Revisions to the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5) for Public Water Systems and Announcement of Public Meeting, 13846-13872 [2021-03920]
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 46 / Thursday, March 11, 2021 / Proposed Rules
safety risks subject to Executive Order
13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997);
• Is not a significant regulatory action
subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR
28355, May 22, 2001);
• Is not subject to requirements of
Section 12(d) of the National
Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because
application of those requirements would
be inconsistent with the CAA; and
• Does not provide EPA with the
discretionary authority to address, as
appropriate, disproportionate human
health or environmental effects, using
practicable and legally permissible
methods, under Executive Order 12898
(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, this proposed
rulemaking, in which EPA is proposing
approval of the District’s certification
that its existing emission statement
program satisfies the emission statement
requirements of the CAA for the 2015
ozone NAAQS, does not have tribal
implications as specified by Executive
Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9,
2000), because the SIP is not approved
to apply in Indian country located in the
state, and EPA notes that it will not
impose substantial direct costs on tribal
governments or preempt tribal law.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations,
Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile
organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: March 3, 2021.
Diana Esher,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2021–05097 Filed 3–10–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 141
[EPA–HQ–OW–2020–0530; FRL 10019–46–
OW]
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RIN 2040–AF89
Revisions to the Unregulated
Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR
5) for Public Water Systems and
Announcement of Public Meeting
Environmental Protection
Agency.
ACTION: Proposed rule and notice of
public meeting.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is
SUMMARY:
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proposing a Safe Drinking Water Act
(SDWA) rule that would require public
water systems to collect national
occurrence data for 29 per- and
polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and
lithium. This proposed rule would
require all community and nontransient non community water systems
serving 3,300 or more people, and a
representative sample of smaller water
systems, to conduct monitoring. PFAS
and lithium are not currently subject to
national primary drinking water
regulations, and EPA is proposing to
require the collection of drinking water
occurrence data to inform EPA
decisions. This proposal fulfills a key
commitment in ‘‘EPA’s 2019 Per- and
Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
Action Plan’’ (https://www.epa.gov/
pfas/epas-pfas-action-plan) by
proposing the collection of more
drinking water occurrence data for a
broader group of PFAS. EPA is also
announcing two public meetings (via
webinar) to discuss this proposal of the
fifth Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5).
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before May 10, 2021. Under the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA),
comments on the information collection
provisions are best assured of
consideration if the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
receives a copy of your comments on or
before April 12, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–
OW–2020–0530, by any of the following
methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov/ (our
preferred method). Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center,
Water Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20460.
• Hand Delivery or Courier (by
scheduled appointment only): EPA
Docket Center, WJC West Building,
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20004. The Docket
Center’s hours of operations are 8:30
a.m.–4:30 p.m., Monday–Friday (except
Federal Holidays).
Instructions: All submissions received
must include the Docket ID No. EPA–
HQ–OW–2020–0530 for this
rulemaking. Comments received may be
posted without change to https://
www.regulations.gov/, including any
personal information provided. For
detailed instructions on sending
comments and additional information
on the rulemaking process, see the
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‘‘Public Participation’’ heading of the
section of
this document.
Out of an abundance of caution for
members of the public and our staff, the
EPA Docket Center and Reading Room
are closed to the public, with limited
exceptions, to reduce the risk of
transmitting COVID–19. Our Docket
Center staff will continue to provide
remote customer service via email,
phone, and webform.
We encourage the public to submit
comments via https://
www.regulations.gov/ or email, as there
may be a delay in processing mail and
faxes. Hand deliveries and couriers may
be received by scheduled appointment
only. For further information on EPA
Docket Center services and the current
status, please visit us online at https://
www.epa.gov/dockets.
EPA is offering a virtual meeting
twice during the public comment
period. For more details on the meeting
(including dates and times) and to
register, please visit https://
www.epa.gov/dwucmr/unregulatedcontaminant-monitoring-rule-ucmrmeetings-and-materials. Refer to the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this document for additional
information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brenda D. Bowden, Standards and Risk
Management Division (SRMD), Office of
Ground Water and Drinking Water
(OGWDW) (MS 140), Environmental
Protection Agency, 26 West Martin
Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio
45268; telephone number: (513) 569–
7961; email address: bowden.brenda@
epa.gov; or Melissa Simic, SRMD,
OGWDW (MS 140), Environmental
Protection Agency, 26 West Martin
Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio
45268; telephone number: (513) 569–
7864; email address: simic.melissa@
epa.gov. For general information, visit
the Safe Drinking Water Information
web page on the internet at: https://
www.epa.gov/ground-water-anddrinking-water/safe-drinking-waterinformation.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Table of Contents
I. Summary Information
A. Purpose of the Regulatory Action
1. What action is EPA taking?
2. Does this action apply to me?
3. What is EPA’s authority for taking this
action?
B. Summary of the Regulatory Action
C. Economic Analysis
1. What is the estimated cost of this
proposed action?
2. Benefits of the Proposed Action
II. Public Participation
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A. Written Comments
B. What stakeholder meetings have been
held in preparation for UCMR 5?
C. How do I participate in the upcoming
stakeholder meeting?
1. Meeting Participation
2. Meeting Materials
III. General Information
A. How does EPA use different monitoring
tiers to implement the Unregulated
Contaminant Monitoring Program?
B. How are the CCL, the UCMR program,
the Regulatory Determination process,
and the NCOD interrelated?
C. What are the Consumer Confidence
Reporting and Public Notice Reporting
requirements for public water systems
that are subject to UCMR?
D. What notable changes are being
proposed for UCMR 5?
E. How did EPA prioritize candidate
contaminants and what contaminants are
proposed for UCMR 5?
F. What other contaminants did EPA
consider?
1. Legionella pneumophila
2. Haloacetonitriles
3. 1,2,3-trichloropropane
4. Total Organic Fluorine (TOF)
G. What are the costs of alternatives to the
proposed UCMR 5?
H. What is the proposed applicability date?
I. What are the proposed UCMR 5 sampling
design and timeline of activities?
1. Sampling Frequency, Timing
2. Sampling Locations and Ground Water
Representative Monitoring Plans
3. Reporting Times
J. What are the reporting requirements for
the UCMR 5?
K. What are Minimum Reporting Levels
(MRLs) and how were they determined?
L. How do laboratories become approved to
conduct the UCMR 5 analyses?
1. Request To Participate
2. Registration
3. Application Package
4. EPA’s Review of Application Package
5. Proficiency Testing
6. Written EPA Approval
M. What documents are being incorporated
by reference?
1. Methods From the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency
2. Alternative Methods From American
Public Health Association—Standard
Methods (SM)
3. Methods From ASTM International
N. What is the State’s role in the UCMR?
O. How did EPA consider Children’s
Environmental Health?
P. How did EPA address Environmental
Justice?
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory
Planning and Review and Executive
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and
Regulatory Review
B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
(UMRA)
E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation
and Coordination With Indian Tribal
Governments
G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of
Children From Environmental Health
Risks and Safety Risks
H. Executive Order 13211: Actions
Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution or Use
I. National Technology Transfer and
Advancement Act (NTTAA)
J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions
To Address Environmental Justice in
Minority Populations and Low-Income
Populations
V. References
I. Summary Information
A. Purpose of the Regulatory Action
1. What action is EPA taking?
EPA is proposing a SDWA rule that
would require public water systems to
collect national occurrence data for 29
PFAS and lithium. This proposed rule
would require all community and nontransient non community water systems
serving 3,300 or more people, and a
representative sample of smaller water
systems, to conduct monitoring. PFAS
and lithium are not currently subject to
national primary drinking water
regulations, and EPA is proposing to
require collection of the data to inform
EPA decisions. This proposal fulfills a
key commitment in ‘‘EPA’s 2019 Perand Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
Action Plan’’ (USEPA, 2019a) by
proposing the collection of more
drinking water occurrence data for a
broader group of PFAS.
This proposal identifies three
analytical methods to support water
system monitoring for a total of 30
contaminants, consisting of 29 PFAS
and lithium. This document also
describes EPA’s evaluation of other
candidate contaminants, including
Legionella pneumophila; four
haloacetonitriles (dichloroacetonitrile,
dibromoacetonitrile,
trichloroacetonitrile, and
bromochloroacetonitrile); 1,2,3trichloropropane; and ‘‘total organic
fluorine’’ (TOF), and invites public
comment.
2. Does this action apply to me?
This proposed rule applies to public
water systems (PWSs) described in this
section. PWSs are systems that provide
Category
State, local, & tribal governments.
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water for human consumption through
pipes, or constructed conveyances, to at
least 15 service connections or that
regularly serve an average of at least 25
individuals daily at least 60 days out of
the year. A community water system
(CWS) is a PWS that has at least 15
service connections used by year-round
residents or regularly serves at least 25
year-round residents. A non-transient
non-community water system
(NTNCWS) is a PWS that is not a CWS
and that regularly serves at least 25 of
the same people over 6 months per year.
Under this proposal, all large CWSs and
NTNCWSs serving more than 10,000
people would be required to monitor. In
addition, all small CWSs and NTNCWs
serving between 3,300 and 10,000
people would be required to monitor,
subject to the availability of
appropriations and appropriate
laboratory capacity (see discussion of
America’s Water Infrastructure Act of
2018 in sections I.A. and I.B of this
document). A nationally representative
sample of CWSs and NTNCWSs serving
fewer than 3,300 people would also be
required to monitor (see ‘‘Selection of
Nationally Representative Public Water
Systems for the Unregulated
Contaminant Monitoring Rule: 2020
Update’’ for a description of the
statistical approach for the nationally
representative sample (USEPA, 2020a)).
As is generally the case for UCMR
sampling, transient non-community
water systems (TNCWSs) (i.e., noncommunity water systems that do not
regularly serve at least 25 of the same
people over 6 months per year) would
not be required to monitor under UCMR
5. States, territories, and tribes with
primary enforcement responsibility
(primacy) to administer the regulatory
program for PWSs under SDWA
(sometimes collectively referred to in
this notice as ‘‘states’’), can participate
in the implementation of UCMR 5
through voluntary Partnership
Agreements (see discussion of
Partnership Agreements in section III.N
in this document). Primacy agencies
with Partnership Agreements can
choose to be involved in various aspects
of the UCMR 5 monitoring for PWSs
they oversee; however, the PWS remains
responsible for all compliance activities.
Potentially regulated categories and
entities are identified in the following
table.
NAICS a
Examples of potentially regulated entities
State, local, and tribal governments that analyze water samples on behalf of PWSs required
to conduct such analysis; state, local, and tribal governments that directly operate CWSs
and NTNCWSs required to monitor.
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Examples of potentially regulated entities
Industry .....................................
Municipalities ............................
Private operators of CWSs and NTNCWSs required to monitor .................................................
Municipal operators of CWSs and NTNCWSs required to monitor .............................................
a NAICS
221310
924110
= North American Industry Classification System.
This table is not intended to be
exhaustive, but rather provides a guide
for readers regarding entities likely to be
regulated by this action. This table lists
the types of entities that EPA is aware
could potentially be regulated by this
action. Other types of entities not listed
in the table could also be regulated. To
determine whether your entity is
regulated by this action, you should
carefully examine the definition of PWS
found in §§ 141.2 and 141.3, and the
applicability criteria found in
§ 141.40(a)(1) and (2) of Title 40 in the
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). If
you have questions regarding the
applicability of this action to a
particular entity, please consult the
contacts listed in the preceding FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document.
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NAICS a
Category
3. What is EPA’s authority for taking
this action?
As part of its responsibilities under
the SDWA, EPA implements
§ 1445(a)(2), Monitoring Program for
Unregulated Contaminants. This
section, as amended in 1996, requires
that once every five years, beginning in
August 1999, EPA issues a list of not
more than 30 unregulated contaminants
to be monitored by PWSs. The SDWA
requires that EPA enters the monitoring
data into the Agency’s publicly
available National Contaminant
Occurrence Database (NCOD) at https://
www.epa.gov/sdwa/nationalcontaminant-occurrence-database-ncod.
EPA must vary the frequency and
schedule for monitoring based on the
number of persons served, the source of
supply, and the contaminants likely to
be found. EPA is using the SDWA
§ 1445(a)(2) authority as the basis for
monitoring the unregulated
contaminants proposed under this rule.
The SDWA, as amended by Section
2021 of America’s Water Infrastructure
Act of 2018 (AWIA) (Pub. L. 115–270),
specifies that, subject to the availability
of EPA appropriations for such purpose
and appropriate laboratory capacity,
EPA’s UCMR program must require all
systems serving between 3,300 and
10,000 persons to monitor for the
contaminants in a particular UCMR
cycle, and ensure that only a nationally
representative sample of systems
serving fewer than 3,300 persons are
required to monitor for those
contaminants. The program would
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continue to ensure that systems serving
a population larger than 10,000 people
are required to monitor for the
contaminants in a particular UCMR
cycle. This AWIA provision becomes
effective October 23, 2021 (i.e., prior to
the start of UCMR 5 sample collection).
The SDWA, as amended by Section
7311 of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020
(NDAA) (Pub. L. 116–92), specifies that
EPA shall include all PFAS in UCMR 5
for which a drinking water method has
been validated by the Administrator,
and that are not subject to a national
primary drinking water regulation. The
NDAA specifies that unregulated PFAS
included in UCMR 5 shall not count
towards the traditional SDWA limit of
not more than 30 unregulated
contaminants being included in the
UCMR (§ 1445(a)(2)(B)(i)).
B. Summary of the Regulatory Action
EPA is proposing to require PWSs to
collect occurrence data for 29PFAS and
lithium. These contaminants may be
present in drinking water, but are not
subject to national primary drinking
water regulations. This proposal fulfills
a key commitment in EPA’s 2019 PFAS
Action Plan (USEPA, 2019a) by
proposing the collection of more
drinking water occurrence data for a
broader group of PFAS. More
specifically, the UCMR 5 proposal
identifies the following: Analytical
methods to measure the UCMR
contaminants; monitoring time frame;
sampling locations; data elements (i.e.,
information required to be collected
along with the occurrence data); data
reporting timeframes; and conforming
and editorial changes, such as those
necessary to remove requirements solely
related to UCMR 4.
This proposal includes monitoring for
lithium based on anticipated national
occurrence in PWS-supplied drinking
water and available health-effects
information that indicates adverse
human health effects in several organs
and systems (USEPA, 2008). Nationally
representative occurrence data from
EPA’s National Inorganics and
Radionuclides Survey, 1984–1986,
shows lithium was detected at levels
between 5 and 7,929 mg/L (microgram
per liter) in the finished drinking water
of approximately 55% of PWSs (ground
water systems only) (USEPA, 2009). In
more recent literature, lithium was
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detected in 56% of treated drinking
water samples from 25 PWSs at a
median concentration of 10.8 mg/L
(Glassmeyer et al., 2017). EPA has
determined that monitoring for lithium
under the UCMR is needed to assess the
occurrence of this contaminant
nationally.
This proposed action would provide
EPA, states, and communities with
scientifically valid data on the national
occurrence of these contaminants in
drinking water. The data represent one
of the primary sources of national
occurrence data in drinking water that
EPA uses to inform regulatory and other
risk management decisions for drinking
water contaminant candidates. This
proposal identifies three analytical
methods to be used by laboratories
analyzing UCMR samples for the
unregulated contaminants. In addition,
EPA describes how it evaluated other
candidate contaminants, including
Legionella pneumophila; four
haloacetonitriles (dichloroacetonitrile,
dibromoacetonitrile,
trichloroacetonitrile, and
bromochloroacetonitrile); 1, 2, 3trichloropropane; and ‘‘total organic
fluorine’’ (TOF). In section III.F, EPA
describes why it has not proposed these
particular contaminants for UCMR 5.
The UCMR 5 proposal reflects a
consideration of the utility of the
information to be collected. Due to
ongoing regulatory evaluations,
described in the following sections, data
collection for Legionella pneumophila
and the four haloacetonitriles would not
be sufficiently timely to be useful.
