[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 11, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 61269-61271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21857]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 141
[EPA-HQ-OW-2022-0801; FRL-10287-01-OW]
Notice of Public Meeting: Environmental Justice Considerations
for the Development of the Proposed Lead and Copper Rule Improvements
(LCRI)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting two
identical
[[Page 61270]]
public meetings to discuss and solicit input on environmental justice
considerations related to the development of the proposed Lead and
Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) national primary drinking water
regulation (NPDWR) under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). In the
context of developing this proposed regulation, environmental justice
considerations include the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of
all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with
respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of
environmental laws, regulations, and policies with a particular focus
on unique challenges faced by communities disproportionately burdened
by environmental harms and risks. EPA is holding these meetings to
share information and provide an opportunity for communities to offer
input on environmental justice considerations for the development of
the proposed LCRI. Information on how to register and request to speak
during one of the meetings is detailed in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section of this announcement.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 15, 2022. The
two identical public meetings will be held on October 25, 2022 (1 p.m.
to 4 p.m., eastern time) and November 1, 2022 (5 p.m. to 8 p.m.,
eastern time). The public meetings will be held in an online-only
format.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OW-2022-0801, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-OW-2022-0801 for this action. Comments received may be
posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov/, including any
personal information provided. For detailed instructions on sending
comments and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the
``Public Participation'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section of this announcement.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zaineb Alattar, Standards and Risk
Management Division, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington,
DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-9458; email address:
[email protected]. For more information about the proposed LCRI NPDWR,
visit: https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/lead-and-copper-rule-improvements.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Participation
These online meetings will be open to the public and EPA encourages
input and will provide opportunities for public engagement on
environmental justice related to development of the proposed LCRI.
A. Written Comments
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No, EPA-HQ-OW-2022-
0801 at https://www.regulations.gov; see instructions identified in the
ADDRESSES section of this announcement. Once submitted, comments cannot
be edited or removed from the docket. 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 a
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 or comment contents located outside of
the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or 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 https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
B. Participation in Public Meeting
Registration: Individuals planning to participate in either of the
online public meetings must register at https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/lead-and-copper-rule-improvements no later
than October 24, 2022, for the October 25, 2022, meeting and October
31, 2022, for the November 1, 2022, meeting. Individuals are also
invited to speak about environmental justice considerations for the
proposed LCRI during the meetings. Those interested in speaking can
sign-up to make brief verbal remarks as a part of their registration.
EPA will do its best to include all those interested in attending and
requesting verbal input but may have to limit attendance due to web
conferencing size or limit verbal remarks due to meeting time
limitations; therefore, EPA urges people to register early. Meeting
information and web conferencing meeting details, including telephone
call-in information, will be emailed to registered participants in
advance of each of the meetings. If you have any questions about
registering for the public meeting or need help joining, please email
[email protected]. If you have additional questions or
comments about the meeting, please email [email protected].
Special Accommodations: For information on electronic access or
accommodations for individuals with disabilities or other requested
assistance (e.g., language translation), please contact Zaineb Alattar
at (202) 564-9458 or by email at [email protected]. Please allow at least
five business days prior to each of the meetings to give EPA time to
process your request.
II. The Proposed LCRI National Primary Drinking Water Regulation
Under SDWA, EPA sets public health goals and enforceable standards
for drinking water quality. EPA initially addressed lead in drinking
water through the original Lead and Copper Rule (LCR), an NPDWR
promulgated in 1991 under SDWA. In January 2021, EPA issued the Lead
and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) and subsequently reviewed those
revisions to further evaluate the LCRR's protection of families and
communities, particularly those that have been disproportionately
impacted by lead in drinking water. In the LCRR Review, EPA identified
the following priority areas for improvement: proactive and equitable
lead service line replacement, strengthening compliance tap sampling to
better identify communities most at risk of lead in drinking water and
to compel lead reduction actions, and reducing the complexity of the
regulation through improvement of the action and trigger level
construct. On December 16, 2021, EPA announced it would propose a
rulemaking (the LCRI) to address these improvements. For more
information about the LCRR Review and the agency's decision to develop
a proposed LCRI NPDWR, see ``Review of the National Primary Drinking
Water Regulation: Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR)'' (86 FR 71574)
(December 17, 2021). EPA intends to propose for public comment a new
rule to revise the LCRR to advance the goals described above while
balancing stakeholder interests and incorporating required economic,
environmental justice, and other analyses. The agency intends to
propose
[[Page 61271]]
the LCRI in 2023 and take final action by October 16, 2024.
Jennifer L. McLain,
Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water.
[FR Doc. 2022-21857 Filed 10-7-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P