Chapter 288
2009 -- S 0732 SUBSTITUTE A AS AMENDED
Enacted 11/12/09
A N A C T
RELATING TO WATERS AND NAVIGATION - THE WATER USE AND GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY ACT OF 2009
Introduced By: Senators Sosnowski, Bates, Walaska, and Ciccone
Date Introduced: February 26, 2009
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Title 39 of the General Laws entitled "PUBLIC UTILITIES AND
CARRIERS" is hereby
amended by adding thereto the following chapter:
CHAPTER
15.1
WATER
SUPPLIERS SUBJECT TO COMMISSION RATE REGULATION
39-15.1-1.
Purposes. -- The purposes of this chapter are to:
(1) Augment current
principles for setting the rates of public utilities that are water
suppliers that are subject to commission rate regulation
in a manner that facilitates:
(i)
Managing demand, especially seasonal demand;
(ii) Investing in
infrastructure repair and replacement;
(iii) Recovering the
full costs, including capital and operational, of water systems through
water system revenues; and
(iv) Establishing
operating capital and debt service of sufficient size; and
(2) Provide an
optional system for multi-year water rates that are adjustable in
accordance with an approved rate plan.
39-15.1-2. Definitions.
-- For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall
apply:
(1) “Commission”
shall mean the public utilities commission established by chapter 39-1,
with all powers set forth in chapter 39-1, including,
but not limited to, the powers set forth in
section 39-1-3 and 39-1-7, and in chapter 39-4, and
subject to the provisions of chapter 39-5;
(2) “Division” shall
mean the division of public utilities;
(3) “Water resources
board” shall mean the water resources board having the duties set
forth in chapter 46-15;
(4) "Water
supplier" shall mean all water supply systems regulated by the public
utilities
commission, including the
Water Supply Board,
Water Department and any future water supply system
that meets the definition established in
subdivision 39-1-2(20) pertaining to public utilities
employed for the distribution of water to the
consuming public.
(5) “Water supply
systems management plan” shall mean a water supply systems
management plan prepared in accordance with section
46-15.3-5.1 and found by the water
resources board, pursuant to the provisions of section
46-15.3-7.6, to be in compliance with the
requirements for such plans.
(6) “Agricultural”
shall mean commercial agricultural producers as defined in 46-15.3-
4(2).
39-15.1-3. Rates.
-- (a) Adequacy. The rates of water suppliers subject to commission
rate regulation shall be responsible and adequate to
pay for all costs associated with water supply
including, but not limited to, the costs of:
(1) Acquisition,
treatment, transmission, distribution and availability of water;
(2) System administration
and overhead, including the prudent cost and/or value of all
services and facilities provided by the city or town
to the water supplier including, but not limited
to, testing, operation, maintenance, replacement,
repair, debt service, and associated with, but not
limited to, supply, production, treatment,
transmission, administration facilities, and metering and
billing;
(3) Programs for the
conservation and efficient use of water, including costs of
developing, implementing, enforcing and evaluating
such conservation programs and including
conservation pricing as described in subsection (d);
(4) Sufficient
operating reserves, revenue stabilization funds, debt service reserves, and
capital improvement/infrastructure replacement funds
to implement water supply system
management plans.
(b) Equitability.
Except for service charges and other fixed fees and charges approved as
reasonable by the commission, where practicable,
rates:
(1) Shall be based on
metered usage and fairly set among and within the classes and/or
types of users;
(2) Shall provide
that within any class of users the full cost of system capacity,
administration, operation, and water supply costs for
peak and seasonal use is borne by the users
that contribute to such peak and seasonal use; and
(3) May provide a
basic residential use rate for water use that is designed to make a basic
level of water use affordable. Rates may require
implementation of demand management
practices, consistent with the standards and
guidelines of the water resources board, established
pursuant to subdivision 46-15.8-5(1), by wholesale and
retail customers.
(c) Revenue
stabilization. Water suppliers subject to commission rate regulation shall,
in
the absence of other sufficient funds available for
similar purposes, establish as part of their next
general rate filing before the commission a revenue
stabilization account to ensure fiscal stability
during periods when revenues decline as a result of
implementing water conservation programs,
or due to circumstances beyond the reasonable control
of the water supplier, including, but not
limited to, the weather and drought. A revenue
stabilization account shall accumulate a maximum
of ten percent (10%) of the annual operating expenses
of the supplier and shall be used to
supplement other revenues so that the supplier’s
reasonable costs are compensated. A supplier
may draw upon its revenue stabilization account
without further action of the commission if
revenues in any fiscal year fall below the level
sufficient to provide reasonable compensation for
services rendered, subject to periodic review by the
commission to ensure that the purposes of
section 39-15.1-1 are fulfilled.
(d) Conservation.
Water suppliers subject to commission rate regulation shall take
effective action to reduce waste of water and to
reduce non-agricultural seasonal increases in the
use of water, and may adopt conservation pricing as
part of a demand management program or
otherwise revise their rates as a means to achieve
their goals. For the purpose of encouraging
conservation of water, suppliers are authorized to
request increased rates based on quantity used
either throughout the year or seasonally and to seek
expedited review by the commission of such
revised rates, provided that the supplier shall not
have the burden of proof to link the increased
rate to obtaining reasonable compensation for the
service rendered as established in section 39-3-
12. Conservation pricing shall be designed to promote
efficient water use, and to limit seasonal
non-agricultural outdoor water use, and to the extent
possible shall not increase prices for water
users with no significant seasonal increase in water
use. Revenues generated from the adoption of
conservation rates shall be used to fund the revenue
stabilization account established pursuant to
subsection (c) above, operating reserves, debt service
reserves or capital
improvement/infrastructure replacement funds.
(e) Billing. Billing
shall be at a minimum quarterly by December 31, 2013.
39-15.1-4.
