[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 198 (Thursday, October 14, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55711-55712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-26809]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6457-6]
Announcement of Stakeholders Meeting on the Drinking Water
Contaminant Identification and Selection Process, and the 6-Year Review
of All Existing National Primary Drinking Water Regulations, as
Required by the Safe Drinking Water Act, as Amended in 1996
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of stakeholders meeting.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be holding a
two-day public meeting on November 16 and 17, 1999. This meeting will
encompass two Safe Drinking Water Act requirements that have similar
goals. Therefore, EPA has combined the meetings in order to increase
meeting participation and make attendance as convenient as possible for
stakeholders. The purpose of this meeting is to have a dialogue with
stakeholders, and the public at large, on the contaminant
identification and selection process (November 16), and to discuss the
process to perform a 6-Year Review of all National Primary Drinking
Water Regulations (NPDWRs) (November 17).
For the contaminant selection process, EPA will discuss and seek
input on: The draft research strategy EPA has formulated in order to
fill data gaps for contaminants identified on the Agency's first
drinking water contaminant candidate list (CCL); considerations in
making regulatory determinations from the CCL, and the process for
developing future CCLs.
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), as amended in1996, requires EPA
to establish a list of contaminants, and revise it every five years, to
aid in priority setting for the Agency's drinking water program. The
SDWA requires EPA to make determinations for five contaminants as to
whether a NPDWR is necessary. The SDWA, as amended, also requires that
on a 6-Year cycle EPA must review and revise, as appropriate, each
existing NPDWR and that any revision shall maintain, or provide for
greater protection of the health of persons. EPA would like to have a
dialogue with stakeholders on the various components of these projects,
including status of analytical methods, treatment technologies, health
effects information, and occurrence data.
At the upcoming meeting, EPA is seeking input from State and Tribal
drinking water programs, the regulated
[[Page 55712]]
community (public water systems), public health organizations,
academia, environmental and public interest groups, engineering firms,
and other stakeholders. EPA encourages the full participation of
stakeholders throughout this process.
DATES: The stakeholders meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 16,
1999 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, and Wednesday, November 17, 1999
from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.
REGISTRATION: To register for the meeting, please contact the Safe
Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST.
Those registered for the meeting by Wednesday, November 2, 1999 will
receive an agenda, logistics sheet, and background materials prior to
the meeting. Members of the public who cannot attend the meeting in
person may participate via conference call and should register with the
Safe Drinking Water Hotline. Conference lines will be allocated on the
basis of first-reserved, first served. The meeting will be held in the
offices of RESOLVE, Suite 275, 1255 23rd Street, NW, Washington, DC
20037.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on meeting
logistics, please contact the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-
4791. For information on other activities related to the contaminant
selection process for the CCL, and the 6-Year Review process, and other
EPA activities under the Safe Drinking Water Act in general, contact
the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Background
Under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), as amended in 1996, EPA
must review and revise, as appropriate, at intervals not less than
every six years, all existing National Primary Drinking Water
Regulations (NPDWRs). Revised NPDWRs, must maintain, or provide for
greater, protection of the health of persons. On November 17, EPA will
discuss the analyses the agency has initiated, or plans to conduct, to
identify candidate NPDWRs for possible revision. These analyses include
health effects, occurrence and exposure, analytical methods and
treatment technologies.
The SDWA also requires EPA, every five years, to develop and
publish a list of contaminants known or anticipated to occur in
drinking water. The Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) aids the Agency's
drinking water program to assess priorities for research, guidance
development, and possible development of NPDWRs. The SDWA also requires
a regulatory determination for five contaminants every five years. The
first CCL was published in the March 2, 1998 Federal Register. On
November 16, EPA seeks stakeholders' input on the process and
considerations in making regulatory determinations for five
contaminants by 2001. For contaminants listed on the first CCL, with
data gaps identified that must be filled before EPA can make a
scientifically informed regulatory determination, EPA's Office of
Research and Development is developing a Research Strategy. EPA will
discuss the status of the draft CCL Research Strategy at the upcoming
stakeholders meeting. The meeting will also present an overview of
studies completed, or are underway, by the National Research Council
that evaluates methods for identifying and prioritizing drinking water
contaminants.
The upcoming meeting addresses several aspects of EPA's efforts to
determine the contaminant selection process from the Contaminant
Candidate List and the new process of reviewing existing NPDWRs. Those
registered for the meeting by Wednesday, November 2, 1999 will receive
an agenda, logistics sheet, and background materials prior to the
meeting.
B. Request for Stakeholder Involvement
EPA has announced this public meeting to hear the views of
stakeholders on EPA's plans for the contaminant selection process from
the CCL, and activities to develop a 6-Year Review Plan. The public is
invited to provide comments on the issues listed above during the
November 16 and 17, 1999 meeting, or in writing to Mike Osinski,
Contaminant Candidate List Team Leader, U.S. EPA, Office of Ground
Water and Drinking Water, 401 M Street, NW, MC 4607, Washington DC
20460 or [email protected]; or to Judy Lebowich, 6-Year Review
Team Co-Leader, U.S. EPA, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water,
401 M Street, SW, MC 4607, Washington DC 20460 or
[email protected], or Marc Parrotta, 6-Year Review Team Co-Leader,
U.S. EPA, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, 401 M Street, SW,
MC 4607, Washington DC 20460 or [email protected].
Dated: October 7, 1999.
Elizabeth Fellows,
Acting Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water,
Environmental Protection Agency.
[FR Doc. 99-26809 Filed 10-13-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P