Drinking Water Rule, 10-144 CMR Ch. 231

Date posted:

This Rule administers the State of Maine drinking water requirements for approximately 1,900 public water systems by the Department’s Maine CDC Drinking Water Program (Department), which has federal primacy. The Department proposes rule changes to reflect current practice, by removing any outdated language and meet a Legislative Resolve approved by emergency on June 21, 2021: Resolve to Protect Consumers of Public Drinking Water by Establishing Maximum Contaminant Levels for Certain Substances and Contaminants (Resolves 2021, ch. 82; S.P. – LD 129), which requires public water systems to test and monitor drinking water for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The Department also proposes to incorporate the recently announced by USEPA in April 2024 for federal PFAS standards into this Maine rule EPA for six PFAS compounds. Community public water systems, non-transient non-community systems, and bottled water suppliers will be required to test for PFAS and report their results to the Department, resulting in possible mitigation, if levels are reported above certain levels. The Department also proposes to require seasonal transient public water systems and all community public water systems to test for total coliform on a monthly basis, to further protect public health and alert the Department to possible bacterial contamination quicker. The Department proposes to add a definition for “common scheme of development” to clarify its process to identify and regulate public water systems, and finally, the Department proposes a new rule title to reflect Maine CDC rulemaking formatting convention.

DATE, TIME AND PLACE OF PUBLIC HEARING: No public hearing is scheduled. A public hearing may be requested by emailing the contact person identified below for this filing. (5 MRS § 8053(3)(B).)

COMMENT DEADLINE: June 20, 2025

CONTACT PERSON FOR THIS FILING (include name, mailing address, telephone, fax, TTY, e-mail):

Andrew Hardy, 11 SHS-286 Water Street, Augusta, ME 04333-0011, (207) 287-4490, andrew.hardy@maine.gov

CONTACT PERSON FOR SMALL BUSINESS IMPACT STATEMENT (if different): N/A

FINANCIAL IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES (if any): The Department is estimating that mitigation methods necessary to reduce or remove PFAS as required by this rule would result in a one-time capital expenditure of at least $50,000,000 (50 million dollars). This amount is in total for Maine’s Public Water Systems. The $50M, when combined with federal dollars, would result in all remaining untreated Maine Public Water Systems with PFAS levels above proposed Maximum Contaminant Levels to be treated. Additionally, it is estimated that the operation and maintenance costs for the approximately 130 Public Water Systems in Maine could range from $1,000 to $100,000 annually.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR THIS RULE: 22 MRS §§2611, 2615(5), 2615-A(4), 2617(3), 2618, 2620(2), 2620-C, 2659, 2660-E(1)

SUBSTANTIVE STATE OR FEDERAL LAW BEING IMPLEMENTED (if different): N/A

AGENCY WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/rules/

E-MAIL FOR OVERALL AGENCY RULE-MAKING LIAISON: Emily.a.cathcart@maine.gov

Office: Maine CDC

Comment deadline:

Effective date:

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