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HEADLINES
EPA holds first ‘listening session’ on water strategy
 | | Cynthia Dougherty listened to attendees' thoughts at ACE10. Photo by David Plank |
June 22, CHICAGO — The most widely endorsed tactic at a special ‘listening session” on the US Environmental Protection Agency’s new water strategy was to control contaminants before they reach source waters.
Cynthia Dougherty, head of USEPA’s Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, hosted a session during AWWA’s annual conference, seeking input from attendees on how the agency should implement its new drinking water strategy. Introduced by USEPA Administrator Lisa Jackson in March, the strategy encompasses four objectives: - Address contaminants by group instead of individually.
- Foster new technologies, especially for small systems.
- Use statutory authorities in addition to the Safe Drinking Water Act to ensure safe drinking water.
- Partner with the states to share more complete water quality data through open access channels.
Ways to group contaminants for regulation — such as by human health or environmental effect, source, toxicity, use — seemed to be the greatest challenge for the strategy, judging by the suggestions and comments from most people at the session. Some of the questions arising from the discussion were: - Should criteria apply to the group of contaminants as a whole or each one in the group?
- Could the technology to address the contaminant change as part of a group instead of as the individual contaminant?
- If treatment addresses a group, what contaminant might not be treated?
When it came to considering new technologies, several people were confident technology could be developed to address nearly any contaminant. “Technology is easy,” said one person. However, people were concerned that any new technology be sustainable and not need frequent replacing or updating, and that it be low cost and easy to use out of particular concern for small systems. Although one member of the audience reported that Oregon posts water quality data online for public access and has not had any problems, many others were concerned about the potential for public outcry over data that is misunderstood or taken out of context. Another concern was for data quality control. In addition to strongly supporting source water protection, the audience had little objection to using additional statutes to help protect drinking water. Clean Water Act provisions have a direct connection to protecting drinking water sources. Dougherty said that USEPA will hold three more listening sessions and solicit input through its Web site. Earlier in the day, Dougherty outlined a full schedule of drinking water activity at the agency during a regulatory update session. She said the more than 100 chemicals and 12 microbes on the newest Contaminant Candidate List will be evaluated in groups, as well as individually. Meanwhile, the agency is still looking at perchlorate and will make a regulatory determination by the end of the year, she promised. The Revised Total Coliform Rule has been signed by the administrator and is awaiting publication in the Federal Register. Now USEPA officials are starting to work on the Long-Term Lead and Copper Rule, with a stakeholder meeting to be held this fall to start looking at several issues: partial lead service line replacement, sample collection sites, tap sampling and consecutive systems. The schedule is to propose a revised rule in 2012. Another area USEPA is targeting is small system compliance with the Microbial–Disinfection By-products Rule. Ninety percent of MDBP violations occur in small systems serving fewer than 10,000 people, Dougherty said. So, USEPA will target funding and technical assistance for these systems, as well as support capacity development and promote restructuring where applicable. She also listed other areas that USEPA is working on or studying — sustainability, climate-ready utilities, water and energy nexus, geologic sequestration and hydraulic fracturing.
Mary Parmelee, Editor
Posted: 06/23/2010
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