Group B Rulemaking
Group B Public Water Systems
The state Department of Health's Office of Drinking Water and local health agencies share responsibility for
regulating Group B public water systems in Washington.
Group B water systems serve fewer than 15 connections and fewer than 25 people per day. The state's 13,000 Group B water systems serve about 110,000 people.
That's about 2 percent of our population.
Group B water systems are regulated
under chapter 246-291 (PDF) of the Washington Administrative Code.
We have developed guidance documents
to assist you in complying with the rule and for designing a water system.
Legislative Change - New Direction for Rulemaking
In 2009, the Governor and the Legislature set a
new direction for regulating Group B public water systems by
eliminating all state funding for this program and providing
regulatory flexibility. They did this because Group B systems serve
a small population, and the cost to provide regulatory oversight is
relatively high. View Substitute Senate
Bill 6171 (PDF)
The law authorizes the State Board of Health (Board) to:
- Establish requirements for the initial design and
construction of a Group B water system. This change allows the Board
to eliminate ongoing requirements after initial approval of the
system.
Allow local health jurisdictions (health department or
health district) to establish Group B requirements that are more
stringent than state requirements.
- The law also authorizes the Board to eliminate
some, or all, regulatory requirements for Group B systems serving
four or fewer connections. The current draft only eliminates
requirements for some one and two connection Group B systems.
Next Steps for Draft Rule
At the request of the Board, we began working with stakeholders and our local health
partners to develop a draft
Group B rule. Public workshops were held in September 2010 to
get your input on the draft rule.
On November 17, 2010, Governor Chris Gregoire issued an executive
order suspending rule development and adoption for “non-critical”
rules. The board met in January 2011 and decided to continue
rulemaking under an exemption provided by the Governor’s office.
We will finalize the draft rule language for the
board’s consideration, and begin preparing the significant analysis
and small business economic impact statement.
Group
B Rule Development Timeline
Here are the questions we asked at the workshops, the flip chart
notes from the breakout groups, and the comment cards received at
the workshops. Workshop comments
(PDF)
For More Information
You can join the
Group B Water System Information
e-mail
list to receive updates.
If you need more information, contact our Policy and Finance
Section:
David Christensen,
Policy Unit Supervisor and Rule Lead (360) 236-3153
Theresa Phillips,
Rules Coordinator (360) 236-3147
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