Requirements for Public Advisory Notifications

(1) A permittee shall utilize metering to determine or discover when a discharge described in 314 CMR 16.03(1)(a) or (b) occurs at its outfall and requires a public advisory notification, unless the permittee requests authorization, and receives written approval from the Commissioner, to utilize another method in accordance with 314 CMR 16.04(2). (2) The permittee shall apply to the Commissioner for approval of any method other than, or in addition to metering to determine or discover a discharge described in 314 CMR 16.03(1)(a), within the timeframes established in 314 CMR 16.04 and in accordance with the process described in 314 CMR 16.06. The permittee shall apply to the Commissioner for approval of any method other than, or in addition to metering to determine or discover a discharge described in 314 CMR 16.03(1)(b), within the timeframes established in 314 CMR 16.04, by submitting a request to the Department and providing information to support that request. The Commissioner shall approve the proposed method if the Commissioner determines that the permittee can obtain reliable information by such method about any discharge from its outfall and issue public advisory notifications within the timeframes established in 314 CMR 16.04. If the proposed method or the current discharge detection capabilities of the permittee’s outfall will not provide timely or reliable information, the Commissioner may extend the time for a permittee to issue a public advisory notification, provided that such time shall be extended only as necessary and not more than 24 hours after discovery of the discharge. A permittee that has been granted an extension shall make necessary improvements to its outfall, system, or methodology, if any, in the timeframe specified in the Commissioner’s approval, to detect or discover an outfall discharge within the timeframes established in 314 CMR 16.04. The Commissioner’s approval of an alternate detection method, or extension of notification timeframe may be provided within the approval of a CSO Public Notification Plan, in accordance with 314 CMR 16.06. (3) A permittee shall establish and maintain a public website to post public advisory notifications when issued and to receive requests from the public to subscribe to and receive public advisory notifications by email or text message. When a permittee issues a public advisory notification, in addition to the information required to be included in the notification by 314 CMR 16.04(10), the permittee shall include information on its website about any treatment to disinfect pathogens and remove solids and other pollutants from the discharge or overflow, and links to websites providing information on the closure or advisory status of shellfish growing areas, bathing beaches, or other water resource areas potentially affected by the discharge or overflow. (4) A permittee required by 314 CMR 16.03 to issue public advisory notifications shall do so as soon as possible, but no later than two hours, after discovery of a discharge or overflow, unless the Commissioner has approved in writing a longer time period in accordance with 314 CMR 16.04(2). (a) The public advisory notification, and any updates required by 314 CMR 16.04(7) and (8), shall be posted on the permittee's website and issued electronically to: the Department; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; the Massachusetts Department of Public Health; the municipal board of health or the health department where the outfall or overflow is located; the board of health or the health department and shellfish constables (if applicable) for any municipality directly impacted by the discharge or overflow; any person who subscribed to receive such public advisory notifications by email or text messaging; the public water supplier(s) where drinking water supplies may be affected; the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries where shellfish growing areas may be affected; the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation when its water recreation properties may be affected; the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife when its boat ramps and fishing piers may be affected; and operators of any potentially affected bathing beaches, as defined in 105 CMR 445.00: Minimum Standards for Bathing Beaches (State Sanitary Code: Chapter VII). (b) The public advisory notification, and any updates required by 314 CMR 16.04(7) and (8), shall also be issued to at least the two largest news organizations that report on local news in municipalities near the outfall. In municipalities with environmental justice populations, if neither of the two largest news organizations specifically serves the environmental justice populations, at least one additional news organization that primarily serves the environmental justice population(s) within the impacted municipalities must be notified. (5) A permittee shall take adequate, appropriate, and timely actions in accordance with the permittee's approved Public Notification Plan, as applicable, to determine or discover that a discharge or overflow from its outfall or sewer system is occurring each time the permittee receives information from a flow meter, model run, or other Commissioner-approved method for monitoring, detecting, or simulating a discharge or overflow from its outfall or sewer system. Such actions shall include the following: (a) CSO Outfalls. 1. For a CSO outfall that is monitored with metering equipment, each time a permittee receives communication of a potential discharge from the meter deployment, the permittee shall take all actions set forth in the permittee's Department-approved CSO Public Notification Plan to confirm the occurrence of a discharge including, without limitation, review of meter data, site inspection, or other approved methods. In no event shall a permittee spend longer than two hours to confirm a discharge, commencing from the time a communication is sent by a meter deployment, if the permittee has operational staff on site 24 hours per day, seven days per week. In no event shall a permittee spend longer than four hours to confirm a discharge, commencing from the time a communication is sent by a meter deployment, if the permittee does not have operational staff on site 24 hours per day, seven days per week. If a permittee is unable to confirm that a discharge occurred within the timeframes established in 314 CMR 16.04, it shall presume that a discharge has been discovered. 