Setting Standards for Safe Drinking Water

2) Establish priorities.
Contaminants on the CCL are divided into priorities for regulation, health research and occurrence data collection. By August 2001, EPA will select five or more contaminants from the regulatory priorities on the CCL and determine whether to regulate them. To support these decisions, the Agency must determine that regulating the contaminants would present a meaningful opportunity to reduce health risk. If the EPA determines regulations are necessary, the Agency must propose them by August 2003, and finali ze them by February 2005.

The Agency will also select up to 30 unregulated contaminants from the CCL for monitoring by public water systems serving at least 100,000 people. Currently, most of the unregulated contaminants with potential of occurring in drinking water are pesticides and microbes. Every five years, EPA will repeat the cycle of revising the CCL, making regulatory determinations for five contaminants and identifying up to 30 contaminants for unregulated monitoring. In addition, every six years, EPA will re-evaluate existing regulations to determine if modifications are necessary.

Beginning in August 1999, a new National Contaminant Occurrence Database will store data on regulated and unregulated chemical, radiological, microbial and physical contaminants, and other such contaminants likely to occur in finished, raw and source waters of public water systems of the United States and its territories. While EPA will be the primary user pf the NCOD, information stored in the database will be available to the public.

3) Propose and finalize a National Primary Drinking Water Regulation.
After reviewing health effects studies, EPA sets a Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG), the maximum level of a contaminant in drinking water at which no known or anticipated adverse effect on the health of persons would occur, and which allows an adequate margin of safety. MCLGs are non-enforceable public health goals. Since MCLGs consider only public health and not the limits of detection and treatment technology, sometimes they are set at a level which water systems cannot meet. When determining an MCLG, EPA considers the risk to sensitive subpopulations (infants, children, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems) of experiencing a variety of adverse health effects.

• Non-Carcinogens (not including microbial contaminants): For chemicals that can cause adverse non-cancer health effects, the MCLG is based on the reference dose. A reference dose (RFD) is an estimate of the amount of a chemical that a person can be exposed to on a daily basis that is not anticipated to cause adverse health effects over a person's lifetime. In RFD calculations, sensitive subgroups are included, and uncertainty may span an order of magnitude.
  
  --The RFD is multiplied by typical adult body weight (70 kg) and divided by daily water consumption (2 liters) to provide a Drinking Water Equivalent Level (DWEL).
  
  --The DWEL is multiplied by a percentage of the total daily exposure contributed by drinking water (often 20 percent) to determine the MCLG.



• Chemical Contaminants -- Carcinogens: If there is evidence that a chemical may cause cancer, and there is no dose below which the chemical is considered safe, the MCLG is set at zero. If a chemical is carcinogenic and a safe dose can be determined, the MCLG is set at a level above zero that is safe.



• Microbial Contaminants: For microbial contaminants that may present public health risk, the MCLG is set at zero because ingesting one protozoa, virus, or bacterium may cause adverse health effects. EPA is conducting studies to determine whether there is a safe level above zero for some microbial contaminants. So far, however, this has not been established.

Once the MCLG is determined, EPA sets an enforceable standard. In most cases, the standard is a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL), the maximum permissible level of a contaminant in water which is delivered to any user of a public water system.

The MCL is set as close to the MCLG as feasible, which the Safe Drinking Water Act defines as the level that may be achieved with the use of the best available technology, treatment techniques, and other means which EPA finds are available(after examination for efficiency under field conditions and not solely under laboratory conditions) are available, taking cost into consideration.

When there is no reliable method that is economically and technically feasible to measure a contaminant at particularly low concentrations, a Treatment Technique (TT) is set rather than an MCL. A treatment technique (TT) is an enforceable procedure or level of technological performance which public water systems must follow to ensure control of a contaminant. Examples of Treatment Technique rules are the Surface Water Treatment Rule (disinfection and filtration) and the Lead and Copper Rule (optimized corrosion control).

After determining a MCL or TT based on affordable technology for large systems, EPA must complete an economic analysis to determine whether the benefits of that standard justify the costs. If not, EPA may adjust the MCL for a particular class or group of systems to a level that "maximizes health risk reduction benefits at a cost that is justified by the benefits." EPA may not adjust the MCL if the benefits justify the costs to large systems, and small systems unlikely to receive variances.

States are authorized to grant variances from standards for systems serving up to 3,300 people if the system cannot afford to comply with a rule (through treatment, an alternative source of water, or other restructuring) and the system installs EPA-approved variance technology. States can grant variances to systems serving 3,301-10,000 people with EPA approval. SDWA does not allow small systems to have variances for microbial contaminants.

Under certain circumstances, exemptions from standards may be granted to allow extra time to seek other compliance options or financial assistance. After the exemption period expires, the PWS must be in compliance. The terms of variances and exemptions must ensure no unreasonable risk to public health.

When must public water systems comply with new primary standards?
Primary standards go into effect three years after they are finalized. If capital improvements are required, EPA's Administrator or a state may allow this period to be extended up to two additional years.

Are there special considerations for small systems?
Small systems receive special consideration from EPA and states. More than 90 percent of all PWS are small, and these systems face the greatest challenge in providing safe water at affordable rates. The 1996 SDWA Amendments provide states with tools to comply with standards affordable for small systems. When setting new primary standards, EPA must identify technologies that achieve compliance and are affordable for systems serving fewer than 10,000 people. These may include packaged or modular systems and point-of-entry/point-of-use treatment devices under the control of the water system. When such technologies cannot be identified, EPA must identify affordable technologies that maximize contaminant reduction and protect public health. Small systems are considered in three categories: serving 10,000-3301 people; 3,300-501 people; and 500-25 people.

How can I provide input?
Public meeting notices and rules open for comment are published in the Federal Register. The following resources provide this and other drinking water information: