§ 16-262m — Construction specifications for water companies.

Connecticut § 16-262m

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 16: Public Service Companies
• Ch. 283: Telephone, Gas, Power and Water Companies

Text

(a) As used in this section, except as otherwise specified, and section 8-25a, “water company” means a corporation, company, association, joint stock association, partnership, municipality, state agency, other entity or person, or lessee thereof, owning, leasing, maintaining, operating, managing or controlling any pond, lake, reservoir, stream, well or distributing plant or system employed for the purpose of supplying water to fifteen or more service connections or twenty-five or more persons for at least sixty days in any one year. (b) On and after October 1, 2016, no person or entity, including, but not limited to, a water company may begin the construction of a water supply system for the purpose of supplying water to fifteen or more service connections or twenty-five or more persons for at least sixty days in any one year, and no such person or entity, except a water company supplying more than two hundred fifty service connections or one thousand persons, may begin expansion of a water supply system without having first obtained a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Department of Public Health. (c) For systems serving twenty-five or more residents that are not the subject of proceedings under subsection (c) of section 16-262n or section 16-262o , an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity shall be on a form prescribed by the Department of Public Health, and accompanied by a copy of the applicant's construction or expansion plans, a fee of one hundred dollars, except no state agency shall be required to pay such fee, and when an exclusive service area provider has been determined pursuant to section 25-33g , a copy of a signed ownership agreement between the applicant and provider for the exclusive service area, as determined pursuant to section 25-33g , detailing those terms and conditions under which the system will be constructed or expanded and for which the provider will assume service and ownership responsibilities. When an exclusive service area provider has been determined pursuant to section 25-33g , the application shall also be accompanied by a written confirmation from the exclusive service area provider, as the person that will own the water supply system, that such exclusive service area provider has received the application and is prepared to assume responsibility for the water supply system subject to the terms and conditions of the ownership agreement. Written confirmation from the exclusive service area provider shall be on a form prescribed by said department. Said department shall issue a certificate to an applicant upon determining, to said department's satisfaction, that (1) no interconnection is feasible with a water system owned by, or made available through arrangement with, the provider for the exclusive service area, as determined pursuant to section 25-33g or with another existing water system where no exclusive service area has been assigned, (2) the applicant will complete the construction or expansion in accordance with engineering standards established by regulation by said department for water supply systems, (3) ownership of the system will be assigned to the provider for the exclusive service area, when an exclusive service area provider has been determined pursuant to section 25-33g , (4) the proposed construction or expansion will not result in a duplication of water service in the applicable service area, (5) the applicant meets all federal and state standards for water supply systems, (6) except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, the person that will own the water supply system has the financial, managerial and technical resources to (A) operate the proposed water supply system in a reliable and efficient manner, and (B) provide continuous adequate service to persons served by the water supply system, (7) the proposed water supply system will not adversely affect the adequacy of nearby water supply systems, and (8) any existing or potential threat of pollution that said department deems to be adverse to public health will not affect any new source of water supply. Any construction or expansion with respect to which a certificate is required shall thereafter be built, maintained and operated in conformity with the certificate and any terms, limitations or conditions contained therein. (d) For the purpose of the Department of Public Health's issuance of a certificate pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, when the person that will own the water supply system is a water company, as defined in section 16-1 , or is not the exclusive service area provider because an exclusive service area provider has not been determined, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall determine whether such person has the financial resources to (1) operate the proposed water supply system in a reliable and efficient manner, and (2) provide continuous adequate service to persons served by the water supply system. (e) For systems serving twenty-five or more persons, but not twenty-five or more residents, at least sixty days in any one year, an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity shall be on a form prescribed by the Department of Public Health and accompanied by a copy of the construction or expansion plans. Said department shall issue a certificate to an applicant upon determining, to its satisfaction, that: (1) No interconnection is feasible with a water system owned by, or made available through arrangement with, the provider for the exclusive service area, as determined pursuant to section 25-33g or with another existing water system where no existing exclusive service area has been assigned; (2) the applicant will complete the construction or expansion in accordance with engineering standards established by said department's regulations for water supply systems; (3) ownership of the system will be assigned to the provider for the exclusive service area, as determined pursuant to section 25-33g , if agreeable to the exclusive service area provider and said department, or may remain with the applicant, if agreeable to said department, until such time as the water system for the exclusive service area, as determined by section 25-33g , has made an extension of the water main, after which the applicant shall obtain service from the provider for the exclusive service area; (4) the proposed construction or expansion will not result in a duplication of water service in the applicable service area; (5) the applicant meets all federal and state standards for water supply systems; (6) the person that will own the water supply system has the financial, managerial and technical resources to (A) operate the proposed water supply system in a reliable and efficient manner, and (B) provide continuous adequate service to persons served by the water supply system; (7) the proposed water supply system will not adversely affect the adequacy of nearby water supply systems; and (8) any existing or potential threat of pollution that said department deems to be adverse to public health will not affect any new source of water supply. Any construction or expansion with respect to which a certificate is required shall thereafter be built, maintained and operated in conformity with the certificate and any terms, limitation or conditions contained therein. (f) Properties held by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and used for, or in support of, fish culture, natural resource conservation or outdoor recreational purposes shall be exempt from the requirements of subdivisions (1), (3) and (4) of subsections (c) and (e) of this section. (g) The Department of Public Health may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to carry out the purposes of this section. Such regulations may include measures that encourage water conservation and proper maintenance.

