|
Introduction In 1974, public concern over contaminants in public drinking water supplies prompted Congress to pass the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The SDWA established a Federal program to monitor and increase the safety of all publicly and commercially supplied drinking water. This includes drinking water supplied by Air Force installations as well as supplies provided by other government agencies. In 1986, Congress amended the SDWA resulting in dramatic changes to nationwide safeguards for drinking water and establishing a new Federal enforcement responsibility for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The 1986 Amendments to the SDWA required the EPA to establish Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs), Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLGs) and Best Available Technology (BAT) treatment techniques for organic, inorganic, radioactive, and microbiological contaminants, as well as turbidity. The MCLs represent an upper limit on the permissible concentrations of regulated contaminants in public drinking water supplies. MCLGs are maximum concentrations below which no negative human health effects are known to exist. MCLGs are non-enforceable health goals that may not be achievable or cost effective in some areas, such as small public water systems. The Federal government recognizes BAT treatment techniques as the technologies most likely to acceptably reduce contaminant levels in drinking water at a reasonable cost. On 6 August 1996, the SDWA was again amended with the goal of establishing programs which emphasize scientific research and risk-based standard setting, small water supply system flexibility and technical assistance, community-empowered source water protection, consumer awareness/right-to-know, and water system infrastructure assistance. Specifically, the 1996 amendments establish requirements for water contamination prevention including source water protection (including State ground water protection plans), capacity development, and operator certification. The amendments add new consumer information requirements including the development of consumer confidence reports and new notification requirements. Additional regulatory initiatives included a program to identify and select new contaminants for regulation and specific efforts to establish criteria for arsenic, sulfates, radon, and disinfection by-products. These amendments also eliminated the waiver of Federal sovereign immunity. Finally, the 1996 amendments contain new requirements and initiatives for enforcement, funding, monitoring, and research. This fact sheet summarizes the current Federal regulatory requirements for public drinking water supplies and the applicability of these rules to Air Force operations. It also highlights upcoming changes under the amendments of 1996, and outlines the potential impact of the most current amendments on Air Force installations. Finally, references and points of contact for additional information on drinking water are provided.
Applicability of SDWA Requirements to Air Force Operations According to Air Force Instruction 32-1067, "Water Systems," the Air Force must comply with the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The specific requirements of the SDWA are contained in Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), part 141, "National Primary Drinking Water Regulations." Additionally, section 1412 of the SDWA, the regulations for which are promulgated in Title 40 CFR part 143, "National Secondary Drinking Water Regulation," establishes MCLs for contaminants that primarily effect the aesthetic qualities relating to public acceptance of drinking water. Examples of secondary contaminants include color, odor, iron, manganese, and total dissolved solids (TDS). These secondary standards are not federally enforceable, but rather serve as guidelines for the States. Further, the SDWA amendments of 1996 make it clear that Federal facilities are subject to fines and penalties for failing to comply with the provisions of the Act. This waiver of "sovereign immunity" is addressed in Section 1447 of the Act and provides the EPA with the authority to penalize any Federal facility that violates an applicable requirement of the SDWA. It is also clear from the amendments of 1996 that Federal agencies, including the Air Force, must comply with State and local drinking water regulations, including new record keeping and monitoring requirements. This is important because all states, with the exception of Wyoming and the District of Columbia, have primacy for drinking water regulations. Some states have responded to public concern by establishing more stringent requirements for drinking water. For example, California has established State regulations that are more restrictive than Federal regulations for some contaminants. Therefore, to be certain of compliance, it is necessary to carefully review and comply with both State and Federal regulations.
Implementing Regulations The implementing regulations for the requirements of the SDWA are established by the EPA and are found in Title 40 CFR parts 141 through 143. Title 40 CFR part 141 - National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWR). This regulation codifies the specific requirements of the SDWA including maximum contaminant levels, monitoring and analytical requirements, reporting and record keeping, maximum contaminant level goals, filtration and disinfection, control of lead and copper, treatment techniques, and information collection requirements for public water systems. Title 40 CFR part 142 - NPDWR Implementation. This part sets forth regulations for the implementation and enforcement of the national primary drinking water regulations contained in Title 40 CFR part 141. It establishes the roles and responsibilities of various implementing agencies in monitoring and enforcing the requirements of the NPDWR and provides the implementing structure under which States participate in the monitoring and enforcement of the NPDWR. It outlines requirements for Indian Tribes to participate in the monitoring and enforcement of the NPDWR. Waiver and exemption procedures are described in this part, as are rulings by the EPA Administrator applicable to compliance with the NPDWR. Finally, this part provides the Administrator's findings regarding best available treatment (BAT) technologies. Title 40 CFR part 143 - National Secondary Drinking Water Regulations. This part establishes MCLs for contaminants that primarily effect aesthetic qualities and public acceptance of drinking water. Examples of secondary contaminants include color, iron, odor, and total dissolved solids (TDS). These secondary standards are not Federally enforceable, but rather are guidelines for the States. As stated above, most States have primacy over their drinking water programs and many hold secondary MCLs as enforceable standards.
