Section 179-7-003 - SUBMISSION OF PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS Plans and specifications for all major construction, extension or alteration to public water systems must be prepared by an engineer and must be submitted to the Director for review and written approval prior to the beginning of construction, except as provided in 179 NAC 7-004. Upon approval of the plans and specifications the Director will issue a construction permit. A construction permit is valid for a period of two years from the date of issuance. If construction is not started within two years from the issuance of the permit, the owner and/or the engineer must request a time extension in writing prior to the expiration of the construction permit and the Director must approve it with an expiration date in order for it to continue to be valid.
003.01 The plans and specifications: 1. Must be presented in legible form and with a scale of one inch equal to not more than 100 feet on full size drawings to establish construction requirements and facilitate effective review, except that rural water or regional water systems that do not have firefighting capabilities may use a scale of one inch equal to not more than 500 feet;2. Must be submitted by the engineer in triplicate (at least one copy should be in a reduced form of 11"X17" for use by Department staff in the field) and in sufficient time to permit 30 working days for review and comment or approval and with time for the incorporation of changes if required. Systems having an engineer on staff may submit plans and specifications in duplicate;3. May not be amended in a manner that alters the capacity, hydraulic conditions and operation of water system components; functioning of water treatment processes; or water quality before the Director has approved change orders directing such amendments;003.02 Record drawings must be submitted to the Department within one year of the project placement into service date.003.03 Review of Plans and Specifications When review of the plans and specifications does not indicate substantial conformance to Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 71-5301 to 71-5313 or regulations in Title 179 NAC 7, or if inadequate information is provided for a complete review, a comment letter will be issued by the Department to the engineer. The issues identified in the Department's comment letter must be addressed within 60 calendar days from the date of issuance of the comment letter unless the owner and/or the engineer request in writing and the Department approves an extension of time. If the engineer does not respond in writing to the Department's comment letter within 60 calendar days from the issuance of the comment letter, the Department will deny the construction permit for the project. When a project is denied for construction, new sets of plans and specifications, along with a review fee per Title 179 NAC 7-005, must be submitted for review and written approval prior to starting construction.
003.04 The Department may deny approval of plans and specifications for failure to comply with any of the provisions of Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 71-5301 to 71-5313 or 179 NAC 7. The Department will inform the engineer and the public water system owner, in writing, of the factual basis for the denial and the statutory or regulatory provisions supporting the decision. The denial will become final 30 days after the mailing of the notice, unless the public water system owner, within the 30-day period, requests a hearing in writing. The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the Nebraska Administrative Procedure Act and 184 NAC 1, the Department's Rules of Practice and Procedure for Administrative hearings.179 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 7, § 003