New EPA requirements in the Safe Drinking Water Act
Dear Reg,
Thanks for your questions and for trying to stay up to date! Actually, it was the United States Congress that passed America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018. This bill passed both houses of congress by virtually unanimous votes; President Trump signed it into law in October 2018. This new law covers a vast array of water infrastructure matters and makes several important amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act. EPA, states and public drinking water systems must ultimately implement the changes. Here are a few of the most important items.
It appears that the next (fifth) round of sampling under the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR5) beginning in the early 2020s will require all systems serving between 3,300 and 10,000 people to collect samples. The current UCMR4 requires all systems serving above 10,000 people to sample and only a few smaller systems to sample. This requirement will become effective only if congress authorizes additional funding to support implementation. So the next step will be for EPA to develop specific rules and then wait to see if congress authorizes the additional funding. The UCMR is primarily implemented by EPA with limited support from states.
Community water systems serving more than 10,000 people will be required to provide Consumer Confidence reports at least twice per year and may do so via electronic distribution. EPA has two years to develop specific regulations for this requirement and is also charged with improving readability, understanding and accuracy. This new requirement will be implemented by the states after they adopt the rule. It is likely that this requirement will not be effective until 2022 or so.
Community water systems serving more than 3,300 people will be required to conduct a risk assessment that addresses natural hazards and resilience and review it every five years. An emergency response plan is also required. EPA is required to guidance and technical assistance on how to conduct the risk assessments and prepare the plans. These documents do not need to be submitted to EPA, but a certification that they were completed needs to be sent to EPA by 2020 or 2021. It appears that states will not have a direct role in implementing this requirement, but in Colorado we intend to stay engaged and help water systems via training, etc. as resources permit. EPA is also required to establish a grant program to help water systems improve resilience.
They were quite a few other changes as well, but these are the key changes involving regulatory requirements. Stay tuned for more information in the future.
-Aqua Man
