Pennsylvania HB 708: An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, in terms and courses of study, further providing for fire and emergency evacuation drills.

Bill Text

PRINTER'S NO. 727
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 708
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY ZIMMERMAN, HAMM, PICKETT, KRUPA, GROVE AND
T. JONES, FEBRUARY 24, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE
PROTECTION, FEBRUARY 24, 2025
AN ACT
Amending the act of May 1, 1984 (P.L.206, No.43), entitled "An
act providing for safe drinking water; imposing powers and
duties on the Department of Environmental Resources in
relation thereto; and appropriating certain funds," further
providing for powers and duties of department.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 5(a), (b) introductory paragraph and (5)
(ii), (c), (e), (g) and (h)(1) of the act of May 1, 1984
(P.L.206, No.43), known as the Pennsylvania Safe Drinking Water
Act, are amended to read:
Section 5. Powers and duties of department.
(a) State to assume primary enforcement.--The department
shall adopt and implement a public water supply program which
includes[, but is not limited to,] those program elements
necessary to assume State primary enforcement responsibility
under the Federal act. The public water supply program shall
include[, but not be limited to,] and be limited to maximum
contaminant levels or treatment technique requirements
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establishing drinking water quality standards, monitoring,
reporting, recordkeeping and analytical requirements,
requirements for public notification, standards for
construction, operation and modifications to public water
systems, emergency procedures, standards for laboratory
certification, and compliance and enforcement procedures as
required to enforce the Federal act.
(b) Department to establish compliance procedures.--The
department shall develop and implement procedures as may be
necessary and appropriate in order to obtain compliance with
[this] the Federal act or the rules and regulations promulgated,
or permits issued hereunder pursuant to the Federal act. Such
procedures shall include, but not be limited to:
* * *
(5) The establishment and maintenance of a permit
program concerning plans and specifications for the design
and construction of new or substantially modified public
water systems, which program:
* * *
(ii) Requires that all such projects are designed to
comply with any rules and regulations [of the department]
under the Federal act concerning their construction and
operation; and once completed will be capable of
compliance with the drinking water standards; and will
deliver water with sufficient volume and pressure to the
users of such systems.
(c) Department to enforce drinking water standards.--The
department shall have the power and its duties shall be to issue
such orders and initiate such proceedings as may be necessary
and appropriate for the enforcement of drinking water standards,
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any other provision of law notwithstanding. These actions shall
include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) To institute in a court of competent jurisdiction,
proceedings against any person to compel compliance with the
provisions of [this] the Federal act, or the drinking water
standards or conditions of permits issued hereunder pursuant
to this act.
(2) To initiate criminal prosecutions, including
issuance of summary citations by agents of the department.
(3) To do any and all things and actions not
inconsistent with any provision of this act for the effective
enforcement of [this] the Federal act, rules and regulations
or permits issued hereunder pursuant to this act.
* * *
(e) Department may require information from public water
systems.--The department may require any public water system to
install, use and maintain such monitoring equipment and methods
to perform such sampling, to maintain and retain such records of
information from monitoring and sampling activities, to submit
such reports of monitoring and sampling results and to provide
such other information as may be required to determine
compliance or noncompliance with [this] the Federal act or with
regulations promulgated pursuant to [this] the Federal act.
* * *
(g) Search warrants.--An agent or employee of the department
may apply for a search warrant to any Commonwealth official
authorized to issue a search warrant for the purposes of
inspecting or examining any property, building, premise, place,
book, record or other physical evidence, of conducting tests or
taking samples. Such warrant shall be issued upon probable
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cause. It shall be sufficient probable cause to show any of the
following:
(1) the inspection, examination, test or sampling is
pursuant to a general administrative plan to determine
compliance with [this] the Federal act;
(2) the agent or employee has reason to believe that a