Legislative Center
DEEP's Proposed Comprehensive Draft Permit for Discharges to Surface and Ground Water
A public hearing on the CT Dept. of Energy & Environmental Protection's proposed Comprehensive General Permit for Discharges to Surface Water & Ground Water (proposed GP) was held on June 1, 2026.
Recognizing the cost and operational burdens that the proposed GP would place on water utilities and their customers, CWWA retained the law firm of Robinson + Cole and successfully petitioned for intervenor status in the matter.
As drafted, the proposed GP:
1) Restricts hydrant flushing in GA and GAA groundwater classification areas and A and AA surface water areas unless discharged to a sanitary sewer, storage tank, or land application. These restrictions are not feasible and will impose significant costs on water utilities and customers in addition to compromising water quality and reliability.
2) Adds minimum separating distance requirements for many types of authorized discharges, regardless of whether their volume or other circumstances trigger registration requirements. This will impose a difficult compliance burden on water utilities.
3) Requires water utilities to install monitoring wells within source protection areas if they discharge more than 10,000 gallons per day (gpd) of water treatment wastewater to groundwater, which conflicts with DPH Water Quality Standards which recognize that discharges of less than 100,000 gpd do not pose any public health risk given that production wells must be regularly sampled.
4) Fails to include exemptions from monitoring for de minimis discharges, many of which include raw or potable water.
5) Imposes excessive PFAS sampling requirements on water utilities, including at sites with non-detect results.
An evidentiary hearing will be held on July 10 via Zoom. For more information, please contact Betsy Gara at [email protected].
Legislative Center
Addressing Concerns with CTDOT's Encroachment Permit Process
Although the legislature's Transportation Committee rejected the Connecticut Department of Transportation's (CTDOT) efforts to shift responsibility for performing and inspecting work on privately-owned property in the State Right of Way (SROW), CTDOT is continuing to push utilities to sign encroachment permits.
Under longstanding practice, private property owners, contractors, and others performing work in the SROW are required to obtain encroachment permits from the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT). As part of this process, applicants must provide detailed project plans, a certificate of insurance and often a surety bond and agree to perform work in compliance with CTDOT standards.
The existing process has worked well for decades, clearly delineating the responsibilities of the applicant for work performed within the SROW.
Under existing law and pursuant to a water utility’s Rules and Regulations, customers own and are responsible for maintaining the curb box and service line from the curb stop to the building. The water utility’s responsibility begins at the curb valve and extends to the water main.
Because SROWs often extend several feet onto private property, many curb stops, sewer laterals, fire service lines and water service lines which are owned by the property owner are located within the SROW. Despite this, HB-5464 assigns permit responsibility to water utilities for infrastructure they do not own, shifting responsibility – and liability – to utilities and municipalities for repairing and inspecting privately owned infrastructure to determine whether work was done in compliance with CTDOT standards.
CWWA met with CTDOT to discuss these concerns and will be coordinating a meeting of utility members and electric and gas utilities to discuss whether this issue can be resolved. Questions? Please contact Betsy Gara at [email protected].
Legislative Center
CWWA 2026 Government Affairs Agenda
Based on input from utility members and associate members, CWWA's Board of Directors approved the 2026 Government Affairs Agenda. The legislative session kicked off on February 4 for a short legislative session that will adjourn on May 6.
KEY TESTIMONY
CWWA testifies on legislative proposals to ensure that our voice is heard! This session, CWWA has testified on the following bills:
SB-145 - Rapid Response to Address Hydrilla in Water Bodies
HB-5153 - Open Space & Watershed Land Acquisition Program
HB-5464 - CTDOT's Encroachment Permit - CWWA opposed
HB-5518 - Dept. of Public Health's Revisions Bill
HB-5334 - Riparian Buffers
SJ-37 - Environmental Rights Amendment - CWWA opposed
LEGISLATIVE STATUS REPORT
CWWA actively tracks legislation affecting water resources and utility operations to provide members with timely information on new and emerging issues affecting water resources and utility operations.
CWWA LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
CWWA's Legislative Committee meets regularly during the legislative session to review and discuss pending legislation affecting the water industry. Membership is open to all utility members and associate members. It's a great way to stay on top of new and emerging compliance issues and connect with your colleagues. Interested in joining, contact CWWA's Executive Director Betsy Gara at [email protected].
CWWA LEGISLATIVE WRAP-UP
Missed the annual meeting in May? You can download a copy of CWWA's Legislative Wrap-Up presented by Nicoletta Blevins, RWA, and Betsy Gara, CWWA. A summary of new laws will be made available in July.
