An Act To Promote Testing of Drinking Water for Maine Families
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1001
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: BROOKS, BEEBE-CENTER, CARDONE, DEVIN, HANDY, LAWRENCE, MELARAGNO, SPEAR, ZEIGLER
Amends: 22 MRSA §2602-A

Legislative Document
No. 1001
H.P. 702
House of Representatives, March 14, 2017
An Act To Promote Testing of Drinking Water for Maine Families
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative BROOKS of Lewiston.
Cosponsored by Representatives: BEEBE-CENTER of Rockland, CARDONE of Bangor, 
DEVIN of Newcastle, HANDY of Lewiston, LAWRENCE of South Berwick, MELARAGNO 
of Auburn, SPEAR of South Thomaston, ZEIGLER of Montville.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §2602-A, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1991, c. 499, §3 and 
affected by §26, is further amended to read: 
2.  Fees.  The Except as provided in this section, the department shall charge the 
average cost of the analysis for an examination, testing or analysis of private residential 
water supplies requested under this chapter.  These fees must be recalculated and 
deposited according to section 565, subsection 3 and section 568, provided that the.  The 
fee charged for testing a private residential water supply may not exceed $150 when: 
A.  In the opinion of the department, initial testing or screening performed at the 
expense of the owner indicates the need for additional testing at a cost in excess of 
$150 to determine whether that water supply contains contaminants potentially 
hazardous to human health and that additional testing is essential to the maintenance 
of public health; or 
B.  In the opinion of the department, there is reason to suspect that a private 
residential water supply may be affected by contamination potentially hazardous to 
human health and that additional testing is essential to the maintenance of public 
health.  In making such a determination, the department shall consider the following: 
(1)  The proximity of the private residential water supply to a known or suspected 
source of contamination; 
(2)  The proximity of the private residential water supply to another private well 
or water supply known to be contaminated; 
(3)  Information provided in writing to the department by a physician who has 
seen or treated a person and who has identified contaminated drinking water as a 
possible cause of the person's condition or symptoms; or 
(4)  Information provided by the owner or a user of the private residential water 
supply voluntarily or in response to questions asked by personnel of the 
department. 
The department may shall waive all fees incurred in connection with the testing of a 
private residential water supply upon a showing of indigency for any household with 
income equal to or below 200% of the federal poverty level.  For the purposes of this 
section, "federal poverty level" has the same meaning as in section 3762, subsection 1, 
paragraph C. 
SUMMARY 
This bill waives the fee for testing a private residential water supply for any 
household with income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.