Rulemaking Activities—Office of Drinking Water

SHB 2246 Title 70 RCW Updates

On February 22, 2022, the Department of Health (department) held a virtual public hearing and adopted the proposed amendments updating multiple Washington Administrative Code (WAC) chapters per requirements of Substitute House Bill 2246 (SHB 2246), Chapter 20, Laws of 2020.

SHB 2246 reorganized the statutory chapters of Title 70 Revised Code of Washington (RCW) into two titles to better sort the chapters according to public health and safety, and environmental health and safety as follows.

• Title 70 RCW, Public Health and Safety, and
• Title 70A RCW, Environmental Health and Safety.

The adopted rules corrected the RCW citations that were affected* by the reorganization of Title 70 RCW into two titles and included non-substantive clarifying edits.

The rule will be effective on April 9, 2022

CR-103P Rule-Making Order (PDF)

For more information contact:

Brad Burnham in the Office of Drinking Water or call 360-236-3102.

Nina Helpling in the Office of the Assistant Secretary or call 360-236-3065.

*Complete list of affected WAC chapters.

Office of the Assistant Secretary—EPH

• Chapter 246-203 WAC, General Sanitation     
• Chapter 246-03 WAC, State Environmental Policy Act—Guidelines    
• Chapter 246-10 WAC, Administrative Procedure—Adjudicative Proceedings     

Office of Environmental Public Health Sciences 

• Chapter 246-205 WAC, Decontamination of Illegal Manufacturing or Storage Sites      

Office of Radiation and Protection

• Chapter 246-220 WAC, Radiation Protection—General Provisions    
• Chapter 246-224 WAC, Radiation Protection—Radiation Machine Assembly and Registration     
• Chapter 246-225A WAC, Radiation Safety and Diagnostic Image Quality Standards for Dental Facilities     
• Chapter 246-226 WAC, Radiation Protection—Computed Tomography     
• Chapter 246-229 WAC, Radiation Protection—Particle Accelerators    
• Chapter 246-236 WAC, Licenses and Radiation Safety Requirements for Irradiators     
• Chapter 246-247 WAC, Radiation Protection—Air Emissions     YES
• Chapter 246-252 WAC, Radiation Protection—Uranium or Thorium Milling    
• Chapter 246-254 WAC, Radiation Protection—Fees    

Office of Environmental Health and Safety 

• Chapter 246-272A WAC, On-Site Sewage Systems     In Progress
• Chapter 246-272B WAC, Large On-site Sewage System Regulation     
• Chapter 246-273 WAC, On-site Sewage System Additives    
• Chapter 246-274 WAC, Greywater Reuse for Subsurface Irrigation     

Office of Drinking Water

• Chapter 246-290 WAC, Group A Public Water Supplies    All but subsection 990
• Chapter 246-291 WAC, Group B Public Water Systems    
• Chapter 246-292 WAC, Waterworks Operator Certification     
• Chapter 246-293 WAC, Water System Coordination Act    
• Chapter 246-294 WAC, Drinking Water Operating Permits    
• Chapter 246-295 WAC, Satellite System Management Agencies     
• Chapter 246-296 WAC, Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program    

PFAS Rule Update

The State Board of Health (board) adopted rule changes to chapter 246-290 WAC, Group A Public Water Supplies and chapter 246-390 WAC, Drinking Water Laboratory Certification and Data Reporting. The newly adopted rules becomes effective on January 1, 2022.

If you have questions about the new rule requirements or about how to comply, see the documents linked below. If you still have questions about the Group A rule changes, please reach out to your regional office of drinking water for assistance. If you have questions about the lab rule, please reach out to our laboratory liaison.

Group A Water Supplies Rulemaking Documents (chapter 246-290 WAC)

• Notice of Rule Adoption and Final Rule Language (PDF)
  • Rulemaking Overview (PDF)
  • Summary of Rule Changes by Section (PDF)
• PFAS Toxicological Assessment 331-673 (PDF)
• Criteria to Adopt State Action Levels (PDF)
• Approach to Setting State Action Levels (PDF)
• Monitoring, Follow-up Actions, and Public Notice (PDF)
  • ​Monitoring Flow Chart 331-668 (PDF)
• Preliminary Significant Legislative Rule Analysis: Chapter 246-290 WAC Group A Public Water Supplies (PDF)
• Preliminary Small Business Economic Impact Statement: Chapter 246-290 WAC Group A Public Water Supplies (PDF)

For more information about the Group A rule, contact Jocelyn Jones at 360-236-3020.

Lab Certification and Data Reporting Rulemaking Documents

• Notice of Rule Adoption and Final Rule Language (PDF)
  • Summary of Rule Changes (PDF)
• Preliminary Significant Legislative Rule Analysis: Chapter 246-390 WAC Group A Public Water Supplies (PDF)
• Preliminary Small Business Economic Impact Statement: Chapter 246-390 WAC (PDF)
• Lab Reporting Guidance--Paper Submittal 331-530 (PDF)
• Lab Reporting Guidance--Electronic Submittal 331-289 (PDF)

For more information about the lab rule, please contact Nina Helpling at 360-263-3065.

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More Resources

• Drinking Water Rules
• Sign-up for rulemaking e-mail list
• What is rulemaking?
• Formal Agreement with EPA and State Statutory Authority
• Department of Health Rulemaking Activities
• Department of Health Rules Open for Public Comment