Legislative Update 12/29/2016

Massachusetts Senate Bill SB2124 – Joint Committee on Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure – An Act relative to performance of work on hydrants and certain components of fire protection sprinkler systems.  On 12/27/16 – this bill was laid before the Governor .  He has 10 days to sign or veto.    If he doesn’t it will automatically become law at the end of the 10 days.

The Act reads as follows:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1 Chapter 146 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 88 the

2 following section:-

3 Section 88A. The sprinkler fitter’s examining and licensing requirements, under sections

4 81to 86, inclusive, shall not apply to individuals who are (1) regularly in the employ of a public

5 water system or utility contractors approved and working for the public water system and (2)

6 performing sprinkler fitting work related to the emergency installation and repair, and the testing

7 and maintenance of hydrants and appurtenant pipes and valves that are within the jurisdiction of

8 the public water system; provided, that this exemption shall only apply to work related to

9 hydrants and appurtenant pipes and valves and shall not include work on any other component of

10 a fire protection sprinkler system. Individuals who are regularly in the employ of a public water

11 system or utility contractors approved and working for the public water system may perform

12 sprinkler fitting work related to the installation, repair, testing and maintenance of hydrants and

13 appurtenant pipes and valves of a multi-purpose system within the jurisdiction of the public

14 water system, but shall not include work on any other component of a fire protection sprinkler

15 system. The department may promulgate rules and regulations to enforce this section.

 

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The USEPA has issued the final General Permit for Dewatering Discharges, see file attached to this page. This affects trench dewatering activities by water utilities.

 

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing an interim final rule to implement a new program authorized under Subtitle C of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA), which is referred to as the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014 (WIFIA). WIFIA authorizes EPA to provide secured (direct) loans and loan guarantees to eligible water infrastructure projects. Projects will be evaluated and selected by the Administrator of the EPA based on criteria set out in this rule using weightings established in a separate Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). Following project selection, individual credit agreements will be developed through negotiations between the project sponsors and EPA. EPA is soliciting comments on an interim final rule that establishes the guidelines for the new credit assistance program for water and infrastructure projects and the process by which EPA will administer such credit assistance. The interim final rule primarily restates and clarifies statutory language while establishing approaches to specific procedural issues left to EPA’s discretion. This interim final rule pertains to a matter involving a federal loan and loan guarantee program and is therefore exempt from the rulemaking requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act. As such, EPA is issuing this rule as interim final.  See https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2016-30194/p-3 .

 

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