Senate Bill 744 - Polluter Pays

• Expands Department of Environmental Quality authority to order persons causing or contributing to water or air pollution to provide alternate or permanent replacement water supplies to affected households.

• Allows the Department to assess polluters for actual and necessary costs incurred by the State in removing, correcting, or abating adverse effects from water or air pollution, with civil action available if costs are not paid within a reasonable time.

• Prohibits electric public utilities from recovering from retail customers any costs related to management of coal combustion residuals in surface impoundments or unlawful discharges from coal ash ponds incurred on or after January 1, 2014, except in cases of force majeure.

• Requires affected households receiving permanent replacement water supplies to be connected to public water systems, with an option for whole-house filtration systems instead, and makes polluters liable for ongoing maintenance of installed filtration systems.

• Appropriates $75,000 in recurring funds from the General Fund to the Department of Environmental Quality to implement the act's requirements, effective upon enactment.