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NEWS
ALERT SERVICE!
USEPA requests comments on Arsenic MCL options
To keep the regulatory ball rolling on
the controversial arsenic rule, USEPA has published a
"request for comments" on four arsenic MCL
options: 3, 5, 10 and 20 parts per billion in a July
19 Federal Register notice. This notice
lays out the agency's plan for getting public comment on
the universe of issues related to the arsenic rule and
gives a heads-up that another notice and request for
comments on the work-products of the NAS, SAB and NDWAC
advisory groups will be forthcoming soon.........possibly
in August, 2001. The "witching hour"
(comment deadline) for the current notice is Halloween,
October 31, 2001. EPA states that the comment
periods for the current and upcoming notice will
"overlap," which suggests the same deadline may
apply. So, persons interested in commenting will
have their work cut out for them, with at least three
weighty reports to digest. The
MCL options outlined in the notice were not
surprising. All had previously been on the board
for discussion. The array keeps alive the hopes of every
possible advocacy group that their preferred option
might be selected. (Except perhaps for that one
arsenic-using industry group that has suggested the
current 50 ppb MCL is overly stringent!) The only
rationale for the four options given in the notice was
as follows: 3 is the feasible level; 5 was
proposed in June, 2000; 10 was published as the Final
Rule in January, 2001; and 20......? No rationale
was given. Potential
commenters can continue to track the activities of the
three advisory groups, one of which, the EPA Science
Advisory Board's newly established ARBRP (Arsenic Rule
Benefits Review Panel) is concluding their first two-day
meeting in D.C. today. Meeting information is
posted on the SAB Advisory Committee Summary page (page 12, section 1.11.7, pdf file). The NDWAC experts panel that is
reviewing the costs of compliance is concluding its 4th
meeting today also. Meeting summaries are supposed to be
posted at www.epa.gov/safewater/ndwac/council.htm
The newly convened NAS-NRC Subcommittee to review health
science related to arsenic has met twice and is expected
to have a "consensus report" in August.
Information on this group is available here on the National Academies website. While
EPA did not seek outside expert advice on occurrence or
laboratory issues, they are seeking comment on several
specific occurrence-related issues including use of
long-term averages in computing costs of
compliance. EPA also threw the door open for
comments on the whole array of issues related to impacts
of the rule on small water systems. In
what might be viewed as an understatement, the FR notice
states "The process of making final decisions on
the arsenic in drinking water regulation will involve
legal, regulatory, policy, and scientific
considerations............In making a final decision,
EPA will also exercise judgment and
discretion......" The EPA expects to make a
final decision on HOW TO PROCEED WITH THE ARSENIC RULE
by February 22, 2002.
Special
Meeting Notice A special meeting on the
impacts of storm water handling on groundwater quality
in Southern California's Chino Basin will be held on
July 25 at Cal Poly University in Pomona. Click
here for meeting details.
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