This proposed rule reflects the
monitoring approach defined in the
AWIA and thus describes the UCMR 5
scope as including all systems serving
3,300 or more people (as opposed to a
representative sample of those systems
serving 3,300 to 10,000), and a
representative sample of systems
serving fewer than 3,300 people. EPA
has the statutory obligation under the
SDWA to pay the ‘‘reasonable cost of
such testing and laboratory analysis’’ for
all applicable PWS serving 10,000 or
fewer individuals. Accordingly, the
AWIA conditioned the inclusion of all
systems serving 3,300 to 10,000 persons
in UCMR 5 on the availability of
appropriations. AWIA also conditioned
the inclusion of all systems serving
3,300 to 10,000 persons in UCMR 5 on
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a determination by the Administrator of
sufficient laboratory capacity to analyze
the samples.
Based on EPA’s experience over the
first four cycles of UCMR
implementation, and informed by our
ongoing engagement with the laboratory
community, EPA anticipates that
sufficient laboratory capacity will exist
to support the expanded UCMR scope.
Regarding EPA’s resources, however, if
EPA concludes that it will not have the
resources necessary to support the
expanded monitoring described by the
AWIA, the Agency will not promulgate
a final rule that requires all water
systems serving between 3,300 and
10,000 persons to monitor as presented
in this proposed rule. Accordingly, this
proposal also describes EPA’s
alternative plan (i.e., in the absence of
adequate funds) that would involve
selecting a representative sample of
small PWSs consistent with the
approach established under the original
(pre-AWIA) UCMR program (i.e., that
used for UCMR 4 and for prior cycles)
which includes 800 representative water
systems serving fewer than or equal to
10,000 in the UCMR program. See
‘‘Selection of Nationally Representative
Public Water Systems for the
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring
Rule: 2020 Update’’ for further details
about the nationally representative
sample (USEPA, 2020a)).
This proposed rule also addresses the
requirements of the NDAA by including
all 29 PFAS that are within the scope of
EPA Methods 533 and 537.1. Both of
these methods have been validated by
EPA for drinking water analysis.
C. Economic Analysis
1. What is the estimated cost of this
proposed action?
EPA estimates the total average
national cost of this proposed action
will be $21 million per year over the
five-year effective period of the rule
(2022–2026). Costs fall upon large PWSs
(for sampling and analysis); small PWS
(for sampling); state regulatory agencies
(i.e., those who volunteer to assist EPA
with oversight and implementation
support); and EPA (for regulatory
support and oversight activities, and
analytical and shipping costs for small
PWSs). These costs are summarized in
Exhibit 1. EPA has further documented
the assumptions and data sources used
in the preparation of this estimate in the
‘‘Draft Information Collection Request
for the Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5)’’ (USEPA,
2020b).
Costs for a particular UCMR cycle are
heavily influenced by the selection of
contaminants and associated analytical
methods. EPA proposes three EPAdeveloped analytical methods (and, in
the case of lithium, multiple optional
alternative methods) to analyze samples
for the UCMR 5 chemical contaminants.
EPA’s estimate of the analytical cost for
the UCMR 5 contaminants is $950 per
sample set (i.e., $950 to analyze a set of
samples from one sample point and one
sample event for all of the UCMR 5
contaminants). EPA calculated these
costs by summing the laboratory unit
cost of each method. Exhibit 1 presents
a breakdown of EPA-estimated annual
average national costs. Estimated PWS(i.e., large and very large) and EPA costs
reflect the analytical cost (i.e., non-
13849
labor) for all the UCMR 5 methods. EPA
pays for the analytical costs for all
systems serving a population of 10,000
or fewer people. Laboratory analysis and
sample shipping account for
approximately 82% of the total national
cost for the implementation of UCMR 5.
EPA estimated laboratory unit costs
based on consultations with multiple
commercial drinking water testing
laboratories and, in the case of new
methods, a review of the costs of
analytical methods similar to those
proposed in this action. The cost of the
laboratory methods includes shipping
along with the cost for the analysis.
EPA expects that states may incur
modest labor costs associated with
voluntary assistance with the
implementation of UCMR 5. EPA
estimated state costs using the relevant
assumptions from the State Resource
Model developed by the Association of
State Drinking Water Administrators
(ASDWA) (ASDWA, 2013) to help states
forecast resource needs. Model
estimates were adjusted to account for
actual levels of state participation under
UCMR 4. State assistance with EPA’s
implementation of UCMR 5 is
voluntary; thus, the level of effort is
expected to vary among states and
would depend on their individual
agreements with EPA.
EPA assumes that one-third of the
systems would monitor during each of
the three sample-collection years from
January 2023 through December 2025.
The total estimated annual costs (labor
and non-labor) including the additional
small systems included according to the
AWIA mandate would be incurred as
follows:
EXHIBIT 1—ESTIMATED AVERAGE ANNUAL COSTS OF THE PROPOSED UCMR 5 1
Average
annual cost
(million)
(2022–2026) 2
Entity
Small Systems (25–10,000), including labor 3 only (non-labor costs 4 paid for by EPA) ...........................................................
Large Systems (10,001–100,000), including labor and non-labor costs ....................................................................................
Very Large Systems (100,001 and greater), including labor and non-labor costs .....................................................................
States, including labor costs related to implementation coordination .........................................................................................
EPA, including labor for implementation and non-labor for small system testing ......................................................................
$0.3
7.2
2.3
0.8
5 10.5
Average Annual National Total ............................................................................................................................................
21.1
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1 Based
on the scope of small-system monitoring described in AWIA.
may not equal the sum of components due to rounding.
3 Labor costs pertain to systems, states, and EPA. Costs include activities such as reading the rule, notifying systems selected to participate,
sample collection, data review, reporting, and record keeping.
4 Non-labor costs will be incurred primarily by EPA and by large and very large PWSs. They include the cost of shipping samples to laboratories for testing and the cost of the laboratory analyses.
5 EPA estimates an average annual cost to the Agency of $17M/year (over a five-year cycle) for a typical UCMR program that involves the expanded scope prescribed by AWIA ($2M/year for the representative sample of 800 PWSs serving <3,300 and $15M/year for all PWSs serving
between 3,300 and 10,000); EPA projects an average annual cost of $10.5M for UCMR 5, as proposed, based on the relatively lower than typical unit analytical costs associated with the proposed UCMR 5 contaminants.
2 Totals
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Additional details regarding EPA’s
cost assumptions and estimates can be
found in the Draft Information
Collection Request (ICR) (USEPA,
2020b), ICR Number 2040–NEW, which
presents estimated cost and labor hours
for the 5-year UCMR 5 period of 2022–
2026. Copies of the Draft ICR may be
obtained from the EPA public docket for
this proposed rule, under Docket ID No.
EPA–HQ–OW–2020–0530. See also
section III.G of this document for a
discussion of cost scenarios based on
potential changes between the
publication of this proposed rule and
the final rule.
2. Benefits of the Proposed Action
The public benefits from the
information about whether or not
unregulated contaminants are present in
their drinking water. If contaminants are
not found, consumer confidence in their
drinking water will improve. If
contaminants are found, related health
effects may be avoided when
subsequent actions, such as regulations,
reduce or eliminate those contaminants.
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II. Public Participation
A. Written Comments
Submit your comments, identified by
Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OW–2020–
0530, at https://www.regulations.gov or
other methods identified in the
ADDRESSES section of this document.
Once submitted, comments cannot be
edited or removed from the docket. EPA
may publish any comment received to
its public docket. Do not submit
electronically any information you
consider to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Contact EPA if you want to submit CBI;
see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section of this document. Multimedia
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be
accompanied by a written comment.
The written comment is considered the
official comment and should include
discussion of all points you wish to
make. EPA will generally not consider
comments or comment contents located
outside of the primary submission (i.e.,
on the web, cloud, or other file sharing
system). For additional submission
methods, the full EPA public comment
policy, information about CBI or
multimedia submissions, and general
guidance on making effective
comments, please visit https://
www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epadockets. EPA is temporarily suspending
its Docket Center and Reading Room for
public visitors, with limited exceptions,
to reduce the risk of transmitting
COVID–19. Our Docket Center staff will
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continue to provide remote customer
service via email, phone, and webform.
We encourage the public to submit
comments via https://
www.regulations.gov/ as there may be a
delay in processing mail and faxes.
Hand deliveries or couriers will be
received by scheduled appointment
only. For further information and
updates on EPA Docket Center services,
please visit us online at https://
www.epa.gov/dockets.
EPA continues to carefully and
continuously monitor information from
the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), local area health
departments, and our Federal partners
so that we can respond rapidly as
conditions change regarding COVID–19.
B. What stakeholder meetings have been
held in preparation for UCMR 5?
EPA incorporates stakeholder
involvement into each UCMR cycle.
Specific to the development of UCMR 5,
EPA held two public stakeholder
meetings and is announcing two
additional public meetings via webinars
in this proposal (see section II.C of this
document). EPA held a meeting focused
on drinking water methods for
unregulated contaminants on June 6,
2018, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Representatives from state agencies,
laboratories, PWSs, environmental
organizations, and drinking water
associations joined the meeting via
webinar and in person. Meeting topics
included an overview of regulatory
process elements (including the
Contaminant Candidate List (CCL),
UCMR, and Regulatory Determination),
and drinking water methods under
development (see USEPA, 2018a for
presentation materials). EPA held a
second stakeholder meeting on July 16,
2019, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Participants
representing state agencies, tribes,
laboratories, PWSs, environmental
organizations, and drinking water
associations participated in the meeting
via webinar and in person. Meeting
topics included the impacts of the
AWIA, analytical methods and
contaminants being considered by EPA,
potential sampling design, and other
possible aspects of the UCMR 5
approach (see USEPA, 2019b for
meeting materials).
This proposal fulfills a commitment
made in EPA’s PFAS Action Plan found
on EPA’s website at https://
www.epa.gov/pfas/epas-pfas-actionplan. EPA conducted extensive public
outreach in the development of the
PFAS Action Plan (USEPA, 2019a),
including gathering diverse perspectives
through the May 2018 ‘‘National
Leadership Summit,’’ direct engagement
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with the public in impacted
communities in five states, engagement
with tribal partners, and roundtables
conducted with community leaders near
impacted sites. EPA reviewed
approximately 120,000 comments in the
public docket that was specifically
established to gather input for the PFAS
Action Plan (USEPA, 2019a). Through
this outreach, EPA heard significant
concerns from the public on the
challenges these contaminants pose for
communities nationwide, and the need
for improved understanding of the
frequency and concentration of PFAS
occurrence in finished U.S. drinking
water.
C. How do I participate in the upcoming
stakeholder meeting?
EPA will hold two virtual stakeholder
meetings during the public comment
period. Topics will include the
proposed UCMR 5 monitoring
requirements, analyte selection and
rationale, analytical methods, the
laboratory approval process, and ground
water representative monitoring plans
(GWRMPs). If stakeholder interest
results in exceeding the maximum
number of available connections for
participants in the first two webinar
offerings, EPA may schedule additional
webinars, with dates and times posted
on EPA’s Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Program Meetings and
Materials web page at https://
www.epa.gov/dwucmr/unregulatedcontaminant-monitoring-rule-ucmrmeetings-and-materials.
Please note that EPA is deviating from
its typical approach because the
President has declared a national
emergency. Because of current CDC
recommendations, as well as state and
local orders for social distancing to limit
the spread of COVID–19, EPA cannot
hold in-person public meetings at this
time.
1. Meeting Participation
Those who wish to participate in the
initial public meeting or repeat
subsequent webinar offerings can find
information on how to register,
including dates and times, at https://
www.epa.gov/dwucmr/unregulatedcontaminant-monitoring-rule-ucmrmeetings-and-materials. To ensure
adequate time for public statements,
individuals or organizations interested
in making a statement should identify
their interest when they register. We ask
that only one person present on behalf
of a group or organization, and that the
presentation be limited to ten minutes.
Any additional statements from
participants will be taken during the
meeting if time permits. Formal
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comments must be submitted to the
docket. The number of webinar
connections available for the meeting is
limited and will be available on a firstcome, first-served basis. Further details
about registration and participation can
be found on EPA’s Unregulated
Contaminant Monitoring Program
Meetings and Materials web page at
https://www.epa.gov/dwucmr/
unregulated-contaminant-monitoringrule-ucmr-meetings-and-materials.
2. Meeting Materials
EPA expects to send meeting
materials by email to all registered
participants prior to the meeting. The
materials will be posted on EPA’s
website at https://www.epa.gov/
dwucmr/unregulated-contaminantmonitoring-rule-ucmr-meetings-andmaterials for persons who do not
participate in the webinar.
III. General Information
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A. How does EPA use different
monitoring tiers to implement the
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring
Program?
EPA published the list of
contaminants for the first UCMR (UCMR
1) in the Federal Register (FR) on
September 17, 1999 (64 FR 50556,
(USEPA, 1999)), the second UCMR
(UCMR 2) on January 4, 2007 (72 FR
367, (USEPA, 2007)), the third UCMR
(UCMR 3) on May 2, 2012 (77 FR 26072,
(USEPA, 2012)), and the fourth UCMR
(UCMR 4) on December 20, 2016 (81 FR
92666, (USEPA, 2016a)). EPA has
utilized up to three different tiers of
contaminant monitoring, associated
with three different ‘‘lists’’ of
contaminants, in past UCMRs. EPA
designed the monitoring tiers to reflect
the availability and complexity of
analytical methods, laboratory capacity,
sampling frequency, and cost, as well as
labor hours on and the characteristics of
PWSs performing the monitoring. For
example, monitoring that is more
complex, costly, and/or tailored is more
likely to be implemented under the
second or third tiers, as described
below.
The Assessment Monitoring tier is the
largest in scope and is used to collect
data to determine the national
occurrence of ‘‘List 1’’ contaminants in
PWS-supplied drinking water for the
purpose of estimating national
population exposure. The Assessment
Monitoring tier has been used in the
four previous UCMRs to collect
occurrence data from all systems serving
more than 10,000 people and a
representative sample of 800 smaller
systems. Consistent with the AWIA, the
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Assessment Monitoring approach was
redesigned for the proposed UCMR 5
and would require all systems serving
3,300 or more people and a
representative sample of systems
serving fewer than 3,300 to perform
monitoring (USEPA, 2020a). The
population-weighted sampling design
for the nationally representative sample
of small systems (used in previous
UCMR cycles to select 800 systems
serving 10,000 or fewer, and proposed
to be used in UCMR 5 to select 800
systems serving fewer than 3,300) calls
for the sample to be stratified by water
source type (ground water or surface
water), service size category, and state
(where each state is allocated a
minimum of two systems in its State
Monitoring Plan). The allowable margin
of error at the 99% confidence level is
±1% for an expected contaminant
occurrence of 1%. Assessment
Monitoring is the primary tier used for
contaminants and generally relies on
analytical methods that use more
common techniques, and are expected
to be widely available. EPA has used an
Assessment Monitoring tier for 72
contaminants and contaminant groups
over the course of UCMR 1 through
UCMR 4. The Agency is proposing to
exclusively require Assessment
Monitoring in UCMR 5 and anticipates
that this will generally be the case in
future UCMR cycles when practical,
since this monitoring approach yields
the most complete set of occurrence
data to support EPA’s decision making.
The Screening Survey tier is smaller
in scope than Assessment Monitoring,
applying to all very large water systems
serving more than 100,000 people, 320
randomly selected systems serving
10,001 to 100,000 people, and 480
randomly selected systems serving
10,000 or fewer people. The Screening
Survey approach is used to collect data
to determine the national occurrence of
‘‘List 2’’ contaminants in PWS-supplied
drinking water. This tier generally
pertains to monitoring with less
established analytical techniques, such
that laboratory capacity and/or cost may
be a concern. The Screening Survey
design for the nationally representative
sample of PWSs serving fewer than
100,000 people has an allowable margin
of error of ±1% at the 99% confidence
level for an expected occurrence of 1%;
however, unlike Assessment
Monitoring, the stratified design is not
population-weighted. EPA has used
Screening Survey monitoring for 36
contaminants over the course of UCMR
1 through UCMR 4. A Screening Survey
tier is not proposed for UCMR 5 because
Assessment Monitoring for the 30
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13851
proposed contaminants has been
deemed practical and would allow EPA
to collect a more robust set of
occurrence data than provided for under
a Screening Survey approach.
