An Act To Ensure Safe Drinking Water in Public Buildings
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1119
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: BROOKS, CARDONE, DEVIN, GOLDEN, HICKMAN, KORNFIELD, NADEAU, TALBOT ROSS
Amends: 22 MRSA §2604

Legislative Document
No. 1119
H.P. 783
House of Representatives, March 21, 2017
An Act To Ensure Safe Drinking Water in Public Buildings
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: CARDONE of Bangor, DEVIN of Newcastle, GOLDEN of 
Lewiston, HICKMAN of Winthrop, KORNFIELD of Bangor, NADEAU of Winslow, 
TALBOT ROSS of Portland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §2604, as enacted by PL 1975, c. 751, §4, is amended to read: 
§2604.  Public buildings, sampling and examination of water 
Any school, which public building that takes water from a source other than a public 
water system and uses such water for drinking or culinary purposes, shall submit samples 
of such water to the department for analysis at least once during each school year. Such 
The samples shall must be analyzed by the department. If the water is found to violate the 
state primary drinking water regulations, the department shall issue an order prohibiting 
the use of the water for drinking or culinary purposes by the school, which order shall 
must remain in force until the water conforms to the state primary drinking water 
regulations.  The department shall provide results of any analysis performed under this 
section to the Department of Environmental Protection.  The Department of 
Environmental Protection shall make the results available on a publicly accessible 
website maintained and updated by the Department of Environmental Protection.  For the 
purposes of this section, "public building" means any building or structure operated or 
maintained for use by the general public, including, but not limited to, buildings used for 
state, municipal or county purposes; education; health care, a residential care nursing 
home or any facility licensed by the department under section 1811; public assembly; a 
hotel, motel, inn or rooming or lodging house; or a restaurant. 
In addition to any other requirement in this chapter that applies to a public building 
that is regulated as a public water system, the requirements of this section apply to a 
public building that takes water from a public water system and uses that water for 
drinking or culinary purposes if the public building is more than 10 years old. 
Violation of this section shall is, on conviction, be punishable by a fine of not more 
than $500. 
SUMMARY 
Current law requires schools that take drinking water from sources other than public 
water systems to have that water tested.  This bill expands this requirement to include all 
public buildings that take water from a source other than a public water system.  This bill 
requires public buildings that take drinking water from public water systems to have the 
same tests performed on that water, except that public buildings less than 10 years old are 
exempt from this requirement.  Under the bill, the Department of Health and Human 
Services must provide test results to the Department of Environmental Protection.  After 
receiving the results, the Department of Environmental Protection must make the results 
available on the department's publicly accessible website.