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(124th General Assembly)
(Substitute Senate Bill Number 65)
AN ACT
To enact section 6109.35
of the Revised Code to
specify that if a water
supplier that acquires
ownership of an existing
water system enters into
a
written agreement with
the Environmental
Protection
Agency to bring the
system
into
compliance with
drinking water
standards within a
specified period
of
time and
then does so, the
water supplier has
certain civil
immunities
concerning the system's
previous
failure to meet
those drinking water
standards,
and to confer
other qualified immunities
from tort
liability
upon a
water supplier.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio:SECTION 1. That section
6109.35 of the Revised Code be
enacted to read as
follows:
Sec. 6109.35. (A) As used in this section: (1) "Water supplier" means
an entity that is subject to this
chapter and rules adopted under it and that
supplies drinking
water through pipes, through tubing, or in a
similar manner to
consumers within this state. (2) "Acquiring water supplier" means a water supplier that
satisfies both of the following: (a) The water supplier acquires ownership of an existing
water supplier. (b) The water supplier and the acquired existing water
supplier do not have any mutual directors, officers, controlling
shareholders, or other persons with an ownership interest prior to
the acquisition. (3) "Drinking water standards" means safe drinking water
standards established by the environmental protection agency
under
this chapter or established by the
United
States environmental
protection
agency under the Safe
Drinking
Water
Act. (B)
An acquiring water supplier
that acquires ownership of
an
existing
public water system
is not liable in
damages in
a civil
action for
injury, death, or loss to person or
property that
occurred prior to the acquisition and that was allegedly caused by
the previous water supplier's
failure to comply with drinking
water
standards if
the acquiring water supplier does both of the
following: (1) Enters into a written agreement with the
environmental
protection agency to bring the water system
into
compliance with
drinking water standards within a specified
period of time; (2) Brings the water system
into compliance with drinking
water standards within the time period agreed to under division
(B)(1) of this section.
(C) A water supplier that operates a public water system is
not liable in damages in a civil action to any person for injury,
death, or loss to person or property that allegedly arises from
the person's consumption of water supplied by the water supplier
if all of the following apply: (1) During the period of time that the water supplier
supplies water to the person, the water supplied by the water
supplier meets all applicable drinking water standards. (2) The water supplier has not been found to be in
significant noncompliance with drinking water standards. (3) The injury, death, or loss to person or property is
alleged to be caused by a substance for which drinking water
standards have been established. (D)(1) This section does
not create a new cause
of action or
substantive legal right against a water supplier. (2) This section does not affect
any immunities from civil
liability or
defenses established by another section of the
Revised
Code or available at common
law to which a water supplier
may be entitled under
circumstances not covered by this section.
(3) This section does not create immunity from civil
liability for violations of section 6109.31 of the Revised Code.
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