[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 190 (Wednesday, September 30, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 61680-61681]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-21653]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 141

[EPA-HQ-OW-2020-0486; FRL-10015-26-OW]


Microbial and Disinfection Byproducts Rules: Public Meeting To 
Inform Potential Rule Revisions

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requires the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review each national primary 
drinking water regulation (NPDWR) at least once every six years. As 
part of the ``Six-Year Review'', EPA evaluates any newly available 
data, information, and technologies to determine if any regulatory 
revisions are needed. During the Agency's third Six-Year Review (Six-
Year Review 3) eight NPDWRs were identified as candidates for potential 
regulatory revision. EPA is hosting a public meeting on October 14 and 
15, 2020, to seek public input on the Agency's potential regulatory 
revisions of these eight NDPWRs including: Chlorite, Cryptosporidium, 
Haloacetic acids, Heterotrophic bacteria, Giardia lamblia, Legionella, 
Total Trihalomethanes, and Viruses. The eight NPDWRs are included in 
the following Microbial and Disinfection Byproduct (MDBP) rules: Stage 
1 and Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rules, Surface 
Water Treatment Rule, Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule, 
and Long Term 1 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule. At this meeting, 
EPA is seeking public input on information and perspectives related to 
the potential regulatory revisions. EPA will consider the data and/or 
information discussed at this meeting, as well as at future stakeholder 
engagements, in its determination on whether a rulemaking to revise any 
MDBP regulations should be initiated. For more information on the 
meeting visit the EPA's Revisions of the MDBP Rules website: 
www.epa.gov/dwsixyearreview/revisions-microbial-and-disinfection-byproducts-rules and go to the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 
this document.

DATES: The public meetings will be held on Wednesday, October 14, 2020 
(11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Eastern Time), and Thursday, October 15, 2020 (11 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Eastern Time).

ADDRESSES: The public meetings will be held in an online-only format in 
the Online Meeting section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical inquiries, contact 
Ashley Greene, Standards and Risk Management Division, Office of Ground 
Water and Drinking Water (MC 4607M), Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460 at (202) 566-1738 or 
[email protected]. For more information about the MDBP revisions or 
the Six-Year Review process, visit: www.epa.gov/dwsixyearreview/revisions-microbial-and-disinfection-byproducts-rules or www.epa.gov/dwsixyearreview, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Registration: Individuals planning to participate in the online 
public meeting must register at this website www.epa.gov/dwsixyearreview/public-meeting-revisions-microbial-and-disinfection-products-rules no later than October 12, 2020. EPA will do its best to 
include all those interested, however, may need to limit attendance due 
to web conferencing size limitations and, therefore, urges potential 
attendees to register early. Please check the MDBP website for event 
materials as they become available, including a full meeting agenda and 
other meeting materials. Web conferencing meeting details will be 
emailed to registered participants in advance of the meeting. If you 
have any difficulty registering or have additional questions or 
comments about the public meeting, please email 
([email protected]).
    Special Accommodations: For information on access or accommodations 
for individuals with disabilities, please contact Ashley Greene at 
(202) 566-1738 or by email at [email protected]. Please allow at 
least five business days prior to the meeting to give EPA time to 
process your request.
    Online Meeting: This online meeting will be open to the public and 
EPA encourages input and will provide opportunities for public 
engagement. Additionally, the public will have the opportunity to 
provide written public input. If you are unable to participate in the 
meetings, you will be able to submit comments at www.regulations.gov, 
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2020-0486. Meeting attendees are also 
encouraged to send written statements to the public docket, as well as 
any scientific data they would like EPA to consider during its analysis 
of potential regulatory revisions. Follow the online instructions for 
submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or 
withdrawn. EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. 
Do not submit electronically any information you consider to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, 
video, etc) must be accompanied by written comment. The written comment 
is considered the official comment and should include discussion of all 
points you wish to make. EPA will generally not consider comments 
outside of the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, ot other 
file sharing system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA 
public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, 
and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
    The Microbial and Disinfection Byproduct (MDBP) Rules: MDBP rules 
are a series of interrelated regulations that address risks from 
microbial pathogens and disinfectants/disinfection byproducts in 
drinking water. The purpose of the Surface Water Treatment Rules 
(SWTRs) within the scope of the potential regulatory revisions, 
including the Surface Water Treatment Rule (40 CFR 141.70-141.75; June 
5, 1989), Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (40 CFR 
141.170-141.175; December 16, 1998), and Long Term 1 Enhanced Surface 
Water Treatment Rule (40 CFR 141.500-141.571; January 5, 2002), are to 
reduce disease incidence associated with pathogens, including 
Cryptosporidium, Giardia lamblia, Legionella, and viruses in drinking 
water. The SWTRs require PWS to filter and disinfect surface water 
sources to provide protection from microbial pathogens. The purpose of 
the Stage 1 and Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rules 
(63 FR 69390; December 16, 1998 and 71 FR 388; January 3, 2006, 
respectively) are to reduce drinking water exposure to disinfection 
byproducts which can form in water when disinfectants used to control 
microbial pathogens react with naturally occurring materials found in 
source water. If consumed in excess of EPA's standard over many years, 
disinfection byproducts may increase health risks. On January 11, 2017 
(82 FR 3518; January 11, 2017) EPA identified these MDBP rules as 
candidates for

[[Page 61681]]

revision in the Agency's review of existing national primary drinking 
water regulations.

Jennifer L. McLain,
Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water.
[FR Doc. 2020-21653 Filed 9-29-20; 8:45 am]
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