Important Terms
Action Level - The concentration of lead or copper at the tap that determines, in some cases, required water system treatment practices.
Best Available Technology (BAT) - the best technology, treatment technique, or other means which the EPA Administrator finds, after examination for efficacy under field conditions and not solely under laboratory conditions, is available (taking cost and facility size into consideration). For the purposes of achieving MCLs for synthetic organic chemicals, any BAT must be at least as effective as granular activated carbon.
Contaminant - any physical, chemical, biological, or radiological substance or matter in water.
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 health standards.
Public Water System - a system for the provision to the public of piped water for human consumption, if such system has at least fifteen service connections, or regularly serves an average of at least twenty-five individuals daily at least 60 days out of the year. Such term includes (1) any collection, treatment, storage, and distribution facilities under control of the operator of such system and used primarily in connection with such system, and (2) any collection or pre-treatment storage facilities not under such control which are used primarily in connection with such system. A public water system is either a "community water system" or a "noncommunity water system."
Community Water System - a public water system that serves at least 15 service connections used by year-round residents of the area served by the system; or, regularly serves at least 25 year-round residents.
Noncommunity Water System - a public water system that is not a community water system.
Supplier of Water - any person who owns or operates a public water system.
Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) - the sum of the concentration, in milligrams per liter of water, of dissolved trihalomethane compounds - trichloromethane (chloroform), dibromochloromethane, bromodichloro-methane, and tribromomethane (bromoform) - rounded to two significant figures.
Virus - a virus of fecal origin that is infectious to humans by waterborne transmission.
MCLs have been established for a variety of parameters and categories as listed below:
MCLs for organic, inorganic and some other chemical constituents typically consist of a specific concentration of the chemical dissolved in water. For example, the MCL for fluoride, a common additive in drinking water, is 4.0 milligrams per liter. For microbiological contaminants, as well as for lead and copper (discussed in detail below), there are different parameters to consider when evaluating compliance with the SDWA.
The MCL for microbiological contaminants is based on the presence or absence of total coliform microorganisms in a water sample, rather than on coliform density (concentration) in a sample. The MCL for coliforms depends on the number of samples collected per month. If less than 40 samples are collected per month, no more than one sample can contain coliforms. If 40 or more samples are collected per month, no more than 5% can contain coliforms. Routine tests for total coliforms that result in positive indications require additional sampling and analysis for Escherichia coli (E. coli) or fecal coliform. If the routine sample or any of the repeat samples are positive for E. coli or fecal coliform, this constitutes a violation. A public water system must demonstrate compliance with the MCL for total coliforms for each month in which it is required to monitor for total coliforms.
The Lead and Copper Rule establishes sampling requirements and action levels above which action must be taken by the public water system. The lead action level is exceeded if the concentration of lead in more than 10% of tap water samples collected during a monitoring period is greater than 0.015 milligrams per liter (mg/L). The copper action level is exceeded if the concentration of copper in more than 10% of tap water samples collected during a monitoring period is greater than 1.3 mg/L. The monitoring period is dependent upon water system size, results of previous samples, and state requirements as defined in Title 40 CFR part 141.86, "Monitoring Requirements for Lead and Copper in Tap Water."
General requirements under the Lead and Copper Rule include:
Selecting New Contaminants for Regulation: As an aid to establishing standard setting priorities, the SDWA Amendments of 1996 required the EPA to publish a Contaminant Candidate List (CCL). The CCL is a list of chemicals that, at the time of publication, are not subject to any proposed or promulgated national primary drinking water regulation (NPDWR), are known or anticipated to occur in public water systems, and may require regulation under SDWA. The CCL was finalized and published 2 March 1998 in the Federal Register (63 FR 10273). From this list, the EPA must then analyze the potential health risks associated with each contaminant and determine whether a new MCL will be established. New MCLs, as they are established, may require Air Force installations to alter sampling strategies and could result in the need for treatment system modifications.
