§ 141.155 - Report delivery, reporting, and recordkeeping.

§ 141.155 Report delivery, reporting, and recordkeeping.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 46012, May 24, 2024.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (g) of this section, each community water system must

mail or otherwise

directly deliver

one

a copy of the report to each customer.

(1) Systems must use at a minimum, one of the following forms of delivery:

(i) Mail or hand deliver a paper copy of the report;

(ii) Mail a notification that the report is available on a website via a direct link;

(iii) Email a direct link or electronic version of the report; or

(iv) Another direct delivery method approved in writing by the primacy agency.

(2) Systems using electronic delivery methods in paragraph (a)(1)(ii), (iii), or (iv) of this section must provide a paper copy of the report to any customer upon request. The notification method must prominently display directions for requesting such copy.

(3) For systems that choose to electronically deliver the reports by posting the report to a website and providing a notification either by mail or email:

(i) The report must be publicly available on the website at time notification is made;

(ii) Notifications must prominently display the link and include an explanation of the nature of the link; and

(iii) Systems may use a web page to convey the information required in §§ 141.153, 141.154, and 141.156.

(4) Systems that use a publicly available website to provide reports must maintain public access to the report for no less than 3 years.

(b) The system must make a good faith effort to reach consumers who do not get water bills, using means recommended by the primacy agency. EPA expects that an adequate good faith effort will be tailored to the consumers who are served by the system but are not bill-paying customers, such as renters or workers. A good faith effort to reach consumers

would include

includes a mix of methods

appropriate

to

the particular

reach the broadest possible range of persons served by the water system such as, but not limited to: Posting the reports on the

Internet

internet; mailing reports or postcards with links to

postal patrons in metropolitan areas

the reports to all service addresses and/or postal customers; using an opt in notification system to send emails and/or texts with links to the reports to interested consumers; advertising the availability of the report in the news media and on social media; publication in a local newspaper or newsletter; posting a copy of the report or notice of availability with links (or equivalent, such as Quick Response (QR) codes) in public places such as cafeterias or lunch rooms of public buildings; delivery of multiple copies for distribution by single-biller customers such as apartment buildings or large private employers; delivery to community organizations; holding a public meeting to educate consumers on the reports.

(i) Where a system is aware that it serves a substantial number of non-bill paying consumers, the system is encouraged to directly deliver the reports or notices of availability of the reports to service addresses.

(ii) Where a system is aware of a substantial number of bill-paying consumers without access to electronic forms of the report, the system should use at least one non-electronic form of delivery.

(c) No later than 10 days after the date the system is required to distribute the report to its customers, each community water system must

mail

provide a copy of the report to the primacy agency

, followed within 3 months by

and a certification that the report(s) has/have been distributed to customers, and that the information is correct and consistent with the compliance monitoring data previously submitted to the primacy agency.

(d) No later than the date the system is required to distribute the report to its customers, each community water system must deliver the report to any other agency or clearinghouse identified by the primacy agency.

(e) Each community water system must make its reports available to the public upon request. Systems should make a reasonable effort to provide the reports in an accessible format to anyone who requests an accommodation.

(f) Each community water system serving

100

50,000 or more persons must post its current year's report to a publicly-accessible site on the

Internet

internet.

(g) The Governor of a State or

his

their designee, or the Tribal Leader where the

tribe

Tribe has met the eligibility requirements contained in § 142.72 for the purposes of waiving the mailing requirement, can waive the requirement of paragraph (a) of this section for community water systems serving fewer than 10,000 persons. In consultation with the tribal government, the Regional Administrator may waive the requirement of § 141.155(a) in areas in Indian country where no tribe has been deemed eligible.

(1) Such systems must:

(i) Publish the reports in one or more local newspapers or on one or more local online news sites serving the area in which the system is located;

(ii) Inform the customers that the reports will not be mailed, either in the newspapers in which the reports are published or by other means approved by the State; and

(iii) Make the reports available to the public upon request.

(2) Systems serving 500 or fewer persons may forego the requirements of paragraphs (g)(1)(i) and (ii) of this section if they provide notice that the report is available upon request at least once per year to their customers by mail, door-to-door delivery or by posting in

an appropriate location that the report is available upon request

one or more locations where persons served by the system can reasonably be expected to see it.

