Code of Maine Rules › 10 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › 144 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES - GENERAL › Chapter 231 - RULES RELATING TO DRINKING WATER › Section 144-231-2 - DEFINITIONS

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
ACT
: means the
Public Health Service
				  Act
, as amended by the
Safe Drinking Water Act
,
				  Public Law 93-523.
ACTION LEVE
L
:
The concentration
				  of lead or copper in water specified in 40 C.F.R. § 141.80(c), which
				  determines, in some cases, the treatment requirements contained in Subpart I of
				  § 141.80(c) that a water system is required to complete.
ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLIANCE ORDER
: An
				  administrative order that is issued by the Commissioner against a public water
				  system in violation of State drinking water laws, regulations or rules.
ADMINISTRATIVE CONSENT ORDER
: An order issued by
				  the Commissioner pursuant to a bilateral agreement between the Commissioner and
				  a public water system in violation of State drinking water laws, regulations or
				  rules.
ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY
: A fine imposed by the
				  Commissioner against a public water system in violation of state drinking water
				  laws, regulations or rules.
ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDY
: An administrative
				  compliance order, an administrative consent order or an administrative
				  penalty.
APA
: The
State of Maine Administrative
				  Procedure Act
.
AVAILABLE
:Based on the system size, complexity
				  and source water quality, a licensed operator must be on site or able to be
				  contacted as needed to initiate the appropriate action in timely manner.
AWWA
: The American Water Works Association
				  located at 6666 W. Quincy Avenue, Denver, CO 80235 (303) 794-7711.
BEST AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY or BAT
: The best
				  technology, treatment techniques, or other means that the Administrator finds,
				  after examination for efficacy under field conditions and not solely under
				  laboratory conditions, are available (taking cost into consideration). For the
				  purposes of setting MCLs for synthetic organic chemicals, any BAT must be at
				  least as effective as granular activated carbon.
BOTTLED WATER:
Water intended for human
				  consumption and placed in sanitary bottles, packages or other containers and
				  offered for sale to the public.
BOTTLER SIZE FACTOR:
Category assigned to
				  in-state bottled water companies to determine annual fees assessed by the
				  Department.
CAPACITY
: The technical, financial and
				  managerial resources of a water system necessary to enable the system to
				  consistently provide safe drinking water for its users.
1.
Technical Capacity
: The physical
				  infrastructure of the water system, including but not limited to source water
				  adequacy, infrastructure adequacy (including wells, source water intakes, and
				  collection, treatment, storage and distribution), and the ability of system
				  personnel to implement the requisite technical knowledge necessary to operate
				  the system to consistently provide safe drinking water.
2.
Financial Capacity
: The financial resources of
				  the water system, including but not limited to revenue sufficiency, credit
				  worthiness and fiscal management and controls.
3.
Managerial Capacity
: The management structure
				  of the water system, including but not limited to ownership accountability,
				  staffing and organization, and the effectiveness of interactions of system
				  personnel with customers, regulators and other entities, and the awareness of
				  system personnel of available external resources, such as technical and
				  financial assistance.
1.
Community Water System
: A public water system
				  which serves at least 15 service connections used by year-round residents or
				  regularly serves at least 25 year-round residents.
2.
Non-Community Water System
: A public water
				  system that is not a community water system. There are two types of
				  Non-Community Water Systems. These are:
a.
Non-Transient, Non-Community Water Systems
: A
				  Non-Community water system that serves at least 25 of the same persons for 6
				  months or more per year and may include, but is not limited to, a school,
				  factory, industrial park or office building, and
b.
Transient Non-Community Water Systems
: A
				  Non-Community water system that serves at least 25 persons, but not necessarily
				  the same persons, for at least 60 days per year and may include, but is not
				  limited to, a highway rest stop, seasonal or year-round restaurant, seasonal or
				  year-round motel, golf course, park or campground. A bottled water company is a
				  transient, non-community water system.
B.
Connection
:For purposes of subparagraph (A),
				  a connection to a system that delivers water by a constructed conveyance other
				  than a pipe shall not be considered a connection, if -
1. The water is used exclusively for purposes other than
				  residential uses (consisting of drinking, bathing, and cooking, or other
				  similar uses);
2. the Commissioner determines that alternative water to
				  achieve the equivalent level of public health protection provided by the
				  applicable state primary drinking water regulation is provided for residential
				  or similar uses for drinking and cooking; or
3. The Commissioner determines that the water provided for
				  residential or similar uses for drinking, cooking, and bathing is centrally or
				  treated at the point of entry by the provider, a pass-through entity, or the
				  user to achieve the equivalent level of protection provided by the applicable
				  state primary drinking water regulations.
RAW SOURCE WATER:
For the purposes of the
				  Groundwater Rule, this term refers to water drawn directly from a spring,
				  drilled well, or dug well prior to disinfection, filtration, storage or other
				  treatment processes.
RESPONSIBLE CHARGE
: The Operator(s) in
				  Responsible Charge is defined as the person(s) designated by the owner to be
				  the licensed operator(s) who makes decisions regarding the daily operational
				  activities of a public water system, water treatment facility and/or
				  distribution system, that will directly impact the quality and/or quantity of
				  drinking water.
REVISED TOTAL COLIFORM RULE:
This rule
				  establishes a maximum contaminant level for E. coli and uses total coliform and
				  E. coli to intitiate a "find-and-fix" approach to address fecal contamination
				  that could enter a public water system by requiring public water systems to
				  perform Level 1 and Level 2 Assessments, to identify sanitary defects and take
				  action to correct them. This rule is effective April 1, 2016.
