Connecticut HB 5518: AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING SUBSURFACE SEWAGE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, WATER OPERATOR APPRENTICES AND VARIOUS REVISIONS TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND DRINKING WATER STATUTES.
Status: SIGNED BY GOVERNOR (as of 2026-06-04)
State: Connecticut · Session: 2026 · Bill: HB 5518
Subjects: Asbestos, Attorney General, Bottled water, Certificates and certification, Civil actions, Complaint, Contractors, Cremation, Crematories, District departments of health, Drinking water, Environmental laboratories, Fees, Fines (Penalties), Hazardous substances, Hearings, Investigations, Landlord and tenant, Licenses, Municipal health departments, Notices, Occupational training, Petitions, Public Health, Department of, Reports, Subsurface sewage disposal systems, Tests, Violations, Wastewater treatment facility operators
Sponsors: Jaime S. Foster, Hilda E. Santiago, Iris N Sanchez
Bill Text
Substitute House Bill No. 5518 Public Act No. 26-142 AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING SUBSURFACE SEWAGE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, WATER OPERATOR APPRENTICES AND VARIOUS REVISIONS TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND DRINKING WATER STATUTES. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: Section 1. Section 21a-150 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): For the purposes of this section and sections 21a-150a to 21a-150j, inclusive, as amended by this act: (1) "Approved laboratory" means a laboratory [registered] certified by the Department of Public Health pursuant to section 19a-29a, as amended by this act, or certified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to analyze drinking water; (2) "Approved source" means the source of any bottled water, including, but not limited to, a spring, artesian well, drilled well or public water supply, that, for a source located in the state, has been inspected and approved by the Department of Public Health, or for a source located out of state, has been inspected and approved by the government entities having jurisdiction to regulate the use of such out- Substitute House Bill No. 5518 Public Act No. 26-142 2 of 46 of-state source; (3) "Artesian well water" means bottled natural water obtained from a well tapping an aquifer in which the level of the water is above the bottom of the confining bed of the aquifer and in which the hydraulic pressure of the water in the aquifer is greater than the atmospheric pressure; (4) "Bottled water", or any term of similar import, means water obtained from an approved source that is packaged for sale or distribution. "Bottled water" shall not include any soda or seltzer that is packaged for sale or distribution; (5) "Bottler" means any person, firm or corporation engaging in the business of bottling or distributing water for sale or distribution; (6) "Distilled water" means purified water that has been produced by a process of distillation; (7) "Drinking water" means bottled water that has been distilled, fluoridated or purified or that has been disinfected by a process of ozonation and filtration or any substantially similar disinfection process; (8) "Fluoridated water" means bottled water that contains fluoride ions in an amount not less than eight-tenths of one milligram per liter and not more than one and two-tenths milligrams per liter or such alternative concentration limit as the Commissioner of Consumer Protection, with the advice and assistance of the Commissioner of Public Health, may determine by regulations adopted in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 and that otherwise complies with the provisions of Subsections (b), (c) and (d) of 21 CFR 165.110; (9) "Mineral water" means natural water that contains not less than five hundred parts per million total dissolved solids; Substitute House Bill No. 5518 Public Act No. 26-142 3 of 46 (10) "Natural water" means bottled spring water, artesian well water or well water, that has been obtained from any approved source other than a public water supply and that has not been modified by blending with water from any other source or by the addition or deletion of any mineral other than any addition or deletion that may occur as a result of ozonation, filtration or any other substantially similar disinfection process; (11) "Perfluoroalkyl substance" means perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, perfluoronoanoic acid, perfluorohexane sulfonic acid, hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid or any other perfluoroalkyl substance that is listed in 40 CFR 141.903, as amended from time to time, or set forth in regulations adopted pursuant to section 25-32, as amended by this act; [(11)] (12) "Principal display panel" means the portion of a label on any container or package that is most likely to be displayed, presented or examined under normal and customary conditions of display and purchase of bottled water; [(12)] (13) "Public water supply" means any individual, partnership, association, corporation, municipality or other entity, or the lessee thereof, that owns, maintains, operates, manages, controls or employs any pond, lake, reservoir, well, stream or distributing plant or system for the purpose of supplying water by service connections or pipe distribution systems to two or more hotels, motels, boardinghouses, apartments, stores, office buildings,
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