TITLE 12 CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Section 5. Water Resources, 12-5-1 through 12-5-586.

ARTICLE 2 CONTROL OF WATER POLLUTION AND SURFACE-WATER USE

12-5-30.1. Major spills by publicly owned treatment works.

1. As used in this Code section, the term:
   1. "Board" means the Board of Natural Resources.
   2. "Consistently exceeding an effluent limitation" means a POTW's exceeding the POTW's assigned effluent limitation for at least five days out of each seven-day period during a total period of 180 consecutive days.
   3. "Major spill" means the discharge of pollutants into the waters of this state by a POTW at a rate substantially exceeding the effluent limitation of the POTW, and such term shall be more specifically defined by regulations of the board.
   4. "Monitoring" means the systematic measurement of chemical and biological pollutants present in waters of this state which are affected by a major spill or by consistently exceeding an effluent limitation.
   5. "Publicly Owned Treatment Works" or "POTW" means the city, town, county, district, association, or other public body created by or pursuant to state law or federal law that owns and operates a treatment works and, where appropriate, shall include the treatment works and any sewers or other appurtenances that convey waste water to the treatment works.
2. By not later than January 1, 1990, the board shall provide by rules or regulations for the following:
   1. For immediate notification to the division of a major spill by a POTW;
   2. For the POTW responsible for the major spill to cause to be published in the legal organ of the county where the spill occurred a notice of such spill, such notice to be published within not more than seven days after the date of the spill;
   3. For the division to provide notice of the major spill within 24 hours thereafter to every county, municipality, or other public agency whose public water supply is within a distance of 20 miles downstream and to any others which could potentially be affected by the spill.
   4. For independent monitoring of waters affected by a major spill or by consistently exceeding an effluent limitation, with such monitoring being at the expense of the POTW, for a period of at least one year and for the results of such monitoring to be regularly provided to all counties, municipalities, and other public agencies using the affected waters as a source of public water supply.

(Code 1981, §12-5-30.1, enacted by Ga. L. 1989, p. 280, § 1.)