310 CMR, § 22.03 - Compliance

(1) No source of water used by a Public Water System, no system of water supply used by a Public Water System, and no treatment facilities or treatment works used by a Public Water System shall be deemed by the Department to be safe, fit, or pure, or in any other way approved; and no Supplier of Water, or other Person subject to a requirement of 310 CMR 22.00 shall supply drinking water to the users of a Public Water System, including without limitation for emergency use; unless that Public Water System complies with 310 CMR 22.00. In the event of a violation of 310 CMR 22.00, the Department may establish a schedule for compliance within an administrative consent order or other enforceable document that may include interim measures that the Supplier of Water must take. It shall be a violation of 310 CMR 22.00 to fail to comply with:

(a) any provision or requirement of 310 CMR 22.00;

(b) a schedule for compliance, including any interim measures required by the Department in an administrative consent order or other enforceable document; or

(c) any term or condition of a permit, written approval, registration, certification or order issued by the Department pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111, § 160 or 310 CMR 22.00.

(2) A Supplier of Water, upon request by the Department, shall sample and analyze its water for any parameter, at any location and frequency, deemed necessary to prevent the pollution of and secure the sanitary protection of waters used as sources of water supply and to ensure the delivery of a fit and pure water supply to all consumers, in accordance with 310 CMR 22.00. All results of such sampling and analysis shall be reported to the Department as directed and in accordance with 310 CMR 22.00. A Supplier of Water that fails to report such results to the Department as directed, and in accordance with 310 CMR 22.00, shall be presumed to have failed to conduct such monitoring.

(3)310 CMR 22.00 shall apply to every Public Water System in the Commonwealth, except a consecutive Public Water System which demonstrates to the Department's satisfaction that it meets all the following Criteria:

(a) The consecutive system consists only of distribution and storage facilities (and does not have any collection and treatment facilities);

(b) The consecutive system obtains all of its water from but is not owned by or operated by, a Public Water System which is subject to 310 CMR 22.00;

(c) The consecutive system does not sell water to any Person;

(d) The consecutive system is not a carrier which conveys passengers in commerce; and

(e) The consecutive system and the supplying system have entered into a written agreement that addresses the status and responsibilities of the parties for the ownership, operation and maintenance of the combined system, including but not limited to, drinking water sources, treatment facilities, Distribution System, storage and water quality sampling.

(4) If the Department determines that a consecutive Public Water System is exempt from 310 CMR 22.00 based on the consecutive system meeting the criteria in 310 CMR 22.03(3)(a) through (e), the supplying system shall thereafter be responsible for the compliance of the combined system with 310 CMR 22.00, including the requirement to obtain the Department's approval for a Substantial Modification to an existing Public Water System pursuant to 310 CMR 22.04.

(5) Where the Department, in consultation with the Department of Public Health, determines that:

(a) a Supplier of Water is supplying drinking water in violation of 310 CMR 22.00; and

(b) an order to cease supplying such water would pose a significantly greater hazard to the public health than the continued supplying of such water in violation of 310 CMR 22.00, the Department may authorize the supplying of such water subject to such conditions as may be imposed by the Commissioner, but only for a temporary, non-renewable period not to exceed the amount of time the Supplier of Water reasonably needs to either eliminate the violation or promptly apply for and obtain a variance or exemption.

(6) The Department shall report all violations of 310 CMR 22.00 to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health promptly upon obtaining knowledge of such violations, and shall consult with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health with regard to enforcement actions taken to obtain compliance with 310 CMR 22.00.

(7) No Person shall violate, or cause to be violated, any municipal zoning or nonzoning control that is required as part of a Department-issued approval of a Groundwater source or Surface Water Source for public water supply approval pursuant to 310 CMR 22.20C or 22.21(2), or a requirement of an approved watershed protection/control program.

