INDEPENDENT REGULATORY REVIEW COMMISSION Notice of Comments Issued [36 Pa.B. 7932]
[Saturday, December 23, 2006]Section 5(g) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5(g)) provides that the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (Commission) may issue comments within 30 days of the close of the public comment period. The Commission comments are based upon the criteria contained in section 5.2 of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5b).
The Commission has issued comments on the following proposed regulation. The agency must consider these comments in preparing the final-form regulation. The final-form regulation must be submitted within 2 years of the close of the public comment period or it will be deemed withdrawn.
Reg. No. Agency/Title Close of the Public Comment Period IRRC Comments Issued 57-249 Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
Service Interruption
36 Pa.B. 6303
(October 14, 2006)11/13/06 12/13/06 ____ Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Regulation #57-249 (IRRC #2570) Service Interruption December 13, 2006 We submit for your consideration the following comments on the proposed rulemaking published in the October 14, 2006 Pennsylvania Bulletin. Our comments are based on criteria in Section 5.2 of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5b). Section 5.1(a) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(a)) directs thePennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) to respond to all comments received from us or any other source.
Section 67.1. General provisions.--Protection of public health and safety; Consistency with other regulations; Reasonableness; Implementation procedure; and Clarity.
Questions
The Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Association of Water Companies (PA-NAWC) and Pennsylvania American Water Company's (PAWC) submitted comments on the proposed regulation that generated the following questions that relate directly to our review criteria.
First, what is the intent of the phrase ''affecting the quantity or quality of water delivered to the customers''? For example, would this language require notice if the drinking water was discolored but still safe to drink? What types and levels of change in ''quantity or quality'' triggers the notice requirement? If there is a drop in pressure, hence a drop in quantity delivered during a certain time period, is that covered by this regulation? How much of a drop in pressure would trigger the required notice?
Second, the PUC noted in the preamble that ''a similar DEP [Department of Environmental Protection] regulation defines a 'service interruption' as 'affecting quantity or quality of the water delivered to the customer.''' However, this language is from the existing regulations at 25 Pa. Code § 109.708 which govern notice to the public and DEP before ''planned service interruptions'' initiated by public water suppliers. Why is this language being used in the proposed amendment to 52 Pa. Code § 67.1 which governs ''unplanned service interruptions''? (Emphasis added.)
Reasonable alternatives
Two commentators, PA-NAWC and PAWC, suggested that the proposed regulation should cite other existing DEP regulations relating to notification requirements for public water suppliers. They suggest referencing existing DEP regulations at 25 Pa. Code Chapter 109, Subchapter D (§§ 109.407--109.416 and § 109.701(a)(3)). These regulations require notice in specific situations that relate directly to public health and safety. For example, Sections 109.409(a)(1) and (b)(1) specifically require one hour notice to DEP for violations of the maximum contaminant level for fluoride. Therefore, these portions of Chapter 109 would afford clear and precise implementation of the PUC's policy objectives of protecting consumers of drinking water. Another benefit to using DEP regulations is that water suppliers are already familiar with these provisions. We recommend that the PUC give strongconsideration to referencing existing regulations at 25 Pa. Code §§ 109.407--109.416 and 109.701 to give water suppliers clear direction on when notice will be required.
ALVIN C. BUSH,
Chairperson[Pa.B. Doc. No. 06-2533. Filed for public inspection December 22, 2006, 9:00 a.m.]
