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NEWS
ALERT SERVICE!
The
final USEPA Filter Backwash Rule is expected to be
published within the next two weeks.
Sources inside EPA report that the
Administrator has signed the Final Rule on Filter
Backwash Recycling (FBRR) and it is expected to be
printed in the Federal Register within the next two
weeks. The FBRR represents somewhat of a milestone
in that it is the first noteworthy SDWA rule to be
promulgated under the Bush EPA. Originally proposed
and published in the April
10, 2000 Federal Register
in combination with the Long Term 1 ESWTR, the
filter backwash regulation was the subject of extensive
comments by the American Water Works Association (in MS
Word format or Adobe
Acrobat format),
the Association of State Drinking Water
Administrators and many
others. A key comment was that the two rules
should have been proposed and promulgated
separately. USEPA apparently heeded that
advice. A few technical corrections to the April
10 proposal were published in the August
14, 2000 Federal Register.
The SDWA 1996 Amendments mandated that
USEPA promulgate a "regulation to govern the
recycling of filter backwash water within the treatment
process" not later than August 2000 UNLESS the
ESWTR did not address the issue. AWWA argued
strongly and effectively that, in fact, this separate
rule was not necessary because the IESWTR and LT1ESWTR
adequately addressed the issue of concern. Both AWWA and
the state drinking water administrators commented that
the rule would not provide any meaningful or direct
public health benefit. The NRDC had filed a 60 day
notice of intent to sue on the missed deadline, but
litigation has apparently not been initiated. Information on what changes EPA made from the original
proposed rule, if any, is not available at this time.
Demonstrating great prescience, the
May 2001 AWWA Journal features an article on a study
on "Spent Filter Backwash Water".
The study is part of a larger AWWARF project.
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