Optional multi-year rate plans. -- (a) Water suppliers may, at their
discretion, file with the commission a rate plan for a
period not to exceed six (6) years, which rate
plans shall set forth proposed rates:
(1) That are
adequate, as described in subsection 39-15.1-3(a) of this chapter, to pay for
all reasonable costs of service associated with water
supply during the period of the plan, and
may include projections of cost increases, and are
equitable as described in subsection 39-15.1-
3(b);
(2) That attribute
the cost of increased seasonal demand to customers that contribute to
increased seasonal demand and that may include
conservation pricing pursuant to subsection 39-
15.1-3(d);
(3) That provide for
infrastructure maintenance, repair, and replacement, especially in
order to meet goals for reduction of leakage and the
accounting of non-billed water, that are
included in a water supply system management plan; and
(4) That provide for
the establishment and maintenance of operating reserves, capital
reserves, and debt service reserves as described in
subsection 39-15.1-3(a);
(b) The commission
shall approve or reasonably amend the plan and the rates proposed
therein;
(c) A water supplier
with a multi-year plan approved by the commission may change its
rates consistent with provisions of the plan, provided
that a forty-five (45) day notice is given to
the commission and the division, which notice shall
state the amount of the proposed rate
changes, the manner in which the proposed rate is
consistent with the approved plan, and the
purpose of the proposed rate change. The proposed rate
change shall be effective sixty (60) days
after the notice to the commission and the division,
unless the commission shall decide that the
proposed rate increase may be unreasonable or
inconsistent with the approved plan, in which case
the commission shall hold a hearing on the proposed
rate increase and may approve, or
reasonably amend the proposed rate increase.
Notwithstanding the foregoing notice provision, the
commission shall be bound by the suspension period set
forth in section 39-3-11.
(d) A water supplier
may petition the commission for a modification to an approved plan,
and the commission in hearing and deciding the
petition need only consider those portions or
elements of the plan affected by the proposed modification.
The commission shall approve or
reasonably modify the proposed modification. An
approved modification shall become part of the
plan for purposes of subsection (c) of this section.
(e) Each water
supplier with an approved plan shall report annually to the commission
and the division with regard to performance under the
plan, including rates, revenues derived
from rates, expenditures necessary to pay for all
reasonable costs of service; and the level and
status of operating reserves, capital reserves, and
debt service reserves.
SECTION
2. Title 45 of the General Laws entitled "TOWNS AND CITIES" is hereby
amended by adding thereto
the following chapter:
CHAPTER
39.1
MUNICIPAL
WATER SUPPLIES
45-39.1-1.
Purpose. -- The purpose of this chapter are:
(1) To clarify the
powers and duties of city and town councils with regard to water
suppliers, and
(2)_To establish
municipal water supplies as enterprise funds. This chapter shall not alter,
abrogate, or diminish the duties of water suppliers
established elsewhere in the general or public
laws or supersede or alter or abrogate powers and
duties set forth in chapter 39-15.1.
45-39.1-2.
Definitions. – (1) “Agricultural” shall mean commercial
agricultural producers
as defined in 46-15.3-4(2);
(2)
“Commission” means the public utilities commission
established by chapter 39-1;
(3) “Council” means
the city council of any city and the town council of any town;
(4) “Municipal water
supply” means a department, board, commission, authority, or
agency of a city or town, which does not have a
separate corporate existence from the city or
town, that is a water supplier as defined in
subdivision 46-15.3-5.1(a)(2);
(5) “Water resources
board” means the water resources board established pursuant to
chapter 46-15; and
(6) “Water supply
systems management plan” means a water supply systems
management plan prepared in accordance with the
requirements of sections 46-15.3-5.1 through
46-15.3-7, inclusive.
45-39.1-3. Power
of councils. -- In addition to and consistent with any power
provided
by a law or charter provision, councils shall have the
power to:
(1) Plan, in a manner
consistent with the provision of chapter 45-22.2, and provide for
water supply or municipal water supply within the city
or town or any portion or area thereof;
(2) Adopt, fix and
amend rates as set forth by section 45-39.1-5, unless such rates are
subject to the approval of the commission or are
governed by another provision of law or charter;
(3) Control water
usage within the city or town in order to provide for the adequacy,
availability, and/or
safety of water supply; and adopt such measures as may be necessary
to make such restriction effective; such restrictions
shall not be less than or inconsistent with any
standards adopted by the water resources board and
shall incorporate the priority given to
agriculture pursuant to subdivision 46-15.7-1(b)(5);
and
(4) Approve the submission,
by the city or town, of a water supply system management
plan to the water resources board pursuant to section
46-15.3-5.1.
45-39.1-4.
Organization. -- Notwithstanding any provision of law, charter, or
ordinance,
to the contrary not later than July 1, 2010, each
municipal water supply shall be organized,
operated, and accounted for as an enterprise fund;
provided, however, that the requirements of
this section shall not be deemed to abrogate or impair
any agreement, decision, rate, or order in
effect on July 1, 2009.
45-39.1-5. Rates.
-- (a) Adequacy. The rates of municipal water supplies shall be
adequate to pay for all costs associated with the
municipal water supply including, but not limited
to, the costs of acquisition, treatment, transmission,
distribution, and availability of water, and of
system administration and overhead, including metering
and billing, programs for the
conservation and efficient use of water, including
costs of developing, implementing, enforcing
and evaluating such conservation programs and
including conservation pricing as described in
subsection (d), and the cost and/or value of any
services or facilities provided by the city or town
to the municipal water supply, testing, operation, maintenance,
replacement, repair, debt service,
and for sufficient operating reserves, revenue
stabilization funds, debt service reserves and capital
improvement/infrastructure replacement funds to
implement water supply system management
plans;
(b) Equitability.
