[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 214 (Wednesday, November 5, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59869-59870]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-29292]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-5917-3]


EPA's Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Announcement of a stakeholder meeting on the development of 
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulations and a List.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has scheduled a 
two-day public meeting on EPA's development of Unregulated Contaminant 
Monitoring Regulations and a List. The focus of this meeting will be 
the development of the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation 
and List of unregulated contaminants to be monitored by public water 
systems as required by the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) as amended in 
1996. The meeting will be open to any interested parties. EPA 
encourages the full participation of stakeholders throughout this 
process.

DATES: The stakeholder meeting on the Unregulated Contaminant 
Monitoring Program will be held on December 2-3, 1997, from 9:00 a.m. 
to 4:00 p.m. EST.

ADDRESSES: Resolve, Inc. (an EPA contractor) will provide logistical 
support for the stakeholders meeting. The meeting will be held at 
Resolve, Inc., 1255 23rd Street, N.W., Suite 275, Washington, D.C. 
20037.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information about the 
meeting, please contact Mr. Jeff Citrin at Resolve, Inc., 1255 23rd 
Street, N.W., Suite 275, Washington, D.C. 20037; phone: (202) 965-6388; 
fax: (202)338-1264, or e-mail at [email protected].
    For other information on Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring 
Regulations and a List, please contact Charles Job, at the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Phone: 202-260-7084, Fax: 202-260-
3762.
    Members of the public wishing to attend the meeting may register by 
phone by contacting Mr. Jeff Citrin by November 15, 1997. Those 
registered for the meeting will receive background materials prior to 
the meeting.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background on the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation

    EPA must issue regulations establishing criteria for the monitoring 
of unregulated contaminants. Monitoring shall vary based on system 
size, source water, and contaminants likely to be found. Only a 
representative sample of systems serving 10,000 persons or fewer must 
be monitored. Within 3 years after enactment, and every 5 years 
thereafter, EPA shall issue a list of not more than 30 unregulated 
contaminants to be monitored by public water systems. Results of the 
monitoring are to be included in the national contaminant occurrence 
data base. Each state may develop an unregulated contaminant monitoring 
plan for small and medium systems (serving fewer than 10,000 persons). 
EPA is required to cover the reasonable costs of testing and laboratory 
analysis for such plans, using funds authorized by Congress for 
unregulated contaminant monitoring or a $2 million Drinking Water State 
Revolving Fund (DWSRF) reservation. EPA shall waive the requirement for 
monitoring of unregulated contaminants in a state if the state 
demonstrates that the criteria for listing are not applicable in the 
state. Water systems must provide the results of unregulated 
contaminant monitoring to the primacy agency (state/EPA) and must 
notify persons served by the system of the availability of results 
[section 1445(a)(2)].

B. Request for Stakeholder Involvement

    The upcoming meeting deals specifically with EPA's efforts to 
develop Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulations and a List. EPA 
believes that the initial list of unregulated contaminants for which 
monitoring will be required will largely come from the first 
Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) to be published in final form by 
February 1998. EPA will use the CCL to establish priorities for 
additional occurrence data gathering, health effects research, and 
regulation development. One of EPA's goals is to obtain monitoring data 
on certain unregulated contaminants to determine whether any of the 
contaminants should be regulated in the future to protect drinking 
water used by consumers from public water systems. These unregulated 
contaminant data will also be used to support the development of future 
CCL and to guide future research. These data will be reported to the 
National Contaminant Occurrence Data Base and to the users of the 
selected water systems, as required by law.
    The EPA Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water (OGWDW) sees the 
involvement of interested parties, representing a variety of 
perspectives and expertise, as critical to the development of a 
credible, effective and implementable regulation and list. This 
stakeholder meeting will provide an important opportunity for such 
involvement. Some anticipated issues

[[Page 59870]]

for discussion include the following questions:
    1. Is the objective of unregulated contaminant monitoring to 
identify the occurrence of contaminants in the environment or to assess 
exposure from the finished water?
    2. What should be the criteria for an unregulated contaminant 
monitoring program?
    3. What is a ``representative sample'' of small and medium systems?
    4. What should be the protocols for representative sampling?
    5. What monitoring data should be reported and how?
    6. What should be the criteria for determining which of the 
unregulated contaminants on the CCL should be a candidate for required 
monitoring?
    7. What analytical methods should apply to unregulated 
contaminants?
    8. How should the results of unregulated contaminant monitoring be 
used?
    9. What steps need to be taken and what process should be used to 
complete this effort?
    EPA has convened this public meeting to hear the views of 
stakeholders on the development of Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring 
Regulations and a List. The public is invited to provide comments on 
the issues listed above or other issues related to the Unregulated 
Contaminant Monitoring Regulations and a List during the December 2-3, 
1997 meeting.

    Dated: October 29, 1997.
William R. Diamond,
Acting Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water.
[FR Doc. 97-29292 Filed 11-4-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P