(8) In the event the Department finds on the basis of a health assessment made by the Department's Office of Research and Standards that the level of any contaminant found in water collected within a Distribution System and/or at a Sampling Point at the entry to a Distribution System, poses an unacceptable health risk to consumers, acting alone or in combination with other contaminants, the Supplier of Water shall take appropriate actions to reduce the level of contaminant concentrations to levels the Department deems safe or remove the source of supply from service by the deadline specified by the Department. The Supplier of Water shall be required to monitor the source as directed by the Department, provide public notification and notify the Department of the actions it intends to take in response to a finding that a source of supply poses an unacceptable risk to health.

(9) Schedule for Compliance.

(a) No Supplier of Water shall violate, or cause to be violated, any Treatment Technique requirement established by 310 CMR 22.20A. A Supplier of Water subject to one or more Treatment Technique requirements shall take appropriate action to timely come into compliance with each such requirement. The Department may require a Supplier of Water to notify the Department of the actions it intends to take to come into compliance with each Treatment Technique requirement. Each such notice must include, at a minimum, a schedule that includes the dates by which the Supplier of Water will hire a professional engineer to prepare plans and specifications, submit draft and final design plans and specifications to the Department for approval, request bids for construction, award a contract for construction, and commence and complete construction of the work necessary.

(b) If an extension is required to meet an Action Level, Treatment Technique, or other requirement established by 310 CMR 22.00, the Department will set a schedule for compliance with an administrative consent order or other enforceable document and may specify any interim measures that the Supplier of Water must take. Failure to meet the schedule or interim measures constitutes a violation of 310 CMR 22.00.

(10) All water quality data submitted to the Department shall be analyzed by a laboratory certified pursuant to 310 CMR 42.00: Certification and Operation of Environmental Analysis Laboratories, unless otherwise specified by the Department. All water quality data for contaminants listed in 310 CMR 22.00, including additional and voluntary samples, shall be submitted to the Department, unless otherwise specified by the Department. All sample collection, handling and preservation shall be subject to the following procedures:

(a) those procedures referenced or defined in 310 CMR 22.00. Samples shall be stored in such a way that cross-contamination from other samples, standards or reagents is avoided; and

(b) a Supplier of Water shall maintain a copy of the chain-of-custody for each sample collected, shall retain said copy for the same time period applicable to the corresponding sample reports as specified in 310 CMR 22.17, and shall provide a copy to the Department upon request. Chain of custody information shall be recorded for all samples, including those shipped by mail or courier, using either a chain-of-custody form that accompanies the samples or an electronic tracking system meeting at a minimum, generally accepted industry standards for establishing a chain of custody by such means. Chain-of-custody information shall include:

1. sample number;

2. sample description including any preservation (e.g., chemical, thermal, etc.) used;

3. date and time of sample collection;

4. specific location of sample collection (including applicable Location ID#);

5. analysis requested;

6. name of sample collector and intermediate custodians, if any;

7. date(s) and time(s) of custody transfer to the laboratory; and

8. name(s) and signature(s) of the individual(s) receiving the sample.

(11) The Department may require that special purpose samples collected by a Supplier of Water and analyzed by a certified laboratory using approved methods as specified at 310 CMR 42.00: Certification and Operation of Environmental Analysis Laboratories be used to determine compliance with the applicable MCL.

(12) A Public Water System is in operation during the period the system is providing (pumping or gravity feeding) water to the water Distribution System and/or the Public Water System is providing water to at least one of its service connections or customers.

(13) A Supplier of Water shall submit or report to the Department all data or information required to be submitted or reported pursuant to 310 CMR 22.00, including without limitation 310 CMR 22.15, in the format and manner as specified and approved by the Department. Where required, including without limitation as specified in 310 CMR 22.07G(17), written submissions shall be made using the electronic filing system designated by the Department. A Supplier of Water may request in writing a waiver from any applicable electronic filing requirement, for a limited period of time. All such requests shall be based on a showing that internet access

necessary to make the required electronic filings is not available, despite the reasonable efforts of the Supplier of Water or party acting on its behalf (e.g., a laboratory) to acquire the needed internet access. All electronic filing waiver requests shall be made on a form provided by the Department and shall be subject to the Department's written approval. Any Supplier of Water whose waiver request is approved shall make paper filings in lieu of the applicable electronic filings during the period of the waiver using printed copies of the applicable filing forms.

