98-15448. Removal of the Prohibition on the Use of Point of Use Devices for Compliance with National Primary Drinking Water Regulations  

  • [Federal Register Volume 63, Number 112 (Thursday, June 11, 1998)]
    [Rules and Regulations]
    [Pages 31932-31934]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 98-15448]
    
    
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    ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
    
    40 CFR Part 141
    
    [FRL-6109-7]
    
    
    Removal of the Prohibition on the Use of Point of Use Devices for 
    Compliance with National Primary Drinking Water Regulations
    
    AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
    
    ACTION: Final rule.
    
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    SUMMARY: Today's action removes the prohibition on point of use (POU) 
    devices as compliance technologies for National Primary Drinking Water 
    Regulations that is set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations in 
    section 141.101. EPA is removing the prohibition on the POU devices 
    because it conflicts with section 1412(b)(4)(E)(ii) of the Safe 
    Drinking Water Act (SDWA) as amended on August 6, 1996. No other part 
    of section 141.101 is affected by today's action.
    
    DATES: This action is effective June 11, 1998.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Safe Drinking Water Hotline, toll 
    free (800) 426-4791, or Tara Chhay Cameron; Targeting and Analysis 
    Branch; Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water; EPA (4607), 401 M 
    Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20460; telephone (202) 260-3702.
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    
    Table of Contents
    
    A. Regulated Entities
    B. Explanation of Today's Action
    C. Administrative Requirements
        1. Executive Order 12866
        2. Regulatory Flexibility Act
        3. Paperwork Reduction Act
        4. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and Executive Order 12875
        5. Executive Order 13045--Protection of Children From 
    Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks
        6. Submission to Congress and the General Accounting Office
        7. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act
        8. Administrative Procedure Act
    
    A. Regulated Entities
    
        Entities potentially regulated by this action are those which meet 
    the criteria of the Public Water Systems (PWS) definition. Regulated 
    categories and entities include:
    
                                                                            
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                    Category                  Example of Regulated Entities 
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    Industry...............................  Public Water Systems           
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
        This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a 
    guide for readers regarding entities likely to be regulated by this 
    action. This table lists the type of entities that EPA is now aware of 
    that could potentially be regulated by this action. Other types of 
    entities not listed in the table could also be regulated. To determine 
    whether your entity is regulated by this action, you should carefully 
    examine the applicability criteria in Secs. 141.2, 142.2, 142.3, and 
    142.10 of title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations. If you have 
    questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular 
    entity, consult the person listed in the preceding FOR FURTHER 
    INFORMATION CONTACT section.
    
    B. Explanation of Today's Action
    
        On July 8, 1987 (52 FR 25716) EPA promulgated a requirement in 
    section 40 CFR 141.101 that public water systems shall not use POU 
    devices to achieve compliance with a maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 
    a National Primary Drinking Water Regulations.
        On August 6, 1996, amendments to the SDWA were enacted into law. 
    Section 1412(b)(4)(E)(ii) of the SDWA, as amended, authorizes the use 
    of POU devices by public water systems to comply with an MCL under 
    certain circumstances. In order to make the regulatory provisions 
    consistent with the new statutory language, with today's action, EPA 
    removes the prohibition on the use of POU devices by public water 
    systems to comply with an MCL. No other provision of section 141.101 is 
    affected by this action.
    
    C. Administrative Requirements
    
    1. Executive Order 12866
    
        Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51,735 (October 4, 1993)), the 
    Agency must determine whether the regulatory action is ``significant'' 
    and therefore subject to OMB review and the requirements of the 
    Executive Order. The Order defines ``significant regulatory action'' as 
    one that is likely to result in a rule that may:
        (a) Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or 
    adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the 
    economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public 
    health or safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or 
    communities;
        (b) Create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an 
    action taken or planned by another agency;
        (c) Materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, 
    user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients 
    thereof; or
        (d) Raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal 
    mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in 
    the Executive Order.
        It has been determined that this rule is not a ``significant 
    regulatory action'' under the terms of Executive Order 12866 and is 
    therefore not subject to OMB review.
    
    2. Regulatory Flexibility Act
    
        The Agency has determined that the rule being issued today is not 
    subject to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), which generally 
    requires an Agency to conduct a regulatory flexibility analysis of any 
    significant impact the rule will have on a substantial number of small 
    entities. By its terms, the RFA applies only to rules subject to notice 
    and comment rulemaking requirements
    
    [[Page 31933]]
    
    under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) or any other statute. 
    Today's rule is not subject to notice and comment requirements under 
    the APA or any other statute because it falls into the interpretative 
    statement exception under APA section 553(b) and because the Agency has 
    found ``good cause'' to publish without prior notice and comment.
    
    3. Paperwork Reduction Act
    
        There are no information collection requirements in this rule.
    