Except for service charges and other fixed fees and charges, rates:
(1) Shall be based on
metered usage and fairly set among and within the classes and/or
types of users;
(2) Shall provide
that within any class of users the full costs of system capacity,
administration, operation, and water supply costs for
peak and/or seasonal use is borne by the
users that contribute to such peak and/or seasonal
use;
(3) May provide a
basic residential use rate for water use that is designed to make a basic
level of water use affordable, and
(4) May require
implementation of demand management practices, consistent with the
standards and guidelines of the water resources board,
established pursuant to subsection 46-
15.8(a), by wholesale and retail customers;
(c) Revenue
stabilization. Municipal water suppliers shall in the absence of other
sufficient funds available for similar purposes,
establish as part of their next rate adjustment a
revenue stabilization account to provide for adequacy
during periods when revenues decline as a
result of implementing water conservation programs, or
due to circumstances beyond the
reasonable control of the water supplier, including,
but not limited to, the weather and drought. A
revenue stabilization account shall accumulate a
maximum of ten percent (10%) of the annual
operating expenses of the supplier and shall be used
to supplement other revenues so that the
supplier’s reasonable costs are compensated;
(d) Conservation.
Municipal water suppliers shall take effective action to reduce waste of
water and to reduce non-agricultural seasonal
increases in the use of water, and may adopt
conservation pricing as part of a demand management
program or otherwise revise their rates as a
means to achieve their goals. For the purpose of
encouraging conservation of water, suppliers are
authorized to adopt increased rates based on quantity
used either throughout the year or
seasonally. Conservation pricing shall be designed to
promote efficient water use, and to limit
seasonal non-agricultural outdoor water use, and to
the extent possible shall not increase prices
for water users with no significant seasonal increase
in water use. Revenues generated from the
adoption of conservation rates shall be used to fund
the revenue stabilization account established
pursuant to subsection (c) above, operating reserves,
debt service reserves or capital
improvement/infrastructure replacement funds; and
(e) Billing. Billing
shall be, at a minimum, quarterly by December 31, 2013.
SECTION
3. Title 46 of the General Laws entitled "WATERS AND NAVIGATION" is
hereby amended by adding
thereto the following chapter:
CHAPTER
15.8
WATER
USE AND EFFICIENCY ACT
46-15.8-1. Short
title. -- This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Water Use
and
Efficiency Act.”
46-15.8-2.
Legislative findings. – (a) The general assembly finds and declares
that:
(1)
needs, if that water is not wasted and if it is well
and fairly managed. With scarcity of water a
growing concern for many southern and western states,
and should be an economic advantage for our state;
(2) Water is a
renewable but a limited resource essential to the survival of all living
things. The mission of the water supply profession is
to provide a reliable supply of high quality
water for the protection of public health, safety and
welfare, and to ensure a sustainable balance
between human and ecological water needs.
Environmental stewardship and integrated water
resource management, including land conservation,
wetlands protection, and protecting the
ecological integrity of water resources, are core
values of the water supply profession and are
essential to sustaining this mission;
(3) Efficient and
equitable management of our shared water resources allows us to make
water available to new economic development as well as
meet existing water needs, both of
which support our state’s economic vitality and the
quality of life of our communities;
(4) Good management
allows us to provide water for necessary residential use as well as
economic growth, at the same time that we preserve and
protect the natural resources that make
depends upon a healthy environment, such as fisheries,
farming and tourism;
(5)
non-agricultural summer landscape irrigation.
(6) More efficient
use of our shared water supply, especially by residential users, makes
more water available for economic activity and for
replenishment of stream flow, and is usually
the most cost-effective and quickest way to maximize
available water supply. Conservation must
be a priority for successful water management.
(7)
supply the state with clean water sufficient to meet
our needs; it is far cheaper to “pay as you go”
than to defer infrastructure maintenance, which will
result in it being far more expensive in the
future.
(8) Municipalities
should consider the water available for human use and likely water
needs at build out in making planning decisions.
(9) The
vital to the success of this legislation and will
provide necessary balance in working toward the
sustainability of
46-15.8-3.
Purposes. -- The purposes of this act are: (a) To help assure
reasonable,
needed and adequate future water supplies by:
(1) Managing demand;
(2) Reinvesting in
water supply infrastructure and water supply resources; and
(3) Protecting and
preserving the health and ecological functioning of the water resources
of the state.
(b) To strengthen
water resources and supply planning by implementing, effectively and
efficiently, water rates and water supply system
management plans that are designed to achieve
appropriate infrastructure reinvestment and demand
management.
(c) To increase the efficient
and effective administration of government responsibilities
by establishing municipal water departments, boards,
and authorities as self-sustaining enterprise
funds.
46-15.8-4. Duties
of water suppliers. -- All public drinking water supply systems that
are subject to the requirements of section 46-15.3-5.1
shall have a duty:
(1) To manage demand
to assure the long-term viability of water resources and water
supply, to provide for strategic, prudent, reasonable
and necessary use of water supplies, to
control and/or curtail water use during periods of
diminished water supply availability including
droughts; to take such actions as may be necessary to
achieve compliance by wholesale and retail
customers with requirements for demand management; and
(2) To maintain
fiscal integrity and adequate capacity by establishing and maintaining
such revenue stabilization funds, operating reserves,
debt service reserves, and infrastructure
replacement and capital improvement program funds as
are necessary; and to institute by
December 31, 2013 billing at least as frequently as
quarterly.
46-15.8-5. Duties
of state agencies. -- In order to accomplish the purposes of this
chapter:
(1) The water
resources board shall establish and maintain no later than July 31, 2010
targets for non-agricultural demand management and
water use, and for non-billed water which
shall include the goal of reducing leakage to no more
than ten percent (10%) of water supplies in
public water supplies subject to the provisions of
section 46-15.3-5.1;
(2) The statewide
planning program shall incorporate, by July 1, 2011, such amendments
as may be necessary into state guide plan elements to
require:
(i)
The use of water availability estimates developed by the water resources board
and
the department of environmental management and other
relevant information sources in local
comprehensive plan elements and the review of major
land development and subdivision reviews;
(ii) The
incorporation of the executive summaries of the water supply system
management plans, as appropriate, into the services
and facilities element and the land use
element of local comprehensive plans;
(3) The public
utilities commission shall assure, in accordance with provisions of chapter
39-15.1, that the rates of water suppliers subject to
its jurisdiction are adequate to implement
capital improvement plans, water supply system
management plans, and demand management
plans and to cover system costs when revenues decline
as a result of decreased demand.