Legislative History

(P.A. 81-427, S. 1, 3; P.A. 84-330, S. 1; P.A. 86-247, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-245; 93-381, S. 9, 39; 93-435, S. 59, 95; P.A. 94-219, S. 3; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 98-250, S. 22, 39; P.A. 07-244, S. 1; P.A. 09-220, S. 1; P.A. 11-80, S. 1; 11-242, S. 69; P.A. 16-197, S. 1; P.A. 17-188, S. 8.) History: P.A. 84-330 amended Subsec. (a) to apply definition of water company “to sections 16-262n to 16-262q, inclusive, and section 8-25a”, to include municipalities in such definition and to expand the definition by including companies supplying water to not less than 15 service connections or 25 persons nor more than 250 service connections or 1,000 persons, amended Subsec. (b) to require, as a condition for issuing a certificate that determination be made that no feasible interconnection with an existing system is available and that applicant meets all federal and state standards for community water supply and amended Subsecs. (b) and (c) to require departments of public utility control and health services to jointly carry out purposes of the section; P.A. 86-247 added provision in Subsec. (b) re certificate for a community water supply system for an elderly housing project; P.A. 93-245 amended Subsec. (b) by deleting exception for elderly housing projects and adding provisions regarding excepted community water supply systems and voluntarily transferring ownership of community water supply systems; P.A. 93-381 and 93-435 replaced department of health services with department of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 94-219 made a technical change in Subsec. (a); P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 98-250 amended Subsec. (a) to delete “nor more than two hundred fifty service connections or one thousand persons”, amended Subsec. (b) to add exception re “a water company supplying more than two hundred fifty service connections or one thousand persons” and delete reference to “community” water supply systems, and made technical changes, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 07-244 amended Subsec. (a) to redefine “water company” to include state agencies and substitute “for at least sixty days in any one year” for “on a regular basis”, amended Subsec. (b) to limit its provisions to systems supplying water to 15 or more service connections or 25 or more persons, and to move provisions re application for certificate of public convenience and necessity into newly designated Subsec. (c), added provisions in new Subsec. (c) re agreement between water company and provider for exclusive service area, and factors to be used by department in determining whether to issue certificate, redesignated existing Subsec. (c) as Subsec. (d) and added Subsec. (e) specifying application requirements for systems serving 25 or more persons, but not 25 or more residents, and requiring adoption of regulations pertaining to such systems; P.A. 09-220 amended Subsec. (c) by providing that application for certificate of public convenience and necessity shall be accompanied by signed ownership agreement between applicant and exclusive service area provider when such provider has been determined pursuant to Sec. 25-33g, by requiring that, in applicable cases, application shall be accompanied by written confirmation from exclusive service area provider confirming receipt of application and that such provider is prepared to assume responsibility for water supply system, by revising criteria that departments consider when granting certificate of public convenience and necessity, by specifying that Subdiv. (3) is applicable when exclusive service area provider has been determined, by adding Subdiv. (6) re financial, managerial and technical resources required of owner of water system and by making conforming changes, amended Subsec. (d) by making a technical change and amended Subsec. (e)(1)(C) by deleting language re financial, managerial and technical resources required of owner of water system and redesignating such language as Subsec. (e)(1)(F); pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Department of Public Utility Control” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Public Utilities Regulatory Authority” in Subsecs. (c) and (d), and “Department of Environmental Protection” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Department of Energy and Environmental Protection” in Subsec. (e)(1), effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 11-242 amended Subsec. (c) by adding Subdivs. (7) and (8), and amended Subsec. (e)(1) by adding Subparas. (G) and (H), re determination that proposed water supply system will not adversely affect adequacy of nearby water supply systems and that new water supply source will not be affected by threat of pollution; P.A. 16-197 amended Subsec. (a) by adding “, except as otherwise specified,”, amended Subsec. (b) by replacing “No water company” with “On and after October 1, 2016, no person or entity, including, but not limited to, a water company” and adding reference to Department of Public Health in provision re obtaining certificate of public convenience and necessity, amended Subsec. (c) by deleting references to Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, adding exception for state agency in provision re payment of fee, and adding reference to exception provided in Subsec. (d) and replacing “consumers” with “persons” in Subdiv. (6), amended Subsec. (d) by replacing provision requiring Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and Department of Public Health to adopt regulations with provision re determination of whether person that will own water supply system has financial resources to operate system and provide adequate service, amended Subsec. (e) by deleting Subdiv. (1) designator, redesignating existing Subparas. (A) to (H) as Subdivs. (1) to (8), redesignating provision re properties held by Department of Energy and Environmental Protection as Subsec. (f), and redesignating provision re adopting regulations as Subsec. (g) and amending same to replace “shall” with “may”, and made technical and conforming changes; P.A. 17-188 amended Subsec. (e)(6)(B) by replacing “consumers” with “persons”. Cited. 44 CS 34.