STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE, No. 647

with Senate Floor Amendments

(Proposed by Senators GREENSTEIN and SINGLETON)

ADOPTED: JULY 30, 2020

      The Senate floor amendments:

      (1) amend the “Water Quality Accountability Act,” P.L.2017, c.133 (C.58:31-1 et seq.)  to provide that the law applies to public community water systems, rather than public water systems;

      (2) add a definition for the term “public community water system”;

      (3) add a definition for the term “New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell”;

      (4) require that the New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell (NJCCIC) develop requirements for water purveyors’ cybersecurity programs, rather than the Board of Public Utilities (BPU);

      (5) require that water purveyors submit their cybersecurity plans and revisions only to the NJCCIC, and not to the BPU or the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP);

      (6) provide that the NJCCIC may cause to be audited certain public community water systems, and require that audits be conducted by a qualified and independent cybersecurity company at the water purveyor’s expense;

      (7) require water purveyors, following a cybersecurity audit, to submit the audit and any corrective action plans to the NJCCIC;

      (8)  require water purveyors to report cybersecurity incidents to the NJCCIC, and not to the BPU or the DEP;

      (9) require that reports of cybersecurity incidents to the NJCCIC be made “promptly,” instead of “immediately” after an employee is made aware of an incident;

      (10) provide that the DEP may cause to be audited certain public community water systems, rather than conducting an audit itself, and that the DEP may require a water purveyor to pay the cost of the audit;

      (11) provide that a water purveyor’s water main renewal program may be designed to achieve another, appropriate replacement cycle, rather than a 150-year or shorter replacement cycle);

      (12) specify that dedicated funding required to address and remediate the highest priority infrastructure projects by a water purveyor on an annual basis be adequate for that purpose;

      (13) require that the a water purveyor submit a report based on its asset management plan to the DEP each year, rather than every three years;

      (14) provide that a water purveyor’s compliance with the requirement to report on its asset management plan may be demonstrated through the submission of evidence of the completion of a detailed, comprehensive planning study or certain other studies;

      (15) provide that the detailed comprehensive planning study and certain other studies conducted by a water purveyor are not government records, and are not required to be made available for public inspection;

      (16) require each water purveyor to revise its asset management plan to include a comprehensive inventory, mapping, and evaluation of the condition of certain asset classes belonging to the public community water system;

      (17) require that a water purveyor’s level of service goals, required to be established under the bill, be based upon industry standards such as those established by the American Water Works Association;

      (18) remove the requirement in the bill that a water purveyor include in its asset management plan the life cycle costs of the public community water system’s assets; and

      (19) make technical changes to the bill.