    4. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and Executive Order 12875
    
        Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), Pub. 
    L. 104-4, establishes requirements for Federal agencies to assess the 
    effects of their regulatory actions on State, local, and tribal 
    governments and the private sector. Under section 202 of the UMRA, EPA 
    generally must prepare a written statement, including a cost-benefit 
    analysis, for proposed and final rules with ``Federal mandates'' that 
    may result in expenditures to State, local, and tribal governments, in 
    the aggregate, or to the private sector, of $100 million or more in any 
    one year. Before promulgating an EPA rule for which a written statement 
    is needed, section 205 of the UMRA generally requires EPA to identify 
    and consider a reasonable number of regulatory alternatives and adopt 
    the least costly, most cost-effective or least burdensome alternative 
    that achieves the objectives of the rule. The provisions of section 205 
    do not apply when they are inconsistent with applicable law. Moreover, 
    section 205 allows EPA to adopt an alternative other than the least 
    costly, most cost-effective or least burdensome alternative if the 
    Administrator publishes with the final rule an explanation why that 
    alternative was not adopted. Before EPA establishes any regulatory 
    requirements that may significantly or uniquely affect small 
    governments, including tribal governments, it must have developed under 
    section 203 of the UMRA a small government agency plan. The plan must 
    provide for notifying potentially affected small governments, enabling 
    officials of affected small governments to have meaningful and timely 
    input in the development of EPA regulatory proposals with significant 
    Federal intergovernmental mandates, and informing, educating, and 
    advising small governments on compliance with the regulatory 
    requirements.
        Today's rule merely codifies a statutory amendment authorizing the 
    use of certain treatment technology under the SDWA. It thus contains no 
    Federal mandates (under the regulatory provisions of Title II of the 
    UMRA) for State, local, or tribal governments or the private sector. 
    Thus, today's rule is not subject to the requirements of sections 202 
    and 205 of the UMRA.
        Similarly, EPA has determined that this rule contains no regulatory 
    requirements that might significantly or uniquely affect small 
    governments, including tribal governments. Therefore, this action does 
    not require a small government agency plan under UMRA section 203.
        Because this rule imposes no intergovernmental mandate, it also is 
    not subject to Executive Order 12875 (Enhancing the Intergovernmental 
    Partnership).
    
    5. Executive Order 13045--Protection of Children From Environmental 
    Health Risks and Safety Risks
    
        Today's action is not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885 
    (April 23, 1997)) which requires agencies to identify and assess the 
    environmental health and safety risks of their rules on children. 
    Pursuant to the definitions in section 2-202, Executive Order 13045 
    only applies to rules that are economically significant as defined 
    under Executive Order 12866 and concern an environmental health or 
    safety risk that may disproportionately affect children. This rule is 
    not economically significant and does not concern a risk 
    disproportionately affecting children.
    
    6. Submission to Congress and the General Accounting Office
    
        The Congressional Review Act, (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) as added by 
    the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 
    (SBREFA), generally provides that before a rule may take effect, the 
    agency promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes 
    a copy of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the 
    Comptroller General of the United States. However, section 808 provides 
    that any rule for which the issuing agency for good cause finds that 
    notice and public procedure thereon are impracticable, unnecessary or 
    contrary to the public interest, shall take effect at such time as the 
    agency promulgating the rule determines. 5 U.S.C. 808(2). As discussed 
    in section C.8., EPA has made such a good cause finding for this rule, 
    including the reasons therefor, and established an effective date of 
    June 11, 1998. EPA will submit a report containing this rule and other 
    required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 
    Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior 
    to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. This rule is not a 
    ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
    
    7. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act
    
        Under section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and 
    Advancement Act, the Agency is required to use voluntary consensus 
    standards in its regulatory and procurement activities unless to do so 
    would be inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise impractical. 
    Voluntary consensus standards are technical standards (e.g., material 
    specifications, test methods, sampling procedures, business practices, 
    etc.) that are developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standard 
    bodies. Where available and potentially applicable voluntary consensus 
    standards are not used by EPA, the Act requires the Agency to provide 
    Congress, through the Office of Management and Budget, an explanation 
    of the reasons for not using such standards. Because this rule does not 
    involve or require the use of any technical standards, EPA does not 
    believe that this Act is applicable to this rule. Moreover, EPA is 
    unaware of any voluntary consensus standards relevant to this 
    rulemaking. Therefore, even if the Act were applicable to this kind of 
    rulemaking, EPA does not believe that there are any ``available or 
    potentially applicable'' voluntary consensus standards.
    
    8. Administrative Procedure Act
    
        Because this rule merely codifies and interprets a statute, the 
    amended SDWA, it is an ``interpretative rule.'' As a result, it is 
    exempt from the notice and comment requirements for rulemakings under 
    section 553 of the APA (See section 553(b)(3)(A)). In addition, because 
    this rule merely codifies statutory requirements and makes clarifying 
    changes to the rules necessary to implement the amended statute, notice 
    and comment is ``unnecessary'' and thus the Agency has ``good cause'' 
    to publish this rule without prior notice and comment (APA section 
    553(b)(3)(B)). For the same reasons, EPA is making the provisions of 
    this rule effective upon promulgation, as authorized under the APA (See 
    sections 553(d)(2) and (3)).
    
    List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 141
    
        Environmental protection, Water supply.
    
    
    [[Page 31934]]
    
    
        Dated: June 3, 1998.
    Carol M. Browner,
    Administrator.
        For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Environmental 
    Protection Agency amends 40 CFR Part 141 as follows:
    
    PART 141--NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING WATER REGULATIONS
    
        1. The authority citation for Part 141 continues to read as 
    follows:
    
        Authority: 42 U.S.C. 300f, 300g, 300g-1, 300g-2, 300g-3, 300g-4, 
    300g-5, 300g-6, 300j-4, and 300j-9.
    
        2. Revise Sec. 141.101 to read as follows:
    
    
    Sec. 141.101  Use of bottled water.
    
        Public water systems shall not use bottled water to achieve 
    compliance with an MCL. Bottled water may be used on a temporary basis 
    to avoid unreasonable risk to health.
    [FR Doc. 98-15448 Filed 6-10-98; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
    
    
    

Document Information

Effective Date:
6/11/1998
Published:
06/11/1998
Department:
Environmental Protection Agency
Entry Type:
Rule
Action:
Final rule.
Document Number:
98-15448
Dates:
This action is effective June 11, 1998.
Pages:
31932-31934 (3 pages)
Docket Numbers:
FRL-6109-7
PDF File:
98-15448.pdf
CFR: (1)
40 CFR 141.101