Section 611.902  Tier 1 Public Notice: Form, Manner, and Frequency of Notice

a)         Violations or Situations That Require a Tier 1 Public Notice.  This subsection (a) lists the violation categories and other situations requiring a Tier 1 public notice.  Appendix G identifies the tier assignment for each specific violation or situation. The violation categories include:

1)         Violation of the MCL for E. coli (as specified in Section 611.325(c)).

2)         Violation of the MCL for nitrate, nitrite, or total nitrate and nitrite, as defined in Section 611.301, or when the water supplier fails to take a confirmation sample within 24 hours after the supplier's receipt of the results from the first sample showing an exceedance of the nitrate or nitrite MCL, as specified in Section 611.606(b).

3)         Exceedance of the nitrate MCL by a non-CWS supplier, if permitted to exceed the MCL by the Agency under Section 611.300(d), as required under Section 611.909.

4)         Violation of the MRDL for chlorine dioxide, as defined in Section 611.313(a), when one or more samples taken in the distribution system the day following an exceedance of the MRDL at the entrance of the distribution system exceed the MRDL, or when the water supplier does not take the required samples in the distribution system, as specified in Section 611.383(c)(2)(A).

5)         This subsection (a)(5) refers to a violation of the former turbidity standard of Section 611.320, which the Board repealed because it applied to no suppliers in Illinois.  This statement maintains structural consistency with the federal regulations.

6)         Violation of the Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR), Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (IESWTR), or Long Term 1 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT1ESWTR) treatment technique requirement resulting from a single exceedance of the maximum allowable turbidity limit (as identified in Appendix G), if the Agency determines after consultation that a Tier 1 public notice is required or if consultation does not take place within 24 hours after the supplier learns of the violation.

7)         Occurrence of a waterborne disease outbreak, as defined in Section 611.101, or other waterborne emergency (such as a failure or significant interruption in key water treatment processes, a natural disaster that disrupts the water supply or distribution system, or a chemical spill or unexpected loading of possible pathogens into the source water that significantly increases the potential for drinking water contamination).

8)         Detection of E. coli, enterococci, or coliphage in source water samples, as specified in Section 611.802(a) and (b).

9)         Other violations or situations with significant potential to have serious adverse effects on human health as a result of short-term exposure, as determined by the Agency in a SEP.

10)       Exceeding the lead action level, as Section 141.80(c) specifies.

b)         When the Tier 1 Public Notice Is to Be Provided. Additional Steps Required.  A PWS supplier must do the following:

1)         It must provide a public notice as soon as practical but no later than 24 hours after the supplier learns of the violation;

2)         It must initiate consultation with the Agency as soon as practical, but no later than 24 hours after the PWS supplier learns of the violation or situation, to determine additional public notice requirements; and

3)         It must comply with any additional public notification requirements (including any repeat notices or direction on the duration of the posted notices) that are established as a result of the consultation with the Agency.  Such requirements may include the timing, form, manner, frequency, and content of repeat notices (if any) and other actions designed to reach all persons served.

c)         The Form and Manner of the Public Notice.  A PWS supplier  must provide the notice within 24 hours in a form and manner reasonably calculated to reach all persons served.  The form and manner used by the PWS supplier are to fit the specific situation, but must be designed to reach residential, transient, and non-transient users of the water system.  In order to reach all persons served, a water supplier is to use, at a minimum, one or more of the following forms of delivery:

1)         Appropriate broadcast media (such as radio and television);

2)         Posting of the notice in conspicuous locations throughout the area served by the water supplier;

3)         Hand delivery of the notice to persons served by the water supplier; or

4)         Another delivery method approved in writing by the Agency in a SEP.

BOARD NOTE:  This Section derives from 40 CFR 141.202.

(Source:  Amended at 47 Ill. Reg. 16486, effective November 2, 2023)