A Pre-Screen Testing tier for ‘‘List 3’’
contaminants can be customized to meet
the specific monitoring objectives for a
specific group of PWSs. EPA used PreScreen Testing to collect data for two
viruses under UCMR 3. That monitoring
relied on specialized analytical methods
and sampling techniques, and focused
on 800 small, undisinfected
groundwater systems in vulnerable
areas. A Pre-Screen Testing tier is not
proposed for UCMR 5.
B. How are the CCL, the UCMR program,
the Regulatory Determination process,
and the NCOD interrelated?
Under the 1996 amendments to the
SDWA, Congress established a multistep, risk-based approach for
determining which contaminants would
become subject to drinking water
standards. Under the first step, EPA is
required to publish a CCL every five
years that identifies contaminants that
are not subject to any proposed or
promulgated drinking water regulations,
are known or anticipated to occur in
PWSs, and may require future
regulation under the SDWA. Under the
second step, EPA must require, every
five years, monitoring of unregulated
contaminants to determine their
occurrence in drinking water systems;
this is the UCMR program. Under the
third step, EPA is required to determine,
every five years, whether or not to
regulate at least five contaminants from
the CCL. Under § 1412(b)(1)(A) of the
SDWA, EPA regulates a contaminant in
drinking water if the Administrator
determines that:
(1) The contaminant may have an adverse
effect on the health of persons;
(2) the contaminant is known to occur or
there is substantial likelihood that the
contaminant will occur in PWSs with a
frequency and at levels of public health
concern; and
(3) in the sole judgment of the
Administrator, regulation of such
contaminant presents a meaningful
opportunity for health risk reduction for
persons served by PWSs.
For the contaminants that meet all of
the three criteria, the SDWA requires
EPA to publish national primary
drinking water regulations (NPDWRs).
Information on the CCL and the
regulatory determination process can be
found at: https://www.epa.gov/ccl.
The data collected through the UCMR
program are made available to the
public through the National
Contaminant Occurrence Database
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(NCOD) for drinking water. EPA
developed the NCOD to satisfy statutory
requirements in the 1996 Amendments
to the SDWA to assemble, and maintain
a drinking water contaminant
occurrence database for both regulated
and unregulated contaminants in water
systems. NCOD houses data on
unregulated contaminant occurrence;
data from EPA’s ‘‘Six Year Review’’ of
national drinking water regulations; and
ambient and/or source water data.
Section 1445(g)(3) of the SDWA requires
that EPA maintain UCMR data in the
NCOD, and use the data when
evaluating the frequency and level of
occurrence of contaminants in drinking
water at a level of public health
concern. The UCMR results can be
viewed by the public via NCOD (https://
www.epa.gov/sdwa/nationalcontaminant-occurrence-database-ncod)
or via the UCMR web page at: https://
www.epa.gov/dwucmr.
C. What are the Consumer Confidence
Reporting and Public Notice Reporting
requirements for public water systems
that are subject to UCMR?
In addition to reporting UCMR
monitoring data to EPA, PWSs are
responsible for presenting and
addressing UCMR results in their
annual Consumer Confidence Reports
(CCRs) (40 CFR 141.153), and must
address Public Notice (PN) requirements
associated with UCMR (40 CFR
141.207). Today’s notice does not
propose changes to these reporting
requirements. More details about the
CCR and PN requirements can be
viewed by the public at: https://
www.epa.gov/ccr and https://
www.epa.gov/dwreginfo/publicnotification-rule, respectively.
D. What notable changes are being
proposed for UCMR 5?
This action proposes to revise the
existing UCMR to address recent
changes in the SDWA, and to reflect
lessons learned through prior
experience implementing the UCMR.
These additional proposed changes
include: Requiring water systems
serving 3,300 or more persons to
monitor per the AWIA requirements;
updating the list of the UCMR 5
contaminants, analytical methods,
monitoring time frame, and sampling
locations; revising the data elements
required in addition to the occurrence
data (outlined in Exhibit 2 below);
revising data reporting timeframes; and
effecting conforming and editorial
changes, such as those necessary to
remove requirements solely related to
UCMR 4. A track-changes version of the
rule language, comparing UCMR 4 to the
proposed changes for UCMR 5,
(‘‘Proposed Revisions to CFR parts
141.35 and 141.40’’ (USEPA, 2020c)), is
included in the public docket (Docket
ID No. EPA–HQ–OW–2020–0530) for
this proposed rule. EPA’s proposed
approach and rationale for changes are
described in the following sections.
EXHIBIT 2—NOTABLE CHANGES PROPOSED FOR UCMR 5
CFR rule section
Description of proposed change
Number
Title/description
Current (UCMR 4) requirement
§ 141.35(d),
§ 141.40(a)(2)(ii), and
§ 141.40(a)(4)(ii).
Scope of UCMR 5 applicability.
UCMR 4 included all CWSs and NTNCWSs
that serve more than 10,000 people, and a
representative set of 800 systems serving
10,000 or fewer people.
§ 141.40(a)(3) ...............
Related specifications
for the analytes to
be monitored, including sampling timeframe.
§ 141.40(a) ...................
Applicability date .........
§ 141.35(c)(3) ...............
Ground Water Representative Monitoring Plans
(GWRMPs).
Reporting timeframe ...
UCMR
4
specified
30
contaminants
(cyanotoxins, metals, pesticides, brominated
haloacetic acid groups, alcohols, and
semivolatile chemicals) and sample collection from January 2018 through December
2020.
UCMR 4 specified December 31, 2015, as the
basis for determining which systems were
subject to monitoring.
UCMR 4 specified ‘‘within 120 from publication of the final rule (April 19, 2017)’’ as the
deadline to submit a GWRMP.
§ 141.35(c)(6)(ii) and
§ 141.40(a)(5)(vi).
§ 141.35(e) ...................
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§ 141.40(a)(5)(ii) ...........
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Reporting requirements—Data elements.
Laboratory approval
application timeframe.
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UCMR 4 specified that laboratories must approve analytical results in EPA’s electronic
data reporting system within 120 days from
the sample collection date and specified
that PWS had 60 days (from when the laboratory posted the data to EPA’s electronic
data reporting system) to review, approve,
and submit their data to the state and EPA.
UCMR 4 specified data elements applicable to
the contaminants included in that cycle.
UCMR 4 specified that laboratories interested
in supporting monitoring must initially apply
within 120 days of publication of the final
rule. April 19, 2017 was specified as the
date by which all registration and application materials must be completed and returned to UCMR_Sampling_Coordinator@
epa.gov.
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Proposes revisions to the scope of UCMR 5 to
address all CWSs and NTNCWSs serving
3,300 or more people and a representative
set of systems serving fewer than 3,300
people (consistent with AWIA).
Proposes a new list of 29 PFAS and lithium
as contaminants for monitoring; identifies
associated analytical methods, MRLs, and
sampling locations; and proposes to revise
the sample collection dates to January 2023
through December 2025.
Proposes to revise the date used to determine
which systems are subject to monitoring to
February 1, 2021.
Proposes flexibility to the deadline for PWSs
to submit a GWRMP proposal to EPA.
Proposes to revise the timeframe for laboratories to post and approve analytical results
in EPA’s electronic data reporting system
(for review by the PWS) to ‘‘within 90 days
from the sample collection date.’’.
Proposes to revise the timeframe for PWSs to
review, approve, and submit data to the
state and EPA to no more than ‘‘30 days
from when the laboratory posts the data to
EPA’s electronic data reporting system’’.
Proposes changes to the data elements to be
reported to EPA based on the contaminants
proposed for monitoring.
Proposes a more flexible timeframe for laboratories to apply to support UCMR 5 monitoring. Proposes that registration and application materials are to be submitted to EPA
‘‘by August 1, 2022.’’ Additonally, revises
the email correspondence to be UCMR_
Lab_Approval@epa.gov.
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E. How did EPA prioritize candidate
contaminants and what contaminants
are proposed for UCMR 5?
evaluated unregulated contaminants in
accordance with the statutory
authorities described in section I.A of
this document. In accordance with these
requirements, EPA’s commitments
under the PFAS Action Plan (USEPA,
In establishing the proposed list of
contaminants for UCMR 5, EPA
13853
2019a), and the process described in
this document, EPA is proposing
monitoring for the unregulated
contaminants listed in Exhibit 3 using
the specified methods.
EXHIBIT 3—PROPOSED UCMR 5 ANALYTES
List 1 Analytes
Twenty-five Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) using EPA Method 533 (SPE LC/MS/MS): 1
11-chloroeicosafluoro-3-oxaundecane-1-sulfonic acid (11Cl-PF3OUdS)
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorodecane sulfonic acid (8:2 FTS) ........................
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (4:2 FTS) ........................
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (6:2 FTS) .........................
4,8-dioxa-3H-perfluorononanoic acid (ADONA) .......................................
9-chlorohexadecafluoro-3-oxanone-1-sulfonic acid (9Cl-PF3ONS) .........
hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO–DA) (GenX) ....................
nonafluoro-3,6-dioxaheptanoic acid (NFDHA) .........................................
perfluoro (2-ethoxyethane) sulfonic acid (PFEESA) ................................
perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid (PFMPA) ..........................................
perfluoro-4-methoxybutanoic acid (PFMBA) ............................................
perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS) ........................................................
perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA).
perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA).
perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA).
perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid (PFHpS).
perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA).
perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS).
perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA).
perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA).
perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS).
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
perfluoropentanesulfonic acid (PFPeS).
perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA).
perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA).
Four Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) using EPA Method 537.1 (SPE LC/MS/MS): 2
n-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (NEtFOSAA) ..................
n-methyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (NMeFOSAA) ..............
perfluorotetradecanoic acid (PFTA).
perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA).
One Metal/Pharmaceutical using EPA Method 200.7 (ICP–AES) 3 or alternate SM 4 or ASTM: 5
lithium.
1 EPA
2 EPA
Method 533 (Solid phase extraction (SPE) liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS)) (USEPA, 2019c).
Method 537.1 Version 2.0 (Solid phase extraction (SPE) liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS)) (USEPA,
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2020d).
3 EPA Method 200.7 (Inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP–AES)) (USEPA, 1994).
4 Standard Methods (SM) 3120 B (SM, 2017) or SM 3120 B–99 (SM Online, 1999).
5 ASTM International (ASTM) D1976–20 (ASTM, 2020).
EPA considered the current (fourth)
Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 4),
which includes 97 chemicals or
chemical groups and 12 microbes (81 FR
81099, November 17, 2016 (USEPA,
2016b)). EPA also evaluated
contaminants nominated by the public
for potential inclusion on the next (fifth)
CCL (CCL 5) (83 FR 50364, October 5,
2018 (USEPA, 2018b)) and considered
other priority contaminants, including
those highlighted in the PFAS Action
Plan (USEPA, 2019a). Further, EPA
considered the opportunity to collect
occurrence data for non-CCL
contaminants using the proposed
methods for CCL contaminants that
would result in little-to-no additional
expense (i.e., concurrent with the
collection of data for CCL
contaminants). EPA’s proposed
approach addresses the PFAS
requirement in NDAA (Pub. L. 116–92)
by including all 29 PFAS that are within
the scope of EPA Methods 533,
published December 2019 (USEPA,
2019c), and 537.1, initially published
November 2018 and updated via version
2.0 in March 2020 (USEPA, 2020d).
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EPA evaluated candidate UCMR 5
contaminants using a multi-step
prioritization process. The first step
included identifying contaminants that:
(1) Were not monitored under prior
UCMR cycles; (2) may occur in drinking
water; and (3) are expected to have a
completed, validated drinking water
method in time for rule proposal.
The next step was to consider the
following: Availability of health
assessments or other health-effects
information (e.g., critical health
endpoints suggesting carcinogenicity);
public interest (e.g., PFAS); active use
(e.g., pesticides that are registered for
use); and availability of occurrence data.
During the final step, EPA considered
stakeholder input; looked at costeffectiveness of the potential monitoring
approaches; considered implementation
factors (e.g., laboratory capacity); and
further evaluated health effects,
occurrence, and persistence/mobility
data to identify the proposed list of
UCMR 5 contaminants.
Contaminant-specific information
(e.g., source, use, production, release,
persistence, mobility, health effects, and
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occurrence) that EPA used to evaluate
candidate contaminants, is contained in
‘‘Information Compendium for
Candidate Contaminants for the
Proposed Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5)’’ (USEPA,
2020e). The Information Compendium
can be found in EPA public docket for
this proposed rule, under Docket ID No.
EPA–HQ–OW–2020–0530. EPA invites
comment on the proposed UCMR 5
contaminants (and their associated
analytical methods) identified in Exhibit
3.
F. What other contaminants did EPA
consider?
This notice describes the 30
contaminants that EPA has identified as
the highest priorities for UCMR 5
monitoring through the process
described in the preceding section. This
process prioritizes the unregulated
contaminants for which nationally
representative data on the frequency
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and level of occurrence are useful. EPA
believes that the primary utility of the
UCMR data is for the Agency’s
regulatory evaluation. The SDWA
requires that the data collected under
the UCMR be used to develop the CCL
(see § 1412(b)(1)(B)(i)(I)) and to make
regulatory determinations for CCL
contaminants (see § 1412(b)(1)(B)(ii)(II)).
EPA believes that the UCMR can be
useful to States, water systems, and to
water system consumers but that is not
the primary purpose of the data
collection.
In developing a UCMR rule EPA also
considers the burden that UCMR places
upon water systems to perform
monitoring and, in accordance with
SDWA § 1445(j)(1) and 1445(j)(3), the
new expenses of small system
monitoring and the laboratory capacity
to support the analysis of UCMR
samples. EPA is proposing a rule that
reflects a consideration of the burden on
water systems, the new expenses
associated with implementing the rule,
and the utility of the information to be
collected. Although the NDAA allows
the Agency to require monitoring for
more contaminants beyond those
proposed, EPA believes that the utility
of the additional data that would be
collected does not warrant their
inclusion. As described in the following
sections, data collection for Legionella
pneumophila and four haloacetonitriles
(dichloroacetonitrile,
dibromoacetonitrile,
trichloroacetonitrile, and
bromochloroacetonitrile) would not be
useful to EPA’s regulatory deliberations.
Also, due to limitations of analytical
methodologies, data collection for 1,2,3trichloropropane and total organic
fluorine (TOF) would not be useful.
The information that EPA considered
when evaluating contaminants may be
found in the Information Compendium
(USEPA, 2020e).
EPA invites comment on these
contaminants and any other priority
contaminants commenters wish to
recommend. In your comments, please
identify the following: Any new
contaminant(s) that you believe EPA
should include in the UCMR 5
monitoring; any contaminant(s) in
Exhibit 3 that you believe should be
removed from the list; the
recommended analytical method(s) for
any new contaminant(s) that you
propose; and other relevant details (e.g.,
reporting level, sampling location,
sampling frequency, analytical cost).
Comments that provide supporting data
or rationale are especially helpful to
EPA.
