Chapter 160
2010 -- H 7652 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 06/25/10
A N A C T
RELATING TO
WATERS AND NAVIGATION - WATER POLLUTION
Introduced By: Representatives Ucci, and Menard
Date Introduced: February 25, 2010
It is enacted by the General
Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 46-12-3 of the General Laws in Chapter
46-12 entitled "Water
Pollution" is hereby
amended to read as follows:
46-12-3.
Powers and duties of the director. -- In addition
to the other powers granted
the director of the department of environmental
management herein, the director shall have and
may exercise the following powers and duties:
(1) To exercise general
supervision of the administration and enforcement of this
chapter, and all rules and regulations and orders promulgated
hereunder;
(2) To develop
comprehensive programs for the prevention, control, and abatement of
new or existing pollution of the waters of this state;
(3) To advise, consult,
and cooperate with other agencies of the state, the federal
government, other states, and interstate agencies and with
affected groups, political subdivisions,
and industries in the furtherance of the purposes of this
chapter;
(4) To accept and
administer loans and grants from the federal government and from
other sources, public or private, for the carrying out of
any of its functions, which loans and
grants shall not be expended for other than the purposes for
which provided;
(5) To encourage, participate
in, or conduct studies, investigations, research, and
demonstrations relating to water pollution and its causes,
prevention, control, and abatement
thereof, as he or she may deem advisable and necessary for
the discharge of his or her duties
under this chapter;
(6) To collect and
disseminate information relating to water pollution and the prevention,
control, and abatement thereof;
(7) Except as otherwise
provided in subdivision (24) below, to promulgate standards of
water quality and to classify the waters of the state
accordingly;
(8) To administer state
grants to municipalities and political subdivisions for the
construction of sewage treatment works;
(9) To hold hearings,
to issue notices of hearings and subpoenas requiring the attendance
of witnesses and the production of evidence, and to
administer oaths and to take testimony, that
he or she may deem necessary;
(10) To approve,
pursuant to standards adopted by the environmental standards board,
the construction, modification, and operation of
discharge systems or any parts thereof, and to
require the prior submission of plans, specifications, and
other data relative to discharge systems
and to require that the plans, specifications, or other
data be certified by a professional engineer
registered in
(11) To issue a permit
for the discharge of any pollutant or combination of pollutants or
to issue a general permit authorizing a category of
discharges within a geographical area upon
conditions as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this
chapter and of the Clean Water
Act, 33 U.S.C. section 1251 et seq., which may
include, but not be limited to, providing for
specific effluent limitations and levels of treatment
technology, monitoring, recording, and
reporting standards, or to deny a permit or general permit;
(12) To renew, revoke,
modify, or suspend in whole or in part any permit, order, or
schedule of compliance pursuant to the provisions of this
chapter, and any rules and regulations
promulgated thereunder;
(13) To approve the
discharge of pollutants into the waters of this state pursuant to all
applicable standards;
(14) To require
publicly owned treatment works to adopt and implement requirements
regarding the pretreatment of pollutants consistent with
existing federal requirements, and to
require compliance by all persons with pretreatment
requirements;
(15) To issue such
orders as may be necessary to prevent the unauthorized construction,
modification, or operation of discharge systems and the discharge
of pollutants into the waters of
this state;
(16) To require proper
maintenance and operation of discharge systems;
(17) To consult the
advisory council on environmental affairs on the policies and plans
for the control and abatement of pollution;
(18) To make, issue,
amend, and revoke reasonable rules and regulations for the
prevention, control, and abatement of pollution and the
enforcement of orders issued hereunder,
including public notice and comment requirements;
(19) To exercise all
incidental powers necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter;
(20) To approve the
operation of treatment facilities, pursuant to the provisions of
chapters 3, 11, and 18 of title 44;
(21) To promulgate and
enforce rules and regulations to govern the location, design,
construction, maintenance, and operation of underground storage
facilities used for storing
petroleum products or hazardous materials to prevent, abate,
and remedy the discharge of
petroleum products and hazardous materials into the waters of
the state; provided that all
underground storage tanks and associated piping installed after
September 1, 1991 shall provide
for secondary containment in a manner approved by the
director; and provided, that single-walled
tanks and/or piping installed prior to May 8, 1985 shall be
permitted to remain in use until
December 22, 2017 and single-walled tanks and/or
piping installed between May 8, 1985 and
July 20, 1992 shall be permitted to remain in use for
thirty-two (32) years from the date of
installation if the owner/operator of the single-walled tank or
piping performs an annual facility
compliance inspection to ensure structural integrity; and provided, further, that the installation
of
underground storage tanks is prohibited at sites located within
wellhead protection areas for
community water supply wells as designated by the director and
consistent with chapter 46-13.1.
This prohibition shall not apply to the replacement or
upgrading of existing underground storage
tanks installed prior to July 1, 1991, provided that such activity
take place in accordance with all
applicable state and federal regulations. The department of
environmental management shall by
January 1, 2011 develop recommendations for phasing
out the stage II vapor recovery program
with the required removal of single-walled underground
storage tanks in order to achieve the
objectives of both program efforts in a cost effective and
efficient manner. The department of
environmental management shall report its findings to the chair of
the house committee on
environment and natural resources and to the chair of the senate
committee on environment and
agriculture on or before January 1, 2011;
(22) To promulgate and
enforce rules and regulations to govern the installation,
construction, operation, and abandonment of monitoring wells;
(23) To promulgate and
enforce rules and regulations to govern the location, design,
installation, operation and maintenance of subsurface disposal
systems which receive the
discharge of pollutants and of subsurface containment systems,
including underground storage
tanks, used to contain or control the discharge of
pollutants below the ground surface.
(24) In connection with
the dredging and transportation and disposal of dredge material,
to promulgate and adopt water quality standards that
conform with the federal Environmental
Protection Agency's applicable water quality rules and
regulations and guidelines, including, but
not limited to, the federal Environmental Protection
Agency's rules and regulations and guidelines
for deviating from said standards. The department of
environmental management shall also apply
the applicable standards and guidelines and adopt the
procedures as set forth in the manual
identified as "Evaluation of Dredge Material for Purpose of
Ocean Disposal. Testing Manual Put
Together by EPA and Army Corps of Engineers in
February, 1991" and any amendments or
supplements or successor manuals thereto to the extent that the
same are relevant to dredging,
transportation and/or disposal of dredge materials in tidal waters
or any documents or manuals
approved by the federal Environmental Protection Agency
relating to dredging, transportation
and/or disposal of dredge materials; and
(25) To prepare and to
submit to the governor, the speaker of the house, the president of
the senate, the chairperson of the house committee on
environment and natural resources and the
chairperson of the senate committee on environment and
agriculture, not later than February 1,
2005, a plan, including an implementation program with
cost estimates, recommended sources of
funding, measurable goals, objectives, and targets and
limitations for nutrient introduction into
the waters of the state, for the purposes of: (i) managing nutrient loadings and the effects of
nutrients in the waters of the state; and (ii) preventing and
eliminating conditions of
eutrophication.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
=======
LC01916/SUB A/2
=======