(4) State agencies
need to become advocates for positive solutions by removing
overlapping and burdensome planning and regulatory
requirements.
SECTION
4. Section 46-13.1-7 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-13.1 entitled
"Groundwater
Protection" is hereby repealed.
46-13.1-7.
Commission established. -- (a) There is hereby created a
commission to be
known as the clean drinking water and groundwater
standards commission and whose purpose it
shall be to review the entire field of groundwater and
drinking water quality standards.
(b) The commission
shall be composed of one member of the house of representatives
appointed by the speaker, one member of the senate
appointed by the president of the senate, the
director of the department of environmental management
or his or her designee, the director of
the department of health or his or her designee, the
chairperson of the water resources board or
his or her designee, seven (7) members of the academic
community from local universities and
colleges appointed by the governor representing the
fields of medicine, hydrogeology, toxicology,
environmental engineering, plant and soil science
economics, and epidemiology, and three (3)
members of the business community affected by this
legislation, one appointed by the speaker of
the house, one appointed by the president of the
senate, and one appointed by the governor.
(c) Forthwith, on June
26, 1986, the members of the commission shall meet at the call of
the speaker of the house and organize. The speaker
shall appoint a chairperson from among the
members. The vice chairperson shall be elected by the
membership of the commission on an
annual basis. Vacancies shall be filled in like manner
as the original appointment.
(d) The commission
shall meet at least once annually and report its findings and
recommendations to the general assembly annually on
the second Wednesday of June.
SECTION
5. Section 46-15.1-1.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-15.1 entitled
"Water
Supply Facilities" is
hereby repealed.
46-15.1-1.1.
Definitions. -- (a) "Large public water system" means
a water supplier that
pumps more than fifty million (50,000,000) gallons of
water per year pursuant to section 46-15.3-
5.1.
(b) "Small
public water system" means a water supplier that pumps less than fifty
million
(50,000,000) gallons per year.
(c) "Large water
user" means a water user that withdraws more than three million
(3,000,000) gallons per year, which is equivalent to
eight thousand two hundred (8,200) gallons
per day.
(d) "Small water
user" means a water user that withdraws less than three million
(3,000,000) gallons per year, which is equivalent to
eight thousand two hundred (8,200) gallons
per day.
SECTION
6. Section 46-15.3-15 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-15.3 entitled
"Public
Drinking Water Supply
System Protection" is hereby repealed.
46-15.3-15.
Actions by the water resources board. -- The water resources
board shall
review the evidence of implementation provided with
each water supplier's thirty (30) month
report and determine whether water supply system
management plan implementation is sufficient
to achieve the objectives of this chapter. Should the
water resources board find that plan
implementation is not sufficient to substantially
achieve the objectives of this chapter, a
determination of noncompliance shall be made.
SECTION
7. Sections 46-15.1-1, 46-15.1-2, 46-15.1-2.3 and 46-15.1-21 of the General
Laws in Chapter 46-15.1
entitled "Water Supply Facilities" are hereby amended to read as
follows:
46-15.1-1.
Legislative declaration -- Water resources board (corporate) -- Applicable
sections. -- The findings and declarations made by section 46-15-1 are hereby made
applicable to
this chapter.
The water resources
board (corporate) under this chapter constitutes a body politic and
corporate and a public instrumentality of the state
having a distinct legal existence from the state
and not constituting a department of state government.
The following sections
also apply to the water resources board, the state agency: sections
46-15.1-1.1,
46-15.1-2(a), 46-15.1-2.2, 46-15.2-3, 46-15.1-2.4, 46-15.1-4.1, 46-15.1-5(15)
-- (25),
46-15.1-20 and 46-15.1-21.
46-15.1-2. Board
created -- Appointment of members. -- (a) There is hereby
authorized, created and established a water resources
board consisting of fifteen (15) members as
follows:
(1) Eleven (11) members
shall represent the public and shall be appointed by the
governor with the advice and consent of the senate as
herein provided;
(i)
One of whom shall be a person who is actively engaged in the agricultural business,
preferably an owner and/or operator of an agricultural
business, with respect to which
appointment the governor shall give due consideration
to the recommendation of the Rhode
Island Agricultural Council established pursuant to
the provisions of chapter 3 of title 2;
(ii) One of whom shall
be a representative of a conservation organization, with respect to
which appointment the governor shall give due
consideration to the recommendation of the
Environment Council of
(iii) One of whom shall
be a professional with expertise in one or more of the following
fields:
geology, and/or hydrology, or engineering;
(iv) One of whom
shall be a professional with expertise in engineering with relevance to
water supply;
(v) One of whom
shall be a professional with expertise in financial planning and/or
investment;
(vi) One of whom
shall be a professional with expertise in land and/or watershed
management;
(vii) One of whom shall
be a representative of a public water system that withdraws
more than one hundred thousand (100,000) gallons per
day, primarily from a surface water
supply;
(viii) One of
whom shall be a representative of a public water system one of whom shall
be a representative of a large water user; and that withdraws more than one hundred thousand
(100,000) gallons per day, primarily from a ground
water supply;
(ix) One of
whom shall be a representative of a small water user; one of whom shall be a
professional with expertise in financial planning
and/or investment; and One of whom
shall be a
representative of a water user that withdraws more
than one hundred thousand (100,000) gallons
per day; and
(x) Three (3)
Two (2) of whom shall be members of the general public. The public
members shall be chosen as far as is reasonably
practicable to represent the drought regions of the
state as specified in the Rhode Island Drought
Management Plan.
(2) No person shall be
eligible for appointment to the board unless he or she is a resident
of this state. The remaining four (4) members are the
director of environmental management, the
director of the who shall
serve as a nonvoting
ex officio member, the chief associate director of the division of planning
within the department
of administration who shall serve as a nonvoting ex
officio member, and the director of the
department of health.