(h) Any system subject to this subpart must retain copies of its Consumer Confidence Report for no less than 3 years.

(i) Systems serving 100,000 or more persons, must develop a plan for providing assistance to consumers with limited English proficiency. The system must evaluate the languages spoken by persons with limited English proficiency served by the water system, and the system's anticipated approach to address translation needs. The first plan must be provided to the state with the first report in 2027. Plans must be evaluated annually and updated as necessary and reported with the certification required in paragraph (c) of this section.

(j) Delivery timing and biannual delivery:

(1) Each community water system must distribute reports by July 1 each year. Each report distributed by July 1 must use data collected during, or prior to, the previous calendar year using methods described in paragraph (a) of this section.

(2) Each community water system serving 10,000 or more persons must distribute the report biannually, or twice per calendar year, by December 31 using methods described in paragraph (a) of this section.

(3) Systems required to comply with paragraph (j)(2) of this section, with a violation or action level exceedance that occurred between January 1 and June 30 of the current year, or have received monitoring results from required monitoring under the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule in § 141.40, must include a 6-month update with the second report with the following:

(i) A short description of the nature of the 6-month update and the biannual delivery.

(ii) If a system receives an MCL, MRDL, or treatment technique violation, the 6-month update must include the applicable contaminant section information in § 141.153(d)(4), and a readily understandable explanation of the violation including: the length of the violation, the potential adverse health effects, actions taken by the system to address the violation, and timeframe the system expects to complete those actions. To describe the potential health effects, the system must use the relevant language of appendix A to this subpart.

(iii) If a system receives any other violation, the 6-month update must include the information in § 141.153(f).

(iv) If a system exceeded the lead action level following monitoring conducted between January 1 and June 30 of the current year, the system must include information identified in § 141.153(d)(4)(vi) and (d)(8).

(v) For systems monitoring under § 141.40 that become aware of results for samples collected during the reporting year but were not included in the reports distributed by July 1, the system must include information as required by § 141.153(d)(7).

(i) Systems serving 100,000 or more persons, must develop a plan for providing assistance to consumers with limited English proficiency. The system must evaluate the languages spoken by persons with limited English proficiency served by the water system, and the system's anticipated approach to address translation needs. The first plan must be provided to the state with the first report in 2027. Plans must be evaluated annually and updated as necessary and reported with the certification required in paragraph (c) of this section.

(j) Delivery timing and biannual delivery:

(1) Each community water system must distribute reports by July 1 each year. Each report distributed by July 1 must use data collected during, or prior to, the previous calendar year using methods described in paragraph (a) of this section.

(2) Each community water system serving 10,000 or more persons must distribute the report biannually, or twice per calendar year, by December 31 using methods described in paragraph (a) of this section.

(3) Systems required to comply with paragraph (j)(2) of this section, with a violation or action level exceedance that occurred between January 1 and June 30 of the current year, or have received monitoring results from required monitoring under the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule in § 141.40, must include a 6-month update with the second report with the following:

(i) A short description of the nature of the 6-month update and the biannual delivery.

(ii) If a system receives an MCL, MRDL, or treatment technique violation, the 6-month update must include the applicable contaminant section information in § 141.153(d)(4), and a readily understandable explanation of the violation including: the length of the violation, the potential adverse health effects, actions taken by the system to address the violation, and timeframe the system expects to complete those actions. To describe the potential health effects, the system must use the relevant language of appendix A to this subpart.

(iii) If a system receives any other violation, the 6-month update must include the information in § 141.153(f).

(iv) If a system exceeded the lead action level following monitoring conducted between January 1 and June 30 of the current year, the system must include information identified in § 141.153(d)(4)(vi) and (d)(8).

(v) For systems monitoring under § 141.40 that become aware of results for samples collected during the reporting year but were not included in the reports distributed by July 1, the system must include information as required by § 141.153(d)(7).

[63 FR 44526, Aug. 19, 1998, as amended at 65 FR 26023, May 4, 2000; 89 FR 46012, May 24, 2024]