[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 61 (Tuesday, March 31, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15401-15402]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-8420]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-5989-3]


Announcement of Stakeholders Meeting on Arsenic in Drinking Water

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of stakeholders meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be holding a 
one-day public meeting on May 5, 1998 in Monterey, California. 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 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 similar in content to the arsenic 
stakeholders meeting EPA held in Washington, DC on September 11-12, 
1997 and San Antonio, TX on February 25, 1998. 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 stakeholders meeting on arsenic in drinking water will be 
held on Tuesday, May 5, 1998, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. PDT.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in Fulton 1, 2, and 3, which is 
located at the Conference Center in Monterey, California. To register 
for the meeting, please contact the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-
800-426-4791 or 703-285-1093 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. EDT. Those 
registered for the meeting by Friday, April 24, 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 Friday, April 24, 1998, 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's drinking 
water standards webpage at http://www.epa.gov/OGWDW/standards.html, 
which contains electronic copies of the discussion papers from the 
previous stakeholders meeting. Registrants must make their own room 
reservations for the Doubletree Hotel by Saturday, April 18, by calling 
1-800-222-8733 or 408-649-4511 and mention ``EPA Arsenic Meeting'' to 
guarantee the special room rate of $132. The hotel is connected to the 
Convention Center.

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

[[Page 15402]]

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, 
gastrointestional 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; ug/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 an NPDWR for 
arsenic by January 1, 2000 and issue a final regulation by January 1, 
2001. The current maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 50 ug/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 draft 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. EPA's 
Office of Research and Development (ORD) submitted the final arsenic 
research plan to Congress in February 1998, and the final plan will be 
available on the ORD webpage in April. 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, co-occurrence of 
contaminants); (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 Friday, April 24, 1998.
    EPA has announced this public meeting to hear the views of 
stakeholders on EPA's plans for activities to develop an 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 May 5, 1998 meeting and during future 
opportunities for stakeholder participation.

    Dated: March 26, 1998.
Elizabeth Fellows,
Acting Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, 
Environmental Protection Agency.
[FR Doc. 98-8420 Filed 3-30-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P