Section 327IAC8-2.1-11. Contents of the public notice

   (a) When a public water system violates a drinking water regulation or has a situation requiring public notification, each public notice must include the following elements:

(1) A description of the violation or situation, including the contaminant or contaminants of concern and the contaminant level or levels as applicable.

(2) When the violation or situation occurred.

(3) Any potential adverse health effects from the violation or situation, including the standard language under subsection (c)(1) or (c)(2), whichever is applicable.

(4) The population at risk, including subpopulations particularly vulnerable if exposed to the contaminant in their drinking water.

(5) Whether alternative water supplies should be used.

(6) What actions consumers should take, including when they should seek medical help, if known.

(7) What the system is doing to correct the violation or situation.

(8) When the water system expects to return to compliance or resolve the situation.

(9) The name, business address, and phone number of the water system owner, operator, or designee of the public water system as a source of additional information concerning the notice.

(10) A statement to encourage the notice recipient to distribute the public notice to other persons served, using the standard language under subsection (c)(3), where applicable.

  (b) The following requirements need to be included when a public notice is presented:

(1) Each public notice must do the following:

(A) Must be displayed in a conspicuous way when printed or posted.

(B) Must not contain overly technical language or very small print.

(C) Must not be formatted in a way that defeats the purpose of the notice.

(D) Must not contain language that nullifies the purpose of the notice.

(2) In communities with a large proportion of non-English speaking residents, in which twenty percent (20%) or more of the residents speak the same language other than English, the notice must contain information in the appropriate language or languages regarding the importance of the notice or contain a telephone number or address where such residents may contact the system to obtain a translated copy of the notice or assistance in the appropriate language or languages.

  (c) Public water systems are required to include the following standard language in their public notice:

(1) Standard health effects language for MCL or MRDL violations and treatment technique violations. Public water systems must include in each public notice the health effects language specified in section 17 of this rule corresponding to each MCL, MRDL, and treatment technique violation listed in section 16 of this rule.

(2) Public water systems must include standard language in their notice about monitoring and testing procedure violations, including language necessary to fill in the blanks, for all monitoring and testing procedure violations listed in section 16 of this rule. The standard language must state, "We are required to monitor your drinking water for specific contaminants on a regular basis. Results of regular monitoring are an indicator of whether or not your drinking water meets health standards. During [compliance period], we "did not monitor or test" or "did not complete all monitoring or testing" for [contaminant(s)], and therefore cannot be sure of the quality of your drinking water during that time.".

(3) Public water systems must include standard language in their notice to encourage the distribution of the public notice to all persons served. Where applicable, the standard language must state, "Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.".

(Water Pollution Control Division; 327 IAC 8-2.1-11; filed Nov 20, 2001, 10:20 a.m.: 25 IR 1112)