(3) Members shall serve
until their successors are appointed and qualified and shall be
eligible to succeed themselves. In the month of
February in each year, the governor, with the
advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint
successors to the public members of the board
whose terms shall expire in such year, to hold office
commencing on the day they are qualified
and until the first day of March in the third year
after their respective appointments and until their
respective successors are appointed and qualified.
(b) (1) Those
members of the board as of the effective date of this act [June 16,
2006]who were appointed to the board by members of the
general assembly and the chairperson
of the joint committee on water resources shall cease
to be members of the board on the effective
date of this act [June 16, 2006] and the governor
shall thereupon appoint five (5) new public
members pursuant to this section shall continue to serve until their term expires
or they resign,
whether or not they meet the criteria set out in
subsection (a);
(i)
One of whom shall be a professional with expertise in financial planning and/or
investment;
(ii) One of whom
shall be a professional with expertise in one or more of the following
fields: geology, hydrology or engineering; and
(iii) One of whom
shall be a representative of a conservation organization appointed by
the governor as prescribed in this section.
(2) The member of
the board selected by the Rhode Island Agricultural Council shall
continue to serve the balance of his or her term. Upon
expiration of his or her term, the governor
shall appoint one member who is actively engaged in
the agricultural business, preferably an
owner and/or operator of an agricultural business as
prescribed in this section. Those members of
the board as of the effective date of this act [June
16, 2006]who were appointed to the board by
the governor shall continue to serve the balance of
their current terms. Thereafter, the
appointment shall be made by the governor as prescribed
in this section.
(c) Any vacancy which
may occur in the board for a public member shall be filled by the
governor, with the advice and consent of the senate,
for the remainder of the unexpired term in
the same manner as the members predecessor
as prescribed in this (a) of this subsection section.
Each ex officio member of the board may designate a
subordinate within his or her department to
represent him or her at all meetings of the board.
(d) Members of the board
shall be removable by the governor pursuant to section 36-1-7
of the general laws and for cause only, and removal
solely for partisan or personal reasons
unrelated to capacity or fitness for the office shall
be unlawful.
(e) The water resources
board is designated to carry out the provisions of this chapter. In
exercising its powers under this chapter, the board
constitutes a body politic and corporate and a
public instrumentality of the state having a distinct
legal existence from the state and not
constituting a department of the state government. The
board may take action under this chapter
at any meeting of the board. A member of the board who
is affiliated with a public water system
in
member of the board on a transaction under this
chapter with a public water system. Upon the
enactment of this chapter, and annually in the month
of March thereafter, the board shall choose a
treasurer to act as such under this chapter. The
treasurer need not be a member of the board or of
its staff and shall serve until his or her successor
is chosen and takes office, unless sooner
removed by the board with or without cause. In the
event of a vacancy in the office of treasurer,
the board shall fill the vacancy for the unexpired
term.
(f) Nothing contained
herein shall be construed as terminating or discontinuing the
existence of the water resources board as it exists
prior to July 1, 1993 for purposes of chapters
15.1, 15.2, and 15.3 of this title, and the water
resources board created hereby shall be and shall
be deemed to be a continuation of the water resources
board as it existed prior to July 1, 1993 for
the purposes enumerated in chapters 15.1, 15.2, and
15.3 of this title. Nothing contained herein
shall affect the bonding or financing authority of the
water resources board as it exists prior to
July 1, 1993 nor shall anything contained herein be
construed as terminating, altering,
discontinuing, or in any way impairing the bonding or
financing power of the water resources
board as it exists under chapters 15.1, 15.2, and 15.3
of this title prior to July 1, 1993.
46-15.1-2.3.
Officers of the board -- Quorum and vote required for action. --
Forthwith, and upon the enactment of this chapter, and
annually in the month of March,
thereafter, the board shall elect one of its public
members as chairperson, one of its public
members as vice chairperson, and shall also elect a
secretary either from its membership or its
technical staff. The board may elect from among its
members such other officers as it deems
necessary. Seven (7) Nine (9) voting
members of the board constitutes a quorum. A majority vote
of those present and voting shall be required for
action. No vacancy in the membership of the
board shall impair the right of a quorum to exercise
all of the rights and perform all of the duties
of the board.
46-15.1-21. Annual
report of water provider. -- Each water providing and water supply
company both public and private doing business in this
state shall forward an annual report to the
governor, speaker of the house of representatives, the
president of the senate and secretary of
state water
resources board setting forth the status of any water supply within the
company's
jurisdiction and control, and progress made towards
achieving the goals of the entity's water
supply management plan as prescribed in sections
46-15.3-5.1 and 46-15.3-7.
SECTION
8. Sections 46-15.3-4, 46-15.3-5.1, 46-15.3-7.5, 46-15.3-21 and 46-15.3-22 of
the General Laws in Chapter
46-15.3 entitled "Public Drinking Water Supply System Protection"
are hereby amended to read
as follows:
46-15.3-4.
Definitions. -- As used in this chapter, the following words and
phrases shall
have the following meanings, unless the context shall
indicate another or different meaning or
intent:
(1) "Aquifer"
means a geologic formation, group of formations, or part of a formation
capable of yielding a significant amount of
groundwater to wells, springs, or surface water.
(2) "Commercial
agricultural producers" means purveyors of at least two thousand five
hundred dollars ($2,500) of agricultural products
during a calendar year.
(3) "Eligible
expenditure" means the acquisition of a fee simple interest or of a
conservation restriction, as that term is defined in
section 34-39-2(a), or other interest in
watershed lands, including, but not limited to, costs
and expenses relating to the improvement of
the lands or interests therein, maintenance of the
lands or roads or interests therein, and taxes
thereon, or the funding of the construction of
physical improvements that directly protect the
quality and safety of public drinking water supply. No
funds under this section shall be used to
extend service lines or expand system capacity.
(4) "Ground
water" means water found underground which completely fills the open
spaces between particles of sand, gravel, clay, silt,
and consolidated rock fractures. The zone of
materials filled with groundwater is called the zone
of saturation.
(5) "Ground water
recharge" means the processes of addition of water to the zone of
saturation, that zone beneath the water table.
(6) "Raw
water" means water in its natural state prior to any treatment.
