HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2991        FILED ON: 1/19/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 883

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

David Allen Robertson

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to industrial wastewater discharge of dental facilities.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2991        FILED ON: 1/19/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 883

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act relative to industrial wastewater discharge of dental facilities.

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

(a) As used in this act, the following terms shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-

“Dental facility ”, any institution, clinic, office or location where dentistry is practiced, as defined in section 50 of chapter 112 of the General Laws.

“Industrial wastewater”, waste in liquid form resulting from any process of industry, trade or business, regardless of volume or pollutant content. Waste in liquid form consisting of only sewage is not industrial wastewater.

“Septic system”, a subsurface disposal system installed in accordance with cmr310.15 title V.

“Sewage”, means water containing human or animal wastes from residences, buildings, industrial establishments or other places.

“Zone II ”, an area of an aquifer that contributes water to a well under the most severe pumping and recharge conditions that can be realistically anticipated (180 days of pumping at approved yield, with no recharge from precipitation). It is bounded by the groundwater divides that result from pumping the well and by the contact of the aquifer with less permeable materials such as till or bedrock. In some cases, streams or lakes may act as recharge boundaries. In all cases, Zone II shall extend upgradient to its point of intersection with prevailing hydrogeologic boundaries (a groundwater flow divide, a contact with till or bedrock, or a recharge boundary). The Zone II must include the entire Zone I area. For springs, the Zone II is that area of an aquifer, which contributes water to the spring under naturally flowing conditions.

(b) A dental facility, located in a Zone II of a public water supply, which discharges industrial wastewater into a properly designed and installed septic system, shall obtain verification , within 120 days of the effective date of this act and verified every 5 years, from the municipal board of health, municipal health department or regional health district exercising powers and duties over the municipality or district where the dental facility is located, that the dental facility has no standing order to replace or repair the septic tank.

(c) The regulations promulgated by the division of water pollution control and codified at 314 CMR 18.01 to 18.11, inclusive, shall not apply to dental facilities .