[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 17 (Tuesday, January 27, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3890-3891]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-1931]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-5954-8]


Announcement of Stakeholders Meeting on Arsenic in Drinking Water

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of stakeholders meeting.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be holding a 
one-day public meeting on February 25, 1998 in San Antonio, Texas. The 
purpose of this meeting is to present information on EPA's plans for 
activities to develop a proposed National Primary Drinking Water 
Regulation (NPDWR) for arsenic

[[Page 3891]]

under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) as amended, and solicit public 
input on major technical and implementation issues, and on preferred 
approaches for continued public involvement. This meeting will be very 
similar in content to the arsenic stakeholders meeting EPA held in 
Washington, DC on September 11-12, 1997. At the upcoming meeting, EPA 
is again seeking input from State and Tribal drinking water programs, 
the regulated community (water systems), public health organizations, 
academia, environmental and public interest groups, engineering firms, 
and other stakeholders on a number of issues related to developing the 
NPDWR for arsenic. EPA encourages the full participation of 
stakeholders throughout this process.

DATES: The stakeholder meeting on arsenic in drinking water will be 
held on Wednesday, February 25, 1998 from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 
p.m. to 5 p.m. Central Standard Time.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in the Holiday Inn Riverwalk ((210) 
224-2500), which is located at 217 North St. Mary's Street, San 
Antonio, TX 78205. To register for the meeting, please contact the Safe 
Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 between 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. 
Eastern Standard Time. Those registered for the meeting by Wednesday, 
February 18, 1998, will receive an agenda, logistics sheet, and 
discussion papers prior to the meeting. Members of the public who 
cannot attend the meeting in person may participate via conference call 
and should register with the Safe Drinking Water Hotline by February 18 
in order to receive copies of the overheads in advance. Please provide 
your name, organization, title, mailing address, telephone number, 
facsimile number, e-mail address and telephone number for EPA to 
connect the caller via conference call [if applicable] for the 
``Arsenic meeting.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on meeting 
logistics, please contact the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-
4791. For information on the activities related to developing the NPDWR 
for arsenic, contact the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791, 
or visit the EPA Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water arsenic 
webpage at http://www.epa.gov/OGWDW/ars/arsenic.html, which contains 
electronic copies of the discussion papers from the September 11-12, 
1997 stakeholders meeting. Registrants must make their own room 
reservations for the Holiday Inn Riverwalk by January 30, 1998 by 
calling 1-800-422-2419 and mention ``EPA Arsenic Meeting'' to guarantee 
the room rate of $94.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    Arsenic (As) is a naturally occurring element found in the human 
body and is present in food, water, and air. Arsenic in drinking water 
occurs in ground water and surface water and is associated with certain 
natural geologic conditions, as well as with contamination from human 
activities. Arsenic ingestion is linked to skin cancer and arsenic 
inhalation to lung cancer. In addition, arsenic ingestion seems to be 
associated with vascular effects, gastrointestinal irritation, and 
cancers of the kidney, bladder, liver, lung, and other organs. Water 
primarily contains inorganic arsenic species (AsV+ and 
AsIII+), which tend to be more toxic than organic forms.
    In 1976 EPA issued a National Interim Primary Drinking Water 
Regulation for arsenic at 50 parts per billion (ppb; g/L). 
Under the 1986 amendments to SDWA, Congress directed EPA to publish 
Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLGs) and promulgate National Primary 
Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWRs) for 83 contaminants, including 
arsenic. When EPA failed to meet the statutory deadline for 
promulgating an arsenic regulation, a citizens' group filed suit to 
compel EPA to do so. EPA entered into a consent decree to issue the 
regulation. EPA held internal workgroup meetings throughout 1994, 
addressing risk assessment, treatment, analytical methods, arsenic 
occurrence, exposure, costs, implementation issues, and regulatory 
options before deciding in early 1995 to defer the regulation in order 
to better characterize health effects.
    On August 6, 1996, Congress amended the SDWA, adding section 
1412(b)(12)(A) which requires, in part, that EPA propose a NPDWR for 
arsenic by January 1, 2000 and issue a final regulation by January 1, 
2001. The current maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 50 g/L 
remains in effect until the effective date of the revised rule.
    The 1996 amendments to the SDWA also directed EPA to develop by 
February, 1997, a comprehensive arsenic research plan to assess health 
risks associated with exposure to low levels of arsenic. In December 
1996, EPA announced the availability of the arsenic research plan, and 
the public had an opportunity to comment on the paper at a scientific 
peer review meeting in January, 1997. EPA reported to Congress in late 
January that the plan was publicly available and would be revised after 
consideration of the final report of the scientific peer review group, 
which was subsequently published May 8, 1997. In conducting the studies 
in the arsenic research plan, EPA will consult with the National 
Academy of Sciences, other Federal agencies, and other interested 
public and private parties.

B. Request for Stakeholder Involvement

    EPA intends for the proposed NPDWR for arsenic to incorporate the 
best available science, risk assessment, treatment technologies, 
occurrence data, cost/benefit analyses, and stakeholder input on 
technical and implementation issues.
    The stakeholders meeting will cover a broad range of issues 
including: (1) regulatory process, including risk management decisions; 
(2) arsenic risk assessment (exposure, health assessment, national 
occurrence); (3) key technical assessments (treatment technologies, 
treatment residuals, cost, analytical methods); (4) small system 
concerns; and (5) future stakeholder involvement. Background materials 
on arsenic in drinking water issues will be sent in advance of the 
meeting to those who register with the Safe Drinking Water Hotline by 
Wednesday, February 18, 1998.
    EPA has announced this public meeting to hear the views of 
stakeholders on EPA's plans for activities to develop a NPDWR for 
arsenic. The public is invited to provide comments on the issues listed 
above and other issues related to the arsenic in drinking water 
regulation during the February 25, 1998 meeting and during future 
opportunities for stakeholder participation.

    Dated: January 21, 1998.
Cynthia C. Dougherty,
Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water.
[FR Doc. 98-1931 Filed 1-26-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P