[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 11, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 49101-49104]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12645]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 141

[EPA-HQ-OW-2022-0114; FRL 8543-04-OW]
RIN 2040-AG18


PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation; Correction

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule; correction.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is correcting 
formatting and entry designations in a final rule that was published in 
the Federal Register on April 26, 2024. The

[[Page 49102]]

rule finalized National Primary Drinking Water Regulations under the 
Safe Drinking Water Act for five individual per- and polyfluoroalkyl 
substances (PFAS): perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane 
sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), 
perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid 
(HFPO-DA, commonly known as GenX Chemicals). The rule finalized a NPDWR 
for two or more mixtures of PFNA, PFHXs, HFPO-DA and perfluorobutane 
sulfonic acid (PFBS). This document corrects formatting and entry 
designations in the final regulation.

DATES: Effective on June 25, 2024.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2022-0114. All documents in the docket are 
listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in 
the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as 
copyrighted material, is not placed on the internet and will be 
publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket 
materials are available electronically through https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexis Lan, Office of Ground Water and 
Drinking Water, Standards and Risk Management Division (Mail Code 
4607M), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number 202-564-0841; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EPA is making several corrections for 
inadvertent errors in the regulatory text for the final rule:

I. Does this action apply to me?

    This action makes formatting changes for the incorporation of the 
April 26, 2024, final PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation 
into the Code of Federal Regulations. The agency included in the April 
26, 2024, final rule a list of those entities that may be potentially 
affected by the final PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation.

II. What does this correction do?

    The EPA issued a final rule in the Federal Register on April 26, 
2024 (89 CFR 32532) (FRL 8543-02-OW), finalizing National Primary 
Drinking Water Regulations under the Safe Drinking Water Act for PFAS: 
PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA, and as well as two or more mixtures 
of PFNA, PFHXs, HFPO-DA and PFBS. The EPA inadvertently listed 
incorrect entry designations in Sec.  141.61. This document corrects 
the designation of entries in the tables in Sec.  141.61(c)(1) and 
Sec.  141.61(c)(2). With the corrections to Sec.  141.61(c)(1) and 
Sec.  141.61(c)(2), the subsequent tables in Sec.  141.61(c) are also 
renumbered; tables 5 and 6 are changed to tables 3 and 4. These 
corrections to Sec.  141.61 are also now reflected appropriately in 
amendatory instructions 7 and 8. This document corrects the final 
regulation.

III. Why is this correction issued as final rule?

    Section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 
553(b)(3)(B)) provides that, when an agency for good cause finds that 
notice and public procedure are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary 
to the public interest, the agency may issue a final rule without 
providing notice and an opportunity for public comment. The EPA has 
determined that there is a good cause for making this correction final 
without prior proposal and opportunity for comment, because the EPA 
inadvertently listed the designation of entries incorrectly in Sec.  
141.61 in the document published in the Federal Register. The EPA finds 
that this constitutes good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B).

Corrections

    In FR Doc. 2024-07773 beginning on page 32532 in the Federal 
Register of April 26, 2024, the EPA is making the following 
corrections:


Sec.  141.60   [Corrected]

0
1. On page 32744, in the third column, in Sec.  141.60, in paragraph 
(a)(4), ``The effective date for paragraphs (c)(34) through (40) of 
Sec.  141.61 (listed in table 4 to paragraph (c)) is April 26, 2029.'' 
is corrected to read ``The effective date for Sec.  141.61(c)(2)(i) 
through (vii) is April 26, 2029.''

0
2. On page 32744, starting in the third column, amendatory instruction 
8 for Sec.  141.61 and the accompanying regulatory text are corrected 
to read as follows:
    8. Amend Sec.  141.61 by:
    a. In paragraph (a), revising the introductory text and adding a 
table heading;
    b. In paragraph (b), revising the introductory text and the table 
heading;
    c. Revising and republishing paragraph (c); and
    d. Adding paragraphs (d) and (e).
    The revisions and additions read as follows:


Sec.  141.61  Maximum contaminant levels for organic contaminants.