(14) In the event of a violation of a regulated contaminant limit established by 310 CMR 22.00, or notification by the Department either pursuant to sampling and analysis required by 310 CMR 22.03(2), or pursuant to 310 CMR 22.03(8), a Supplier of Water shall:

(a) take appropriate actions to reduce the level of contaminant concentrations to levels the Department deems safe by the deadline specified by the Department. The Supplier of Water shall conduct monitoring as directed by the Department and provide public notification in accordance with 310 CMR 22.16; and

(b) unless the Department directs the Supplier of Water to take specific corrective action, the Supplier of Water shall submit a corrective action plan to the Department within 30 days of the Supplier of Water learning of the violation or receipt of the Department's notification of the exceedance. The corrective action plan shall detail the specific interim and long-term action measures the Supplier of Water intends to take to ensure water supplied to consumers meets applicable standards.

(15) Requests for Information.

(a) To properly carry out its responsibilities under M.G.L. c. 111, § 160 and 310 CMR 22.00 to protect the health, environment, and well-being of the citizens of the Commonwealth, the Department and its authorized agents and representatives may request information from any Person as it deems necessary to ascertain the purity and fitness of water supply for domestic use, or the possibility of the water supply Distribution System imperiling the public health, or to evaluate whether that Person is subject to, in compliance with, or in violation of, M.G.L. c. 111, § 160, or 310 CMR 22.00.

(b) No Person shall fail to provide any information requested within the time specified by the Department pursuant to 310 CMR 22.03(15)(a).

(16) Altering, Falsifying or Tampering with Collection, Analysis, or Reporting of Samples.

(a) No Person shall alter, falsify, tamper with, or attempt to tamper with, the collection, analysis or reporting of samples required by 310 CMR 22.00; nor allow or cause any other Person to alter, falsify, tamper with, or attempt to tamper with, the collection, analysis or reporting of samples required by 310 CMR 22.00.

(b) No Person shall render inaccurate any monitoring device required by 310 CMR 22.00, nor allow or cause any other Person to render inaccurate any monitoring device required by 310 CMR 22.00.

(c) No Person shall render inaccurate any method required to be performed by 310 CMR 22.00, nor allow or cause any other Person to render inaccurate any method required to be performed by 310 CMR 22.00.

(17) Intentional or Negligent Damage. No Person shall intentionally or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface, or tamper with any source, structure, appurtenance, equipment, or any other component of a Public Water System; nor cause or allow any other Person to intentionally or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface, or tamper with any source, structure, appurtenance, equipment, or any other component of a Public Water System.

(18) False, Inaccurate, Incomplete or Misleading Statements.

(a) No Person shall make, nor allow or cause any other Person to make, any false, inaccurate, incomplete or misleading statement in any submission required by 310 CMR 22.00, or by any permit, approval, certification or registration issued pursuant to 310 CMR 22.00.

(b) No Person shall make, nor allow or cause any other Person to make, any false, inaccurate, incomplete or misleading statement in any record, report, plan, file, log, register or other document which such Person is required to keep by the terms of a permit, approval, certification or registration issued pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111, § 160, or 310 CMR 22.00.

(19) Orders. Without limitation, the Department may issue such orders as in its opinion may be necessary to prevent the pollution and to secure the sanitary protection of all waters used as sources of water supply and to ensure the delivery of a fit and pure water supply to all consumers. Such orders may include, but shall not be limited to, orders requiring Persons to cease any activity which is in violation of M.G.L. c. 111, § 160, or 310 CMR 22.00 or to carry out activities necessary to bring such Person into compliance.

(20) Penalties. Any Person violating M.G.L. c. 111, § 160, or 310 CMR 22.00 shall be subject to the full range of legal actions authorized by M.G.L. c. 21A, § 16, c. 111, § 160, 310 CMR 5.00: Administrative Penalty, and any other applicable law or regulation including, without limitation, criminal fines, imprisonment, and civil and administrative orders and penalties.

Notes

310 CMR, § 22.03

Amended by Mass Register Issue 1309, eff. 3/25/2016. Amended by Mass Register Issue 1427, eff. 10/2/2020.