2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 10 - Conservation and Development › Chapter 159 - Waste Management › § 6615e. Relief for contaminated potable water supplies

§ 6615e. Relief for contaminated potable water supplies
(a) Definitions. As used in this section:
(1) “Public water system” means any system or combination of systems owned or controlled by a person that provides drinking water through pipes or other constructed conveyances to the public and that has at least 15 service connections or serves an average of at least 25 individuals daily for at least 60 days out of the year. A “public water system” includes all collection, treatment, storage, and distribution facilities under the control of the water supplier and used primarily in connection with the system, and any collection or pretreatment storage facilities not under the control of the water supplier that are used primarily in connection with the system. “Public water system” shall also mean any part of a system that does not provide drinking water, if use of such a part could affect the quality or quantity of the drinking water supplied by the system. “Public water system” shall also mean a system that bottles drinking water for public distribution and sale.
(2) “Public community water system” means a public water system that serves at least 15 service connections used by year-round residents or regularly serves at least 25 year-round residents.
(b) Extension of public community water system.
(1) The Secretary, after due consideration of cost, may initiate a proceeding under this section to determine whether a person that released perfluorooctanoic acid into the air, groundwater, surface water, or onto the land is liable for the costs of extending the water supply of a public water system to an impacted property. A person who released perfluorooctanoic acid shall be liable for the extension of a municipal water line when:
(A) the property is served by a potable water supply regulated under chapter 64 of this title;
(B) the Secretary has determined that the potable water supply on the property:
(i) is a failed supply under chapter 64 of this title due to perfluorooctanoic acid contamination; or
(ii) is likely to fail due to contamination by perfluorooctanoic acid due to the proximity of the potable water supply to other potable water supplies contaminated by perfluorooctanoic acid or due to other relevant factors; and
(C) the person the Secretary determined released perfluorooctanoic acid into the air, groundwater, surface water, or onto the land is a cause of or contributor to the perfluorooctanoic acid contamination or likely contamination of the potable water supply.
(2) A person liable for the extension of a public water system under this section shall be strictly, jointly, and severally liable for all costs associated with that public water system extension. The remedy under this section is in addition to those provided by existing statutory or common law.
(c) Liability payment.
(1) Following notification of liability by the Secretary, a person liable under subsection (b) of this section for the extension of the water supply of a public water system shall pay the owner of the public water system for the extension of the water supply within 30 days of receipt of a final engineering design or within an alternate time frame ordered by the Secretary.
(2) If the person liable for the extension of the water supply does not pay the owner within the time frame required under subdivision (1) of this subsection, the person shall be liable for interest on the assessed cost of the extension of the water supply.
(d) Available defenses; rights. All defenses to liability and all rights to contribution or indemnification available to a person under section 6615 of this title are available to a person subject to liability under this section. (Added 2017, No. 55, § 1, eff. June 2, 2017.)