Washington Update

Little action on water related issues can be expected in the current session of Congress. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is actively engaged in rulemaking and stakeholder meetings on a number of fronts.

After reviewing recent research, the EPA has reassessed the potential health risks of some disinfection by-products. On that basis, the EPA is proposing higher maximum contaminant limit goals (MCLGs) for chloroform and chlorite ion. In the first use of a threshold based approach for chloroform, the EPA supports raising the proposed chloroform MCLG from zero to 0.3 mg/L (300 ppm). For chlorine dioxide used as a disinfectant, the agency also recommends loosening the maximum residual disinfection level goal (MRDLG) from 0.3 mg/L to 0.8 mg/L. (drinking less than five glasses of cold tap water at home). The cases identified among the higher risk group were localized in one geographic area that also exhibited higher levels of a particular THM, bromodichloromethane. There was no evidence that tap water consumption increased the risk of miscarriage in the other two study regions. The EPA, which provided some funding for this study, noted that it will fund additional research with the CDHS, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Toxicology Program in attempts to replicate the California findings.

As mandated under the recently reauthorized SDWA, EPA has finalized the first drinking water contaminant candidate list for use in setting regulatory and research priorities. Nineteen chemicals and one microbial contaminant were identified from the list of 50 chemicals and 10 microbials as high priority for possible future regulation. EPA must decide by 2001 whether to regulate at least five contaminants selected from the priority list.

The EPA has issued proposed regulations stemming from the "citizen right-to-know" provisions of the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act amendments. The rule requires the more than 56,000 community water systems, serving approximately 240 million Americans, to provide consumers with an annual assessment of the quality of their tap water.

The consumer reports will include information about contaminant levels, potential health hazards and if the water supply meets federal water standards. Large systems must distribute the reports in customer mailings, while small utilities can publish data in local newspapers. The first water quality reports must be released by October 1999.

The EPA proposal, which has undergone a 45-day public comment period, will be finalized later this year.

EPA began holding public stakeholder meetings in March to discuss how future drinking water regulations will be affected by the 1994 Executive Order on Environmental Justice. Potential environmental justice impacts could apply to developing contaminant candidate lists, regulating radon, arsenic and disinfection by-products, and requirements relating to affordability and sensitive subgroups.