§ 45-52-251 — Legislative Finding and Declaration of Policy

The Legislature finds and declares it to be the policy of the state, as it relates to Morgan County, consistent with its duty to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of Morgan County, to protect the water of public water supply systems from contamination by hazardous materials including, but not limited to, any oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation fuel, or petroleum product. The Legislature further finds that accidental spills or discharge of hazardous materials, if and when they may occur, pose a significant and unacceptable risk to public water supply systems and thus to the public health and safety of the residents of Morgan County and, where the transport to, storage in, and distribution from a storage facility occur from sites that are in close proximity to intake facilities of public water supply systems in Morgan County, that any spills or other releases of such sub-stances would likely be ingested into the public water systems of municipalities lying within or partly within Morgan County. As a consequence of potential contamination risks, protection areas should be established by the Legislature around the source water public water system intake facility of any municipality in Morgan County in order to reduce or prevent the risk of contamination of the public water supply of the residents of Morgan County.

Legislative History

(Act 2010-132, p. 185, § 1.)