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1. Legionella pneumophila
Legionella pneumophila is recognized
as an important biofilm-related
opportunistic pathogen associated with
waterborne disease. It is a naturally
occurring pathogen, widely found in the
environment. Legionella pneumophila
may enter drinking water distribution
systems and proliferate under certain
conditions (USEPA, 2001). Under EPA’s
Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR),
EPA established NPDWRs for Giardia,
viruses, Legionella, turbidity and
heterotrophic bacteria and set maximum
contaminant limit goals of zero for
Giardia lamblia, viruses and Legionella
(54 FR 27486, June 29, 1989 (USEPA,
1989)). EPA is currently examining
opportunities to enhance protection
against Legionella pneumophila through
potential revisions to the suite of
Microbial and Disinfection Byproduct
(MDBP) rules, which includes the
SWTR. As stated in the conclusions
from EPA’s third ‘‘Six-Year Review of
Drinking Water Standards’’ (82 FR 3518,
January 11, 2017 (USEPA, 2017)), ‘‘EPA
identified the following NPDWRs under
the SWTR as candidates for revision
under the Six-Year Review 3, because of
the opportunity to further reduce
residual risk from pathogens (including
opportunistic pathogens such as
Legionella) beyond the risk addressed
by the current SWTR.’’ In accordance
with the dates in the Settlement
Agreement between EPA and
Waterkeeper Alliance (Waterkeeper
Alliance, Inc. v. U.S. EPA, No. 1:19–cv–
00899–LJL (S.D.N.Y. Jun. 1, 2020)), the
Agency anticipates signing a proposal
for revisions to the MDBP rules and a
final action on the proposal by July 31,
2024 and September 30, 2027,
respectively. Accordingly, EPA has
concerns about the utility of a UCMR 5
data set on Legionella pneumophila
based on the timeframe for the Agency
deliberations about the MDBP revisions.
The UCMR 5 data collection would not
be complete in time to inform regulatory
revision and would not reflect
conditions in water systems after any
regulatory revisions become effective.
The Six-Year Review 3 conclusion
and Settlement Agreement state EPA’s
approach to investigating public health
risks potentially associated with
Legionella. Inclusion of Legionella
pneumophila in UCMR 5 would add
significant monitoring and reporting
complexity, and cost. If Legionella
pneumophila were to be added to
UCMR 5, most of the additional cost
would be borne by large PWSs (for
analysis of their samples) and EPA (for
analysis of samples from small PWSs).
In such case, sample collection would
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likely be at the distribution-system
sampling locations described in the
Disinfectants and Disinfection
Byproducts Rule (D/DBPR) (40 CFR
141.622). Because Legionella
pneumophila is regulated via ‘‘treatment
technique’’ and EPA does not require
that it be measured, the Agency has not
evaluated or validated analytical
methods for its measurement. EPA is
aware that there are a number of
potential techniques for measuring
Legionella pneumophila, including the
commercially-available LegiolertTM test
(IDEXX Laboratories, Inc., 2020). EPA
estimates that this additional
monitoring would result in $11 million
in new expenses for large PWSs, $20
million in new expenses for the Agency
for small system monitoring, and $0.5
million in new expenses for small PWSs
and states over the 5-year UCMR period.
EPA believes this is a significant burden
for data that would not be available in
time to inform regulatory revision and
that would not reflect conditions in
water systems after any regulatory
revisions become effective. EPA invites
comments on whether Legionella
pneumophila should be included in
UCMR 5.
2. Haloacetonitriles
The four haloacetonitriles represent a
group of unregulated disinfection
byproducts (DBPs). They were detected
relatively frequently in monitoring
under the DBP Information Collection
Rule (1997–1998), available via https://
www.epa.gov/dwsixyearreview/
supplemental-data-six-year-review-3,
and are generally considered more
cytotoxic and genotoxic than the
regulated DBPs. EPA Method 551.1 is an
existing validated method approved for
measuring regulated total
trihalomethanes in drinking water
(USEPA, 1995); it is also capable of
measuring unregulated
haloacetonitriles. Similar to the
situation with Legionella pneumophila,
EPA is examining opportunities to
enhance protection against DBPs,
including these haloacetonitriles
through potential revisions to the MDBP
rules; see previous paragraph regarding
the anticipated timeframe for those
revisions and note the concern about
timing relative to UCMR 5 data
collection. As with Legionella
pneumophila, inclusion of
haloacetonitriles in UCMR 5 would
introduce significant monitoring and
reporting complexity and cost compared
to the sampling design for PFAS and
lithium. If haloacetonitriles were to be
added to UCMR 5, most of the
additional expenses would be borne by
large PWSs (for analysis of their
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samples) and EPA (for analysis of
samples from small PWSs). In such case,
sample collection would likely be at the
distribution-system sampling locations
described in the Disinfectants and
Disinfection Byproducts Rule (D/DBPR)
(40 CFR 141.622). EPA estimates this
would result in $16 million in new
expenses for large PWSs, $20 million in
new expenses for the Agency, and $0.5
million in new expenses for small PWSs
and states over the 5-year UCMR period.
EPA invites comments on whether
haloacetonitriles should be included in
UCMR 5.
3. 1,2,3-trichloropropane
1,2,3-trichloropropane is a man-made
chemical used as an industrial solvent,
cleaning and degreasing agent, and
synthesis intermediate. 1,2,3trichloropropane occurrence data
collected during UCMR 3 (USEPA,
2012) may be found at https://
www.epa.gov/dwucmr/occurrence-dataunregulated-contaminant-monitoringrule#3. EPA’s March 2020
‘‘Announcement of Preliminary
Regulatory Determinations for
Contaminants on the Fourth Drinking
Water Contaminant Candidate List’’
(available via https://www.epa.gov/ccl/
regulatory-determination-4) concluded
that the Agency needs additional lowerlevel occurrence information prior to
making a preliminary regulatory
determination for 1,2,3trichloropropane. EPA is not proposing
1,2,3-trichloropropane monitoring in
13855
subject to significant technical
challenges, and a robust method that
would support national monitoring is
unlikely to be ready in time to support
UCMR 5 rulemaking. Further, TOF
methods for drinking water may not be
sensitive or specific enough to support
decision making; TOF is not specific to
PFAS, and any fluorine-containing
compounds (e.g., pesticides,
pharmaceuticals) that are retained
during extraction would be included in
the organic fluorine measurement. EPA
cannot reliably estimate the cost to
measure TOF under UCMR because
TOF methods have little commercial
laboratory availability at this time.
UCMR 5 because the Agency concludes
that available analytical methods would
not support the collection of data at
concentrations lower than the levels
monitored during UCMR 3 (USEPA,
2019d). At 0.03 mg/L, the minimum
reporting level (MRL) established in
UCMR 3 is higher than the EPA health
reference level (HRL) associated with a
cancer risk level of one cancer case per
million people (0.0004 mg/L (0.4 ng/L)
(USEPA, 2019d), but lower than the
cancer risk level associated with one
cancer case per 10,000 people (0.04 mg/
L)). EPA invites comment on any
aspects of 1,2,3-trichloropropane as a
candidate for UCMR 5, particularly
comments on additional methods that
may support national monitoring at
quantitation levels lower than 0.0004
mg/L.
G. What are the costs of alternatives to
the proposed UCMR 5?
4. Total Organic Fluorine (TOF)
There are a number of analytical
techniques that have been applied to
measuring organic fluorine in
environmental matrices and drinking
water, and some have proposed trying to
correlate PFAS, in aggregate, with
measurements of total organic fluorine.
TOF, by combustion ion
chromatography, relies on extracting
fluorine-containing compounds from
water, defluorinating, and capturing the
resulting hydrogen flouride gas in
solution for analysis. While there is high
interest in TOF (and other techniques
that might capture a broader suite of
PFAS), the measurement approach is
As described in the preceding
sections, EPA considered alternatives to
the proposed UCMR 5. One alternative
EPA considered recognizes that the
Agency cost to support the expanded
small-PWS monitoring scope defined in
the AWIA may exceed available
resources. Specifically, the AWIA
provisions would increase the number
of PWS samples for which EPA would
perform analysis by 8-fold. Exhibit 4
presents the cost over 5 years for the
proposed-rule baseline and presents the
alternative cost if EPA were to
promulgate a final UCMR 5 that reverts
to the traditional UCMR approach to
small system monitoring (i.e., includes
800 systems serving 10,000 or fewer
people).
EXHIBIT 4—ESTIMATED 5-YEAR (2022–2026) COST ($ MILLION) OF THE PROPOSED UCMR AND AN ALTERNATIVE WITH
REDUCED SMALL SYSTEM MONITORING 1
Total cost to
large PWSs
Action
UCMR 5 proposed-rule baseline (presumes funds are available to support AWIA-based scope and that 29 PFAS and lithium are monitored)
Alternative UCMR 5 which would include only include 800 systems
serving 10,000 or fewer people .............................................................
(presumes that 29 PFAS and lithium are monitored) ...............................
Difference between proposed-rule baseline and alternative ..............
1 Totals
Total cost to
small PWSs
and states
Total cost
to EPA 2
Total program
cost
(sum of costs
for large and
small PWSs,
EPA, and
states)
$47.8
$52.7
$5.5
$105.9
47.8
14.7
3.4
65.9
0
38.0
2.1
40.0
may not equal the sum of components due to rounding.
for cost of analyses for samples from small PWSs and other implementation expenses.
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2 Accounts
Exhibit 5 presents the costs over 5
years for the UCMR 5 proposed-rule
baseline and alternatives, in which EPA
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would add monitoring for Legionella
pneumophila and/or haloacetonitriles to
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the proposed UCMR 5 analytes (29
PFAS and lithium).
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EXHIBIT 5—ESTIMATED 5-YEAR (2022–2026) COST ($ MILLION) OF THE PROPOSED UCMR AND ALTERNATIVES THAT ADD
MONITORING FOR Legionella pneumophila AND/OR HALOACETONITRILES
[Differences between the baseline and alternatives [$ million] are noted parenthetically] 1
Total cost to
large PWSs
Action
UCMR 5 proposed-rule baseline (presumes funds are available to support AWIA-based scope and that 29 PFAS and lithium are monitored)
Require monitoring for Legionella pneumophila (in addition to 29 PFAS
and lithium) .............................................................................................
Require monitoring for haloacetonitriles (in addition to 29 PFAS and lithium) ........................................................................................................
Require monitoring for Legionella pneumophila and haloacetonitriles (in
addition to 29 PFAS and lithium) ...........................................................
1 Totals
Total cost to
small PWSs
and states
Total cost
to EPA 2
Total program
cost
(sum of costs
for large and
small PWSs,
EPA, and
states)
$47.8
$52.7
$5.5
$105.9
58.7 (+11.0)
72.9 (+20.2)
6.0 (+0.5)
137.6 (+31.7)
63.6 (+15.8)
72.7 (+20.0)
6.0 (+0.5)
142.2 (+36.3)
73.3 (+25.6)
92.9 (+40.2)
6.0 (+0.5)
172.2 (+66.3)
may not equal the sum of components due to rounding.
for cost of analyses for samples from small PWSs and other implementation expenses.
2 Accounts
Exhibit 6 presents the costs over 5
years for the UCMR 5 ‘‘pre-AWIA’’
alternative baseline proposed-rule
baseline (i.e., in which the Agency
would include 800 nationallyrepresentative water systems serving
fewer than or equal to 10,000), and
associated scenarios in which EPA
would add monitoring for Legionella
pneumophila and/or haloacetonitriles to
the proposed UCMR 5 analytes (29
PFAS and lithium).
EXHIBIT 6—ESTIMATED 5-YEAR (2022–2026) COST ($ MILLION) OF A UCMR 5 ‘‘PRE-AWIA’’ ALTERNATIVE BASELINE, AND
ASSOCIATED SCENARIOS THAT ADD MONITORING FOR Legionella pneumophila AND/OR HALOACETONITRILES
[Differences between the baseline and alternatives [$ million] are noted parenthetically] 1
Total cost to
large PWSs
Action
UCMR 5 ‘‘pre-AWIA’’ alternative baseline (presumes that monitoring includes 800 PWSs serving ≤10,000 and that 29 PFAS and lithium are
monitored) ..............................................................................................
Require monitoring for Legionella pneumophila (in addition to 29 PFAS
and lithium) .............................................................................................
Require monitoring for haloacetonitriles (in addition to 29 PFAS and lithium) ........................................................................................................
Require monitoring for Legionella pneumophila and haloacetonitriles (in
addition to 29 PFAS and lithium) ...........................................................
1 Totals
Total cost to
small PWSs
and states
Total cost
to EPA 2
Total program
cost
(sum of costs
for large and
small PWSs,
EPA, and
states)
$47.8
$14.7
$3.4
$65.8
58.7 (+11.0)
18.4 (+3.7)
3.4 (+0.04)
80.5 (+14.7)
63.6 (+15.8)
16.2 (+1.5)
3.4 (+0.04)
83.2 (+17.4)
73.3 (+25.6)
19.2 (+4.5)
3.4 (+0.04)
96.0 (+30.2)
may not equal the sum of components due to rounding.
for cost of analyses for samples from small PWSs and other implementation expenses.
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2 Accounts
H. What is the proposed applicability
date?
The applicability date represents an
internal milestone used by EPA to
determine if a PWS is included in the
UCMR program, and if it is a small or
large PWS. It does not represent a date
by which respondents need to take any
action. In § 141.40(a), EPA proposes
February 1, 2021 as the new
applicability date to determine which
PWSs are subject to UCMR 5. That is,
the determination of whether a PWS is
required to monitor under UCMR 5 is
based on the type of system (e.g., CWS,
NTNCWS, etc.) and its retail population
served, as indicated by the Safe
Drinking Water Information System
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Federal Reporting Services (SDWIS/Fed)
inventory on February 1, 2021. A
determination of applicability on
February 1, 2021 allows time for EPA to
share the tentative list of PWSs with the
states for their review, and to load PWS
information into EPA’s reporting system
so that PWSs can be notified promptly
once the final rule is published. If a
PWS receives such notification and
believes its retail population served in
SDWIS/Fed is inaccurate (resulting in
the PWS being erroneously included in
UCMR 5), the system should contact
their state authority to verify its
population as of the applicability date
and request a correction, if necessary.
The applicability date for a given UCMR
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cycle is routinely established near the
publication of the UCMR proposal. EPA
believes that a later applicability date
would be impractical given the planning
that needs to occur prior to sample
collection.
I. What are the proposed UCMR 5
sampling design and timeline of
activities?
The proposed rule identifies sampling
and analysis for UCMR 5 contaminants
within the sampling period of 2023 to
2025 based on the Assessment
Monitoring framework because, as
described in section I.B of this
document, EPA anticipates that there
will be appropriate laboratory capacity.
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Preparations prior to 2023 are expected
to include coordinating laboratory
approval, selecting representative small
systems, organizing Partnership
Agreements, developing State
Monitoring Plans (see III.N of this
document), establishing monitoring
schedules and inventory, and
conducting outreach and training.
Exhibit 7 illustrates the major activities
that EPA expects will take place in
preparation for, and during the
implementation of the UCMR 5.
To minimize the impact of the rule on
small systems (those serving 10,000 or
fewer people), EPA pays for their
sample kit preparation, sample shipping
fees, and sample analysis.
As noted in section I.B of this
document, the AWIA mandates the
expanded UCMR monitoring ‘‘subject to
the availability of appropriations for
such purpose,’’ recognizing the greater
EPA burden created by the AWIA (as
EPA funds testing and laboratory
analysis for small systems under the
UCMR). If EPA concludes that it will
not have the resources necessary to
support the expanded monitoring
described by the AWIA, the Agency will
not promulgate a final rule that requires
all water systems serving between 3,300
and 10,000 persons to monitor. Rather,
EPA will use the approach from prior to
the enactment of AWIA, and include
800 nationally-representative water
systems serving fewer than or equal to
10,000 in the UCMR program.
Large systems (those serving more
than 10,000 people) pay for all costs
associated with their monitoring.
Exhibit 8 shows a summary of the
estimated number of PWSs subject to
monitoring.
System size
(number of people served)
National Sample: Assessment monitoring design
Small Systems 1 (25—3,299) .....................................................
Small Systems 2 (3,300—10,000) ..............................................
Large Systems 3 (10,001 and over) ...........................................
800 randomly selected systems (CWSs and NTNCWSs) ........
All systems (CWSs and NTNCWSs) ........................................
All systems (CWSs and NTNCWSs) ........................................
800
5,147
4,364
Total ....................................................................................
....................................................................................................
10,311
List 1 Chemicals
Total number of
systems per
size category
1 EPA
pays for all analytical costs associated with monitoring at small systems.
