Section 290.102 - General Applicability(a) General applicability. This subchapter shall apply to all public water systems as described in each section, unless the system: (1) consists only of distribution and storage facilities (and does not have any production and treatment facilities);(2) obtains all of its water from, but is not owned or operated by, a public water system to which such standards apply;(3) does not sell water to any person;(4) is not a carrier which conveys passengers in interstate commerce; and(5) is subject to plumbing restrictions and inspections by the public water system which provides the water.(b) Variances and exemptions. Variances and exemptions may be granted at the discretion of the executive director according to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), 42 United States Code (USC), §300g-4 and §300g-5, and according to National Primary Drinking Water Regulations Implementation, Subpart K, 40 Code of Federal Regulations §§142.301 - 142.313. The executive director may not approve variances or exemptions from:(1) the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for Escherichia coli, nitrate, nitrite, or total nitrate and nitrite;(2) the maximum residual disinfection level for chlorine dioxide; or(3) the treatment technique requirements for filtration and disinfection.(4) Variances are prohibited for rules addressing microbial contaminants, including rules in § 290.109- 209.111 and § 290.116 of this title (relating to Microbial Contaminants; Disinfectant Residuals; Surface Water Treatment; and Groundwater Corrective Actions and Treatment Techniques).(c) Extensions. An extension to the compliance deadline for an MCL or treatment technique that becomes effective on or after January 1, 2002, may be granted at the discretion of the executive director in accordance with the SDWA, 42 USC, § 300g-1(b)(10). (1) The executive director may extend the effective date of an MCL or treatment technique for up to two years if all of the following conditions apply: (A) there are no acute violations associated with the new MCL or treatment technique for which the extension is being granted;(B) the executive director determines that granting the extension will not result in an unreasonable risk to public health;(C) the extension is granted only to public water systems that were in operation on the date that the MCL or treatment technique was promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA);(D) the executive director determines that capital improvements are needed to comply with the new MCL or treatment technique;(E) the executive director approves a schedule identifying the capital improvements necessary to bring the system into compliance with the new MCL or treatment technique; and(F) the EPA has not already incorporated a two-year extension into the effective date for the new MCL or treatment technique requirement.(2) An application for an extension must be submitted to the executive director in writing by the owner or responsible party of the water system. The request must include a statement identifying the new MCL or treatment technique which is not being met and a general long range plan for meeting the new requirement.(3) The executive director may issue an extension covering a group or class of systems with a common MCL or treatment technique which is not met without individual applications.(d) Motion to overturn. Any person may file a motion to overturn the executive director's decision to grant or deny a variance, exemption, or extension under this section according to the procedures set out in § 50.139 of this title (relating to Motion to Overturn Executive Director's Decision).(e) Monitoring schedule. All monitoring required by this chapter shall be conducted in a manner and on a schedule approved by the executive director in concurrence with the requirements of the administrator of the EPA.(f) Modified monitoring. When a public water system supplies water to one or more other public water systems, the executive director may modify the monitoring requirements imposed by this chapter to the extent that the interconnection of the systems justifies treating them as a single system for monitoring purposes. Any modified monitoring shall be conducted pursuant to a schedule specified by the executive director in concurrence with the requirements of the administrator of the EPA.(g) The owner or operator of a public water system shall ensure that the executive director is provided with a copy of the results of any test, measurement, or analysis required by this subchapter. The copies shall be submitted within the first ten days following the month in which the result is received by the public water system, or the first ten days following the end of the required monitoring period as provided by this subchapter, whichever occurs first.30 Tex. Admin. Code § 290.102
The provisions of this §290.102 adopted to be effective September 13, 2000, 25 TexReg 8880; amended to be effective May 16, 2002, 27 TexReg 4127; amended to be effective January 9, 2008, 33 TexReg 198; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 42, Number 12, March 24, 2017, TexReg 1519, eff. 3/30/2017