Sponsored by:
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblyman WAYNE P. DEANGELO
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblywoman NANCY J. PINKIN
District 18 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires boil water notices be provided to mayor and municipal clerk within one hour.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning notification of boil water notices to mayors and municipal clerks and supplementing P.L.1977, c.224 (C.58:12A-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Whenever any public water system experiences an emergency or other condition that requires the issuance of a boil water notice, the owner or operator of the public water system shall provide notice to the mayor and municipal clerk of each municipality that receives water from the public water system that a boil water notice is in effect.
b. The notice required pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall be:
(1) provided as soon as possible, but in no case later than one hour after the public water system learns of the emergency or other condition;
(2) given via both telephone and electronic mail; and
(3) issued in addition to any other notice required by State or federal law.
c. The notice provided pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall contain:
(1) the name of the public water system affected;
(2) the geographical area affected;
(3) the date of the occurrence giving rise to the boil water notice;
(4) the consumer corrective measures to be taken by consumers of the water; and
(5) a telephone number where the mayor, the municipal clerk, and customers may reach an appropriate party to whom questions or other concerns about the boil water notice or the situation necessitating issuance of the notice may be addressed.
d. Upon rescission of the boil water notice, the owner or operator of the public water system shall provide notice to the mayor and municipal clerk of each municipality that receives water from the public water system that the boil water notice has been rescinded. This notice shall be provided via both telephone and electronic mail.
e. For the purposes of this section:
“Boil water notice” means a Tier 1 Public Notice required pursuant to the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s National Primary Drinking Water Regulations at Part 141, subpart Q of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations.
“Public transient noncommunity water system” means a public water system that is not a public community water system or a public nontransient noncommunity water system and that serves at least 25 transient individuals for at least 60 days in any given calendar year.
“Public water system” means the same as the term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1977, c.224 (C.58:12A-3), except that it shall not include a public transient noncommunity water system.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require a public water system to provide notice to the mayor and municipal clerk of each municipality that receives water from the public water system when a boil water notice is in effect. Under the bill, the owner or operator of the public water system would be required to provide notice to the mayor and municipal clerk via telephone and electronic mail as soon as possible, but in no case later than one hour after the public water system learns of the emergency or other condition requiring a boil water notice to be issued. This notice would be in addition to any other notice required by State or federal law.
The bill requires this notice to contain: the name of the public water system affected; the geographical area affected; the date of the occurrence giving rise to the boil water notice; the consumer corrective measures to be taken by consumers of the water; and a telephone number where the mayor, the municipal clerk, and customers may reach an appropriate party to whom questions or other concerns about the boil water notice or the situation necessitating issuance of the notice may be addressed.
The bill also requires the owner or operator of the public water system to provide notice, via both telephone and electronic mail, to the mayor and municipal clerk of each municipality that receives water from the public water system when the boil water notice has been rescinded.
The bill would require notice be provided to the mayor and municipal clerk of each municipality that receives water from the public water system, regardless of whether the boil water notice is in effect for the municipality. This bill will ensure that the mayor and municipal clerk are given prompt notice of the conditions of the public water system providing water to the municipality.