(a) Any person who applies to the Department of Public Health for an exception to the separating distance requirements for the repair or new construction of a subsurface sewage disposal system relative to a water supply well, shall notify all owners of properties with water supply wells affected by the exception request of such application by certified mail, return receipt requested. The notice shall include a copy of the application.

(b) A decision approving such an application shall not be an affirmative defense for the owner of the subsurface sewage disposal system to any claim of liability for damages relating to contamination caused by the proximity of a subsurface sewage disposal system to a water supply well.