Radon: Under the SDWA Amendments of 1996, the previously proposed radon MCL of 300 picocuries per liter of water was withdrawn (refer to Volume 56 Federal Register, Number 138, 18 July 1991). The EPA is required to complete a health risk reduction assessment and propose a new MCL for radon by August 1999. There is no immediate Air Force impact; however, future radon MCLs may require new monitoring and treatment strategies.
Ground Water Disinfection: Previously, the SDWA and implementing rules required public water systems to disinfect and filter surface water and "groundwater under direct influence" (GWUDI) of surface water. The rule did not apply to systems using only groundwater not under direct influence of surface water. Under the 1996 amendments, the EPA must establish rules governing disinfection and treatment of non-GWUDI groundwater sources. According to the EPA's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water (http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw000/standard/gwr.html), the groundwater proposed rule will specify appropriate use of disinfection and encourage the use of alternative approaches, including best management practices and control of contamination at its source. The rule is likely to affect a large number of public groundwater systems throughout the United States. There will be both benefits and costs for each possible regulatory component of the proposal which EPA must consider. (All Air Force systems are already required to disinfect their supplied water, whatever the source, so the impact of this rule will be negligible of AF systems.)
Disinfection and Disinfection By-Products: The EPA will establish new rules governing allowable concentrations for drinking water disinfectants (e.g., chlorine and bromine compounds) and disinfectant by-products as required by the Amendments. Currently, new rules addressing this issue are expected to become final in November 1998. Air Force installations may encounter new monitoring and treatment requirements as a result of these new rules.
Communication with the Public: The 1996 amendments establish two new initiatives designed to increase the public's awareness of their drinking water quality. The first initiative requires the EPA and primacy States to establish new rules that will require public notification, within 24 hours, of violations with the potential to have "serious adverse effects." The EPA is also required to establish rules to require most water systems to give consumers an annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) on the quality of their drinking water. These regulations must be developed in consultation with environmental groups, public interest groups, risk communication experts, and the States. The regulations must include a "layman's" explanation of the definition of MCLs and MCLGs, as well as explanations of the health concerns associated with contaminants. The reports must contain information on the source of a water system's supply, the level of detected contaminants, information on the health effects of contaminants found in violation of the standard, and information on unregulated contaminants. In response to this requirement, the EPA has released a proposed rule to implement this task. The proposed rule can be found in the Federal Register: February 13, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 30). When these proposed rules become final, Air Force installations will be required to comply with notification and reporting requirements. The CCR will become a requirement for all systems, and the requirements will vary by system size. Guidance for CCRs is available by selecting "Regulations & Guidance" on EPA's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water World Wide Web site: http://www.epa.gov/OGWDW/.
Lead Pipes and Plumbing: Section 1417 of the SDWA Amendments of 1996 prohibits the use of lead-containing plumbing components and fixtures in both residential and non-residential applications. Air Force installations are required to install lead-free items when replacing plumbing components.
Source Water Protection: The goal of the Source Water Protection program is to prevent contamination and maintain the quality of drinking water supplies. Reducing and preventing chemical and microbiological contamination of source waters (e.g., surface and groundwater) could reduce costly treatment and monitoring requirements. Combined with the existing Wellhead Protection Program established under the 1986 SDWA Amendments, the 1996 Amendments establish a framework for additional development of comprehensive source water protection programs. This includes requirements for States to develop comprehensive Source Water Assessment Programs (SWAPs) that identify the areas that supply public tap water, inventory contaminants and assess water system susceptibility to contamination, and inform the public of the results. The EPA will encourage States to implement source water protection programs to address findings compiled during the source water assessments. It will be important for installations to monitor and participate in the development of these assessment and protection programs.
A complete summary of the SDWA, the Amendments of 1996, and the status of implementing actions within the EPA can be found at EPA's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water WWW site http://www.epa.gov/OGWDW/. In addition, specific assistance on issues dealing with the SDWA can be obtained by calling the SDWA hotline telephone number, (800) 426-4791, by contacting the information sources listed below, or by contacting PRO-ACT.
Water & Wastewater Branch, DSN 240-3305/4976
Captain Steve Novak, DSN 240-6375
Mr. Gary Jacks, DSN 523-6190
Mr. Jay Shah, DSN 327-0120
|