The BPCCC rule was originally adopted with stakeholder consensus in 2015 and became effective in 2016. Minor modifications to the rule were made with stakeholder engagement in 2018 and 2020. Three major milestones took effect in 2022. The first, is the final milestone for the staged implementation of the BPCCC surveys that started in 2016 that required suppliers to achieve the survey compliance ratio of 1.0 by December 31, 2021. The second major milestone that took effect in 2022 is the final backflow prevention assembly annual testing compliance ratio must be > 0.90 starting December 31, 2021 and each year after. The third major milestone was the “90 Day Requirement.” This means that beginning January 1, 2022, for each backflow prevention assembly not tested during the previous calendar year, the supplier must ensure the backflow prevention assembly is tested no later than 90 days after the active date of the backflow prevention assembly in the following calendar year.
Field Services has been identifying violations during sanitary surveys related to these requirements in 2022 and numerous water suppliers have voiced concerns about the requirements and the corresponding Tier 2 public notification requirements. The Division heard these concerns and initiated an update of the rule focused on streamlining the sections to eliminate the tiered implementation structure that has passed, combining the assembly and method test ratios and addressing the “100% compliance” issue. The rulemaking will be scheduled for August 2023, with an effective date in 2024, however the stakeholder process will start in November 2022.
If you are interested in participating, please register for the stakeholder email list on our website here. Thank you for your engagement in the process!
➽ Heather Young, PE, CWP, Field Services Section Manager
➽ Tyson Ingels, PE, Lead Drinking Water Engineer
➽ Clayton Moores, PE, Field Unit I Manager
➽ Cameron Wilkins, PE, Field Unit II Manager