(7) "Recharge
area" means an area in which water is absorbed that eventually reaches the
zone of saturation.
(8) "
ordinary course of business by a supplier, except for
sales exempt pursuant to section 46-15.3-
5(c), (d) and (e).
(9) "Source"
means the raw water upon which a public water supply system abounds,
and refers to both groundwater and surface water.
(10) "Supplier(s)
of public drinking water" and "supplier(s)" mean any city, town,
district, or other municipal, quasi municipal, or
public or private corporation or company engaged
in the sale of potable water and the water supply
business in
that only suppliers which withdraw water from wells,
reservoirs, springs, or other original sources
in potable quality shall be entitled to disbursements
pursuant to section 46-15.3-11.
(11) "The
fund" means the water quality protection funds as described in section 46-
15.3-10.
(12)
"Watersheds" means those land areas which, because of their
topography, soil type,
and drainage patterns, act as collectors of raw waters
which replenish or regorge existing or
planned public drinking water supplies.
(13) “Non-billed
water” means the difference between water produced by a supplier and
water sold by the same supplier.
(14) “Leakage” means the
difference between non-billed water and the total of the
estimated or measured allowances for fire fighting,
meter inaccuracy, theft, system usage, main
flushing, sewer cleaning, storm drain cleaning, and
other allowances that may be developed by
the water resources board.
46-15.3-5.1. Water
supply systems management plans. -- (a) All parties involved in the
supply, transmission, and/or distribution of drinking
water shall prepare, maintain, and carry out a
water supply system management plan as described by
this chapter. This requirement applies,
without limitations, to:
(1) All municipalities
subject to chapter 22.2 of title 45, the Comprehensive Planning
and Land Use Regulation Act. The water supply
management plan shall be part of the Services
and Facilities Element required by section
45-22.2-6(6) executive summary of
the water supply
system management plan including the demand management
goals and plans for water
conservation and efficient use of water, of any water
supplier providing service in any
municipality, shall be incorporated in the services
and facilities element of the plan for that
municipality required by subdivision 45-22.2-6(6);
(2) All municipalities,
municipal departments and agencies, districts, authorities or other
entities engaged in or authorized to engage in the
supply, treatment, transmission, or distribution
of drinking water on a wholesale or retail basis,
referred to herein as "water suppliers" , which
obtain, transport, purchase, or sell more than fifty
million (50,000,000) gallons of water per year.
(b) A water supply
system management plan shall be prepared in the format, and shall
address each of the topics, listed in this section, to
the extent that each is relevant to the
municipality or water supplier, the water source(s),
the water system(s), and the area served or
eligible to be served. Notwithstanding any other
provisions of this chapter, water supply
management plans shall be in conformity with all
applicable provisions of the Federal Safe
Drinking Water Act [42 U.S.C. section 300f et seq.]
chapter 13 of this title, Public Drinking
Water Supply, and chapter 14 of this title,
Contamination of Drinking Water, as administered by
the department of health. Any other topic of interest
may be included.
(c) A water supply
system management plan shall include, without limitation, the
following components:
(1) The water supply
management component of the water supply system management
plan shall include, without limitation:
(i)
A statement of the goals that the plan is designed to achieve, including,
but not
limited to, goals for: ;
(A) Water resource
protection;
(B) Demand
management, which shall include goals as appropriate for managing peak
and seasonal use of water; and
(C) Supply
development as necessary and with consideration of source water availability;
and
(D) System
management, including system safety and reliability, infrastructure
maintenance, repair, and reduction of leakage.
(ii) A description of
the water system(s) covered, including sources of water, the service
area, present and anticipated future users, and other
important characteristics;
(iii) Data collection
in a form that can be accepted directly into the
Geographic Information System. Monitoring of system
operations shall be performed at intervals
approved by the director of the department of
environmental management in coordination with
the office of strategic planning of the division of
planning so as to evaluate all critical aspects of
the system, compare performance with capabilities and
expectations, and provide a basis for
continuing water supply planning at the system,
municipal, regional, and state levels;
(iv) Demand management
measures that will achieve a high level of efficiency in the use
of a limited resource, through the application of
metering of one hundred percent (100%) of the
water used; sanitary device retrofit; technical
assistance to and performance of and compliance
with water
use audits for major industrial, commercial, institutional, government, and
governmental,
agricultural and other outdoor water users; education and information; and use
of
appropriate fees, rates, and charges to influence use demand
management measures shall include
such restrictions on use; as may be necessary to meet
or exceed targets for water use, including
seasonal use, that are established by the water
resources board; and the water resources board is
hereby expressly directed and authorized to establish
and maintain no later than July 31, 2010 by
rule targets for water use and methods for achieving
the targets, which shall as appropriate take
into account differing conditions among watershed and
water supply areas;
(v) System management
measures to insure that the following elements are optimally
operated and maintained, including: leak detection and
repair; meter installation and replacement;
and frequency of reading meters. Maintenance or
reduction of non-account water leakage to
stated goals shall be considered an essential
component of system management;
(vi) Supply management
measures to insure present and future availability of drinking
water in adequate quantity and quality, including
protection of the capacity and quality of
drinking water sources; retaining water sources for
standby or future use that are or can be
improved to drinking water quality; reactivation of
any water sources not in use; interconnection
of systems for ongoing, standby, or emergency use;
supply augmentation;
(vii) Emergency
management, including risk assessment; responses to temporary or
permanent loss of supplies due to natural or manmade
causes; extraordinary treatment processes;
interruptions in the delivery system; and
contamination of water sources or delivery systems;
(viii) The water supply
system management plans of water suppliers shall document that
coordination has been accomplished with those plans of
other suppliers in the vicinity and with
operators of wastewater treatment and disposal
facilities serving all or part of the same area or
that a good faith effort to do so has been made. Plans
shall be consistent with applicable local
comprehensive plans and shall be integrated into the
water supply plans of the municipality or
municipalities in which the service area is or is
planned to be located. Conversely, the local
comprehensive plans shall be consistent with water supply
plans;
(ix) Water supply
system management plans shall designate the person or organization
responsible for taking each action, others who must
participate, and the time period in which each
action is to be taken. The capital, operating, and maintenance
cost (if any) of each action shall be
estimated and the anticipated source of funds shall be
identified;
(x) Water suppliers
subject to this chapter shall utilize methods to implement
management measures necessary to achieve the findings,
intent, and objectives of this chapter.
