Code of Colorado Regulations
1000 - Department of Public Health and Environment
1002 - Water Quality Control Commission (1002 Series)
5 CCR 1002-11 - REGULATION NO. 11 - COLORADO PRIMARY DRINKING WATER REGULATIONS
Section 5 CCR 1002-11.58 - STATEMENT OF BASIS, SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORITY AND PURPOSE: April 9, 2018; Final Action May 7, 2018; Effective Date June 30, 2018

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 5, March 10, 2024

The following sections were affected by this rulemaking hearing: 11.2 - Definitions, Acronyms, and Abbreviations, 11.5 - Monitoring Plan Rule, 11.8 - Surface Water Treatment Rule, 11.11 - Groundwater Rule, 11.13 - Groundwater Rule: Disinfection Waivers, 11.16 - Revised Total Coliform Rule, 11.17 Total Coliform Rule, 11.23 - Maximum Residual Disinfectant Levels Rule, 11.28 - Storage Tank Rule, 11.33 - Public Notification Rule, 11.34 - Consumer Confidence Report Rule, 11.36 - Recordkeeping Requirements Rule, 11.37 - Cross-Connection Control Rule, 11.39 - Backflow Prevention and Cross-Connection Control Rule, 11.43 - Variances and Exemptions Rule, and 11.45 MCLs, MCLGs, SMCLs, MRDLs, MRDLGs, and Action Levels. The provisions of the Colorado Revised Statutes (CRS), section 25-1.5-202, provide specific statutory authority for adoption of these regulatory amendments. The Commission also adopted, in compliance with section 24-4-103(4), CRS, the following statement of basis and purpose.

BASIS AND PURPOSE

Revisions to the Revised Total Coliform Rule (RTCR)

The Commission revised the Colorado Primary Drinking Water Regulations in 2015 to include the Revised Total Coliform Rule, as part of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's federally-mandated primacy agreement with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Additionally, the 2015 rulemaking included Colorado-specific requirements for storage tanks, backflow prevention and cross-connection control, water haulers, minimum chlorine residual disinfection concentration in the distribution system, and various other editorial revisions and clarifications.

The Department's Water Quality Control Division submitted its Revised Total Coliform Rule primacy to the EPA in June 2015. As part of its review, the EPA granted the Department temporary primacy due to concerns about missing regulatory language/requirements. For this rulemaking, in order to address the EPA's comments to obtain full primacy for the Revised Total Coliform Rule and to provide additional clarity and accuracy, the Commission has made the following revisions:

* Removed outdated requirements;

* Removed outdated references;

* Added missing references;

* Corrected or removed obsolete references;

* Reorganized the structure of 11.16 Revised Total Coliform Rule for increased clarity; and

* Moved the operator certification requirements from 11.8 - Surface Water Treatment Rule to 11.16 - Revised Total Coliform Rule.

Revisions to Cross-Connection Control Rule (Regulation 11.39)

In 2015, the Commission also amended Section 11.39 of the Colorado Primary Drinking Water Regulations' Backflow Prevention Cross-Connection Control Rule to further protect public health and public water systems from potential contamination associated with cross-connections and ensure public water system compliance with Section 25.1.114 & 25.1.114.1 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. The Water Quality Control Division committed during the rulemaking process to continue to engage with stakeholders, solicit input and further evaluate the adopted rule, while providing appropriate protection of the public health and public water systems.

The intent of the cross-connection portion of the rulemaking is to provide additional flexibility to water systems while continuing to protect public health and public water systems from potential contamination associated with cross-connections. Prior to this rulemaking, Section 11.39 of the Backflow Prevention Cross-Connection Control Rule required that all non-single-family-residential connections be evaluated for potential cross connections or that such connections be controlled appropriately. Stakeholders throughout the state expressed concern that certain types of multi-family-residential connections present a similar risk to the public water system as single-family-residential connections and should not be required to be evaluated for cross connections. The stakeholder community and the Water Quality Control Division have held two stakeholder meetings in September of 2017 to evaluate the apparent risks to the public water system from single-family-residential-service connections, and multi-family-residential connections. Based on the stakeholder process, the impact to public health and public water systems, and considerations including the applicable plumbing codes (Colorado Plumbing Code), and the volume of water in the service connections, the Water Quality Control Division proposed to adopt language in this rulemaking which considers duplex-residential connections as single-family-residential connections.

The Commission agrees with the Water Quality Control Division that single-family-residential connections and duplex-residential connections generally present a similar risk to a public water system' distribution system and it is reasonable to consider duplex-residential connections as single-family-residential connections for the purpose of this rule. The Commission also deleted the former Cross-Connection Rule (Regulation 11.37) because it is outdated and no longer applicable.

Updated Date for Federal Regulations Incorporated by Reference

The Commission also updated the date of the EPA regulations incorporated by reference throughout the Colorado Primary Drinking Water Regulations. To do this, the Commission deleted specific references to dates of EPA regulations throughout the Colorado Primary Drinking Water Regulations and added a new section to Regulation 11.2(6) which makes April 9, 2018 the effective date of all incorporated EPA regulations.

PARTIES TO THE RULEMAKING