98-21034. Availability of Water Conservation Plan Guidelines

[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 151 (Thursday, August 6, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42194-42195]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-21034]



[[Page 42193]]

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Part III





Environmental Protection Agency





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Availability of Water Conservation Plan Guidelines; Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 151 / Thursday, August 6, 1998 / 
Notices

[[Page 42194]]



ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[No. W-98-14; FRL-6137-5]


Availability of Water Conservation Plan Guidelines

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of document availability.

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SUMMARY: Section 1455 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) as amended 
in 1996 requires the Agency to publish guidelines for water 
conservation plans for public water systems, taking into consideration 
such factors as system size, water availability and climate by August 
6, 1998. States may require water systems to submit a water 
conservation plan consistent with EPA's guidelines as a condition of 
receiving a loan from a State Drinking Water Loan Fund. Today, EPA is 
making available a document entitled ``Water Conservation Plan 
Guidelines.''

DATES: The Guidelines are effective on August 6, 1998. After August 6, 
1999, States may require water systems to submit a water conservation 
plan consistent with these guidelines as a condition of receiving a 
loan from a State Drinking Water Loan Fund.

ADDRESSES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for electronic access, 
and telephone and facsimile requests. Paper copies of the Guidelines 
may be obtained by writing to Office of Water Resource Center (Mail 
Code RC4100), U. S. EPA, 401 M Street, S.W., Washington D. C. 20460. 
Further information on the Guidelines may be obtained by writing to 
John E. Flowers (Mail Code 4204), U. S. EPA, 401 M Street, S.W., 
Washington D. C. 20460.
    Docket: The administrative record for this notice (docket number W-
98-14) is located in the Water Docket, East Tower Basement, U. S. EPA, 
401 M Street, S.W., Washington, D. C. 20460.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John E. Flowers, [phone] or 
[e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Development of the Guidelines

    EPA developed the Guidelines through a broad-based, open and 
participatory process. A public workshop was held in Denver, CO in 
September 1997. EPA also established a Subcommittee under the auspices 
of the Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC). The Subcommittee met 
four times and held one conference call. Membership included State 
agencies, water utilities, local governments, environmental groups, and 
various industry and public interest groups. EPA announced a 30-day 
public comment period for the draft Guidelines in the Federal Register 
on April 21, 1998. We have made changes to the Guidelines to respond to 
comments.

2. Description of the Guidelines

    The Water Conservation Plan Guidelines document is organized into 
six parts. The first part introduces the Guidelines and provides 
information to the States about their nature and possible use. The 
second part, written for water systems, is an overview of the 
organization, content and use of the Guidelines. The next three parts 
of the document contain the water conservation plan guidelines--Basic, 
Intermediate, and Advanced--which correspond generally to water system 
size. The Basic Guidelines contain five simplified planning steps. The 
Intermediate and Advanced Guidelines follow nine planning steps: 
Specify Conservation Planning Goals, Develop Water System Profile, 
Prepare Demand Forecast, Describe Planned Facilities, Identify 
Conservation Measures, Analyze Benefits and Costs, Select Measures, 
Integrate Resources and Modify Forecasts, and Present Implementation 
and Evaluation Strategy. The Guidelines provide instructions and 
worksheets that can be used by a public water system in developing a 
water conservation plan. The last part of the document contains six 
appendixes of supporting information: detailed descriptions of 
conservation measures, conservation benchmarks, acronyms and a 
glossary, information resources, funding sources, and state contacts. 
The Guidelines do not contain any federal requirements; however, States 
and Indian Tribes may use the Guidelines to implement water 
conservation under their own laws.

