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Rate Setting Letter for FY2011

October 28, 2010

Dear Public Water Supplier:

We are writing to advise you of the following information.

  • Bills for the Massachusetts Federal Safe Drinking Water Act Assessment for fiscal year 2011 will be mailed to all public water systems in December 2010. This bill is based on water use reported for calendar year 2008.
  • The rate structure for fiscal year 2012 (July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012) has been set and is listed below. The rates for FY12 are the same as they were for FY11. The Assessment makes up the difference between the cost of administering the Safe Drinking Water Act in Massachusetts and the funds available through federal grant and state appropriation. Today's notice is provided so that you can plan for the Assessment in your budget. The bill for FY 2012 will be mailed to you in December 2011. Please forward this notice to the person who is responsible for paying the bills for your public water system.

The rates for state fiscal year 2012, based on water use in 2009, are:

  • $8.50 per million gallons used by systems with master meters;
  • 3 times the figure obtained by multiplying $8.50 by an estimated gallons used by non-metered systems serving 900+ (the estimate is based on an average of water use at metered systems);
  • flat rate of $250 for non-metered systems serving 201 through 899;
  • flat rate of $100 for non-metered systems serving 101 through 200;
  • flat rate of $50 for non-metered systems serving up to 101; and
  • minimum bill of $20.00.

As you know, the Safe Drinking Water Act Advisory Committee is mandated by the Legislature to monitor the Assessment Program. The committee holds public meetings at least quarterly and submits an Annual Report to the Massachusetts Legislature. The report for 2009 is available at http://www.mass.gov/dep/water/drinking/systems.htm#sdwa.

Thanks to all of you, MassDEP's Drinking Water Program has continued to provide better services in many areas in the past year through the support of the Assessment. A list of accomplishments for 2009 is provided with this letter. Please contact Kathy Romero of MassDEP's Drinking Water Program at 617-292-5727 or kathleen.romero@state.ma.us if you have any questions or would like to receive information about upcoming committee meetings.

Sincerely,

David Y. Terry, Program Director
Drinking Water Program

MassDEP Accomplishments Directly Supported by the Safe Drinking Water Act Assessment
Highlights Between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009

  • Saved public water systems (pws) millions of dollars by maintaining Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Primacy.
  • MassDEP reviewed 1,115 water quality monitoring waiver applications and issued 257 volatile organic compound waivers, 819 synthetic organic compound waivers; 694 inorganic compound waivers; 316 arsenic waivers; and 819 perchlorate waivers. This work has saved pws $2.85 million for the current waiver period (2008-2010).
  • Provided assistance with over 700 water protection issues at reservoirs and river sources.
  • Approved watershed protection plans for 4 pws. Maintained incentives for developing plans.
  • Continued to implement the Wellhead Protection Program which provides compliance and technical assistance.
  • Approved municipal wellhead protection controls for 41 groundwater sources in 6 communities.
  • Assisted 134 pws with wellhead protection issues.
  • Conducted Drinking Water Supply Protection Grant Program - awarded $510,000 to purchase land and conservation restrictions totaling 173 acres in water supply protection areas in 11communities.
  • Field verified 50 watershed delineations for reservoirs and updated GIS maps to reflect changes.
  • Distributed fact sheets, guidance documents, and other technical assistance materials as requested.
  • Continued to update web pages to improve access by pws, public officials, community groups & residents.
  • Continued improving the bulk upload tool for laboratories to submit drinking water quality results on-line.
  • Continued to conduct compliance assistance activities for Statistical Reporting, Ground Water Under the Influence, Consumer Confidence Reporting, Cross Connection, and Certified Operator requirements.
  • Maintained electronic publishing and access for the quarterly In the Main newsletter.
  • Published 4 issues of In the Main covering source water protection; eDEP; vacuum filtration; Water Management Act; Awards Program; emergency preparedness; Consumer Confidence Reports; underground storage tanks; chemical safety; operator exams; contract operators; certified laboratories; geothermal well guidelines; Well Driller Certification Program; Ground Water Rule; regulatory updates.
  • Maintained a free on-line template for systems to use in complying with Consumer Confidence Reporting (CCR).
  • Notified new community water systems of CCR requirements for 2009.
  • Mailed out CCR reminder postcards and provided CCRs for all (948) Transient Non-Community Systems.
  • Reviewed 528 CCRs, provided Technical Assistance Reports and tracked CCR compliance.
  • Provided materials for statewide Board of Health workshops as requested.
  • Mailed out annual letter to Boards of Health to update members on drinking water issues and MassDEP work.
  • Worked with the Office of the State Geologist and United States Geological Survey on topics of mutual interest.
  • Participated on the New England Groundwater Resources Initiative Committee.
  • Issued 34 Drinking Water Compliance Awards during June 2009.
  • Board of Certification of Operators of Drinking Water Supply Facilities approved 52 new training courses.
  • Registered 28 new pws that were previously unregulated.
  • Reviewed and/or approved 10 new large capacity public water sources.
  • Presented workshop to pws that featured a tabletop exercise on preparing for a pandemic flu outbreak.
  • Provided instructors for New England Water Works Association (NEWWA) Bedrock Well Courses.
  • Provided instructor for the Cross Connection Control Program (CCCP) Workshops.
  • Performed 9 CCCP audits in NERO, CERO, and SERO. Issued 263 Cross Connection Certificates.
  • Planned and implemented three CCCP Annual Workshops attended by 213 individuals.
  • Provided instructor for 12 Backflow Tester and Cross Connection Survey classes at NEWWA.
  • Provided CCCP technical assistance to 189 individuals/cities/towns.
  • Provided technical assistance to pre-K through 12 schools on lead in drinking water. Worked with partners to prepare & distribute guidance on Lead in Drinking Water at Child Care Facilities to 3,000 facilities. Reviewed 50 Lead in Drinking Water Maintenance Checklists and 150 laboratory results from schools. Provided assistance to Multi-Agency Task Force for Schools to develop a facility managers workbook and training class.
  • Conducted two Emergency Response Training - Pandemic Flu Exercises for public water suppliers.
  • Provided instructors for NEWWA Innovative Source Development Course.
  • Conducted training in the four regions on Guideline Changes; The Ground Water Rule; Emergency Response; Operator Certification Requirements; Lead and Copper Rule Revisions; Consumer Confidence Reporting.