2 Small system counts are approximate. EPA pays for all analytical costs associated with monitoring at small systems.
3 Large system counts are approximate.
1. Sampling Frequency, Timing
On a per-system basis, the anticipated
number of samples collected by each
system is consistent with sample
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collection during prior UCMR cycles
(although, as described elsewhere, the
number of water systems subject to
UCMR would be significantly greater
under this proposal). Water systems
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would be required to collect samples
based on the typical UCMR sampling
frequency and time frame as follows:
For surface water, ground water under
the direct influence of surface water,
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and mixed locations, sampling would
take place for four consecutive quarters
over the course of 12 months (total of 4
sampling events). Sampling events
would occur 3 months apart. For
example, if the first sample is taken in
January, the second would then occur
anytime in April, the third would occur
anytime in July, and the fourth would
occur anytime in October. For ground
water locations, sampling would take
place twice over the course of 12
months (total of 2 sampling events).
Sampling events would occur five to
seven months apart. For example, if the
first sample is taken in April, the second
sample would then occur anytime in
September, October, or November.
EPA expects to consult with the states
and initially determine schedules (year
and months of monitoring) for large
water systems. Thereafter, these PWSs
would have an opportunity to modify
this initial schedule for planning
purposes or other reasons (e.g., to
spread costs over multiple years, a
sampling location will be closed during
the scheduled month of monitoring,
etc.). EPA proposes to schedule and
coordinate small system monitoring by
working closely with states. State
Monitoring Plans provide an
opportunity for states to review and
revise the initial sampling schedules
that EPA proposes (see discussion of
State Monitoring Plans in section III.N
of this document).
2. Sampling Locations and Ground
Water Representative Monitoring Plans
Consistent with past UCMR cycles,
sample collection for the UCMR 5
contaminants would take place at the
entry point to the distribution system
(EPTDS). As during past UCMRs and as
described in § 141.35(c)(3), the proposed
rule would allow large ground water
systems (or large surface water systems
with ground water sources) that have
multiple ground water EPTDSs to
request approval to sample at
representative monitoring locations
rather than at each ground water
EPTDS. GWRMPs approved under prior
UCMRs may be used for UCMR 5,
presuming no significant changes in the
configuration of the ground water
EPTDSs since the prior approval. Water
systems that intend to use a previously
approved plan must send EPA a copy of
the approval documents received under
prior UCMRs from their state (if
reviewed by the state) or EPA.
Relative to the rules for prior UCMR
cycles, this proposal provides greater
flexibility to PWSs in submitting
GWRMPs to EPA. As proposed, plans
must be submitted to EPA six months
prior to the PWS’s scheduled sample
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collection, instead of by a specified
date; those scheduled to collect samples
in 2024 or 2025 would have significant
additional time to develop and propose
representative plans. PWSs, particularly
those scheduled for sample collection in
2023, are encouraged to submit
proposals for new GWRMP by December
31, 2022, to allow time for review by
EPA and, as appropriate, the state. EPA
will work closely with the states to
coordinate the review of GWRMPs in
those cases where such review is part of
the state’s Partnership Agreement.
Changes to inventory data in the Safe
Drinking Water Accession and Review
System (SDWARS) that impact a PWS’s
representative plan before or during the
UCMR sampling period must be
reported within 30 days of the change.
EPA will collaborate with small systems
(particularly those with many ground
water locations) to develop a GWRMP
when warranted, recognizing that EPA
pays for the analysis of samples from
small systems.
3. Reporting Times
This action proposes changes in the
timeframes for laboratories to post and
approve analytical results in SDWARS,
and for PWSs to then review and
approve the posted results in SDWARS.
EPA recognizes that multiple states have
expressed an interest in earlier access to
UCMR data (see Docket ID No. EPA–
HQ–OW–2020–0530) and believes that
shorter timeframes for posting and
approving data are feasible based on our
experience with UCMR reporting todate. EPA has observed that many
laboratories are routinely posting data to
SDWARS within 90 days of sample
collection. EPA has also observed that
many large PWSs are approving and
submitting data within 30 days of their
laboratory posting the data.
Accordingly, EPA proposes that
laboratories be given 90 days (versus the
current 120 days) from the sample
collection date to post and approve
analytical results in SDWARS for PWS
review. EPA proposes that large PWSs
be given 30 days (versus the current 60
days) to review and approve the
analytical results posted to SDWARS.
As with the current UCMR
requirements, data would be considered
approved and available for state and
EPA review if the PWS takes no action
within their allotted review period. EPA
welcomes comments on these proposed
changes to the reporting requirements
and invites input on other changes that
could address the interest in earlier
access to data.
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J. What are the reporting requirements
for the UCMR 5?
EPA proposes changes to the
reporting requirements currently
established for UCMR 4, as detailed in
Table 1 of § 141.35(e), to account for the
UCMR 5 contaminants and the
monitoring approach being proposed.
These changes include removing data
elements related to the specific
contaminants from the previous UCMR,
and adding and updating data elements
based on the proposed list of
contaminants to be monitored. EPA is
proposing certain data element changes,
based on experience from the previous
UCMR, that are intended to improve
data reporting from laboratories and
water systems. Recognizing that data
elements are specifically tailored to the
requirements of each monitoring cycle,
EPA invites comment on the
appropriateness of the proposed UCMR
5 data elements relative to the proposed
UCMR 5 contaminants, analytical
methods and reporting requirements.
EPA welcomes comments on the
proposed data elements and associated
definitions, as well as any others that
may provide useful ancillary data to
support an assessment of the occurrence
information.
K. What are Minimum Reporting Levels
(MRLs) and how were they determined?
EPA establishes MRLs for
contaminants under the UCMR to
ensure consistency in the quality of the
information reported to the Agency. As
defined in§ 141.40(a)(5)(iii), the MRL is
the minimum quantitation level that,
with 95% confidence, can be achieved
by capable analysts at 75% or more of
the laboratories using a specified
analytical method. More detailed
explanation of the MRL calculation is in
the ‘‘Technical Basis for the Lowest
Concentration Minimum Reporting
Level (LCMRL) Calculator’’ (USEPA,
2010), available on the internet at
(https://www.epa.gov/
dwanalyticalmethods/lowestconcentration-minimum-reporting-levellcmrl-calculator).
EPA requires each laboratory
interested in supporting UCMR analyses
to demonstrate that they can reliably
make quality measurements at or below
the established MRL to ensure that high
quality results are being reported by
participating laboratories. EPA
established the proposed MRLs in
§ 141.40(a)(3), Table 1, for each analyte/
method by obtaining data from at least
three laboratories that performed
‘‘lowest concentration minimum
reporting level’’ (LCMRL) studies. The
results from these laboratory LCMRL
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studies can be found in the ‘‘UCMR 5
Laboratory Approval Manual’’ (USEPA,
2020f).
The LCMRL is the lowest
concentration of a contaminant that can
be quantified with the precision and
accuracy specified in ‘‘Technical Basis
for the Lowest Concentration Minimum
Reporting Level (LCMRL) Calculator’’
(USEPA, 2010), available on the internet
at (https://www.epa.gov/
dwanalyticalmethods/lowestconcentration-minimum-reporting-levellcmrl-calculator). The multiple
laboratory LCMRLs were then processed
through a statistical routine to derive an
MRL that, with 95% confidence, is
predicted to be attainable by 75% of
laboratories using the prescribed
method. EPA considers these to be the
lowest reporting levels that can
practically and consistently be achieved
on a national basis (recognizing that
individual laboratories may be able to
measure at lower levels). EPA invites
comments on the proposed MRLs, and
will consider changing the proposed
MRLs if the Agency obtains scientific
information demonstrating that a
different MRL is attainable and
practical.
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L. How do laboratories become
approved to conduct the UCMR 5
analyses?
Consistent with prior UCMRs, this
proposed action maintains the
requirement that PWS use laboratories
approved by EPA to analyze UCMR 5
samples. Interested laboratories are
encouraged to apply for EPA approval
as early as possible, beginning with the
publication of this proposal. The UCMR
5 laboratory approval process is
designed to assess whether laboratories
possess the required equipment and can
meet laboratory-performance and datareporting criteria described in this
action.
EPA expects demand for laboratory
support to increase significantly based
on the greater number of water systems
proposed for UCMR 5. EPA estimates
that the number of participating small
water systems will increase from the
typical 800 to approximately 6,000 (see
Exhibit 8 in section III.I of this
document). In preparation for this
increased participation, EPA anticipates
soliciting proposals and awarding
contracts to laboratories to support
small system monitoring prior to the
end of the proficiency testing (PT)
program. Historically, laboratories
awarded contracts by EPA have been
required to first be approved to perform
all methods. The anticipated steps and
requirements for the laboratory approval
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process are described in steps 1 through
6 of the following paragraphs.
EPA anticipates following its typical
approach to approving UCMR
laboratories, which would require
laboratories seeking approval to: (1)
Provide EPA with data that demonstrate
a successful completion of an initial
demonstration of capability (IDC) as
outlined in each method; (2) verify
successful performance at or below the
MRLs as specified in this action; (3)
provide information about laboratory
standard operating procedures (SOPs);
and (4) participate in two EPA PT
studies for the analytes of interest.
Audits of laboratories may be conducted
by EPA prior to and/or following
approval, and maintaining approval is
contingent on timely and accurate
reporting. The ‘‘UCMR 5 Laboratory
Approval Manual’’ (USEPA, 2020f)
provides more specific guidance on EPA
laboratory approval program and the
specific method acceptance criteria.
EPA will also include sample collection
procedures that are specific to the
methods in the ‘‘UCMR 5 Laboratory
Manual,’’ and will address this point in
our outreach to the public water systems
that will be collecting samples.
The structure of the anticipated
UCMR 5 laboratory approval program is
similar to that employed in the previous
UCMRs, and would provide an
assessment of the ability of laboratories
to perform analyses using the methods
listed in § 141.40(a)(3), Table 1.
Laboratory participation in the UCMR
laboratory approval program is
voluntary. However, as in the previous
UCMRs, and as proposed for UCMR 5,
EPA would require PWSs to exclusively
use laboratories that have been
approved under the program. EPA
expects to post a list of approved UCMR
5 laboratories to: https://www.epa.gov/
dwucmr and will bring this to the
attention of the PWSs in our outreach to
them.
1. Request To Participate
Laboratories interested in the UCMR 5
laboratory approval program first email
EPA at: UCMR_Lab_Approval@epa.gov
to request registration materials. EPA
expects to accept such requests
beginning with the publication of the
proposal in the Federal Register. Based
on a January 1, 2023, anticipated start
for UCMR 5 sample collection, EPA
anticipates that the final opportunity for
a laboratory to complete and submit the
necessary registration and application
information will be August 1, 2022.
2. Registration
Laboratory applicants provide
registration information that includes:
Laboratory name, mailing address,
shipping address, contact name, phone
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13859
number, email address and a list of the
UCMR 5 methods for which the
laboratory is seeking approval. This
registration step provides EPA with the
necessary contact information, and
ensures that each laboratory receives a
customized application package.
3. Application Package
Laboratory applicants will complete
and return a customized application
package that includes the following: IDC
data, including precision, accuracy and
results of MRL studies; information
regarding analytical equipment and
other materials; proof of current
drinking water laboratory certification
(for select compliance monitoring
methods); method specific SOPs; and
example chromatograms for each
method under review.
As a condition of receiving and
maintaining approval, the laboratory
will be expected to promptly post
UCMR 5 monitoring results and quality
control data that meet method criteria
(on behalf of its PWS clients) to EPA’s
UCMR electronic data reporting system,
SDWARS.
4. EPA’s Review of Application
Package
EPA will review the application
packages and, if necessary, request
follow-up information. Laboratories that
successfully complete the application
process become eligible to participate in
the UCMR 5 PT program.
5. Proficiency Testing
A PT sample is a synthetic sample
containing a concentration of an analyte
or mixture of analytes that is known to
EPA, but unknown to the laboratory. To
be approved, a laboratory is expected to
meet specific acceptance criteria for the
analysis of a UCMR 5 PT sample(s) for
each analyte in each method, for which
the laboratory is seeking approval. EPA
anticipates offering up to three of these
studies prior to the publication of the
final rule, and at least two studies after
publication of the final rule. This allows
laboratories to complete their portion of
the laboratory approval process prior to
publication of the final rule, and receive
their approval immediately following
the publication of the final rule. A
laboratory is expected to participate in
and report data for at least two PT
studies. This allows EPA to collect a
robust data set for PT results, and
provides laboratories with extra
analytical experience using UCMR 5
methods. Laboratories must pass a PT
for every analyte in the method to be
approved for that method, and may
participate in multiple PT studies in
order to produce passing results for each
analyte. EPA has taken this approach in
UCMR 5, recognizing that EPA Method
533 contains 25 analytes. EPA does not
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expect to conduct additional PT studies
after the start of PWS monitoring;
however, laboratory audits will likely be
ongoing throughout the implementation
of UCMR 5. Initial laboratory approval
is expected to be contingent on
successful completion of PT studies,
which includes properly uploading the
PT results to SDWARS. Continued
laboratory approval is contingent on
successful completion of the audit
process and satisfactorily meeting all
the other stated conditions.
6. Written EPA Approval
After a laboratory successfully
completes steps 1 through 5, EPA
expects to send the laboratory a
notification letter listing the methods for
which approval is either ‘‘pending’’ (i.e.,
pending promulgation of the final rule
if the PT studies have been conducted
prior to that time), or for which
approval is ‘‘granted’’ (if after
promulgation of the final rule).
Laboratories receiving pending approval
are expected to be granted approval
without further action following
promulgation of the final rule if no
changes have been made to the rule that
impact the laboratory approval program.
EPA expects to contact the laboratory if
changes are made between the proposed
and final rules that warrant additional
action by the laboratory.
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M. What documents are being
incorporated by reference?
The following methods are being
incorporated by reference into this
section for the UCMR 5 monitoring. All
method material is available for
inspection electronically at https://
www.regulations.gov (Docket ID No.
EPA–HQ–OW–2020–0530), or from the
sources listed for each method. EPA has
worked to make these methods and
documents reasonably available to
interested parties. The methods that
may be used to support monitoring
under this rule are as follows:
1. Methods From the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
The following methods are available
at EPA’s Docket No. EPA–HQ–OW–
2020–0530.
(i) EPA Method 200.7 ‘‘Determination
of Metals and Trace Elements in Water
and Wastes by Inductively Coupled
Plasma-Atomic Emission
Spectrometry,’’ Revision 4.4, 1994.
Available on the internet at https://
www.epa.gov/esam/method-2007determination-metals-and-traceelements-water-and-wastes-inductivelycoupled-plasma. This is an EPA method
for the analysis of metals and trace
elements in water by ICP–AES and is
proposed to measure lithium during
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UCMR 5. See also the discussion of nonEPA methods for lithium in this section.
(ii) EPA Method 533 ‘‘Determination
of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances
in Drinking Water by Isotope Dilution
Anion Exchange Solid Phase Extraction
and Liquid Chromatography/Tandem
Mass Spectrometry,’’ November 2019,
EPA 815–B–19–020. Available on the
internet at https://www.epa.gov/
dwanalyticalmethods. This is an EPA
method for the analysis PFAS in
drinking water using SPE and LC/MS/
MS and is proposed to measure 25
PFAS during UCMR 5 (11Cl-PF3OUdS,
8:2 FTS, 4:2 FTS, 6:2 FTS, ADONA, 9ClPF3ONS, HFPO–DA (GenX), NFDHA,
PFEESA, PFMPA, PFMBA, PFBS, PFBA,
PFDA, PFDoA, PFHpS, PFHpA, PFHxS,
PFHxA, PFNA, PFOS, PFOA, PFPeS,
PFPeA, and PFUnA).
