Current through Register Vol. 55, No. 13, March 29, 2025
(a)
General
violation categories and other situations requiring a Tier 3 public
notice. A public water supplier shall provide Tier 3 public notice for
the following circumstances:
(1) Monitoring
violations under Subchapter C, K, L or M, except when a Tier 1 notice is
required under §
109.408 (relating to Tier 1 public
notice-categories, timing and delivery of notice) or when the Department
determines that a Tier 2 notice is required.
(2) Reporting and record maintenance
violations under §
109.701(h)
(relating to reporting and recordkeeping).
(3) Operation under a variance or an
exemption granted under Subchapter I (relating to variances and exemptions
issued by the Department).
(4)
Availability of unregulated contaminant monitoring results, as required under
40 CFR
141.40 (relating to monitoring requirements
for unregulated contaminants).
(5)
Failure to report an
E. coli MCL violation or an
E.
coli-positive routine or check sample as required under §
109.701(a)(3)(iv).
(6) Failure to
submit a completed assessment form in accordance with §
109.701(a)(9).
(7) Failure to
submit certification of completion of a Department-approved start-up procedure
by a seasonal system in accordance with §
109.715(e)
(relating to seasonal systems).
(b)
Timing for a Tier 3 public
notice.
(1) A public water supplier
shall provide the public notice no later than 1 year after the public water
system learns of the violation or situation or begins operating under a
variance or exemption. Following the initial notice, the water supplier shall
repeat the notice annually for as long as the violation, variance, exemption or
other situation persists. If the public notice is posted, the notice shall
remain in place for as long as the violation, variance, exemption or other
situation persists, but in no case may the initial and annual repeat notice be
posted for less than 7 days (even if the violation or situation is
resolved).
(2) Instead of
individual Tier 3 public notices, a public water supplier may use an annual
report detailing all violations and situations that occurred during the
previous 12 months, as long as the timing requirements of paragraph (1) are
met.
(c)
Delivery
of a Tier 3 public notice. A public water supplier shall provide the
initial notice and any repeat notices in a form and manner that is reasonably
designed to reach all persons served in the required time period. The form and
manner of the public notice may vary based on the specific situation and type
of water system, but the public water supplier shall, at a minimum, meet the
following requirements:
(1) Unless directed
otherwise by the Department in writing, community water systems shall provide
notice using the following forms of delivery:
(i) Mail or other direct delivery to each
customer receiving a bill and to other service connections to which water is
delivered by the public water system.
(ii) Any other method reasonably designed to
reach other persons regularly served by the system, if they would not normally
be reached by the notice required in subparagraph (i). Those persons may
include those who do not pay water bills or do not have service connection
addresses such as house renters, apartment dwellers, university students,
nursing home patients or prison inmates. Other methods may include publication
in a local newspaper, delivery of multiple copies for distribution by customers
that provide their drinking water to others (such as apartment building owners
or large private employers), posting in public places or on the Internet or
delivery to community organizations.
(2) Unless directed otherwise by the
Department in writing, noncommunity water systems shall provide notice using
the following forms of delivery:
(i) Posting
the notice in conspicuous locations throughout the distribution system
frequented by persons served by the system, or by mail or direct delivery to
each customer and service connection, if known.
(ii) Any other method reasonably designed to
reach other persons served by the system, if they would not normally be reached
by the notice required in subparagraph (i). Those persons may include those who
may not see a posted notice because the notice is not in a location they
routinely pass by. Other methods may include publication in a local newspaper
or newsletter distributed to customers, use of e-mail to notify employees or
students or delivery of multiple copies in central locations such as community
centers.
(d)
Use of a CCR to meet the Tier 3 public notice requirements.
For community water systems, the CCR required under §
109.416 (relating to CCR
requirements) may be used as a vehicle for the initial Tier 3 public notice and
all required repeat notices, as long as the following conditions are met:
(1) The CCR is provided to persons served no
later than 12 months after the system learns of the violation or situation as
required under subsection (b).
(2)
The Tier 3 notice contained in the CCR follows the content requirements under
§
109.411 (relating to content of a
public notice).
(3) The CCR is
distributed following the delivery requirements under subsection
(c).
The provisions of this § 109.410 amended under section 4 of
the Pennsylvania Safe Drinking Water Act (35 P.S. §
721.4) and sections 1917-A and 1920-A of The
Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P.S. §§
510-7 and
510-20).
This section cited in 25 Pa. Code §
109.407 (relating to general
public notification requirements); 25 Pa. Code §
109.412 (relating to special
notice of the availability of unregulated contaminant monitoring results); and
52 Pa. Code §69.1601 (relating to
general).
