[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 83 (Friday, April 30, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23297-23299]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-10856]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6334-1]


Announcement of Stakeholders Meetings on Arsenic in Drinking 
Water

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of stakeholders meetings.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be holding 
a day-and-a-half public meeting on June 2-3, 1999 in Washington, DC; 
and a one-half-day conference call on June 3. The purpose of these 
meetings is to present an update on EPA's work 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. These two meetings will 
present an update on the regulatory and research processes for arsenic, 
similar to the last three arsenic stakeholders meetings. 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 District of Columbia stakeholders meeting on arsenic in 
drinking water will be held on Wednesday, June 2, 1999 from 8:30 a.m. 
to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), and Thursday, June 3, 1999 
from 8:30 am to 12 noon EDT. The stakeholders conference call will be 
held 10:00 am to 2:00 pm Pacific Daylight Time (PDT).

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held in 6226 Ario Rios Building, which 
is at 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. To register for the meeting or 
conference call, 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. 
Members of the public who cannot attend the meeting in person may 
choose to participate via conference call in either the day-and-a-half 
or the half-day meeting and should register with the Safe Drinking 
Water Hotline by Monday, May 24, 1999 in order to receive copies of the 
overheads in advance. The limited numbers of available lines will be 
given on a first-come, first-served basis to people who register with 
the Hotline. 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, to register, and to submit comments on the half-day agenda, 
please contact the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791. EPA 
is planning to make short presentations during the half-day conference 
call, leaving time for facilitated discussion of issues. Registrants 
can submit suggested changes to the half-day format or topics to the 
Hotline. 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/safewater/ars/
arsenic.html, which contains electronic copies of the discussion papers 
from the previous stakeholders meetings. Registrants must take care of 
their own hotel arrangements. The Holiday Inn National Airport at 1489 
Jefferson Davis Highway in Arlington, Virginia will hold a block of 30 
rooms until May 10th at the rate of $131.70. Call the Holiday Inn at 
(703)-416-1600 by May 10, to reserve a room and mention ``EPA Arsenic'' 
to get the special rate.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    Arsenic 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, internal 
cancers, and non-cancer effects such as cardiovascular effects and 
diabetes.
    In 1975 EPA issued a National Interim Primary Drinking Water 
Regulation for arsenic at 50 parts per billion (ppb; micrograms per 
liter, g/L). Under the 1986 amendments to SDWA, Congress 
converted the interim values into National Primary Drinking Water 
Regulations (NPDWRs) for 83 contaminants, including arsenic, that were 
to be revised by 1989. 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

[[Page 23298]]

(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 draft arsenic research 
plan, and the public had an opportunity to comment on the draft plan at 
a scientific peer review meeting in January, 1997. EPA's final arsenic 
research plan responded to the comments of the peer review, and it is 
available on the Office of Research and Development (ORD) webpage at 
www.epa.gov/ORD/WebPubs/final/arsenic.pdf. In conducting the studies in 
the arsenic research plan, EPA is consulting with the National Academy 
of Sciences, other Federal agencies, and other interested public and 
private parties.
    EPA asked the National Research Council (NRC) of the National 
Academy of Sciences (NAS) to review the current state of the science 
for estimating risks associated with arsenic in drinking water. NAS 
released the prepublication version of the NRC report, ``Arsenic in 
Drinking Water'' on March 23, 1999. The NRC report recommends lowering 
the current drinking water standard of 50 g/L. This 
recommendation is based on NRC assessments of the risks of skin, lung, 
and bladder cancer from drinking water containing inorganic arsenic. 
NAS has put up their press statement and the full NRC report on its 
website.

Press release: http://www2.nas.edu/whatsnew/29e6.html
Full report: http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/enter2.cgi?0309063337.html

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 meetings will cover a broad range of issues 
including: (1) regulatory process, including risk management decisions; 
(2) arsenic risk assessment and characterization (exposure, health 
assessment, NRC report, national occurrence); (3) key technical 
analyses (treatment technologies, treatment residuals, cost, analytical 
methods, co-occurrence of contaminants); (4) small system concerns; and 
(5) stakeholder involvement. Background materials on arsenic in 
drinking water issues will be sent in advance of the meetings to those 
who register with the Safe Drinking Water Hotline by Monday, May 24, 
1999.
    EPA has announced these public meetings 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 June 2-3, 1999 meetings, via comments submitted 
to the Hotline, and during future opportunities for stakeholder 
participation.

