Committee reviews draft to create general permits for potable water and wastewater system connections

Legislative counsel walked the Natural Resources & Energy committee through draft 02:12 on Friday, proposing to shift the law from broad municipal delegation toward a framework of general permits for potable water and wastewater system connections.

The draft changes the bill’s purpose so it “allows review of potable water supply and large system connections pursuant to general permits issued under the chapter,” counsel said. The measure directs the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) secretary to adopt a general permit specifically covering water system connections that would otherwise require a permit under the chapter and to publish an implementing manual with standards and designer guidance.

Counsel emphasized the draft preserves a role for licensed professional designers: the statute already permits the secretary to give deference to a designer’s certification, and the general-permit approach would continue to use that deference in appropriate cases. “Secretary shall adopt the general permit of potable water supply in which water system connections that require a permit under the chapter” are covered, counsel said during the committee review.

The draft removes language that previously authorized full delegation of permitting authority to municipalities, but it retains conditional, partial delegation. Under the proposal, the secretary may delegate technical review to a municipality only when the municipality is qualified to conduct such reviews, has municipal authorization in writing and controls the relevant service lines. Delegated municipalities would be required to incorporate the general-permit standards and submit documentation of approved projects to ANR.

The draft allows delegated municipalities to charge an applicant a municipal fee for the cost of their services but requires a $100 filing fee when municipalities submit approved documentation to ANR for the state record. Counsel explained the municipal fee level is left to local discretion in the draft, while the $100 is intended to cover ANR’s electronic-permitting processing costs.

On implementation, ANR staff (Brian Redmond) told the committee the agency expects to need roughly 8–12 months to complete a design manual and additional time to prepare the general-permit materials and reporting systems. The draft sets target dates for publication and acceptance: publish the general permit by 12/01/2027 and begin accepting certifications under the general permit on 01/01/2028.

Committee members asked follow-up questions about which connections would still require an individual permit, how the manual should define “adequate capacity,” and the process for cleaning up references to full municipal delegation in existing rules. Counsel said some rule cross-references will be repealed by the session law and that ANR will update rules line-by-line at the next rulemaking cycle.

The committee did not take a final vote on the draft; members signaled further questions for ANR and requested additional testimony at the next meeting.