necessary water supply system

improvements, in a manner consistent with the purposes of this section.

     (4) The development of these findings and recommendations shall provide for

community input, consistent with principles of environmental justice, including, but not limited

to, public hearings in all environmental justice communities that the water supplier services.

     (d) Moratorium on conversions in ownership:

     (1) In order to provide adequate time for consideration of the costs of necessary water

supply system improvements, no water supplier as defined in § 46-15.3-5.1(a)(2), may undergo a

conversion in ownership prior to July 1, 2024. For purposes of this subsection, a "conversion in

ownership" means any transfer by a person or persons of an ownership or membership interest or

authority in a water supplier, or the assets of a water supplier, whether by purchase, merger,

consolidation, lease, gift, joint venture, sale, or other disposition which results in a change of

ownership or control. For purposes of this subsection, "person" means any individual, trust or

estate, partnership, corporation (including associations, joint stock companies and insurance

companies), state or political subdivision of the state or any agency or instrumentality of either

the state or a political subdivision of the state.

     (2) The attorney general shall establish on or before January 1, 2022, criteria and

procedures for review of conversions of ownership of water suppliers to ensure that:

     (i) Public use of any property taken for water supply purposes remains unimpaired;

     (ii) Any conversion of ownership of property or improvements thereto, which were

acquired, made or financed through charges to water uses, are equitably distributed based on the

jurisdiction in which those water users were located;

     (iii) The "conversion in ownership" will not result in rates, charges, or restrictions on

usage that are unduly burdensome to water users served by the water supplier in such manner that

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charges do not exceed the percentage of household income appropriate to their federal poverty

level as provided in subsection (e) of this section; and

     (iv) The natural resources of the state are conserved.

     (e) Equitable allocation of water supply system costs. Taking into consideration that

housing costs for a substantial proportion of low- and moderate-income households are a high

percentage of household income and that water use and waste water treatment charges are part of

housing costs, the division of public utilities, in consultation with the water resources board, the

Rhode Island infrastructure bank, the office of health and human services, and the division of

statewide planning, shall develop by October 15, 2022, recommendations for water supply rates

that are based on percentage of income (a PIPP or percentage of income payment), that are

equitable, that are sufficient to finance necessary system improvements, and do not result in

substantial housing cost increases for low- and moderate-income households. Under a PIPP, low-

income households pay a fixed percentage of their income for utility bills. This percentage

depends on the federal poverty level of the household, therefore, those with the highest federal

poverty level pay the smallest percentage of their income for utility bills.

     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC002108

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO WATERS AND NAVIGATION - PUBLIC DRINKING WATER SUPPLY

SYSTEM PROTECTION

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     This act would create the water security act of 2019 which would secure to all people

across the state access to safe drinking water providing that income is not a determinant of access

to safe drinking water, and would require certain state agencies to promulgate guidelines for

maintaining water supply system management plans.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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LC002108

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