(iii) EPA Method 537.1
‘‘Determination of Selected Per- and
Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances in
Drinking Water by Solid Phase
Extraction and Liquid Chromatography/
Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS/
MS),’’ Version 2.0, November 2020,
EPA/600/R–20/006. Available on the
internet at https://www.epa.gov/
dwanalyticalmethods. This is an EPA
method for the analysis of PFAS in
drinking water using SPE and LC/MS/
MS and is proposed to measure four
PFAS during UCMR 5 (NEtFOSAA,
NMeFOSAA, PFTA, and PFTrDA).
2. Alternative Methods From American
Public Health Association—Standard
Methods (SM)
The following methods are from
American Public Health—Standard
Methods (SM), 800 I Street NW,
Washington, DC 20001–3710.
(i) ‘‘Standard Methods for the
Examination of Water & Wastewater,’’
23rd edition (2017).
(a) SM 3120 B ‘‘Metals by Plasma
Emission Spectroscopy (2017):
Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP)
Method.’’ This is a Standard Method for
the analysis of metals in water and
wastewater by emission spectroscopy
using ICP and may be used for the
analysis of lithium.
(ii) ‘‘Standard Methods Online,’’
approved 1999. Available for purchase
on the internet at https://
www.standardmethods.org.
(a) SM 3120 B ‘‘Metals by Plasma
Emission Spectroscopy: Inductively
Coupled Plasma (ICP) Method (Editorial
Revisions, 2011),’’ (SM 3120 B–99). This
is a Standard Method for the analysis of
metals in water and wastewater by
emission spectroscopy using ICP and
may be used for the analysis of lithium.
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3. Methods From ASTM International
The following methods are from
ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor
Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428–
2959.
(i) ASTM D1976–20 ‘‘Standard Test
Method for Elements in Water by
Inductively-Coupled Plasma Atomic
Emission Spectroscopy,’’ approved May
1, 2020. Available for purchase on the
internet at https://www.astm.org/
Standards/D1976.htm. This is an ASTM
method for the analysis of elements in
water by ICP–AES and may be used to
measure lithium.
N. What is the State’s role in the UCMR?
UCMR is a direct implementation rule
(i.e., EPA has primary responsibility for
its implementation), and state
participation is voluntary. Under the
previous UCMR cycles, specific
activities that individual states agreed to
carry out or assist with were identified
and established exclusively through
Partnership Agreements. Through
Partnership Agreements, states can help
EPA implement the UCMR, and help
ensure that the UCMR data are of the
highest quality possible to best support
the Agency decision making. Under
UCMR 5, EPA expects to continue to use
the Partnership Agreement process to
determine and document the following:
The process for review and revision of
the State Monitoring plans; replacing
and updating system information
including inventory; review of proposed
GWRMPs; notification and instructions
for systems; and compliance assistance.
EPA is considering deploying a SDWIS/
State extraction tool to assist partnered
states with providing system
information to the Agency. EPA
recognizes that primacy agencies often
have the best information about their
PWSs and encourages them to partner in
the UCMR 5 program.
O. How did EPA consider Children’s
Environmental Health?
By monitoring for unregulated
contaminants that may pose health risks
via drinking water, UCMR furthers the
protection of public health for all
citizens, including children. Children
consume more water per unit of body
weight compared to adults. Moreover,
formula-fed infants drink a large amount
of water compared to their body weight.
Thus, while children’s exposure to
contaminants in drinking water may
present a disproportionate health risk
(USEPA, 2011), the objective of UCMR
5 is to collect nationally representative
drinking water occurrence data on
unregulated contaminants for
consideration in potential future
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regulation. The detailed information on
the prioritization process, as well as
contaminant-specific information (e.g.,
source, use, production, release,
persistence, mobility, health effects, and
occurrence), that EPA used to select the
proposed analyte list, is contained in
‘‘Information Compendium for
Candidate Contaminants for the
Proposed Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5)’’ (USEPA,
2020e).
Executive Order 13045 does not apply
to UCMR 5 because EPA does not
believe the environmental health or
safety risks addressed by this action
present a disproportionate risk to
children (See IV.G. Executive Order
13045 of this document). However,
EPA’s Policy on Evaluating Health Risks
to Children, which ensures that the
health of infants and children is
explicitly considered in the Agency’s
decision making, is applicable, see:
https://www.epa.gov/children/epaspolicy-evaluating-risk-children.
Using quantitation data from multiple
laboratories, EPA establishes
statistically-based UCMR reporting
levels that are projected to be feasible
for the national network of approved
drinking water laboratories to quantify
accurately. EPA generally sets the
reporting levels as low as is practical,
even if that level is well below
concentrations that are currently
associated with known or suspected
health effects. In doing so, EPA
positions itself to better address
contaminant risk information in the
future, including that associated with
unique risks to children. EPA requests
comments regarding any further steps
that may be taken to evaluate and
address health risks to children that fall
within the scope of UCMR 5.
P. How did EPA address environmental
justice?
EPA has concluded that this action is
not subject to Executive Order 12898
because it does not establish an
environmental health or safety standard
(see IV.J. Executive Order 12898 of this
document). This proposed action would
provide EPA and other interested
parties with scientifically valid data on
the national occurrence data of selected
contaminants in drinking water. By
seeking to identify unregulated
contaminants that may pose health risks
via drinking water from all PWSs,
UCMR furthers the protection of public
health for all citizens. EPA recognizes
that unregulated contaminants in
drinking water are of interest to all
populations and structured the
rulemaking process and implementation
of the UCMR 5 rule to allow for
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meaningful involvement and
transparency. EPA organized public
meetings and webinars to share
information regarding the development
of UCMR 5; consulted with tribal
governments; and convened a
workgroup that included representatives
from several states.
EPA proposes to continue to collect
U.S. Postal Service Zip Codes for each
PWS’s service area, as collected under
UCMR 3 and UCMR 4, to support
potential assessments of whether or not
minority, low-income and/or
indigenous-population communities are
uniquely impacted by particular
drinking water contaminants. EPA
solicits comment on the utility of this
approach (including whether this is an
appropriate way for PWSs to identify
service areas), and welcomes comments
regarding other actions the Agency
could take to further address
environmental justice within the UCMR.
EPA welcomes, for example, comments
regarding sampling and/or modeling
approaches, and the feasibility and
utility of applying these approaches to
determine disproportionate impacts.
EPA also welcomes comments on
information other than Zip Codes that
could be collected and used to support
potential assessments of whether or not
minority, low-income and/or
indigenous-population communities are
uniquely impacted by particular
drinking water contaminants.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory
Planning and Review and Executive
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and
Regulatory Review
This action is a significant regulatory
action that was submitted to the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) for
review. Any changes made in response
to OMB recommendations have been
documented in the docket. A full
analysis of potential costs associated
with this action, the ‘‘Draft Information
Collection Request for the Unregulated
Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR
5),’’(USEPA, 2020b) ICR Number 2040–
NEW, is also available in the docket
(Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OW–2020–
0530). A summary of the draft ICR can
be found in section I.C of this
document.
B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
The information collection activities
in this proposed rule have been
submitted for approval to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) under
the PRA. The Information Collection
Request (ICR) document (USEPA,
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2020b) that EPA prepared has been
assigned EPA ICR number 2040–NEW.
You can find a copy of the ICR in the
docket for this rule, and it is briefly
summarized here.
The information that EPA proposes to
collect under this rule fulfills the
statutory requirements of § 1445(a)(2) of
the SDWA, as amended in 1996, 2018,
and 2019. The data will describe the
source of the water, location and test
results for samples taken from public
water systems (PWSs). The information
collected will support EPA’s decisions
as to whether or not to regulate
particular contaminants under the
SDWA. Reporting is mandatory. The
data are not subject to confidentiality
protection.
The five-year UCMR 5 period spans
2022–2026. As proposed, UCMR 5
sample collection begins in 2023 and
continues through 2025. Since ICRs
cannot be approved by OMB for a
period longer than three years pursuant
to 5 CFR 1320.10, the primary analysis
in the ICR only covers the first three
years of the collection (i.e., 2022–2024).
Prior to expiration of the ICR, EPA will
seek to renew the ICR and thus receive
approval to collect information under
the PRA in the remaining two years of
the UCMR 5 period.
Respondents/affected entities: The
respondents/affected entities are small
PWSs (those serving 10,000 or fewer
people); large PWSs (those serving
10,001 to 100,000 people); very large
PWSs (those serving more than 100,000
people); and states.
Respondent’s obligation to respond:
Mandatory (40 CFR 141.35).
Estimated number of respondents:
Respondents to UCMR 5, as proposed,
include ∼5,900 small PWSs, ∼4,400 large
PWSs, and the 56 primacy agencies (50
states, one tribal nation, and five
territories) for a total of ∼10,400
respondents.
Frequency of response: The frequency
of response varies across respondents
and years. Across the initial 3-year ICR
period for UCMR 5, small PWSs would
sample an average of 2.8 times per PWS
(i.e., number of responses per PWS);
large PWSs would sample and report
and average of 3.2 times per PWS; and
very large PWSs would sample and
report an average of 3.7 times per PWS.
Total estimated burden: 48,406.1
hours (per year). Burden is defined at 5
CFR 1320.3(b).
Total estimated cost: $9,734,617,
annualized capital or operation &
maintenance costs.
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB
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control number. The OMB control
numbers for EPA’s regulations in 40
CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9.
Submit your comments on the
Agency’s need for this information, the
accuracy of the provided burden
estimates and any suggested methods
for minimizing respondent burden to
EPA using the docket identified at the
beginning of this rule. Written
comments and recommendations for the
proposed information collection should
be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/
do/PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting
‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open
for Public Comments’’ or by using the
search function. Since OMB is required
to make a decision concerning the ICR
between 30 and 60 days after receipt,
OMB must receive comments no later
than April 12, 2021. EPA will respond
to any ICR-related comments in the final
rule.
C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
For purposes of assessing the impacts
of this rule on small entities, EPA
considered small entities to be PWSs
serving 10,000 or fewer people. As
required by the RFA, EPA proposed
using this alternative definition in the
Federal Register (63 FR 7606, February
13, 1998 (USEPA, 1998a)), sought public
comment, consulted with the Small
Business Administration (SBA) and
finalized the alternative definition in
the Consumer Confidence Reports
rulemaking, (63 FR 44512, August 19,
1998 (USEPA, 1998b)). As stated in that
Final Rule, the alternative definition
would apply to this regulation, and
future drinking water rules.
EXHIBIT 9—NUMBER OF PUBLICLY- AND PRIVATELY-OWNED SMALL SYSTEMS SUBJECT TO UCMR 5
System size (number of people served)
Publicly-owned
Privately-owned
Total 1
Ground Water
500 and under .............................................................................................................................
501 to 3,300 .................................................................................................................................
3,301 to 10,000 ............................................................................................................................
134
120
2,334
401
45
541
534
165
2,875
Subtotal Ground Water .........................................................................................................
2,588
987
3,574
Surface Water (and Ground Water Under the Direct Influence of Surface Water)
500 and under .............................................................................................................................
501 to 3,300 .................................................................................................................................
3,301 to 10,000 ............................................................................................................................
22
38
1,762
27
14
509
49
52
2,272
Subtotal Surface Water ........................................................................................................
1,822
550
2,373
Total of Small Water Systems ......................................................................................
4,410
1,537
5,947
1 PWS
counts were adjusted to display as whole numbers in each size category.
The basis for the proposed UCMR 5
RFA certification is as follows: For the
5,947 small water systems that would be
affected, the average annual cost for
complying with this rule represents no
more than 0.5% of system revenues (the
highest estimated percentage is for GW
systems serving 500 or fewer people, at
0.5% of its median revenue). The
average yearly cost to small systems to
comply with UCMR 5 over the five-year
period of 2022–2026, as proposed, is
approximately $0.3 million. The average
yearly cost to EPA to implement UCMR
5 over the same period, as proposed, is
approximately $10.5 million, with most
of that cost associated with the small
system sampling program. EPA
anticipates that approximately one third
of the 5,947 small PWSs will collect
samples in each of three years (2023,
2024, and 2025).
PWS costs are attributed to the labor
required for reading about UCMR 5
requirements, monitoring, reporting and
record keeping. The estimated average
annual burden across the 5-year UCMR
5 implementation period of 2022–2026
is 1.3 hours at $52 per small system.
Average annual cost, in all cases, is less
than 0.5% of system revenues. By
assuming all costs for laboratory
analyses, shipping and quality control
for small entities, EPA incurs the
entirety of the non-labor costs
associated with the UCMR 5 small
system monitoring, or 96% of total
small system testing costs. Exhibit 10
and Exhibit 11 present the estimated
economic impacts in the form of a
revenue test for publicly- and privatelyowned systems.
EXHIBIT 10—UCMR 5 RELATIVE COST ANALYSIS FOR SMALL PUBLICLY-OWNED SYSTEMS
[2022–2026]
Annual
number of
systems
impacted 1
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System size
(number of people served)
Average
annual hours
per system
Average
annual cost
per system
SBREFA
criteriarevenue test 2
(%)
Ground Water Systems
500 and under .................................................................................................
501 to 3,300 .....................................................................................................
3,301 to 10,000 ................................................................................................
27
24
467
1.0
1.1
1.3
$40.65
43.37
49.92
0.09
0.02
0.01
54.39
0.07
Surface Water (and Ground Water Under the Direct Influence of Surface Water) Systems
500 and under .................................................................................................
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EXHIBIT 10—UCMR 5 RELATIVE COST ANALYSIS FOR SMALL PUBLICLY-OWNED SYSTEMS—Continued
[2022–2026]
Annual
number of
systems
impacted 1
System size
(number of people served)
501 to 3,300 .....................................................................................................
3,301 to 10,000 ................................................................................................
Average
annual hours
per system
8
353
Average
annual cost
per system
1.4
1.5
56.19
57.39
SBREFA
criteriarevenue test 2
(%)
0.02
0.004
1 PWS counts were adjusted to display as whole numbers in each size category. Includes the publicly-owned portion of small systems subject
to UCMR 5.
2 Costs are presented as a percentage of median annual revenue for each size category.
EXHIBIT 11—UCMR 5 RELATIVE COST ANALYSIS FOR SMALL PRIVATELY-OWNED SYSTEMS
[2022–2026]
Annual
number of
systems
impacted 1
System size
(number of people served)
Average
annual hours
per system
Average
annual cost
per system
SBREFA
criteriarevenue test 2
(%)
Ground Water Systems
500 and under .................................................................................................
501 to 3,300 .....................................................................................................
3,301 to 10,000 ................................................................................................
80
9
108
1.0
1.1
1.3
$40.65
43.37
49.92
0.48
0.03
0.004
54.39
56.19
57.39
0.11
0.02
0.004
Surface Water (and Ground Water Under the Direct Influence of Surface Water) Systems
500 and under .................................................................................................
501 to 3,300 .....................................................................................................
3,301 to 10,000 ................................................................................................
5
3
102
1.4
1.4
1.5
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1 PWS counts were adjusted to display as whole numbers in each size category. Includes the privately-owned portion of small systems subject
to the UCMR 5.
2 Costs are presented as a percentage of median annual revenue for each size category.
EPA has determined that 5,947 small
PWSs (for Assessment Monitoring), or
approximately 9.35% of all small
systems, would experience an impact of
no more than 0.5% of revenues. This
accounts for small PWSs familiarizing
themselves with the regulatory
requirements; reading sampling
instructions; traveling to the sampling
location; collecting and shipping the
samples; and maintaining their records.
The 5,975 small PWSs are comprised of
all 5,147 systems serving between 3,300
and 10,000, and the representative
group of 800 systems serving fewer than
3,300; the remainder of small systems
would not participate in UCMR 5
monitoring and would not be impacted.
