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UNDERGROUND
INJECTION CONTROL/ SOURCE WATER PROTECTION NDWAC WORKING GROUP
The National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC) was established
to provide practical and independent advice, consultation, and recommendations
to the Agency on the activities, functions and policies related to the
Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) as amended. At the April 1997 meeting
it was decided that working groups would be formed to address various
subjects, one of which was Shallow Injection Wells (Class V)/ Drinking
Water Source Protection Program Integration.
In January 1997, EPA entered into a consent decree with the Sierra Club,1
which alleged that EPA failed to comply with §1421 of the Safe Drinking
Water Act (SDWA). Section 1421 requires EPA to publish proposed and final
regulations which prevent underground injection that endangers underground
sources of drinking water (USDWs). The consent decree requires EPA to
regulate wells known to pose a significant threat to USDWs, study the
remaining Class V wells, and based on the outcome of the study, publish
a notice in the Federal Register either proposing regulations or proposing
a decision that no further rule making is necessary in order to fully
discharge the Administrator’s rule making obligations under §1421
for each remaining Class V well type.
The SDWA requires states to develop comprehensive Source Water Assessment
Programs that will: identify Source Water Protection Areas (SWPAs) that
supply public tap water; assess water system susceptibility to contamination;
and, inform the public of the results. Consistent with the national priority
established by the 1996 SDWA Amendments, the proposed Class V rule, 40
CFR 144, Subpart G - Requirements for Owners and Operators of Class V
Injection Wells, focuses on motor vehicle waste disposal wells, industrial
waste disposal wells, and large capacity cesspools in SWPAs. EPA is proposing
to regulate these Class V wells which are located near ground water based
drinking water supplies. EPA proposed Revisions to the Underground Injection
Control Regulations for Class V Injection Wells (63 FR 40586) on July
17, 1998 with a 90 day comment period.
Class V wells not covered in the proposal described above are currently
being studied by EPA. EPA convened a workgroup to assist in developing
the methodology for the study on the remaining wells. The workgroup includes
representatives of EPA Headquarters, EPA Regions, and several State UIC
Programs. The Class V Study Workgroup developed the basic framework for
the study and the strategies for obtaining information. Information being
collected includes: State regulatory and permitting requirements, contamination
incidents, and injectate constituents and concentrations and information
on the number and location of wells. Two types of data collection will
be used: (1) collection of existing information from State agencies,
EPA Regional offices, organizations and businesses by mail, telephone,
and file searches; and (2) enumeration of the number and types of wells
in study areas collected by site visits to those areas. The workgroup
will continue to assist in the implementation of the study and help design
the final report.
The EPA UIC and Source Water programs are proposing that the NDWAC workgroup
would have the following mission: 1) make recommendations on how public
comment could be addressed in the final Class V rule, 2) discuss source
water assessment and protection as it relates to the proposed Class V
well regulation, 3) review and provide comments on the Class V Study methodology
and regulatory decision rationale for the remaining Class V well types,
and, 4) discuss additional source water issues which the working group
could address. The workgroup will meet two times with a mid-meeting conference
call to update members on the status of the workgroup.
Designated Federal Official
Connie Bosma
Chief, Regulatory Implementation Branch
Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water
U.S. EPA/OGWDW/4606
401 M Street SW
Washington, D.C. 20460
Work Group Members
Mr. Sparky Anderson
Clean Water Action
2520 Long View, Suite 315
Austin TX 78705 |
Mr. Ronald K. Baba, Barch, PhD
Senior Advisor, Ecosystem Planning and Protection
Oneida Nation
Ridgeview Plaza, PO Box 365
Oneida, Wisconsin 54155 |
Ms. Laura Bose
Chief, UIC Control Section (W-6)
USEPA Region IX
75 Hawthorne St.
San Francisco, CA 94105 |
Mr. Jim Carlson
Environmental. Health Director
Missoula City/County Health Dept.
301 W. Alder Street (Basement)
Missoula, MT 59802-4192 |
Mr. Thomas Crawford
Native American Water Association
1662 Highway 395, Suite 204
Minden, NV 86423 |
Mr. Gary Dernlan
Director
Palm Beach County
P.O. Box 16097
West Palm Beach, FL 33416 |
Ms. Kathryn Hohmann
Sierra Club
408 C. St., NE
Washington, DC 20002 |
Ms. Jane Houlihan
Policy Analyst
Environmental Working Group
1718 Connecticut Ave., Suite 600
Washington, DC 20009 |
Mr. Mike Houts
Water Quality Division
OK Dept. of Environmental Quality
1000 NE 10th St.
Oklahoma City, OK 73117-1212 |
Mr. Gary Jackson
Professor
University of Wisconsin
B142 Steambock Library, 550 Babcock Dr. Madison, WI 53076 |
Mr. Gary Lynch
Dir of Water Quality
Park Water Company
PO Box 7002
9750 Washburn Rd. Downey, CA 90241-7002 |
Mr. L.D. McMullen
Des Moines Water Works
2201 Valley Drive
Des Moines, IA 50321 |
Mr. John Milgrim
Fairfax County Health Department
10777 Main Street, Suite 101
Fairfax, VA 22030 |
Ms. Sarah Pillsbury
Supervisor, SW Program
Water Supply Engineering Bureau,
NH Dept of Environmental Services
PO Box 95, 6 Hazen Dr.
Concord, NH 03302 |
Mr. Richard Roth
UIC Program Coordinator
WI Depart of Natural Resources
Bureau of Drinking Water & Ground Water
PO Box 7921, 101 S. Webster St.
Madison , WI 53707-7921 |
Ms. Suzie Ruhl
Legal Environmental Assistance Fund
1115 N. Gadsen St.
Tallahassee Fl 32303 |
Mr. Steve Ruppenthal
City Utilities Supervisor
City of Goodyear Public Works
200 S Calle del Pueblo
Goodyear Arizona 85338 |
Ms. Velma Smith
Friends of the Earth
1025 Vermont Ave., NW , Suite 300
Washington, DC 20005-6303 |
Mr. Dwayne R. Spence
Spence Funeral Home, Inc.
650 W. Waterloo St.
Canal Winchester, OH 431110-1213 |
Trey Harbert III, BS, MS
Manager of Safety and Env. Affairs
Pacific Steel and Recycling
P.O. Box 1549
Great Falls, MT 59403 |
Mr. David Terry
Director
Drinking Water Program
MA Dept of Environmental Protection
One Winter St., 6th floor
Boston, MA 02108 |
Mr. Jim Tripp
General Counsel
Environmental Defense Fund
257 Park Ave. South
New York, NY 10010
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Dr. John Balbus
Division of Environmental and Occupational Medicine
George Washington University Medical School
2300 K St., NW #201
Washington, DC 20037 |
Mr. Andrew Cullen
Penske Truck Leasing, Ltd.
Route 10 Green Hills
P.O Box 7635
Reading, PA 19603 |
Mr. Daniel S. Schechter, P.E.
American Water Works Service Company
1025 Laurel Oak Rd.
Voorhees, NJ 08043 |
Mr. Drew Bowen
Town Administrator
P.O Box 135
Middletown, MD 21679 |
Mr. John Gennaro
Villa Cleaners
1899 Deer Park Ave.
Deer Park, NY 11729 |
Trey Harbert III, BS, MS
Manager of Safety and Environmental Affairs
Pacific Steel and Recycling
P.O. Box 1549
Great Falls, MT 59403 |
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