SAMPLE; WATER SAMPLE
: An amount of untreated
				  (raw) source water or finished (treated) drinking water that is examined for
				  the presence of a contaminant.
SANITARY DEFECT:
A particular condition that
				  could provide a pathway of entry for microbial contamination into the
				  distribution system or that is indicative of a failure or imminent failure in a
				  sanitary or treatment barrier that is already in place.
SANITARY SEAL WELL CAP:
A well cap sealed with a
				  gasket between the cap and the well casing. The connection between the well cap
				  and the electrical conduit is tight, to prevent insects or other vermin from
				  entering the well.
SANITARY SURVEY
: The Department's on-site
				  inspection of the water source, facilities, and treatment equipment, with a
				  focus on the operation and maintenance of a public water system for the purpose
				  of evaluating the protection of the source; and the adequacy of such source,
				  facilities, equipment, operation and maintenance for producing and distributing
				  safe drinking water. The Department performs sanitary surveys for community
				  public water systems every three years, and for non-community public water
				  systems every five years, except for bottled water facilities (which are
				  performed every three years). Bottled water sanitary surveys entail the
				  inspection of any source water, operations and treatment equipment from the
				  source, leading up to the bottling process.
SEASONAL SYSTEM:
A non-community public water
				  system that is not operated as a public water system on a year-round basis and
				  starts up and shuts down at the beginning and end of each operating
				  season.
SECONDARY MAXIMUM CONTAMINANT LEVEL(SMCL):
The
				  maximum recommended level of a contaminant in water which is delivered to the
				  free flowing outlet of the ultimate user of the public water system. The SMCLs
				  are non-mandatory limits established as guidelines to assist public water
				  systems in managing their drinking water for aesthetic considerations, such as
				  taste, color and odor. The contaminants with established SMCLs are not
				  considered to present a risk to human health at the SMCL.
SIGNIFICANT DEFICIENCY
: Any defect in a system's
				  design, operation, maintenance or administration, as well as any failure or
				  malfunction of any system component, that the State determines to cause, or
				  have the potential to cause, an unacceptable risk to health or that could
				  affect the reliable delivery of safe drinking water.
SPRING WATER:
Water derived from an underground
				  formation from which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth. Spring
				  water must comply with the
U.S. E.P.A. National Primary and Secondary
				  Drinking Water Standards
, 40 C.F.R. § 141-143 and U.S. Food and
				  Drug Administration Regulations at 21 C.F.R. § 165.110(a)(vi). Spring
				  water must be collected only at the spring or through a borehole tapping the
				  underground formation feeding the spring. There must be a natural force causing
				  the water to flow to the surface through a natural orifice. The location of the
				  spring must be identified and such identification must be maintained in the
				  plant's records. Spring water collected with the use of an external force must
				  be from the same underground stratum as the spring, as shown by a measurable
				  hydraulic connection, using a hydrogeologically valid method between the bore
				  hole and the natural spring, and must exhibit all of the physical properties
				  before treatment, and be of the same composition and quality as the water that
				  flows naturally to the surface of the earth. A water chemistry comparison is
				  typically performed by plotting cations and anions for both the spring and
				  borehole on a "Piper Diagram". If spring water is collected with the use of an
				  external force, water must continue to flow naturally to the surface of the
				  earth through the spring's natural orifice. Upon request by regulatory
				  officials, bottled water plants must demonstrate, by using a hydrogeologically
				  valid method, that an appropriate hydraulic connection exists between the
				  natural orifice of the spring and the borehole. Such a demonstration must be
				  submitted by a hydrogeologist certified to perform this type of work in the
				  State of Maine.
SURFACE WATER:
All water naturally open to the
				  atmosphere (rivers, lakes, reservoirs, streams, impoundments, seas, estuaries,
				  etc.) and all springs, wells or other collectors which are directly influenced
				  by surface water.
SUPPLIER OF WATER; WATER SUPPLIER; SUPPLIER
: Any
				  person who controls, owns, or generally manages a public water system.
SYSTEM
: A public water system.
SYSTEM DESIGN CAPACITY:
"System Design Capacity"
				  for authorized Community Water Systems withdrawing from surface waters shall be
				  determined by the Department of Health And Human Services as the amount of
				  water that is available for Community Water System purposes expressed as annual
				  withdrawal in total gallons per year taking into consideration actual
				  documented annual withdrawal, and the investments in and limits of the existing
				  system infrastructure, that provides a safe and dependable supply of water for
				  public use. Existing system infrastructure includes water treatment and
				  distribution facilities and other necessary structures that determine how much
				  water can be safely and dependably supplied that is present or in the process
				  of being acquired such as through an investment bond, contractual agreement, or
				  purchase order as of the effective date of 06-096 CMR Chapter 587.
THEORETICAL FLUORIDE CONCENTRATION:
The
				  calculated concentration of fluoride ion in a distribution system which
				  includes the theoretical fluoride dose plus the natural fluoride level.
THEORETICAL FLUORIDE DOSE:
The calculated dose
				  of fluoride ion added to a drinking water source or supply.
Violation
: Noncompliance with state drinking
				  water laws, regulations and rules regardless of whether that noncompliance is
				  intentional, negligent or otherwise.
WATER VENDING MACHINES:
Any self-service device
				  located in a retail store, which is a public water system or is served by a
				  public water system, which, upon insertion of coins or tokens, dispenses unit
				  servings of water into a customer's container.