MassDEP Accomplishments Partly/Directly Supported by the Safe Drinking Water Act Assessment
Highlights Between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009

  • Continued to offer free training programs for small system operators through an EPA grant.
  • Continued the implementation of the Capacity Development Program, which concentrates on providing financial, managerial and technical assistance to small water suppliers.
  • Reviewed the technical, financial, and managerial operations of 196 community & non-transient non-community and 154 transient non-community pws. The Massachusetts Coalition for Small System Assistance provided 4 group training sessions on the Ground Water Rule; 128 site visits; and 17 mentoring sessions.
  • Received EPA funding to conduct two statewide source water protection workshops for pws focusing on addressing microbial threats. 58 people participated and training contact hours (TCHs) were awarded.
  • Conducted annual inspections at 6 public surface water systems that have waivers from filtration.
  • Assisted surface water suppliers with developing protection plans and bylaws and obtaining log credit.
  • Participated on the State Vegetation Management Panel; State Pesticide Board; NEWWA Source Water Advisory Group, Groundwater Advisory Committee, Groundwater Resource Initiative, and Drinking Water Operators Certification Committee; Multi-Agency Task Force on Schools; National Drinking Water Advisory Council Small Systems Implementation Work Group; MassDEP Laboratories Advisory Committee; Mass. Water Works Association (MWWA) Technical Advisory Committee; New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission Source Water Protection Work Group; Well Driller Certification Program Technical Advisory Committee. Participated on EPA work groups for Emergency Preparedness, Disinfection Byproducts Rule, Long Term 2 ESWTR, Data Sharing, Ground Water Rule, Public Notification, Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring. Participation on these committees places MA interests at the national level.
  • Participated in establishing guidelines and uniformity in cross connection programs throughout New England as a member of the NEWWA Board of Certification of Backflow Prevention and Cross Connection Control.
  • The annual operator certification report was approved by EPA.
  • Conducted 853 Underground Injection Control (UIC) inspections; returned 68 Class V wells to compliance; assisted 198 locations into compliance through registration or permitting. Processed 250 registrations and/or closure of 500 Class IV/V wells. Provided technical assistance about the UIC Program to MassDEP staff conducting multi-media inspections; the regulated community; and local officials. Developing electronic filing of UIC registrations and closure forms and electronic reporting of UIC data to EPA.
  • Adopted guidelines for the design, installation, operation and closure of open and closed loop geothermal wells.
  • Presented new geothermal well guidelines at the Annual New England Water Well Expo; American Ground Water Trust Education Forum; Ground Source Heating & Cooling for Residential and Commercial Properties; Northeast Private Well Water Symposium; and to a health class at Worcester State College.
  • Participated in workshops on geothermal heat pumps, groundwater protection, and the UIC Program.
  • Developed two chemical checklists for permit applicatins to expedite approval process.
  • Issued 7 Water Management Act Permits & 7 Permit Amendments; 15 Five-year Reviews, 5 20-Year Renewals.
  • Participated in the Office of the State Geologist State Mapping Advisory Committee.
  • Provided comments on MassDEP Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup, Title 5, Stormwater Policy and Groundwater Discharge Program regulations & policy development for consistency with the Drinking Water Program.
  • Continue to conduct water resources investigations of communities dependent on bedrock wells in I-495 belt.
  • Completed a ground water model to begin evaluating the safe yield of the Plymouth-Carver Aquifer.
  • Conducted arsenic and uranium in bedrock aquifer investigation to assess correlations between contaminant concentrations and bedrock geology.
  • Provided technical assistance to local Boards of Health in revising private well regulations.
  • Provided technical support to the Wastewater Management Program on ground source heat pump permitting.
  • Completed extensive revisions to the 2001guidelines for pws with stakeholder input - now on web page.
  • Issued policy on discharges from pws pumping facilities -- implementing BMPs and registering as Class 5 wells.
  • Conducted regular meetings with MWRA including scheduling compliance reviews of monthly reports.
  • Fluoridation coordination with the Mass. DPH Office of Oral Health.
  • Continued rule implementation work for 90 pws under the LT2ESWTR.
  • Presented new guidelines for ground source heat pumps and the transfer of the Well Driller Certification Program to MassDEP at the Mass. Health Officers Association conference.
  • Presented the status of the Well Driller Certification Program at Mass. Ground Water Association meetings.
  • Updated the Well Driller Certification Program database with 3,500 well completion reports.
  • Provided speakers on water supply topics to local/regional events and for operator training courses through NEWWA.
  • Performed 3 Comprehensive Performance Evaluations of drinking water facilities to enhance their performance.
  • Promulgated regulatory changes for Lead and Copper Rule and Ground Water Rule.
  • Revised the Total Coliform Rule to eliminate slower confirming method.