HB 708 — An Act amending the act of May 1, 1984 (P.L.206, No.43), known as the Pennsylvania Safe Drinking Water Act, further providing for powers and duties of department.

PRINTER'S NO.   727

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 708
                                               Session of
                                                 2025

     INTRODUCED BY ZIMMERMAN, HAMM, PICKETT, KRUPA, GROVE AND
        T. JONES, FEBRUARY 24, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE
        PROTECTION, FEBRUARY 24, 2025


                                    AN ACT
 1   Amending the act of May 1, 1984 (P.L.206, No.43), entitled "An
 2      act providing for safe drinking water; imposing powers and
 3      duties on the Department of Environmental Resources in
 4      relation thereto; and appropriating certain funds," further
 5      providing for powers and duties of department.
 6      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 7   hereby enacts as follows:
 8      Section 1.    Section 5(a), (b) introductory paragraph and (5)
 9   (ii), (c), (e), (g) and (h)(1) of the act of May 1, 1984
10   (P.L.206, No.43), known as the Pennsylvania Safe Drinking Water
11   Act, are amended to read:
12   Section 5.   Powers and duties of department.
13      (a)   State to assume primary enforcement.--The department
14   shall adopt and implement a public water supply program which
15   includes[, but is not limited to,] those program elements
16   necessary to assume State primary enforcement responsibility
17   under the Federal act. The public water supply program shall
18   include[, but not be limited to,] and be limited to maximum
19   contaminant levels or treatment technique requirements
 1   establishing drinking water quality standards, monitoring,
 2   reporting, recordkeeping and analytical requirements,
 3   requirements for public notification, standards for
 4   construction, operation and modifications to public water
 5   systems, emergency procedures, standards for laboratory
 6   certification, and compliance and enforcement procedures as
 7   required to enforce the Federal act.
 8      (b)   Department to establish compliance procedures.--The
 9   department shall develop and implement procedures as may be
10   necessary and appropriate in order to obtain compliance with
11   [this] the Federal act or the rules and regulations promulgated,
12   or permits issued hereunder pursuant to the Federal act. Such
13   procedures shall include, but not be limited to:
14            * * *
15            (5)   The establishment and maintenance of a permit
16      program concerning plans and specifications for the design
17      and construction of new or substantially modified public
18      water systems, which program:
19                  * * *
20                  (ii)    Requires that all such projects are designed to
21            comply with any rules and regulations [of the department]
22            under the Federal act concerning their construction and
23            operation; and once completed will be capable of
24            compliance with the drinking water standards; and will
25            deliver water with sufficient volume and pressure to the
26            users of such systems.
27      (c)   Department to enforce drinking water standards.--The
28   department shall have the power and its duties shall be to issue
29   such orders and initiate such proceedings as may be necessary
30   and appropriate for the enforcement of drinking water standards,

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 1   any other provision of law notwithstanding. These actions shall
 2   include, but are not limited to, the following:
 3            (1)   To institute in a court of competent jurisdiction,
 4      proceedings against any person to compel compliance with the
 5      provisions of [this] the Federal act, or the drinking water
 6      standards or conditions of permits issued hereunder pursuant
 7      to this act.
 8            (2)   To initiate criminal prosecutions, including
 9      issuance of summary citations by agents of the department.
10            (3)   To do any and all things and actions not
11      inconsistent with any provision of this act for the effective
12      enforcement of [this] the Federal act, rules and regulations
13      or permits issued hereunder pursuant to this act.
14      * * *
15      (e)   Department may require information from public water
16   systems.--The department may require any public water system to
17   install, use and maintain such monitoring equipment and methods
18   to perform such sampling, to maintain and retain such records of
19   information from monitoring and sampling activities, to submit
20   such reports of monitoring and sampling results and to provide
21   such other information as may be required to determine
22   compliance or noncompliance with [this] the Federal act or with
23   regulations promulgated pursuant to [this] the Federal act.
24      * * *
25      (g)   Search warrants.--An agent or employee of the department
26   may apply for a search warrant to any Commonwealth official
27   authorized to issue a search warrant for the purposes of
28   inspecting or examining any property, building, premise, place,
29   book, record or other physical evidence, of conducting tests or
30   taking samples. Such warrant shall be issued upon probable

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 1   cause. It shall be sufficient probable cause to show any of the
 2   following:
 3            (1)   the inspection, examination, test or sampling is
 4      pursuant to a general administrative plan to determine
 5      compliance with [this] the Federal act;
 6            (2)   the agent or employee has reason to believe that a
 7      violation of [this] the Federal act has occurred [or may
 8      occur]; or
 9            (3)   the agent or employee has been refused access to the
10      property, building, premise, place, book, record or physical
11      evidence, or has been prevented from conducting tests or
12      taking samples.
13      (h)   Delegation of functions and fiscal matters.--The
14   department is authorized to:
15            (1)   Enter into agreements, contracts or cooperative
16      arrangements under such terms and conditions as may be deemed
17      appropriate with other State agencies with approval by an act
18      of the General Assembly, Federal agencies, interstate compact
19      agencies, political subdivisions or other persons, including
20      agreements with local health departments to delegate one or
21      more of its regulatory functions to inspect, monitor and
22      enforce [the act and] drinking water standards pursuant to
23      the Federal act. The department shall monitor and supervise
24      activities of each local health department conducted pursuant
25      to such an agreement, for consistency with the department's
26      rules, regulations and policies. A local health department,
27      where it exists in each of the counties of the Commonwealth,
28      may elect to administer and enforce any of the provisions of
29      this act together with the department in accordance with the
30      established policies, procedures, guidelines, standards and

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 1    rules and regulations of the department. Local health
 2    departments electing to administer and enforce the provisions
 3    of this act shall be funded through contractual agreements
 4    within the department whenever program activity exceeds the
 5    minimum program requirements established under the former act
 6    of April 22, 1905 (P.L.260, No.182), entitled "An act to
 7    preserve the purity of the waters of the State, for the
 8    protection of the public health," adopted by the Advisory
 9    Health Board under the provisions of the act of August 24,
10    1951 (P.L.1304, No.315), known as the Local Health
11    Administration Law. The department is authorized to provide
12    funds to local health departments entering into an agreement
13    to contract pursuant to this paragraph which shall be
14    considered to be agents of the department for the purpose of
15    enforcement of [this] the Federal act.
16        * * *
17    Section 2.    This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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