40 CFR Part 142, Subpart B - Primary Enforcement Responsibility

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) is finalizing revisions to the 1989 Total Coliform Rule (TCR). The Revised Total Coliform Rule (RTCR) offers a meaningful opportunity for greater public health protection beyond the 1989 TCR. Under the RTCR there is no longer a monthly maximum contaminant level (MCL) violation for multiple total coliform detections. Instead, the revisions require systems that have an indication of coliform contamination in the distribution system to assess the problem and take corrective action that may reduce cases of illnesses and deaths due to potential fecal contamination and waterborne pathogen exposure. This final rule also updates provisions in other rules that reference analytical methods and other requirements in the 1989 TCR (e.g., Public Notification and Ground Water Rules). These revisions are in accordance with the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments, which require EPA to review and revise, as appropriate, each national primary drinking water regulation no less often than every six years. These revisions also conform with the SDWA provision that requires any revision to “maintain, or provide for greater, protection of the health of persons.” As with the 1989 TCR, the RTCR applies to all public water systems.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting a public meeting on November 15, 2012, concerning monitoring, binning and microbial toolbox information as part of the regulatory review of the Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2 rule). At this meeting, EPA plans to discuss and solicit public input on data and information related to several topics. The first topic is the results of the first round of LT2 Cryptosporidium monitoring that are used to determine which one of the four categories ( i.e., bins) a public drinking water system (PWS) should be placed. The second topic is the implications of predicted occurrence and bin category placement that may result from a second round of Cryptosporidium monitoring using the existing or enhanced analytical methods. The third topic is the effectiveness of Escherichia coli as a screen to identify small filtered PWSs that need to perform Cryptosporidium monitoring for bin placement. The fourth topic is the determination of the potential credits assigned to different risk mitigation tools. EPA will also provide background information on the LT2 rule's monitoring and binning requirements, microbial toolbox options for risk management, and the agency's Six Year Review process. EPA will consider the data and/or information discussed at this meeting during the agency's review of the LT2 rule, which the agency has announced as part of both the Retrospective Review Plan under Executive Order (E.O.) 13563 and the third Six-Year Review under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is holding a public meeting and webcast to share information with the public related to treatment technologies, analytical methods and other information pertaining to the development of a proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for Perchlorate.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting a public meeting on August 16, 2012, to discuss and solicit input from States, manufacturers, drinking water systems, other interested groups and consumers on the implementation of the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act of 2011 (“the Act”). The Act was signed on January 4, 2011, and will be effective on January 4, 2014. The Act amended Section 1417 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), which prohibits the use of certain plumbing products that are not “lead free” (as defined by SDWA), and makes it unlawful to introduce into commerce products that are not “lead free.”

The 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) require that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the agency) establish criteria for a program to monitor unregulated contaminants and publish a list of up to 30 contaminants to be monitored every five years. This final rule meets the SDWA requirement by publishing the third Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation ( i.e., UCMR 3), listing the unregulated contaminants to be monitored and addressing the requirements for such monitoring. This final rule describes analytical methods to monitor for 28 chemical contaminants and describes the monitoring for two viruses. UCMR 3 provides EPA and other interested parties with scientifically valid data on the occurrence of these contaminants in drinking water, permitting the assessment of the number of people potentially being exposed and the levels of that exposure. These data are one of the primary sources of occurrence and exposure information the agency uses to develop regulatory decisions for these contaminants. In addition, as part of an Expedited Methods Update, this rule finalizes amendatory language for a drinking water inorganic analysis table (“Inorganic chemical sampling and analytical requirements”) in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). This minor editorial correction to the table does not affect the UCMR program.

EPA is holding three meetings of the Arsenic Small Systems Working Group to discuss barriers to the use of arsenic treatment technologies and alternative affordability criteria. The first and second of these meetings will be held via Webcast. The third meeting will be held in Arlington, Virginia. Interested members of the public may participate in the two Webcasts via the Internet and may attend the third meeting in person.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting a public meeting on April 24, 2012, concerning information that may inform the regulatory review of the uncovered finished water reservoir requirement in the Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2 rule). At this meeting, EPA will provide background information on the LT2 rule's uncovered finished water reservoir requirement and the agency's Six Year Review process. EPA also plans to discuss and solicit public input on data and information related to microbial occurrence of Cryptosporidium, Giardia, viruses, and other pathogens/indicators in uncovered finished water reservoirs; public health risks; strategies to control or remove contaminants in uncovered finished water reservoirs; and potential assessment approaches to determine the effectiveness of these control and/or removal strategies. The primary focus of this meeting is to have a scientific and technical discussion related to uncovered finished water reservoirs. EPA will consider the data and/or information discussed at this meeting during the agency's review of the LT2 rule, which the agency announced as part of EPA's Retrospective Review Plan under Executive Order (E.O.) 13563 in August 2011.

EPA is holding an initial meeting of the Arsenic Small Systems Working Group to provide input and recommendations on barriers to the use of point-of-use and point-of-entry treatment units, package plant, and modular units, as well as alternative affordability criteria that give extra weight to small, rural, and lower income communities. This meeting will be held via Webcast and the public may attend this meeting.