Authority: IC 13-14-8; IC 13-14-9; IC 13-15-1-2; IC 13-15-2-1; IC 13-18-3-1; IC 13-18-4-1

Affected: IC 13-11-2; IC 13-13-5-1; IC 13-18-2

Sec. 2. (a) A person shall not cause or allow the construction, installation, or modification of any facility, equipment, or device for a PWS without having a valid construction permit issued by the commissioner, except for replacement of equipment of similar design and capacity, none of which will change adversely:

(1) the plant operation;

(2) its hydraulic design or waste products; or

(3) the water distribution system design, operation, or capacity;

or where specifically allowed in section 2.1 of this rule.

(b) After the commissioner has granted a construction permit:

(1) no changes in the application, plans, or specifications shall be made other than changes involving the replacement of equipment of similar design and capacity, none of which will change adversely:

(A) the plant operation;

(B) its hydraulic design or waste products; or

(C) the water distribution system design, operation, or capacity;

without first submitting in writing to the commissioner a detailed statement of the proposed changes and receiving an amended construction permit from the commissioner; and

(2) the construction permit shall become void if the construction is not started within one (1) year after the date of issuance of the permit unless the duration of the permit has been extended:

(A) by the commissioner after receiving a written request from the permittee;

(B) before the expiration of the permit; and

(C) with no other changes to the permit, application, plans, or specifications as approved by the commissioner.

(c) The commissioner has the authority to specify in the permit any limits and conditions necessary to meet the issuance requirements of section 4 of this rule.

(d) The commissioner may revoke any construction permit for either of the following reasons:

(1) Noncompliance with the limits and conditions specified in the permit.

(2) Significant and unapproved changes are made in construction that differ from the:

(A) application; or

(B) plans and specifications;

on which the issuance of the permit was based.

(e) The commissioner may issue construction permits for PWS facilities, equipment, or devices that are to be installed or constructed in phases.

(f) To encourage the development of new or more efficient treatment processes, the following types of construction permits may be issued:

(1) Experimental construction permits may be issued by the commissioner for installations, treatment processes, or techniques that have not developed extensive experience or records of use in Indiana, provided the applicant submits evidence that the installation, process, or technique will produce drinking water of satisfactory quality and normal operating pressure at the peak operating flow rate in accordance with this article.

(2) Regular construction permits may be issued for installations, treatment processes, or techniques that have been used for sufficient time to show that the installation, treatment process, or technique will produce drinking water of satisfactory quality and normal operating pressure at the peak operating flow rate in accordance with this article.

(g) The commissioner may issue an emergency construction permit for an emergency condition that is the result of:

(1) a drought;

(2) a storm;

(3) a flood; or

(4) any other natural or manmade disaster.

(h) The following requirements apply to an after-the-fact construction permit:

(1) Except as described in subdivision (2), a PWS that lacks a valid construction permit issued from the department must obtain an after-the-fact construction permit from the commissioner when the PWS is notified by the commissioner of completed or progressing:

(A) construction;

(B) installation; or

(C) modification;

of any facility, equipment, or device.

(2) An after-the-fact construction permit is not required where:

(A) equipment is replaced with equipment of similar design and capacity; and

(B) the replacement done under clause (A) will not change adversely the plant:

(i) operation;

(ii) hydraulic design;

(iii) waste products; or

(iv) water distribution system design, operation, or capacity.

(3) The commissioner may order that no additional construction may commence or continue to progress until the after-the-fact construction permit has been issued to the PWS.

(4) As-built plans and specifications must be submitted to the commissioner according to the following:

(A) A PWS must submit the plans and specifications within one hundred twenty (120) days after notification by the commissioner.

(B) Plans must be certified by a professional engineer registered in Indiana.

(C) Plans must cover all work performed without a valid construction permit issued by the commissioner.

(5) Modifications required by the commissioner after review of the as-built plans and specifications must be made within the time limits specified by the commissioner.

(6) The commissioner may require interim measures to be taken by the PWS during the department's review of the submitted as-built plans and specifications as required under subdivision (4) while considering the issuance of an after-the-fact construction permit, including, but not limited to, boil orders to ensure:

(A) drinking water of satisfactory quality; and

(B) normal operating pressure at the peak operating flow rate;

in accordance with this article.

(7) An after-the-fact construction permit does not relieve a PWS or any other person of liability for construction without a valid permit from the commissioner.

(Water Pollution Control Division; 327 IAC 8-3-2; filed Sep 24, 1987, 3:00 p.m.: 11 IR 709; filed Oct 22, 1991, 5:00 p.m.: 15 IR 224; filed Mar 31, 1999, 1:50 p.m.: 22 IR 2494; errata filed Aug 30, 1999, 12:06 p.m.: 23 IR 25; readopted filed Jan 10, 2001, 3:23 p.m.: 24 IR 1518; filed Apr 24, 2006, 3:00 p.m.: 29 IR 2949; readopted filed Nov 21, 2007, 1:16 p.m.: 20071219-IR-327070553BFA; readopted filed Jul 29, 2013, 9:21 a.m.: 20130828-IR-327130176BFA; readopted filed Jun 14, 2019, 1:59 p.m.: 20190710-IR-327190246BFA; readopted filed Oct 18, 2024, 1:57 p.m.: 20241113-IR-327230810RFA; filed Nov 24, 2025, 9:07 a.m.: 20251224-IR-327240428FRA)