98-12306. Announcement of a Stakeholder Meeting on the Draft Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation and List

[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 91 (Tuesday, May 12, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 26137-26138]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-12306]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 141

[FRL-6012-1]


Announcement of a Stakeholder Meeting on the Draft Unregulated 
Contaminant Monitoring Regulation and List

AGENCY: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of a stakeholder meeting.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has scheduled a 
two-day public meeting on EPA's draft of the Unregulated Contaminant 
Monitoring Regulation (UCMR) and List. The focus of this meeting will 
be to identify and discuss issues raised by the draft Unregulated 
Contaminant Monitoring Regulation and List of unregulated contaminants 
to be monitored by public water systems as required by the Safe 
Drinking Water Act (SDWA) as amended in 1996. The UCMR is expected to 
be published as a proposed rule in the Fall of 1998. EPA has developed 
the draft regulation and list based on the input of the stakeholders 
meeting on the options for the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring 
Regulation and List held by EPA in Washington, DC on December 2-3, 
1997. The meeting will be open to any interested parties. EPA 
encourages the full participation of stakeholders throughout this 
process.

DATES: The stakeholder meeting on the Unregulated Contaminant 
Monitoring Program will be held on June 3-4, 1998, from 9 a.m. to 5 
p.m. EST.

ADDRESSES: Resolve, Inc. (an EPA contractor) will provide logistical 
support for the stakeholders meeting. The meeting will be held at 
Resolve, Inc., 1255 23rd Street, NW., Suite 275, Washington, DC 20037.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information about the 
meeting, please contact Mr. Jeff Citrin at Resolve, Inc., 1255 23rd 
Street, NW., Suite 275, Washington, DC 20037; phone: [phone]; 
fax: [phone], or e-mail at [e-mail]. For other 
information on the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation and 
List, please contact Charles Job, at the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Phone: [phone], Fax: [phone]. Members of the public 
wishing to attend the meeting may register by phone by contacting Mr. 
Jeff Citrin by May 20, 1998. Those registered by May 20, 1998 will 
receive background materials prior to the meeting.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background on the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation

    The EPA must issue regulations establishing the monitoring program 
of unregulated contaminants under the SDWA. Within 3 years after 
enactment, and every 5 years thereafter, EPA shall issue a list of not 
more than 30 unregulated contaminants to be monitored by public water 
systems. The results of this monitoring will be included in the 
National Contaminant Occurrence Database.
    Monitoring of unregulated contaminants shall vary based on system 
size, source water, and contaminants likely to be found. For those 
systems serving 10,000 persons or fewer, only a representative sample 
must be monitored. Each state may develop an unregulated contaminant 
monitoring plan for small and medium systems (serving fewer than 10,000 
persons). If a state plan is implemented, the EPA is required to cover 
the reasonable costs of testing and laboratory analysis using funds 
authorized by Congress for unregulated contaminant monitoring. EPA 
shall waive the requirement for monitoring of specific unregulated 
contaminants in a state if the state demonstrates that the criteria for 
listing are not applicable in the state. Water systems must provide the 
results of unregulated contaminant monitoring to the primacy agency 
(state/EPA) and must notify persons served by the system of the 
availability of results (Sec. 1445(a)(2)).

B. Request for Stakeholder Involvement

    The upcoming meeting deals specifically with EPA's efforts to 
develop a proposed Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation and 
List based, in part, on information obtained from Stakeholders' 
discussion of a draft regulation and list to be presented at the 
meeting and in the background materials. These items are available 
prior to the stakeholder meeting from Jeff Citrin, Resolve, Inc., 1255 
23rd St. NW., Suite 275, Washington, DC 20037; phone: [phone]; 
fax: [phone], or after the meeting from the EPA by contacting 
Chuck Job, at the U.S. EPA, 401 M Street, SW (4607), Washington, DC 
20460 or [e-mail]. EPA believes that the initial list of 
unregulated contaminants for which monitoring will be required will 
largely come from the Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) published in 
February 1998. EPA will use the CCL to establish priorities for 
additional occurrence data gathering, health effects research, and 
regulation development. One of EPA's goals is to obtain monitoring data 
on certain unregulated contaminants to determine whether any of the 
contaminants should be regulated in the future, thus protecting 
drinking water used by consumers from public water systems. The 
unregulated contaminant data will also be used to support the 
development of a future CCL and to guide research. These data will be 
reported to the National Contaminant Occurrence Data Base and to the 
users of the selected water systems, as required by law.
    The EPA Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water (OGWDW) sees the 
involvement of interested parties, representing a variety of 
perspectives and expertise, as critical to the development of a 
credible, effective and implementable regulation and list. This 
stakeholder meeting will provide an important opportunity for such 
involvement. Some anticipated issues for discussion include the 
following questions:
    1. What should be the criteria for determining which of the 
unregulated contaminants on the CCL should be a candidate for required 
monitoring?
    2. What should be the monitoring frequency, location and timing for 
unregulated contaminants?
    3. How will the Governors' petition process place contaminants on 
the monitoring list?

[[Page 26138]]

    4. How should the selection of a ``representative sample'' of small 
and medium systems be implemented?
    5. What is the relationship of state plans for representative 
samples to the national representative sample?
    6. Should waivers for monitoring be considered for large systems 
only?
    7. What monitoring data should be reported and how?
    8. Is the use of the Consumer Confidence Reporting and the National 
Contaminant Occurrence Database adequate for public notification?
    9. What will this program cost and what are its benefits?
    EPA has convened this public meeting to hear the views of 
stakeholders on the draft Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation 
and List. The public is invited to provide comments on the issues 
listed above or other issues related to the draft Unregulated 
Contaminant Monitoring Regulation and List during the June 3-4, 1998 
meeting.

    Dated: April 27, 1998.
William R. Diamond,
Acting Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water.
[FR Doc. 98-12306 Filed 5-11-98; 8:45 am]
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