EPA Submits for Public Comment the Next Round of Safe Drinking Water Act Contaminant Monitoring (HQ)
WASHINGTON – As part of its commitment to implement
sensible protections of drinking water for communities across the
country, and as required by the Safe Drinking Water Act, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing 30 currently
unregulated contaminants for monitoring in water systems, and
submitting this proposal for public comment. The comment period
will allow the public and other stakeholders to provide input on
the selection of new contaminants for monitoring, and will help
determine the best path forward as the EPA seeks to collect data
that will inform future decisions about how best to protect
drinking water.
“Ensuring clean and safe drinking water for all Americans is
a top priority for EPA,” said Nancy Stoner, acting assistant
administrator for EPA’s Office of Water. “In keeping
with the Safe Drinking Water Act, we are submitting for public
comment and input our proposed next round of currently unregulated
contaminants for monitoring. Learning more about the prevalence of
these contaminants will allow EPA to better protect people’s
health.”
Under the authority of the Safe Drinking Water Act, EPA currently
regulates more than 90 contaminants in drinking water. To keep
drinking water standards up-to-date with emerging science, the Safe
Drinking Water Act requires that EPA identify up to 30 unregulated
contaminants for monitoring every five years. This current proposal
is the third Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation and
includes requirements to monitor for two viruses and 28 chemical
contaminants that could be present in drinking water and do not
currently have health-based standards.
EPA is requesting public comment on the proposed list of 30
contaminants until May 2, 2011. Following the public comment
period, EPA will consider this important input before the list is
scheduled to be finalized in 2012, with sampling to be conducted
from 2013 to 2015. Sampling will take place at all systems serving
more than 10,000 people and at a representative sampling of systems
serving less than 10,000 people.
More information about the proposed list of contaminants:
http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/ucmr/ucmr3/index.cfm.