The Agency certifies that this action
will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small
entities under the RFA. In making this
determination, EPA believes that the
impact of concern is any significant
adverse economic impact on small
entities, and that an agency may certify
that a rule will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities if the rule
relieves regulatory burden, has no net
burden or otherwise has a positive
economic effect on the small entities
subject to the rule. Although this
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proposed rule will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities, EPA has
attempted to reduce impacts by
assuming all costs for analyses of the
samples, and for shipping the samples
from small systems to laboratories
contracted by EPA to analyze the UCMR
5 samples (the cost of shipping is
included in the cost of each analytical
method). EPA has historically set aside
$2.0 million each year from the
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund
(DWSRF) with its authority to use
DWSRF monies for the purposes of
implementing this provision of the
SDWA. EPA anticipates drawing on
these and additional funds, if available,
to implement the proposed plan and
carry out the expanded UCMR
monitoring approach outlined in the
AWIA rather than the alternative
approach used in UCMR 4 and the
preceding UCMR cycles. Thus, the costs
to these small systems will be modest
and limited to the labor associated with
collecting a sample and preparing it for
shipping.
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
(UMRA)
This action does not contain an
unfunded mandate of $100 million or
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more as described in UMRA, 2 U.S.C.
1531–1538, and does not significantly or
uniquely affect small governments. The
action implements mandate(s)
specifically and explicitly set forth in
the SDWA, § 1445(a)(2), Monitoring
Program for Unregulated Contaminants.
without the exercise of any policy
discretion by EPA.
E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
This action does not have federalism
implications. It will not have substantial
direct effects on the states, on the
relationship between the national
government and the states, or on the
distribution of power and
responsibilities among the various
levels of government.
F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation
and Coordination With Indian Tribal
Governments
This action has tribal implications.
However, it will neither impose
substantial direct compliance costs on
federally recognized tribal governments,
nor preempt tribal law. As described
previously, this proposed rule requires
monitoring by all large PWSs.
Information in the SDWIS/Fed water
system inventory indicates there are
approximately 19 large tribal PWSs
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(ranging in size from 10,001 to 40,000
customers). EPA estimates the average
annual cost to each of these large PWSs,
over the 5-year rule period, to be $1,839.
This cost is based on a labor component
(associated with the collection of
samples), and a non-labor component
(associated with shipping and
laboratory fees), and represents less than
1.2% of average revenue/sales for large
PWSs. UCMR 5, as proposed, would
also require monitoring by all small
PWSs serving 3,300 to 10,000 customers
and a nationally representative sample
of small PWSs serving fewer than 3,300
customers. Information in the SDWIS/
Fed water system inventory indicates
there are approximately 72 small tribal
PWSs (ranging in size from 3,300 to
10,000 customers). EPA estimates that
less than 2% of small tribal systems
serving fewer than 3,300 customers will
be selected as part of the nationally
representative sample. EPA estimates
the average annual cost to small tribal
systems over the 5-year rule period to be
$52. Such cost is based on the labor
associated with collecting a sample and
preparing it for shipping and represents
less than 0.5% of average revenue/sales
for small PWSs. All other small-PWS
expenses (associated with shipping and
laboratory fees) are paid by EPA.
EPA consulted with tribal officials
under the Agency’s Policy on
Consultation and Coordination with
Indian Tribes early in the process of
developing this regulation to permit
them to have meaningful and timely
input into its development. A summary
of that consultation, titled, ‘‘Summary of
the Tribal Coordination and
Consultation Process for the Fifth
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring
Rule (UCMR 5) Proposal,’’ is provided
in the electronic docket listed in the
ADDRESSES section of this document.
EPA specifically solicits additional
comment on this proposed rule from
tribal officials.
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G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of
Children From Environmental Health
Risks and Safety Risks
Executive Order 13045 applies to
those regulatory actions that concern
environmental health or safety risks that
EPA has reason to believe may
disproportionately affect children, per
the definition of ‘‘covered regulatory
action’’ in section 2–202 of the
Executive Order. This action does not
meet those criteria and is not subject to
Executive Order 13045.
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H. Executive Order 13211: Actions
Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution or Use
This action is not a ‘‘significant
energy action’’ because it is not likely to
have a significant adverse effect on the
supply, distribution or use of energy
and has not otherwise been designated
by the Administrator of the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs as a
significant energy action.
I. National Technology Transfer and
Advancement Act (NTTAA)
This action involves technical
standards. EPA proposes to allow the
use of methods developed by the
Agency, and three major voluntary
consensus method organizations to
support UCMR 5 monitoring. The
voluntary consensus method
organizations are Standard Methods for
the Examination of Water and
Wastewater, and ASTM International.
EPA identified acceptable consensus
method organization standards for the
analysis of lithium.
All of these standards are reasonably
available for public use. EPA methods
are free for download on the Agency’s
website. The methods in the Standard
Methods for the Examination of Water
and Wastewater 23rd edition are
consensus standards, available for
purchase from the publisher, and are
commonly used by the drinking water
laboratory community. The methods in
the Standard Methods Online are
consensus standards, available for
purchase from the publisher’s website,
and are commonly used by the drinking
water laboratory community. The
methods from ASTM International are
consensus standards, are available for
purchase from the publisher’s website,
and are commonly used by the drinking
water laboratory community. EPA
welcomes comments on this aspect of
the proposed rulemaking; the Agency
specifically invites the public to identify
potentially-applicable voluntary
consensus standards and explain why
such standards should be used in this
rule.
J. Executive Order 12898: Federal
Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and
Low-Income Populations
EPA believes that this action is not
subject to Executive Order 12898 (59 FR
7629, February 16, 1994) because it does
not establish an environmental health or
safety standard. Background
information regarding EPA’s
consideration of Executive Order 12898
in the development of this proposed
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rule is provided in section III.P of this
document, and an additional supporting
document has been placed in the
electronic docket listed in the
ADDRESSES section of this document.
V. References
(i) ASDWA. 2013. Insufficient Resources for
State Drinking Water Programs Threaten
Public Health: An Analysis of State
Drinking Water Programs’ Resources and
Needs. December 2013. Available on the
internet at: https://www.asdwa.org/
asdwa-reports/.
(ii) ASTM. 2020. ASTM D1976–20—
Standard Test Method for Elements in
Water by Inductively-Coupled Plasma
Atomic Emission Spectroscopy. ASTM,
100 Barr Harbor Drive, West
Conshohocken, PA 19428. Approved
May 1, 2020. Available for purchase on
the internet at https://www.astm.org/
Standards/D1976.htm.
(iii) Glassmeyer, S.T., E.T. Furlong, D.W.
Kolpin, A.L. Batt, R. Benson, J.S. Boone,
O. Conerly, M.J. Donohue, D.N. King,
M.S. Kostich, H.E. Mash, S.L. Pfaller,
K.M. Schenck, J.E. Simmons, E.A.
Varughese, S.J. Vesper, E.N. Villegas, and
V.S. Wilson. 2017. Nationwide
Reconnaissance of Contaminants of
Emerging Concern in Source and Treated
Drinking Waters of the United States.
Science of the Total Environment (581–
582):909–922.
(iv) IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. 2020.
LegiolertTM Test. One IDEXX Drive,
Westbrook, Maine 04092 USA.
(v) Settlement Agreement, Waterkeeper
Alliance, Inc. v. U.S. EPA, No. 1:19–cv–
00899–LJL (S.D.N.Y. Jun. 1, 2020).
(vi) SM. 2017. 3120B—Metals by Plasma
Emission Spectroscopy (2017):
Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP)
Method. Standard Methods for the
Examination of Water and Wastewater,
23rd edition. American Public Health
Association, 800 I Street NW,
Washington, DC 20001–3710.
(vii) SM Online. 1999. 3120B–99—Metals by
Plasma Emission Spectroscopy:
Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP)
Method (Editorial Revisions, 2011).
Standard Methods Online. Available for
purchase on the internet at https://
www.standardmethods.org.
(viii) USEPA. 1989. National Primary
Drinking Water Regulations; Filtration,
Disinfection; Turbidity, Giardia lamblia,
Viruses, Legionella, and Heterotrophic
Bacteria; Final Rule. Federal Register.
Vol. 54, No. 124, p. 27486, June 29, 1989.
(ix) USEPA. 1994. EPA Method 200.7—
Determination of Metals and Trace
Elements in Water and Wastes by
Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic
Emission Spectrometry, Revision 4.4.
Office of Research and Development,
Cincinnati, OH. Available on the internet
at https://www.epa.gov/esam/method2007-determination-metals-and-traceelements-water-and-wastes-inductivelycoupled-plasma.
(x) USEPA. 1995. EPA Method 551.1—
Determination of Chlorination
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 46 / Thursday, March 11, 2021 / Proposed Rules
Disinfection Byproducts, Chlorinated
Solvents, and Halogenated Pesticides/
Herbicides in Drinking Water by LiquidLiquid Extraction and Gas
Chromatography with Electron-Capture
Detection, Revision 1.0. Office of
Research and Development, Cincinnati,
OH. Available on the internet at https://
www.epa.gov/esam/epa-method-5511determination-chlorination-disinfectionbyproducts-chlorinated-solvents-and
(xi) USEPA. 1998a. National Primary
Drinking Water Regulations: Consumer
Confidence Reports; Proposed Rule.
Federal Register. Vol. 63, No. 30, p.
7606, February 13, 1998.
(xii) USEPA. 1998b. National Primary
Drinking Water Regulation: Consumer
Confidence Reports; Final Rule. Federal
Register. Vol. 63, No. 160, p. 44512,
August 19, 1998.
(xiii) USEPA. 1999. Revisions to the
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring
Regulation for Public Water Systems;
Final Rule. Federal Register. Vol. 64, No.
180, p. 50556, September 17, 1999.
(xiv) USEPA. 2001. Legionella: Drinking
Water Health Advisory. EPA–822–B–01–
005. Office of Water, Washington, DC.
March 2001. Available on the internet at
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/
files/2015-10/documents/legionellareport.pdf.
(xv) USEPA. 2007. Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Regulation (UCMR) for
Public Water Systems Revisions. Federal
Register. Vol. 72, No. 2, p. 367, January
4, 2007.
(xvi) USEPA. 2008. Provisional Peer
Reviewed Toxicity Values for Lithium
(CASRN 7439–93–2). Office of Research
and Development, Cincinnati, OH.
Available on the internet at https://
cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/pprtv/documents/
Lithium.pdf.
(xvii) USEPA. 2009. Summary of National
Inorganics and Radionuclides Survey
(NIRS) Data for CCL 3 Chemical
Occurrence Analysis. Docket ID EPA–
HQ–OW–2007–1189. Available on the
internet at https://www.regulations.gov.
(xviii) USEPA. 2010. Technical Basis for the
Lowest Concentration Minimum
Reporting Level (LCMRL) Calculator.
EPA 815–R–11–001. Office of Water.
December 2010. Available on the
internet at https://www.epa.gov/
dwanalyticalmethods.
(xix) USEPA. 2011. Exposure Factors
Handbook 2011 Edition (Final Report).
U.S. EPA, Washington DC, EPA/600/R–
09/052F. Office of Research and
Development, Washington DC.
September 2011. Available on the
internet at https://www.epa.gov/
expobox/about-exposure-factorshandbook.
(xx) USEPA. 2012. Revisions to the
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring
Regulation (UCMR 3) for Public Water
Systems; Final Rule. Federal Register.
Vol. 77, No. 85, p. 26071, May 2, 2012.
(xxi) USEPA. 2016a. Revisions to the
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring
Rule (UCMR 4) for Public Water Systems
and Announcement of Public Meeting.
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Federal Register. Vol. 81, No. 244, p.
92666, December 20, 2016.
(xxii) USEPA. 2016b. Drinking Water
Contaminant Candidate List 4—Final.
Federal Register. Vol. 81, No. 222, p.
81099, November 17, 2016.
(xxiii) USEPA. 2017. National Primary
Drinking Water Regulations;
Announcement of the Results of EPA’s
Review of Existing Drinking Water
Standards and Request for Public
Comment and/or Information on Related
Issues. Federal Register. Vol. 82, No. 7,
p. 3518, January 11, 2017.
(xxiv) USEPA. 2018a. Method Development
for Unregulated Contaminants in
Drinking Water: Public Meeting and
Webinar. EPA 815–A–18–001. Office of
Water. June 2018. Available on the
internet at https://www.epa.gov/
dwanalyticalmethods.
(xxv) USEPA. 2018b. Request for
Nominations of Drinking Water
Contaminants for the Fifth Contaminant
Candidate List. Federal Register. Vol. 83,
No. 194, p. 50364, October 5, 2018.
(xxvi) USEPA. 2019a. EPA’s Per- and
Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
Action Plan. EPA 823–R–18–004,
February 2019. Available on the internet
at https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/
files/2019-02/documents/pfas_action_
plan_021319_508compliant_1.pdf.
(xxvii) USEPA. 2019b. Development of the
Proposed Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Rule for the Fifth Monitoring
Cycle (UCMR 5). Presentation Slides.
EPA 815–A–19–001. Office of Water.
Available on the internet at https://
www.epa.gov/dwucmr/unregulatedcontaminant-monitoring-rule-ucmrmeetings-and-materials.
(xxviii) USEPA. 2019c. EPA Method 533—
Determination of Per- and
Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Drinking
Water by Isotope Dilution Anion
Exchange Solid Phase Extraction and
Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass
Spectrometry. EPA 815–B–19–020.
Office of Water, Cincinnati, OH.
November 2019. Available on the
internet at https://www.epa.gov/
dwanalyticalmethods.
(xxix) USEPA. 2019d. Appendix C: 1,2,3Trichloropropane in Regulatory
Determination 4 Support Document for
Selected Contaminants from the Fourth
Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate
List (CCL 4). EPA 815–R–19–006. Docket
ID EPA–HQ–OW–2019–0583. Available
on the internet at https://
www.regulations.gov.
(xxx) USEPA. 2020a. Selection of Nationally
Representative Public Water Systems for
the Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Rule: 2020 Update. EPA 815–
B–20–008. Office of Water. December
2020.
(xxxi) USEPA. 2020b. Draft Information
Collection Request for the Unregulated
Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5).
EPA 815–D–20–002. Office of Water.
December 2020.
(xxxii) USEPA. 2020c. Proposed Revisions to
CFR parts 141.35 and 141.40. EPA 815–
B–20–010. Office of Water December
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2020. Available in EPA’s public docket
(under Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OW–
2020–0530) on the internet at https://
www.regulations.gov.
(xxxiii) USEPA. 2020d. EPA Method 537.1—
Determination of Selected Per- and
Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances in
Drinking Water by Solid Phase
Extraction and Liquid Chromatography/
Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS/
MS). Version 2.0. EPA/600/R–20/006.
Office of Research and Development,
Cincinnati, OH. March 2020. Available
on the internet at https://www.epa.gov/
dwanalyticalmethods.
(xxxiv) USEPA. 2020e. Information
Compendium for Candidate
Contaminants for the Proposed
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring
Rule (UCMR 5). EPA 815–B–20–006.
Office of Water. December 2020.
(xxxv) USEPA. 2020f. UCMR 5 Laboratory
Approval Manual. EPA 815–B–20–007.
Office of Water. December 2020.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 141
Environmental protection, Chemicals,
Incorporation by reference, Indianlands, Intergovernmental relations,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Water supply.
Jane Nishida,
Acting Administrator.
For the reasons set forth in the
preamble, EPA proposes to amend 40
CFR part 141 as follows:
PART 141—NATIONAL PRIMARY
DRINKING WATER REGULATIONS
1. The authority citation for Part 141
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 300f, 300g–1, 300g–
2, 300g–3, 300g–4, 300g–5, 300g–6, 300j–4,
300j–9, and 300j–11.
Subpart D—Reporting and
Recordkeeping
2. Amend § 141.35 by:
a. Revising in paragraph (a) the fourth
sentence.
■ b. Removing in paragraph (c)(1) the
words ‘‘December 31, 2017,’’ and add in
its place the words ‘‘December 31,
2022,’’.
■ c. Revising paragraphs (c)(2), (3)(i)
through (iii), (c)(4), (5)(i), (6)(ii).
■ d. Revising in paragraphs (d) and
(d)(2) the first, second, and third
sentences.
■ e. Adding paragraph (d)(3).
■ f. Revising paragraph (e).
