The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a Water System Restructuring Assessment Rule, which outlines a framework for states, public water systems, and the communities they serve to evaluate options for restructuring to help ensure safe, reliable drinking water. Water system restructuring changes may include operational changes, upgrades to or replacement of water system infrastructure, interconnection with another system, consolidation, or transfer of ownership.
The proposed rule also would allow states to require an assessment of a water system and would establish incentives for water systems to identify options and submit restructuring plans, particularly systems that regularly fail to meet the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The proposed regulation includes three main elements: a new mandatory assessment authority for states; requirements for implementing an assessment; and incentives for water systems to restructure. The incentives include eligibility to use Drinking Water State Revolving Funds to implement the restructuring, protection under SDWA from previous enforcement actions for up to two years and, protection from fines or penalties for compliant water systems that consolidate with or acquire non-compliant water systems.