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Maine CDC is adopting amendments to its Drinking Water Rule. This Rule administers the State of Maine’s drinking water requirements for approximately 1,900 public water systems for which the Department’s Maine CDC Drinking Water Program (Department), which has federal primacy. Amendments to this rule reflect current practice, through the removal of outdated language and by meeting a Legislative Resolve approved by emergency on June 21, 2021: Resolve to Protect Consumers of Public Drinking Water by Establishing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 required public water systems to test and monitor drinking water for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and the recently enacted 22 M.R.S. § 2650-A. The Department is incorporating the April 2024 federal USEPA PFAS standards, including standards set by the EPA for six PFAS compounds. Community public water systems, non-transient non-community systems, and bottled water suppliers are now required to test for PFAS and report their results to the Department, resulting in possible mitigation, if levels are reported above certain levels. This rule now requires seasonal transient public water systems and all community public water systems to test for total coliform monthly, for further protection of public health and to alert the Department to possible bacterial contamination more quickly. The rule amendment also includes a new definition for “common scheme of development” to clarify its process for identifying and regulating public water systems. Finally, the Department changes the rule title to reflect current Maine CDC rulemaking formatting convention. The Department estimates that mitigation methods necessary to reduce or remove PFAS as required by this rule will result in a one-time capital expenditure of at least $50,000,000 (50 million dollars) in total for Maine’s Public Water Systems. The $50M, administered through federal safe drinking water revolving loan funds (per 30-A MRS § 5953-B) , will 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 per system annually.
Agency Contact Person: Andrew Hardy
Mailing Address: 11 SHS, 286 Water Street. Email Address: andrew.hardy@maine.gov
AGENCY WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/rules/, https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/about/rulemaking
Adopted
Office: Maine CDC
Routine technical
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