[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 198 (Thursday, October 14, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55711-55712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-26809]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6457-6]


Announcement of Stakeholders Meeting on the Drinking Water 
Contaminant Identification and Selection Process, and the 6-Year Review 
of All Existing National Primary Drinking Water Regulations, as 
Required by the Safe Drinking Water Act, as Amended in 1996

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of stakeholders meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be holding a 
two-day public meeting on November 16 and 17, 1999. This meeting will 
encompass two Safe Drinking Water Act requirements that have similar 
goals. Therefore, EPA has combined the meetings in order to increase 
meeting participation and make attendance as convenient as possible for 
stakeholders. The purpose of this meeting is to have a dialogue with 
stakeholders, and the public at large, on the contaminant 
identification and selection process (November 16), and to discuss the 
process to perform a 6-Year Review of all National Primary Drinking 
Water Regulations (NPDWRs) (November 17).
    For the contaminant selection process, EPA will discuss and seek 
input on: The draft research strategy EPA has formulated in order to 
fill data gaps for contaminants identified on the Agency's first 
drinking water contaminant candidate list (CCL); considerations in 
making regulatory determinations from the CCL, and the process for 
developing future CCLs.
    The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), as amended in1996, requires EPA 
to establish a list of contaminants, and revise it every five years, to 
aid in priority setting for the Agency's drinking water program. The 
SDWA requires EPA to make determinations for five contaminants as to 
whether a NPDWR is necessary. The SDWA, as amended, also requires that 
on a 6-Year cycle EPA must review and revise, as appropriate, each 
existing NPDWR and that any revision shall maintain, or provide for 
greater protection of the health of persons. EPA would like to have a 
dialogue with stakeholders on the various components of these projects, 
including status of analytical methods, treatment technologies, health 
effects information, and occurrence data.
    At the upcoming meeting, EPA is seeking input from State and Tribal 
drinking water programs, the regulated

[[Page 55712]]

community (public water systems), public health organizations, 
academia, environmental and public interest groups, engineering firms, 
and other stakeholders. EPA encourages the full participation of 
stakeholders throughout this process.

DATES: The stakeholders meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 16, 
1999 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, and Wednesday, November 17, 1999 
from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.

REGISTRATION: To register for the meeting, please contact the Safe 
Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST. 
Those registered for the meeting by Wednesday, November 2, 1999 will 
receive an agenda, logistics sheet, and background materials 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. Conference lines will be allocated on the 
basis of first-reserved, first served. The meeting will be held in the 
offices of RESOLVE, Suite 275, 1255 23rd Street, NW, Washington, DC 
20037.

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 other activities related to the contaminant 
selection process for the CCL, and the 6-Year Review process, and other 
EPA activities under the Safe Drinking Water Act in general, contact 
the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    Under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), as amended in 1996, EPA 
must review and revise, as appropriate, at intervals not less than 
every six years, all existing National Primary Drinking Water 
Regulations (NPDWRs). Revised NPDWRs, must maintain, or provide for 
greater, protection of the health of persons. On November 17, EPA will 
discuss the analyses the agency has initiated, or plans to conduct, to 
identify candidate NPDWRs for possible revision. These analyses include 
health effects, occurrence and exposure, analytical methods and 
treatment technologies.
    The SDWA also requires EPA, every five years, to develop and 
publish a list of contaminants known or anticipated to occur in 
drinking water. The Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) aids the Agency's 
drinking water program to assess priorities for research, guidance 
development, and possible development of NPDWRs. The SDWA also requires 
a regulatory determination for five contaminants every five years. The 
first CCL was published in the March 2, 1998 Federal Register. On 
November 16, EPA seeks stakeholders' input on the process and 
considerations in making regulatory determinations for five 
contaminants by 2001. For contaminants listed on the first CCL, with 
data gaps identified that must be filled before EPA can make a 
scientifically informed regulatory determination, EPA's Office of 
Research and Development is developing a Research Strategy. EPA will 
discuss the status of the draft CCL Research Strategy at the upcoming 
stakeholders meeting. The meeting will also present an overview of 
studies completed, or are underway, by the National Research Council 
that evaluates methods for identifying and prioritizing drinking water 
contaminants.
    The upcoming meeting addresses several aspects of EPA's efforts to 
determine the contaminant selection process from the Contaminant 
Candidate List and the new process of reviewing existing NPDWRs. Those 
registered for the meeting by Wednesday, November 2, 1999 will receive 
an agenda, logistics sheet, and background materials prior to the 
meeting.

B. Request for Stakeholder Involvement

    EPA has announced this public meeting to hear the views of 
stakeholders on EPA's plans for the contaminant selection process from 
the CCL, and activities to develop a 6-Year Review Plan. The public is 
invited to provide comments on the issues listed above during the 
November 16 and 17, 1999 meeting, or in writing to Mike Osinski, 
Contaminant Candidate List Team Leader, U.S. EPA, Office of Ground 
Water and Drinking Water, 401 M Street, NW, MC 4607, Washington DC 
20460 or [email protected]; or to Judy Lebowich, 6-Year Review 
Team Co-Leader, U.S. EPA, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, 
401 M Street, SW, MC 4607, Washington DC 20460 or 
[email protected], or Marc Parrotta, 6-Year Review Team Co-Leader, 
U.S. EPA, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, 401 M Street, SW, 
MC 4607, Washington DC 20460 or [email protected].

    Dated: October 7, 1999.
Elizabeth Fellows,
Acting Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, 
Environmental Protection Agency.
[FR Doc. 99-26809 Filed 10-13-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P