The water supplier may be required to document the
validity or effectiveness of any management
measure, implementation method, or other provision or
action included in its plan.
(2) The water quality protection
component of the water supply system management
plan shall include, without limitations, those items
enumerated in section 46-15.3-7.
(3) The leak detection
and repair component of the water supply system management
plan shall include, without limitation:
(i)
Methodology for leak detection;
(ii) Detailed program
for the conducting of required repairs to the water supply system;
(iii) Impact assessment
studies on the ability of the supplier to provide for peak demand
services;
(iv) A priority list of
actions for implementing these management measures;
(v) Every supplier of
public water encompassed under this section shall conduct periodic
leak detection consistent with stated goals for non-account
water leakage, however no less
frequently than once every ten (10) years.
46-15.3-7.5.
Completion and filing of water supply system management plans. -- (a)
Each party required by this chapter to prepare and
maintain a water supply system management
plan shall complete and adopt an initial plan adhering
to the schedule as previously approved by
the water resources board.
(b) Municipalities and
water suppliers subject to the requirements of section 46-15.3-5.1
of this chapter shall file a copy of all plans and
amendments thereto with the water resources
board. The plans shall be treated as confidential
documents.
(c) The water resources
board shall establish procedures that permit parties that review
the plans under rules adopted by the water resources
board to obtain sensitive information
essential to performance of their reviews, including
minimum measures necessary to transmit,
use, store, and maintain such sensitive information
under conditions that insure its security to the
maximum possible. These procedures may include
designation of those persons within each
reviewing agency authorized to use or inspect
sensitive information, and exclusion of all others.
An executive summary containing an:
(1) Introduction;
(2) Background;
(3) A general system
description containing:
(i)
Water supply sources;
(ii) Water treatment
facilities;
(iii) Storage
facilities;
(iv) Pumping stations;
(v) Raw water and
finished water transmission facilities;
(vi) Distribution
facilities including low to high service;
(vii) Planned
extensions;
(viii)
Interconnections;
(ix) Populations served
and projections;
(x) Major users;
(xi) Metering;
(xii) Legal agreements;
(xiii) Non-account
water Leakage;
(xiv) Demand
management;
(xv) Supply management;
(xvi) Available water;
(xvii) Safe yield;
(xviii) Anticipated
future demands;
(xix) Capital
improvement;
(xx) Rate structure;
(xxi) Financial
management;
(xxii) Emergency
management;
(xxiii) Water supply
source protection; and
(xxiv) General policies
shall be developed.
(4) This summary shall
be distributed as the public document. The water resources board
shall be authorized to recover and secure water supply
management plans and water supply
system management plans previously distributed to
other than water resources board and
designated review agencies and replaced by executive
summaries as provided herein.
(d) Municipalities and
water suppliers subject to section 46-15.3-5.1 shall review their
plans at least once every five (5) years, and shall
amend or replace their plan so as as
may be
necessary to
remain current.
(e) Additionally, on
a thirty (30) month basis, each supplier shall report to the water
resources board on the status of their plan
implementation and shall provide the following
information; metered source production; wholesale
water sales and purchases; gross retail water
sales; retail water sales by customer category
beginning no later than first scheduled five (5) year
plan update; calculation of non-account water; and
number of customers served.
(f)(e) A
municipality or water supplier subject to section 46-15.3-5.1 of this chapter
may
request, in writing, that the water resources board
extend the time in which to complete and
submit filings required by this chapter, not to exceed
one year. A request shall be approved only
upon demonstration that an extension is justified by
extraordinary circumstances beyond the
control of the municipality or water supplier. An
extension, if approved, shall not waive any of
the requirements of section 46-15.3-7.6. This
provision does not apply to the section on
emergency management. Should a municipality or water
supplier fail to submit a filing as
provided herein, a determination of non-compliance
shall be made by the water resources board.
46-15.3-21. Fees,
rates and charges. -- (a) The fees, rates, and charges for drinking
water are a mandatory component of water supply system
management.
(b) The following
factors shall be considered in setting fees, rates, and charges:
(1) Recovery of all
capital and operating costs, fixed and variable of production,
conservation, use, management, protection, obtaining,
development, procuring, and/or
transporting water, and its sale at wholesale or
retail;
(2) Marginal cost
pricing;
(3) Emergency and
drought period surcharges;
(4) Seasonal price
structures;
(5) Difference in costs
based upon different points of delivery;
(6) The effect of fees,
rates, and charges on use of water and, where applicable, on
wastewater costs and charges;
(7) The effect of
reducing non-account water leakage to levels consistent with
stated
goals;
(8) Preparing,
maintaining and implementing water supply system management
programs; and
(9) Notwithstanding any
other provisions of law, the
shall transfer to the general fund of the city of
per annum times the annual gross revenues of the
year ending June 30, 2004, and for the next two (2)
succeeding fiscal years. This transfer shall not
be included as part of the
order of the public utilities commission for the same
three (3) fiscal years.
(c) Notwithstanding the
provisions of sections 39-2-2 and 39-2-5, all rates and charges
made by water suppliers which decline as quantity used
increased are hereby declared to be no
longer conducive to sound water supply system
management designed to properly conserve,
develop, utilize, and protect this finite natural
resource. The public utilities commission may
order rates for suppliers of water which either do not
vary with quantities used or when there is
evidence of increasing costs to either the utility or
to society, rates which increase as the quantity
used increases. If the commission finds that changing
rates to comply with this section will cause
a hardship to a class of customers, the commission may
order that rates for that class of customers
be changed to comply with this section over a period
of time not to exceed five (5) years.