    (a) The following maximum contaminant levels for volatile organic 
contaminants apply to community and non-transient, non-community water 
systems.

Table 1 to Paragraph (a)--Maximum Contaminant Levels for Volatile 
Organic Contaminants

* * * * *
    (b) The Administrator, pursuant to section 1412 of the Act, hereby 
identifies as indicated in table 2 to this paragraph (b) granular 
activated carbon (GAC), packed tower aeration (PTA), or oxidation (OX) 
as the best technology, treatment technique, or other means available 
for achieving compliance with the maximum contaminant level for organic 
contaminants identified in paragraphs (a) and (c) of this section, 
except for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Table 2 to Paragraph (b)--BAT for Organic Contaminants in Paragraphs 
(a) and (c) of This Section, Except for PFAS

* * * * *
    (c) The following maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) in paragraphs 
(c)(1) and (2) of this section for synthetic organic contaminants apply 
to community water systems and non-transient, non-community water 
systems; paragraph (c)(2) of this section also contains health-based 
water concentrations (HBWCs) for selected per- and poly-fluoroalkyl 
substances (PFAS) used in calculating the Hazard Index.
    (1) MCLs for Synthetic Organic Contaminants, Except for PFAS.

[[Page 49103]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
              CAS No.                    Contaminant        MCL (mg/l)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(i) 15972-60-8....................  Alachlor............           0.002
(ii) 116-06-3.....................  Aldicarb............           0.003
(iii) 1646-87-3...................  Aldicarb sulfoxide..           0.004
(iv) 1646-87-4....................  Aldicarb sulfone....           0.002
(v) 1912-24-9.....................  Atrazine............           0.003
(vi) 1563-66-2....................  Carbofuran..........            0.04
(vii) 57-74-9.....................  Chlordane...........           0.002
(viii) 96-12-8....................  Dibromochloropropane          0.0002
(ix) 94-75-7......................  2,4-D...............            0.07
(x) 106-93-4......................  Ethylene dibromide..         0.00005
(xi) 76-44-8......................  Heptachlor..........          0.0004
(xii) 1024-57-3...................  Heptachlor epoxide..          0.0002
(xiii) 58-89-9....................  Lindane.............          0.0002
(xiv) 72-43-5.....................  Methoxychlor........            0.04
(xv) 1336-36-3....................  Polychlorinated               0.0005
                                     biphenyls.
(xvi) 87-86-5.....................  Pentachlorophenol...           0.001
(xvii) 8001-35-2..................  Toxaphene...........           0.003
(xviii) 93-72-1...................  2,4,5-TP............            0.05
(xix) 50-32-8.....................  Benzo[a]pyrene......          0.0002
(xx) 75-99-0......................  Dalapon.............             0.2
(xxi) 103-23-1....................  Di(2-ethylhexyl)                 0.4
                                     adipate.
(xxii) 117-81-7...................  Di(2-ethylhexyl)               0.006
                                     phthalate.
(xxiii) 88-85-7...................  Dinoseb.............           0.007
(xxiv) 85-00-7....................  Diquat..............            0.02
(xxv) 145-73-3....................  Endothall...........             0.1
(xxvi) 72-20-8....................  Endrin..............           0.002
(xvii) 1071-53-6..................  Glyphosate..........             0.7
(xxviii) 118-74-1.................  Hexacholorbenzene...           0.001
(xxix) 77-47-4....................  Hexachlorocyclopenta            0.05
                                     diene.
(xxx) 23135-22-0..................  Oxamyl (Vydate).....             0.2
(xxxi) 1918-02-1..................  Picloram............             0.5
(xxxii) 122-34-9..................  Simazine............           0.004
(xxxiii) 1746-01-6................  2,3,7,8-TCDD              3 x 10-\8\
                                     (Dioxin).
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (2) MCLs and HBWCs for PFAS.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                HBWC (mg/l) for
               CAS. No.                         Contaminant              MCL (mg/l) (unless       Hazard Index
                                                                          otherwise noted)        calculation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(i) Not applicable...................  Hazard Index PFAS (HFPO-DA,    1 (unitless) \1\.......    Not applicable.
                                        PFBS, PFHxS, and PFNA).
(ii) 122499-17-6.....................  HFPO-DA......................  0.00001................           0.00001.
(iii) 45187-15-3.....................  PFBS.........................  No individual MCL......             0.002.
(iv) 108427-53-8.....................  PFHxS........................  0.00001................           0.00001.
(v) 72007-68-2.......................  PFNA.........................  0.00001................           0.00001.
(vi) 45285-51-6......................  PFOA.........................  0.0000040..............    Not applicable.
(vii) 45298-90-6.....................  PFOS.........................  0.0000040..............    Not applicable.
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\1\ The PFAS Mixture Hazard Index (HI) is the sum of component hazard quotients (HQs), which are calculated by
  dividing the measured component PFAS concentration in water by the relevant health-based water concentration
  when expressed in the same units (shown in ng/l for simplification). The HBWC for PFHxS is 10 ng/l; the HBWC
  for HFPO-DA is 10 ng/l; the HBWC for PFNA is 10 ng/l; and the HBWC for PFBS is 2000 ng/l.

