Agenda - Public Works Committee - 11/17/2020

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Public Works Committee 5. 1. Meeting Date: 11/17/2020 By: Bruce Westby, Engineering/Public Works Title: Consider Recommendation to City Council Approving Proposal to Comply with America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 Purpose/Background: Purpose: The purpose of this case is to consider a recommendation to City Council authorizing Requests for Quotes for America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018. Background: On October 23, 2018, America's Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) was signed into law, amending numerous provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The SDWA was originally passed by Congress in 1974 to protect public health by regulating the nation's public drinking water supply. The law was amended in 1986 and 1996 and requires many actions to protect drinking water and its sources including rivers, lakes, reservoirs, springs, and ground water wells. The SDWA does not regulate private wells which serve fewer than 25 individuals. The SDWA authorizes the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to set national health -based standards for drinking water to protect against both naturally -occurring and man-made contaminants that may be found in drinking water. More information on the SDWA is contained in the attached 4 page summary. The AWIA also amended the Emergency Planning and Community Right -to -Know Act (EPCRA). The revisions to EPCRA require that community water systems (1) receive prompt notification of any reportable release of an EPCRA extremely hazardous substance (EHS) or a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) hazardous substance (HS) that potentially affects their source water, and (2) have access to EPCRA Tier II information (i.e., hazardous chemical inventory data). These requirements went into effect immediately upon signing the law. The AWIA is a federal law that requires community water systems serving more than 3,300 people to develop or update Risk and Resilience Assessments (RRA's) and Emergency Response Plans (ERP's). The law specifies the components that the RRA's and ERP's must address, and establishes deadlines by which water systems must certify to the US EPA completion of the RRA and ERP. These community water systems, or utilities, must: • Conduct a Risk and Resilience Assessment (RRA) • Prepare or revise an Emergency Response Plan (ERP) • Submit a certification letter upon completion to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) for each (RRA and ERP) • Review, update, revise as necessary and submit a recertification for both at least every 5 years thereafter • Maintain records (keep copies of RRA and ERP and any updates for 5 years after certification submittal) Below is a table showing the AWIA compliance deadlines, which is based on population served by the community water system, or utility. The City of Ramsey must comply with the AWIA by June 30, 2021 (RRA) and December 30, 2021 (ERP). If the City does not certify that it has complied with the AIWA by these deadlines, the US EPA can initiate enforcement actions and assess a penalty of up to $25,000 per day for non-compliance.