C. Draft Agenda for the Arsenic in Drinking Water Meeting (Meeting 
Times Shown in EDT)

Wednesday, June 2, 1999

8:00-8:45  Registration & Phone Linkups
8:45-9:00  Introductions & Meeting Logistics--facilitator
9:00-9:15  Welcome and Opening Remarks--Bill Diamond, Director, 
Standards and Risk Management Division, Office of Ground Water and 
Drinking Water
9:15-9:35  Arsenic Regulatory Review
    Presentation and Questions--Irene Dooley, Office of Ground Water 
and Drinking Water (OGWDW)
9:35-10:05  Analytical Methods and Development of the PQL
    Presentation--Wynne Miller, OGWDW
    Facilitated Discussion for Stakeholder Input
10:05-10:20  Break
10:20-12:00  National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences 
(NRC/NAS) Report Findings and Application
    Presentation--Dr. Jeanette Wiltse, Director, Health and Ecological 
Criteria Division, OST
    Facilitated Discussion for Stakeholder Input
12:00-1:00  LUNCH (on your own)
1:00-1:45  Risk Characterization and MCLG Development
    Presentation--Dr. Charles Abernathy, Office of Science & Technology 
(OST)
    Facilitated Discussion for Stakeholder Input
1:45-2:15  Arsenic Research Plan Update
    Presentation and Questions--Lynn Papa, National Center for 
Environmental Assessment (NCEA), ORD
2:15-2:30  Break
2:30-3:15 EPA's Health Effects Research
    Presentations--Dr. Herman Gibb, NCEA, ORD
    Dr. Fred Hauchman, National Health and Environmental Effects 
Research Laboratory (NHEERL), ORD
    Facilitated Discussion for Stakeholder Input
3:15-4:15  National Occurrence Estimate
    Presentation--Jennifer Wu, OGWDW
    Facilitated Discussion for Stakeholder Input
4:15-5:00 Arsenic Treatment Technologies and Residuals
    Presentation--Tom Sorg, EPA's National Risk Management Research 
Laboratory (NRMRL), Office of Research and Development (ORD)
5:00  End of first day's session

Thursday, June 3, 1999

8:30-8:40  Phone Linkups
8:40-9:40 EPA's Approach to Compliance Forecasts--Decision Tree
    Presentations--Amit Kapadia and Jeff Kempic, OGWDW
    Facilitated Discussion for Stakeholder Input
9:40-10:00  Treatment Variances and Exemptions
    Presentations--Amit Kapadia and Jeff Kempic, OGWDW
    Facilitated Discussion for Stakeholder Input
10:00-10:15  Break
10:15-11:15  Cost-Benefit Regulatory Issues
    Presentations--Ben Smith, Dr. John Bennett, OGWDW
    Facilitated Discussion for Stakeholder Input
11:15-11:45 Monitoring and State Implementation Issues
    Presentation--Ed Thomas, OGWDW
    Facilitated Discussion for Stakeholder Input
11:45-12:00  Next Steps
    Presentation--Jim Taft, OGWDW
12:00  EDT Adjourn

D. Draft Agenda for the Arsenic in Drinking Water Conference Call 
(Conference call times listed in Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), and 
bracketed in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT))

Thursday, June 3, 1999

10:00-10:10 PDT  Phone linkups (1pm EDT)
10:10-10:20 PDT  Introductions and negotiated changes to agenda (1:10-
1:20 EDT)
10:20-10:40 PDT  Arsenic regulatory review (1:20-1:40 EDT)
10:40-11:40 PDT  National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences 
Report Findings and Application (1:40-2:40 pm EDT)
11:40-12:00 PDT  Arsenic Research Plan and EPA Health Effects Research 
(2:40-3 pm EDT)

[[Page 23299]]

12:00-12:15 PDT  Break (3 pm EDT)
12:15-12:45 PDT  National Occurrence Estimate (3:15-3:45 pm EDT)
12:45-1:15 PDT  Compliance Forecasts (3:45-4:15 pm EDT)
1:15-1:45 PDT  Cost-Benefit Issues (4:15-4:45 pm EDT)
1:45-2:00 PDT  Monitoring and Implementation (4:45-5:00 pm EDT)
2:00 PDT  Adjourn (5 pm EDT)

    Dated: April 26, 1999.
Cynthia C. Dougherty,
Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water.
[FR Doc. 99-10856 Filed 4-29-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P