Hazard Index = ([HFPO-DAwater ng/l]/[10 ng/l]) + 
([PFBSwater ng/l]/[2000 ng/l]) + ([PFNAwater ng/
l]/[10 ng/l]) + ([PFHxSwater ng/l]/[10 ng/l])
HBWC = health-based water concentration
HQ = hazard quotient
ng/l = nanograms per liter
PFASwater = the concentration of a specific PFAS in water

    (d) The Administrator, pursuant to section 1412 of the Act, hereby 
identifies in table 3 to this paragraph (d) the best technology, 
treatment technique, or other means available for achieving compliance 
with the maximum contaminant levels for all regulated PFAS identified 
in paragraph (c) of this section:

Table 3 to Paragraph (d)--Best Available Technologies for PFAS Listed in
                      Paragraph (c) of This Section
------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Contaminant                              BAT
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hazard Index PFAS (HFPO-DA, PFBS,        Anion exchange, GAC, reverse
 PFHxS, and PFNA).                        osmosis, nanofiltration.
HFPO-DA................................  Anion exchange, GAC, reverse
                                          osmosis, nanofiltration.
PFHxS..................................  Anion exchange, GAC, reverse
                                          osmosis, nanofiltration.
PFNA...................................  Anion exchange, GAC, reverse
                                          osmosis, nanofiltration.

[[Page 49104]]

 
PFOA...................................  Anion exchange, GAC, reverse
                                          osmosis, nanofiltration.
PFOS...................................  Anion exchange, GAC, reverse
                                          osmosis, nanofiltration.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (e) The Administrator, pursuant to section 1412 of the Act, hereby 
identifies in table 4 to this paragraph (e) the affordable technology, 
treatment technique, or other means available to systems serving 10,000 
persons or fewer for achieving compliance with the maximum contaminant 
levels for all regulated PFAS identified in paragraph (c) of this 
section:

 Table 4 to Paragraph (e)--Small System Compliance Technologies (SSCTs)
                                for PFAS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             Affordable for listed small
  Small system compliance technology \1\        system categories \2\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Granular Activated Carbon.................  All size categories.
Anion Exchange............................  All size categories.
Reverse Osmosis, Nanofiltration \3\.......  3,301-10,000.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Section 1412(b)(4)(E)(ii) of SDWA specifies that SSCTs must be
  affordable and technically feasible for small systems.
\2\ The Act (ibid.) specifies three categories of small systems: (i)
  those serving 25 or more, but fewer than 501, (ii) those serving more
  than 500, but fewer than 3,301, and (iii) those serving more than
  3,300, but fewer than 10,001.
\3\ ``Technologies reject a large volume of water and may not be
  appropriate for areas where water quantity may be an issue.


Bruno Pigott,
Assistant Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2024-12645 Filed 6-10-24; 8:45 am]
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