2. For a CSO outfall where modeling is used to predict the occurrence of a discharge, a permittee shall be deemed to have discovered a discharge when results of model simulations indicate the occurrence of a discharge or when model-developed thresholds have been triggered for rainfall data, sewer system flow data, or other information that predicts a potential CSO discharge will occur or is occurring. 3. For a CSO outfall where the Commissioner approves a method other than metering or modeling for predicting the occurrence of a discharge, the method shall be described in the CSO Public Notification Plan and implemented as approved by the Department. (b) SSO Discharge or Overflow. A permittee shall determine or discover the occurrence of an actual SSO discharge or overflow, or the potential for a SSO discharge or overflow requiring a public advisory notification described in 314 CMR 16.03(1)(c) through (e) based on information reasonably available to the permittee, such as a report of a discharge or an overflow made by any person, site inspection, pump station or level alarms or other relevant information. In no event shall a permittee take longer than four hours to confirm a potential SSO discharge or overflow, commencing from the time a permittee initially receives relevant information. If a permittee is unable to confirm that a potential discharge or overflow actually occurred within the timeframe established in 314 CMR 16.04, it shall presume that a discharge or overflow has been discovered. (c) Partially Treated Wastewater. For any discharge of partially treated wastewater from a wastewater treatment facility, a permittee shall issue the required public advisory notification within two hours of the time when the permittee begins diverting a portion of the flow around a treatment process, or within two hours of the permittee becoming aware of a failure within the treatment process that is resulting in discharge of partially treated wastewater. (6) The Department may allow a permittee with a combined sewer system to issue a combined public advisory notification, in the manner required by 314 CMR 16.04, when a wet weather event or other related occurrence involves more than one of the permittee's outfalls discharging into the same water body or waterway. Permittees shall not issue a combined public advisory notification except as authorized in a CSO Public Notification Plan approved by the Department. (7) A permittee shall issue a public advisory notification update eight hours after the initial public advisory notification is issued. This update: (a) shall clearly indicate that a discharge or overflow is ongoing or has ceased; (b) if it has ceased, shall indicate the approximate time of cessation; (c) shall update any information that has changed since the initial public advisory notification; and (d) shall be issued to all parties required to receive notifications under 314 CMR 16.04(4). If the permittee has reported that the discharge or overflow has ceased at the time of the initial public advisory notification, then an update is not required eight hours later. (8) For any event for which public advisory notification is required pursuant to 314 CMR 16.03 and is still ongoing eight hours after the initial public advisory notification is issued, a permittee shall continue to issue public advisory notification updates every eight hours if the discharge is still ongoing and shall issue a public advisory notification within two hours after the discharge or overflow ceases or is projected to cease, to all parties required to receive notifications under 314 CMR 16.04(4), unless the Department requires otherwise. The notice of cessation shall clearly indicate the approximate time of cessation. (9) Within 48 hours of issuing a public advisory notification, if the permittee becomes aware that no discharge or overflow actually occurred, the permittee shall issue a retraction of the public advisory notification to all parties required to receive notifications under 314 CMR 16.04(4). (10) A permittee shall include the following information in the public advisory notification, unless such information is not available despite the permittee's best efforts to obtain the information prior to issuing the public advisory notification: (a) Description of discharge or overflow location(s), and outfall number(s), if applicable; (b) Approximate date and time the discharge or overflow began, and its duration; (c) Estimated volume of the discharge or overflow based on the average discharge or overflow from data reported to the Department and/or EPA for the prior three calendar years, taking into consideration historical information for the projected rainfall event, if possible, as set forth in the permittee’s CSO Public Notification Plan; (d) Identity of the permittee; (e) Whether, at the time of notification, the discharge or overflow has ceased, and if so, the approximate time and date that the discharge or overflow ended; (f) Waters and land areas, including names of water bodies and municipalities, affected or potentially affected by the discharge or overflow; (g) Precautionary measures to be taken by the public, including the following language: “Avoid contact with these water bodies for 48 hours after the discharge or overflow ceases due to increased health risks from bacteria and other pollutants. See website for more information on whether specific resource areas, such as bathing beaches, are affected.”; (h) Link to the permittee's website for additional information on discharges and overflows, and its CSO and/or SSO abatement program(s); and (i) A statement that the discharge or overflow consists, or likely consists, of untreated or partially treated sewage and waste. (11) Public advisory notifications shall be translated into, or provide access to translations in, other languages, as appropriate, in municipalities that are directly impacted by the discharge or overflow, and that have neighborhoods identified as environmental justice populations due to lacking English language proficiency. (12) Without limitation, public advisory notifications shall be made in accordance with the requirements of 314 CMR 16.00, approved public notification plans, and other Department approvals. (13) Compliance with the notification requirements of 314 CMR 16.00 does not relieve a permittee of their obligations under 40 CFR 122.41, 314 CMR 3.19: Standard Permit Conditions, 314 CMR 12.03(8), or other applicable federal and state laws.