PRINTER'S NO. 617
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
557
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY KILLION, COSTA AND HAYWOOD, APRIL 16, 2019
REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, APRIL 16, 2019
AN ACT
Amending the act of June 22, 1937 (P.L.1987, No.394), entitled
"An act to preserve and improve the purity of the waters of
the Commonwealth for the protection of public health, animal
and aquatic life, and for industrial consumption, and
recreation; empowering and directing the creation of
indebtedness or the issuing of non-debt revenue bonds by
political subdivisions to provide works to abate pollution;
providing protection of water supply and water quality;
providing for the jurisdiction of courts in the enforcement
thereof; providing additional remedies for abating pollution
of waters; imposing certain penalties; repealing certain
acts; regulating discharges of sewage and industrial wastes;
regulating the operation of mines and regulating the impact
of mining upon water quality, supply and quantity; placing
responsibilities upon landowners and land occupiers and to
maintain primary jurisdiction over surface coal mining in
Pennsylvania," in general provisions and public policy,
further providing for definitions; and, in domestic water
supplies, further providing for protection of domestic water
supplies.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 1 of the act of June 22, 1937 (P.L.1987,
No.394), known as The Clean Streams Law, is amended by adding a
definition to read:
Section 1. Definitions.--Be it enacted, &c., That the
following words or phrases, unless the context clearly indicates
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otherwise, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this
section.
* * *
"Private water supply" shall mean any water, private water
well or other privately owned water source for consumption or
recreation.
* * *
Section 2. Section 501 of the act is amended to read:
Section 501. Protection of Domestic Water Supplies.--(a) In
addition to the powers and authority hereinbefore granted, power
and authority is hereby conferred upon the department, after due
notice and public hearing, to make, adopt, promulgate, and
enforce reasonable orders and regulations for the protection of
any source of water for present or future supply to the public
or individual private property owners, and prohibiting the
pollution of any such source of water rendering the same
inimical or injurious to the public health or objectionable for
[public] certain domestic water supply purposes.
(b) The department shall promulgate regulations that require
a person subject to the provisions of this section to submit
plans to the department that provide for notification to private
landowners within five hundred feet of any project or activity
covered by this section. The notification shall include the
rights and obligations available to the private landowners under
this section.
(c) A person subject to provisions of this act shall provide
a private landowner the opportunity to opt-in to a program that
provides pre-project testing and post-project testing of any
private water supply within five hundred feet of a project
requiring a permit under this section or the regulations adopted
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under this section. The program shall establish a pre-project
water quality baseline for which the person subject to the
provisions of this section must maintain throughout the duration
of the project, subject to permits under this section.
(d) (1) A private landowner suffering pollution or
diminution of a private water supply as a result of a project
requiring a permit under this section or the regulations adopted
under this section may notify the department and request that an
investigation be conducted.
(2) Within ten days of notification under paragraph (1), the
department shall investigate the claim and make a determination
within one hundred twenty-five days following notification. In
the event a determination cannot be made in one hundred twenty-
five days, the department shall submit a preliminary report to
the private landowner under paragraph (1) and may elect to
extend the deadline one time for a period of no more than one
hundred twenty-five days.
(3) If the department finds that the pollution or diminution
was caused by activities requiring a permit under this section
or the regulations adopted under this section, alteration or
operation activities, or if the department presumes the person
was responsible for pollution, the department shall issue orders
to the person, including orders requiring temporary replacement
of a water supply, if it is determined that pollution or
diminution may be of limited duration.
(e) The department may issue orders suspending, revoking or
modifying permits that are necessary to correct any violation of
this act or regulations adopted under this act for noncompliance
with a condition of the permit or upon a finding of a condition
prejudicial to the public health.
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Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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