[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 157 (Thursday, August 14, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 43492-43493]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-21537]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

 40 CFR Part 141

[FRL-5874-7]


Stakeholders Meeting on Drinking Water Regulation Action

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Announcement of Stakeholders meeting on EPA's revision to the 
public notification rule under the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) 
amendments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a 
public meeting on August 27, 1997. The purpose of the meeting will be 
to gather information and collect opinions from parties who will be 
affected by provisions of the Public Notification Rule of the new Safe 
Drinking Water Act (SDWA), amended in 1996. Comments and views 
expressed will be used to help develop the new Federal and state 
program requirements. EPA is seeking input from State drinking water 
programs, the regulated community (public water systems), public health 
and safety organizations, environmental and public interest groups, and 
other stakeholders on a number of issues related to developing the 
drinking water regulation. EPA encourages the full participation of all 
stakeholders throughout this process.

DATES: The stakeholder meeting on the drinking water regulation for 
public notification will be held on August 27, 1997, from 10 a.m. to 
3:30 p.m. Central Daylight Savings Time.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Rice Auditorium, Indiana 
State Department of Health, 1330 West Michigan Street, Indianapolis, 
Indiana. For information on meeting logistics or if you want to 
register for the meeting, please contact the EPA Safe Drinking Water 
Hotline at 1-800-426-4791, or Stacy Jones of the Indiana Department of 
Environmental Management at (317) 308-3292. Participants registering in 
advance will be mailed a packet of materials before the meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carl Reeverts, U.S. EPA, at (202) 260-
7273; or Linda Selmer, U.S. EPA, Region 5 Office, at (312) 886-6197.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Environmental Protection Agency is 
developing revised Public Notification regulations (under existing 40 
CFR 141.32) to incorporate the new provisions enacted under the 1996 
Safe Drinking Water Amendments (SDWA), specifically the amended 
sections 1414 (c)(1) and (c)(2) of the SDWA. The 1996 SDWA amendments 
completely replaced the language in the statute under 1414(c). There is 
no statutory deadline for implementing the amended sections 1414(c)(1) 
and (c)(2).
    The Administrator is required by statute to prescribe by regulation 
the manner, frequency, form, and content that public water systems must 
follow for giving public notice. The 1996 SDWA amendments amended this 
EPA obligation to require consultation with the States prior to 
rulemaking. Public Water Systems are currently required to notify their 
customers whenever: (1) A violation of any drinking water regulation 
occurs (including MCL, treatment technique, and monitoring/reporting 
requirements); (2) a variance or exemption (V&E) to those regulations 
is in place or the conditions of the V&E are violated; or (3) results 
from unregulated contaminant monitoring required under section 1445 of 
the SDWA are received. This coverage was

[[Page 43493]]

not changed by the 1996 SDWA Amendments.
    The current rule sets different requirements based on the type of 
violation and type of system. The 1996 SDWA amendments substantially 
alter what is currently in place: (1) SDWA section 1414(c)(2)(C) 
requires notice within 24 hours and sets other new, more prescriptive 
notice requirements for violations with ``Potential to Have Serious 
Adverse Health Risks to Human Health''; (2) SDWA section 1414(c)(2)(D) 
gives EPA more discretion to set less prescriptive notice requirements 
for all other violations, including requiring the notice in an annual 
report; and (3) SDWA section 1414(c)(2)(B) allows the State to 
prescribe alternative notification requirements by rule to the form and 
content of the notice, consistent with the current primacy 
requirements.
    To meet the letter and spirit of the new statutory provisions, EPA 
will hold three or more public stakeholder meetings prior to drafting 
the regulation. This is the first of the scheduled stakeholder meetings 
that are planned over the next several months, to exchange information 
on our mutual experience with the current regulation and the elements 
needed in the new regulation to meet the intent of Congress. The 
legislative changes provide an excellent opportunity to streamline the 
existing regulations by focusing the notices on situations that have 
potential to have serious adverse effects on human health. EPA will 
also solicit from the stakeholders existing public notification 
programs that work, and seek to share these experiences through our 
rulemaking communication. The reports from these meetings will be 
presented to the public notification workgroup to define the issues and 
to develop options for their resolution.
Cynthia C. Dougherty,
Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water.
[FR Doc. 97-21537 Filed 8-13-97; 8:45 am]
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