3. Response to Public Comments

    Twenty-six sets of public comments on the draft Guidelines were 
received, as well as comments from the LGAC. Responses to the most 
frequently expressed, substantive comments are provided below.
    Comment: Implementation of the Guidelines should be at a State's 
discretion; the Guidelines should never become mandatory.
    Response: SDWA stipulates that the Guidelines are for the voluntary 
use by States and the document reiterates this.
    Comment: Only one water conservation plan should be required of a 
water system; the Guidelines should be consistent with those of the U. 
S. Bureau of Reclamation.
    Response: This is an implementation issue that States decide. The 
Guidelines do not preclude a State from developing a multi-purpose plan 
requirement that is consistent with the Bureau of Reclamation's 
guidelines.
    Comment: The draft Guidelines do not recognize that in many States 
the primacy agency, State Revolving Fund (SRF) agency and water 
conservation agency are separate entities.
    Response: The Guidelines recognize in Part 1, Information to 
States, the need for States to coordinate among various agencies and 
suggest a formal delineation of responsibilities.
    Comment: More emphasis is needed on the environmental benefits of 
water conservation, especially that of protecting water resources.
    Response: The Guidelines now discuss more fully the environmental 
benefits of water conservation which include protection of both surface 
and ground water supplies, maintenance of in-stream flows, and 
protection of aquatic habitats.
    Comment: The Basic Guidelines are too complex for systems which 
serve less than 10,000 people. A cost-benefit analysis should not be 
included.
    Response: The Basic Guidelines have been significantly simplified. 
The number of sections has been reduced from nine to five; and the 
cost-benefit analysis has been deleted.
    Comment: The Modified Basic Approach should be clarified.
    Response: The Modified Basic Approach, renamed the Capacity-
Development Approach, is explained more fully in Section 5 of Part 1. 
The Capacity-Development Approach can be implemented in conjunction 
with a State's capacity development strategy required by section 
1420(c) of SDWA. It is a way for a State to directly address a small 
system's lack of conservation planning and implementation capacity 
through technical and financial assistance in lieu of any SRF water 
conservation planning requirement.
    Comment: All systems should consider the full range of conservation 
measures; the three level system in the Guidelines is too prescriptive 
and limited.
    Response: Text and graphics have been revised to encourage water 
systems to consider the broadest range of measures applicable to their 
situation. An explanation is also provided that the list of measures is 
not intended to be comprehensive and that measures may improve or 
expand in the future as new technologies and techniques are developed.
    Comment: Not enough discussion is provided about possible obstacles 
to

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conservation, including water rights limitations, public utility 
commission restrictions, and short-term financial impacts.
    Response: The Guidelines now has a section in Part 1 devoted to 
State policy considerations, particularly the possible disincentives to 
conservation related to water rights and investor-owned utility 
regulation. The Guidelines also contain a Revenue Effects section that 
elaborates more on that issue.
    Comment: Tying water conservation planning to the Drinking Water 
State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program is not reasonable or warranted; 
public health should be the priority.
    Response: States can link water conservation to their DWSRF program 
at their option. Water conservation can enhance the achievement of 
public health goals by reducing capital and operating costs of 
infrastructure, thereby stretching limited loan funds.
    Comment: Include criteria that States could use to exempt systems 
from a planning requirement.
    Response: The Guidelines do not preclude exemptions, States are in 
the best position to determine the circumstances under which an 
exemption should be granted. Use of the Capacity-Development Approach 
should greatly reduce the need for exemptions.

4. Outreach to States

    EPA is making plans to assist States in the implementation of water 
conservation programs through workshops, models, success stories and 
other outreach. In addition, EPA plans to prepare comparable guidelines 
for the Clean Water SRF program. We also envision updating the 
Guidelines within five years.

5. Distribution of the Guidelines

    During August, EPA will mail the Guidelines to approximately 500 
state officials, municipalities, organizations and individuals. The 
Guidelines may also be viewed and down-loaded from EPA's homepage, 
http://www.epa.gov/OWM/genwave.htm. Both HTML and PDF versions are 
available. Paper copies may also be obtained by contacting the Office 
of Water Resource Center: telephone [phone] (24 hour voice 
mail), fax at [phone], or electronic mail to 
[e-mail].

6. Docket

    The administrative record for this notice has been established 
under docket number W-98-14, and includes supporting documentation as 
well as printed, paper versions of electronic comments. The record is 
available for inspection from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
excluding legal holidays at the Water Docket, East Tower Basement, U.S. 
EPA, 401 M Street, Washington, D.C. For access to docket materials, 
please call [phone] to schedule an appointment.

    Dated: August 2, 1998.
J. Charles Fox,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Water.
[FR Doc. 98-21034 Filed 8-5-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-U