A few weeks ago, we discussed the EPA’s plans to regulate perchlorates in drinking water and the process that will take place over the next few years to prepare for that.
Perchlorates aren’t the only chemicals under the gun. As part of the Safe Drinking Water Act’s 1996 amendments, the EPA is required to review groups of chemicals every five years and decide whether they should be monitored as well. That time has come, and the EPA is looking at the possibility of regulating 28 chemicals and two viruses.
What will this mean for small water systems? What’s the timeline for all this, and what could the cost be? This edition of eBulletin will answer those questions.
The Contaminants
The Safe Drinking Water Act requires the EPA to look at unregulated chemicals and decide whether they should be regulated. Previously, this was done one at a time. But last year, the EPA came up with a method to examine the chemicals in groups rather than individually. Recently, they announced the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation 3 (UCMR3), which lists changes to contaminant monitoring for water system and suggests 28 possible drinking water contaminants and two virus groups that should be added to the list of regulated substances. The contaminants are shown to cause various health issues, and the EPA is trying to decide whether each chemical poses enough of a threat or is found in enough quantities to merit regulating nationwide.
The chemicals on the list include:
- Seven types of hormones, including testosterone;
- Nine volatile organic compounds, including methyl bromide and methyl chloride;
- The synthetic organic compound dioxane;
- Four metals including cobalt and strontium;
- The oxyhalide anion chlorate;
- Six perflourinated compounds, including perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS).
The recommendations also include testing for two virus types – enteroviruses and noroviruses. A full list is available online, including a list of the proposed analytical methods to be used to monitor the chemicals. A link to the chart can be found below.
The chemicals aren’t new to the EPA. They are a part of the Contaminant Candidate List, or CCL, which are “know or anticipated to occur at public water systems and may warrant regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act,” according to the EPA’s web site. So they’ve been keeping an eye on several chemicals for a while. The ones chosen here are from a prioritized list based on things like studies of contamination, increases in occurrence and extensive health evaluations.
The chemicals come from various sources. The hormones, for example are thought to come from hormone pills, like birth control, being flushed down toilets, or even excess hormones from such pills being released by the body into the wastewater system. Hormones for animals also may be contributing. Other chemicals are thought to come from pesticides or industrial use.
Whatever the case, the EPA believes these chemicals pose enough potential health hazards to the public to warrant regulation. But the list has far to go to be finalized and regulated.
Additional Resources
List of chemicals proposed for regulation
http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/ucmr/ucmr3/methods.cfm [1]
The Timeline
The list of chemicals was decided in February 2011 and released in March. The EPA now is asking for public comment on the list and whether they should be regulated. Public comments will be accepted until May 2, 2011.
Public comments can be made by mail, e-mail, hand delivery or through a web site form at http://www.regulations.gov/ [2]. A direct link to the proposed rule’s submission page is available below.
Once the comments are reviewed, the EPA will decide whether to make cuts to the list of chemicals. A final list of chemicals proposed for regulation is expected to be ready in 2012.
After the list of chemicals to monitor has been finalized, the EPA expects to conduct sampling from 2013 to 2015. All systems that serve 10,000 customers or more will be required to conduct the sampling.
That isn’t the case for smaller systems. Most small systems won’t have to deal with sampling, but not all small systems will be off the hook.
Additional Resources
Public comments on proposed contaminants regulations
http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0090-0001 [3]
Small Systems’ Sampling
What does this mean for your water system? It could mean extra work, or it could mean nothing.
Only some systems with fewer than 10,000 customers, what the EPA deems as “small systems,” will be required to sample for the chemicals. The EPA plans to select “a representative sampling” of smaller systems to take part in the tests. More information on how the EPA will choose the systems is expected to be released as the process continues and the list of contaminants is narrowed.
The EPA does provide estimates on how many systems will be used in the sampling. They divide the numbers by ground water and surface water systems.
For ground water systems, the number of systems that will conduct sampling is:
- 126 public and 378 private systems serving 500 customers
- 477 public and 182 private systems serving 501-3,300 customers
- 207 public and 48 private systems for those serving 3,301-10,000 customers
That means a total of 1,418 ground water systems will conduct sampling for the contaminants.
For surface water systems, the number of systems conducting sampling is:
- 2 public and 3 private systems serving 500 customers or less
- 35 public and 13 private systems serving 501-3,300 customers
- 100 public and 29 private systems serving 3,301-10,000 customers
That means a total of 182 surface water systems will conduct the sampling, or a total of 1,600 water systems. Which water systems must do this will be determined later.
What will all of this cost? The EPA estimates that implementing the monitoring of these chemicals will cost the small systems involved in the sampling a total of $81,707 a year from 2013-2016. That’s for all the small systems. Costs per system are estimated to be between $22.63 a year and $51.02, depending on the size of the system. A chart detailing the full costs analysis is available in the proposal submitted to the Federal Register. A link is provided below.
Additional Resources
Federal Register: Revisions to the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation (UCMR 3) for Public Water Systems
http://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2011/03/03/2011-4641/revisions-to-the-unregulated-contaminant-monitoring-regulation-ucmr-3-for-public-water-systems [4]
The Bottom Line
The new regulations on these 28 contaminants and 2 virus groups are far from implemented, finalized or even agreed upon. That gives water systems some breathing room on preparation should these rules be implemented. It also gives systems a chance to provide their input.
The public comment period is only open for another month, so time is of the essence. It’s important for the EPA not only to have information on how this will affect larger systems, but how it will affect smaller systems as well. Small systems make up the majority of public and private water systems in this country, so representation is essential when it comes to new rules.
The Federal Register document and EPA web site provide all the information currently available on exactly how the new regulations will be implemented and how the contaminants will be monitored. If you are concerned about the cost, methodology of sampling or testing or even which chemicals are on the list, don’t hesitate to voice those concerns. The easiest way is to use the link above to submit your comments, or you can mail your comments to:
Water Docket
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Mail Code 282211T
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
ATTN: Docket ID No. OW-2009-0090
Your input is important, because any changes will not only affect your system, but they also will affect your customers.