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| To amend sections 6109.24, 6109.31, and 6109.32 and | 1 |
| to enact section 6109.99 of the Revised Code to | 2 |
| require certain public water systems to submit | 3 |
| technical, managerial, and financial capability | 4 |
| plans under certain noncompliance or public health | 5 |
| risk conditions, to implement capability assurance | 6 |
| plans, and to add prohibitions and penalties to | 7 |
| the Safe Drinking Water Law. | 8 |
| Section 1. That sections 6109.24, 6109.31, and 6109.32 be | 9 |
| amended and section 6109.99 of the Revised Code be enacted to read | 10 |
| as follows: | 11 |
| Sec. 6109.24. (A) A public water system that is a community | 12 |
| water system, or that is not a community water system and serves a | 13 |
| nontransient population, and that proposes to commence providing | 14 |
| water to the public after October 1, 1999, shall include with the | 15 |
| submission of plans required under section 6109.07 of the Revised | 16 |
| Code documentation that demonstrates the technical, managerial, | 17 |
| and financial capability of the system to comply with this chapter | 18 |
| and rules adopted under it. The director of environmental | 19 |
| protection shall adopt, and may amend and rescind, rules pursuant | 20 |
| to section 6109.04 of the Revised Code establishing requirements | 21 |
| governing the demonstration of technical, managerial, and | 22 |
| financial capability for the purposes of this section. | 23 |
| (B)(1) The director also may adopt rules pursuant to section | 24 |
| 6109.04 of the Revised Code that require a public water system | 25 |
| that is a community water system or that is not a community water | 26 |
| system and serves a nontransient population to submit a | 27 |
| technical, managerial, and financial capability plan for the | 28 |
| system if either of the following applies: | 29 |
| (a) The system has demonstrated a lack of technical, | 30 |
| managerial, or financial capability through substantial, repeated, | 31 |
| and documented noncompliance with this chapter and the rules | 32 |
| adopted under it. | 33 |
| (b) The system has been documented as operating in a manner | 34 |
| that creates an unacceptable risk to public health or that creates | 35 |
| an unacceptable risk of contamination of a public water supply. | 36 |
| (2) The rules shall require such a public water system to | 37 |
| submit and implement a capability assurance plan that has been | 38 |
| approved by the director. | 39 |
| (C) The director may deny approval of plans submitted under | 40 |
| section 6109.07 of the Revised Code if the public water system | 41 |
| that submitted the plans fails to demonstrate technical, | 42 |
| managerial, and financial capability in accordance with this | 43 |
| section and rules adopted under it. | 44 |
| Sec. 6109.31. (A) No person shall violate this chapter, | 45 |
| rule adopted under it, or any order or term or condition of a | 46 |
| license, license renewal, variance, or exemption granted by the | 47 |
| director of environmental protection under it. Each day of | 48 |
| noncompliance is a separate violation. | 49 |
| (B) No person shall make any false material statement or | 50 |
| representation in an application, license, record, report, or | 51 |
| other document that is required to be submitted to the director of | 52 |
| environmental protection or the attorney general under this | 53 |
| chapter, rules adopted under it, or any order or term or condition | 54 |
| of a license, license renewal, variance, or exemption granted by | 55 |
| the director under it. | 56 |
| (C) No person shall alter, change, falsify, conceal, or | 57 |
| purposefully omit any sample that is to be collected according to | 58 |
| any reporting requirement established under this chapter or a rule | 59 |
| adopted under it. | 60 |
| (D) No person shall tamper with, alter, or interfere with the | 61 |
| operation of a public water system without authorization of the | 62 |
| owner or operator of the water system or the director of | 63 |
| environmental protection. | 64 |
| Sec. 6109.32. The director of environmental protection may | 65 |
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on | 66 |
| into any suspected violation of section 6109.31 of the Revised | 67 |
| Code. | 68 |
| The attorney general, upon written request by the director, | 69 |
| shall bring an action for injunction or other appropriate civil | 70 |
| action or criminal prosecution against any person violating or | 71 |
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threatening to violate | 72 |
| injunction to enforce any final order of the director, the finding | 73 |
| by the director, after hearing, is prima-facie evidence of the | 74 |
| facts found therein. | 75 |
| Sec. 6109.99. (A) Whoever recklessly violates section | 76 |
| 6109.31 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall | 77 |
| be fined not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned not more | 78 |
| than one year, or both. Each day of violation constitutes a | 79 |
| separate offense. | 80 |
| (B) Whoever knowingly violates division (B), (C), or (D) of | 81 |
| section 6109.31 of the Revised Code is guilty of a felony and | 82 |
| shall be fined not more than twenty-five thousand dollars or | 83 |
| imprisoned for not more than four years, or both. Each day of | 84 |
| violation constitutes a separate offense. | 85 |
| (C) Whoever recklessly or knowingly violates division (A) of | 86 |
| section 6109.31 of the Revised Code and the violation poses a | 87 |
| significant threat to or causes significant harm to public health | 88 |
| is guilty of a felony and shall be fined not more than twenty-five | 89 |
| thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than four years, or | 90 |
| both. Each day of violation constitutes a separate offense. | 91 |
| Section 2. That existing sections 6109.24, 6109.31, and | 92 |
| 6109.32 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed. | 93 |