(d) Notwithstanding the
provisions of sections 39-2-2 and 39-2-5, the public utilities
commission may order a reduction in rates consistent
with the amount by which a supplier
exceeds the stated goals for non-account water.
"Non-account water" shall be defined as the
difference between the metered supply and the metered
consumption for a specific period
including an allowance for firefighting. No estimates
for non-metered usage, except for the
firefighting allowance, shall be included in the
calculation of accounted for water leakage.
46-15.3-22.
Billing and collection of fees, rates, and charges. -- (a) Financial
support of
water supply and provision of timely and accurate
information on costs to users are mandatory
components of water supply system management.
(b) Bills shall be
rendered on a regular schedule for metered usage in the immediately
preceding time period. Water All water suppliers selling water to other
water suppliers or at retail
shall meter all water delivered and shall maintain and
replace meters in accordance with their
management plans. Water suppliers shall formulate and
carry out a program for installation of
remote reading or automatic radio frequency reading systems. These
programs shall be carried
out initiated
not later than July 1, 1996 December 31, 2012.
(c) Water suppliers
shall develop programs for recording record metered usage and
billing bill
thereafter, at an interval less than one year as determined appropriate, not
later than
July 1, 2001. Alternatively, water suppliers must
demonstrate that annual meter reading and
billing is consistent with the purposes of this
chapter quarterly or more
frequently by December
31, 2013.
(d) Unless the water
supplier already engages in joint billing activities, a water supplier
selling water at retail shall conduct feasibility
studies of joint billing for water supply and
wastewater treatment and disposal in cooperation with
all parties responsible for the latter service
within the same water supply service area. The water
supplier shall evaluate arrangements with
municipalities and wastewater treatment and disposal
agencies for operation of a combined
billing system, including equitable sharing of costs.
SECTION
9. Sections 46-15.6-5, 46-15.6-6 and 46-15.6-7 of the General Laws in
Chapter 46-15.6 entitled
"Clean Water Infrastructure" are hereby amended to read as follows:
46-15.6-5.
Completion, filing, approval and implementation of infrastructure
component. -- (a) Each water supplier required by this chapter to prepare and
maintain an
infrastructure replacement component shall complete
and adopt a component two (2) years
subsequent to the date each party's water supply
management plan per section 46-15.3-7.5 is due.
(b) Water suppliers
subject to the requirements of section 46-15.6-3 shall file a copy of
all components, only to the extent the components
differ from plans filed under section 46-15.3-
5.1 thereto with the following: the division of
drinking water quality of the department of health
(hereinafter referred to as "the department"
).
(c) A water supplier
subject to section 46-15.6-3 shall review their components at least
once every five (5) years and shall modify or replace
their components as necessary.
(d) The department
shall coordinate expeditious review of components prepared by
water suppliers subject to this chapter. Upon receipt
of components prepared by water suppliers
under this chapter, the department of environmental
management's water supply management
division, or its successor water resources board, and the division of
public utilities and carriers
(for those water suppliers within their jurisdiction)
shall have one hundred and twenty (120) days
to review the components and submit comments thereon
to the department. Upon consideration of
written comments by all agencies designated herein the
department shall determine whether the
component complies with the requirements of this
chapter. This determination shall be made
within eight (8) months of the initial submission. A
thirty (30) day public comment period shall
be included in this eight (8) month review period.
Failure by the department to notify water
suppliers of its determination within the prescribed
time limit shall constitute approval.
(e) Each water supplier
shall implement the requirements of its infrastructure
replacement program and component, including its
infrastructure replacement fund, as mandated
by this chapter in accordance to rules and regulations
promulgated per section 46-15.6-7.
46-15.6-6.
Financing infrastructure replacement. -- The cost of infrastructure
replacement programs and indemnification as required
by this chapter shall be financed as
follows:
(1) The cost of
programs to implement infrastructure replacement shall be paid by the
water users at a rate directly proportionate to the
users' water consumption. The charges shall be
limited to those necessary and reasonable to undertake
the actions required by this chapter. These
charges shall be based upon the annual funding
requirements of the facility improvements
necessitated over each successive twenty (20) year
period. Interest earned on money in this
infrastructure replacement fund shall be credited to
this infrastructure replacement fund.
(2) Each water supplier
designated in section 46-15.6-3 shall establish a special account
designated as the infrastructure replacement fund to
be held as a restricted receipt account and to
be administered by the water supplier solely to
implement and carry out the replacement of
infrastructure as required by this chapter.
(3) Any money which may
accumulate in the infrastructure replacement fund in excess
of that needed to implement the annual infrastructure
replacement program or in excess of that
exclusively pledged to repayment of outstanding bonds
or notes or loan repayments to implement
the infrastructure replacement program shall revert to
the rate payers of that particular system on
a biannual basis.
(4) Each water supplier
designated in section 46-15.6-3 may, as a complete or partial
alternative to direct funding of its infrastructure
replacement program, finance its infrastructure
replacement program through bonding. The annual debt
service of each bond or bonds shall be
applied and credited towards the annual requirement of
the infrastructure replacement program's
annual funding requirements.
(5) The
jurisdiction, shall permit an increase for just and
reasonable infrastructure replacement in the
portion of the water suppliers' rate structure to
comply with this chapter and shall allow the water
supplier to add this required funding to its rate base
in accordance with this chapter.
46-15.6-7. Rules
governing content of programs, components, review, evaluation,
funding, and implementation. -- The department with the concurrence of the department
of
environmental management's water supply management
division or its successor water
resource
board, and
the
jurisdiction, shall forthwith promulgate rules and
regulations for the review of components as
pertains to financial forecasts of facility
replacement, improvement requirements and fiscal
controls and accounting depreciation standards per
section 46-15.6-4(a)(1) and (a)(2). The
department with the concurrence of the department
of environmental management's water supply
management division or its successor water resource board, and the
commission, as to water suppliers within its
jurisdiction, shall promulgate the criteria or standards
which it will use to evaluate the implementation of
approved components, programs and funding
mechanisms.
SECTION
10. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC01344/SUB A
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