The revisions and addition read as
follows:
■
■
§ 141.35 Reporting for unregulated
contaminant monitoring results.
(a) * * * For the purposes of this
section, PWS ‘‘population served’’ is the
retail population served directly by the
PWS as reported to the Federal Safe
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Drinking Water Information System
(SDWIS/Fed). * * *
*
*
*
*
*
(c) * * *
(2) Sampling location inventory
information. You must provide your
inventory information by December 31,
2022, using EPA’s electronic data
reporting system, as specified in
paragraph (b)(1) of this section. You
must submit, verify or update data
elements 1–9 (as defined in Table 1 of
paragraph (e) of this section) for each
sampling location, or for each approved
representative sampling location (as
specified in paragraph (c)(3) of this
section regarding representative
sampling locations. If this information
changes, you must report updates,
including new sources and sampling
locations that are put in use before or
during the UCMR sampling period, to
EPA’s electronic data reporting system
within 30 days of the change.
(3) * * *
(i) Qualifications. Large PWSs that
have EPA- or State-approved
representative EPTDS sampling
locations from a previous UCMR cycle,
or as provided for under § 141.23(a)(1),
§ 141.24(f)(1), or § 141.24(h)(1), may
submit a copy of documentation from
your State or EPA that approves your
representative sampling plan. PWSs that
do not have an approved representative
EPTDS sampling plan may submit a
proposal to sample at representative
EPTDS(s) rather than at each individual
EPTDS if: You use ground water as a
source; all of your well sources have
either the same treatment or no
treatment; and you have multiple
EPTDSs from the same source, (i.e.,
same aquifer). You must submit a copy
of the existing or proposed
representative EPTDS sampling plan, as
appropriate, at least six months prior to
your scheduled sample collection, as
specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this
section. If changes to your inventory
that impact your representative plan
occur before or during the UCMR
sampling period, you must report
updates within 30 days of the change.
(ii) Demonstration. If you are
submitting a proposal to sample at
representative EPTDS(s) rather than at
each individual EPTDS, you must
demonstrate that any EPTDS that you
propose as representative of multiple
wells is associated with a well that
draws from the same aquifer as the
wells it will represent. The proposed
well must be representative of the
highest annual-volume and most
consistently active wells in the
representative array. If that
representative well is not in use at the
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scheduled sampling time, you must
select and sample an alternative
representative well. You must submit
the information defined in Table 1,
paragraph (e) of this section for each
proposed representative sampling
location. You must also include
documentation to support your proposal
that the specified wells are
representative of other wells. This
documentation can include systemmaintained well logs or construction
drawings indicating that the
representative well(s) is/are at a
representative depth, and details of well
casings and grouting; data
demonstrating relative homogeneity of
water quality constituents (e.g., pH,
dissolved oxygen, conductivity, iron,
manganese) in samples drawn from each
well; and data showing that your wells
are located in a limited geographic area
(e.g., all wells within a 0.5 mile radius)
and/or, if available, the hydrogeologic
data indicating the time of travel
separating the representative well from
each of the individual wells it
represents (e.g., all wells within a fiveyear time of travel delineation). Your
proposal must be sent in writing to EPA,
as specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this
section.
(iii) Approval. EPA or the State (as
specified in the partnership agreement
reached between the State and EPA)
will review your proposal and
coordinate any necessary changes with
you. Your plan will not be final until
you receive written approval from EPA,
identifying the final list of EPTDSs
where you will be required to monitor.
(4) Contacting EPA if your PWS has
not been notified of requirements. If you
believe you are subject to UCMR
requirements, as defined in
§ 141.40(a)(1) and (2)(i), and you have
not been contacted by either EPA or
your State by [120 days after publication
of the Federal Register], you must send
a letter to EPA, as specified in paragraph
(b)(1) of this section. The letter must be
from your PWS Official and must
include an explanation as to why the
UCMR requirements are applicable to
your system along with the appropriate
contact information. A copy of the letter
must also be submitted to the State, as
directed by the State. EPA will make an
applicability determination based on
your letter, and in consultation with the
State when necessary, and will notify
you regarding your applicability status
and required sampling schedule.
However, if your PWS meets the
applicability criteria specified in
§ 141.40(a)(2)(i), you are subject to the
UCMR monitoring and reporting
requirements, regardless of whether you
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have been contacted by the State or
EPA.
(5) * * *
(i) General rescheduling notification
requirements. Large systems may
independently change their monitoring
schedules up to December 31, 2022,
using EPA’s electronic data reporting
system, as specified in paragraph (b)(1)
of this section. After this date has
passed, if your PWS cannot sample
according to your assigned sampling
schedule (e.g., because of budget
constraints, or if a sampling location
will be closed during the scheduled
month of monitoring), you must mail or
email a letter to EPA, as specified in
paragraph (b)(1) of this section, prior to
the scheduled sampling date. You must
include an explanation of why the
samples cannot be taken according to
the assigned schedule, and you must
provide the alternative schedule you are
requesting. You must not reschedule
monitoring specifically to avoid sample
collection during a suspected vulnerable
period. You are subject to your assigned
UCMR sampling schedule or the
schedule that you revised on or before
December 31, 2022, unless and until
you receive a letter from EPA specifying
a new schedule.
*
*
*
*
*
(6) * * *
(ii) Reporting schedule. You must
require your laboratory, on your behalf,
to post and approve the data in EPA’s
electronic data reporting system,
accessible at https://www.epa.gov/
dwucmr, for your review within 90 days
from the sample collection date (sample
collection must occur as specified in
§ 141.40(a)(4)). You then have 30 days
from when the laboratory posts and
approves your data to review, approve,
and submit the data to the State and
EPA via the Agency’s electronic data
reporting system. If you do not
electronically approve and submit the
laboratory data to EPA within 30 days
of the laboratory posting approved data,
the data will be considered approved by
you and available for State and EPA
review.
*
*
*
*
*
(d) Reporting by small systems. If you
serve a population of 3,300 to 10,000,
and meet the applicability criteria in
§ 141.40(a)(2)(ii), you must meet the
reporting requirements in paragraphs
(d)(1) through (3) of this section. If you
serve a population of less than 3,300
people, and you are notified that you
have been selected for UCMR
monitoring, your reporting requirements
will be specified within the materials
that EPA sends you, including a request
for contact information, and a request
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for information associated with the
sampling kit.
*
*
*
*
*
(2) Sampling location inventory
information. You must provide your
inventory information by December 31,
2022, using EPA’s electronic data
reporting system, as specified in
paragraph (b)(1) of this section. If this
information changes, you must report
updates, including new sources, and
sampling locations that are put in use
before or during the UCMR sampling
period, to EPA’s electronic data
reporting system within 30 days of the
change, as specified in paragraph (b)(1)
of this section. * * *
(3) Contacting EPA if your PWS has
not been notified of requirements. If you
believe you are subject to UCMR
requirements, as defined in
§ 141.40(a)(1) and (2)(ii), and you have
not been contacted by either EPA or
your State by [120 days after publication
of the Federal Register], you must send
a letter to EPA, as specified in paragraph
(b)(1) of this section. The letter must be
from your PWS Official and must
include an explanation as to why the
UCMR requirements are applicable to
your system along with the appropriate
contact information. A copy of the letter
must also be submitted to the State, as
directed by the State. EPA will make an
13867
applicability determination based on
your letter, and in consultation with the
State when necessary, and will notify
you regarding your applicability status
and required sampling schedule.
However, if your PWS meets the
applicability criteria specified in
§ 141.40(a)(2)(ii), you are subject to the
UCMR monitoring and reporting
requirements, regardless of whether you
have been contacted by the State or
EPA.
(e) Data elements. Table 1 defines the
data elements that must be provided for
UCMR monitoring.
TABLE 1—UNREGULATED CONTAMINANT MONITORING REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
Data element
Definition
1. Public Water System Identification (PWSID) Code.
2. Public Water System Name .......
3. Public Water System Facility
Identification Code.
4. Public Water System Facility
Name.
5. Public Water System Facility
Type.
6. Water Source Type .....................
7. Sampling Point Identification
Code.
8. Sampling Point Name .................
9. Sampling Point Type Code .........
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11. Treatment Information ..............
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The code used to identify each PWS. The code begins with the standard 2-character postal State abbreviation or Region code; the remaining 7 numbers are unique to each PWS in the State. The same identification code must be used to represent the PWS identification for all current and future UCMR monitoring.
Unique name, assigned once by the PWS.
An identification code established by the State or, at the State’s discretion, by the PWS, following the format of a 5-digit number unique within each PWS for each applicable facility (i.e., for each source of
water, treatment plant, distribution system, or any other facility associated with water treatment or delivery). The same identification code must be used to represent the facility for all current and future UCMR
monitoring.
Unique name, assigned once by the PWS, for every facility ID (e.g., Treatment Plant).
That code that identifies that type of facility as either:
CC = consecutive connection.
SS = sampling station.
TP = treatment plant.
OT = other.
The type of source water that supplies a water system facility. Systems must report one of the following
codes for each sampling location:
SW = surface water (to be reported for water facilities that are served entirely by a surface water source
during the twelve-month period).
GU = ground water under the direct influence of surface water (to be reported for water facilities that are
served all or in part by ground water under the direct influence of surface water at any time during the
twelve-month sampling period), and are not served at all by surface water during this period.
MX = mixed water (to be reported for water facilities that are served by a mix of surface water, ground
water and/or ground water under the direct influence of surface water during the twelve-month period).
GW = ground water (to be reported for water facilities that are served entirely by a ground water source
during the twelve-month period).
An identification code established by the State, or at the State’s discretion, by the PWS, that uniquely identifies each sampling point. Each sampling code must be unique within each applicable facility, for each
applicable sampling location (i.e., entry point to the distribution system). The same identification code
must be used to represent the sampling location for all current and future UCMR monitoring.
Unique sample point name, assigned once by the PWS, for every sample point ID (e.g., Entry Point).
A code that identifies the location of the sampling point as:
EP = entry point to the distribution system.
All of the disinfectants/oxidants that have been added prior to and at the entry point to the distribution system. Please select all that apply:
PEMB = Permanganate.
HPXB = Hydrogen peroxide.
CLGA = Gaseous chlorine.
CLOF = Offsite Generated Hypochlorite (stored as a liquid form).
CLON = Onsite Generated Hypochlorite.
CAGC = Chloramine (formed with gaseous chlorine).
CAOF = Chloramine (formed with offsite hypochlorite).
CAON = Chloramine (formed with onsite hypochlorite).
CLDB = Chlorine dioxide.
OZON = Ozone.
ULVL = Ultraviolet light.
OTHD = All other types of disinfectant/oxidant.
NODU = No disinfectant/oxidant used.
Treatment information associated with the sample point. Please select all that apply.
CON = Conventional (non-softening, consisting of at least coagulation/sedimentation basins and filtration).
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TABLE 1—UNREGULATED CONTAMINANT MONITORING REPORTING REQUIREMENTS—Continued
Data element
Definition
12. Sample Collection Date ............
13. Sample Identification Code .......
14. Contaminant ..............................
15. Analytical Method Code ............
16. Extraction Batch Identification
Code.
17. Extraction Date .........................
18. Analysis Batch Identification
Code.
19. Analysis Date ............................
20. Sample Analysis Type ..............
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22. Analytical Result—Measured
Value.
23. Additional Value ........................
24. Laboratory Identification Code ..
25. Sample Event Code ..................
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SFN = Softening.
RBF = River bank filtration.
PSD = Pre-sedimentation.
INF = In-line filtration.
DFL = Direct filtration.
SSF = Slow sand filtration.
BIO = Biological filtration (operated with an intention of maintaining biological activity within filter).
UTR = Unfiltered treatment for surface water source.
GWD = Groundwater system with disinfection only.
PAC = Application of powder activated carbon.
GAC = Granular activated carbon adsorption (not part of filters in CON, SCO, INF, DFL, or SSF).
AIR = Air stripping (packed towers, diffused gas contactors).
POB = Pre-oxidation with chlorine (applied before coagulation for CON or SFN plants or before filtration for
other filtration plants).
MFL = Membrane filtration.
IEX = Ionic exchange.
DAF = Dissolved air floatation.
CWL = Clear well/finished water storage without aeration.
CWA = Clear well/finished water storage with aeration.
ADS = Aeration in distribution system (localized treatment).
OTH = All other types of treatment.
NTU = No treatment used.
DKN = Do not know.
The date the sample is collected, reported as 4-digit year, 2-digit month, and 2-digit day (YYYYMMDD).
An alphanumeric value up to 30 characters assigned by the laboratory to uniquely identify containers, or
groups of containers, containing water samples collected at the same sampling location for the same
sampling date.
The unregulated contaminant for which the sample is being analyzed.
The identification code of the analytical method used.
Laboratory assigned extraction batch ID. Must be unique for each extraction batch within the laboratory for
each method. For CCC samples report the Analysis Batch Identification Code as the value for this field.
For methods without an extraction batch, leave this field null.
Date for the start of the extraction batch (YYYYMMDD). For methods without an extraction batch, leave
this field null.
Laboratory assigned analysis batch ID. Must be unique for each analysis batch within the laboratory for
each method.
Date for the start of the analysis batch (YYYYMMDD).
The type of sample collected and/or prepared, as well as the fortification level. Permitted values include:
CCCL = MRL level continuing calibration check; a calibration standard containing the contaminant, the internal standard, and surrogate analyzed to verify the existing calibration for those contaminants.
CCCM = medium level continuing calibration check; a calibration standard containing the contaminant, the
internal standard, and surrogate analyzed to verify the existing calibration for those contaminants.
CCCH = high level continuing calibration check; a calibration standard containing the contaminant, the internal standard, and surrogate analyzed to verify the existing calibration for those contaminants.
FS = field sample; sample collected and submitted for analysis under this rule.
LFB = laboratory fortified blank; an aliquot of reagent water fortified with known quantities of the contaminants and all preservation compounds.
LRB = laboratory reagent blank; an aliquot of reagent water treated exactly as a field sample, including the
addition of preservatives, internal standards, and surrogates to determine if interferences are present in
the laboratory, reagents, or other equipment.
LFSM = laboratory fortified sample matrix; a UCMR field sample with a known amount of the contaminant
of interest and all preservation compounds added.
LFSMD = laboratory fortified sample matrix duplicate; duplicate of the laboratory fortified sample matrix.
QCS = quality control sample; a sample prepared with a source external to the one used for initial calibration and CCC. The QCS is used to check calibration standard integrity.
FRB = field reagent blank; an aliquot of reagent water treated as a sample including exposure to sampling
conditions to determine if interferences or contamination are present from sample collection through
analysis.
A value indicating whether the sample analysis result was: (<) ‘‘less than’’ means the contaminant was not
detected, or was detected at a level below the Minimum Reporting Level. (=) ‘‘equal to’’ means the contaminant was detected at the level reported in ‘‘Analytical Result—Measured Value.’’
The actual numeric value of the analytical results for: Field samples; laboratory fortified matrix samples;
laboratory fortified sample matrix duplicates; and concentration fortified.
Represents the true value or the fortified concentration for spiked samples for QC Sample Analysis Types
(CCCL, CCCM, CCCH, QCS, LFB, LFSM and LFSMD).
The code, assigned by EPA, used to identify each laboratory. The code begins with the standard two-character State postal abbreviation; the remaining five numbers are unique to each laboratory in the State.
A code assigned by the PWS for each sample event. This will associate samples with the PWS monitoring
plan to allow EPA to track compliance and completeness. Systems must assign the following codes:
SE1, SE2, SE3 and SE4—represent samples collected to meet UCMR Assessment Monitoring requirements; where ‘‘SE1’’ and ‘‘SE2’’ represent the first and second sampling period for all water types; and
‘‘SE3’’ and ‘‘SE4’’ represent the third and fourth sampling period for SW, GU, and MX sources only.
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13869
TABLE 1—UNREGULATED CONTAMINANT MONITORING REPORTING REQUIREMENTS—Continued
Data element
Definition
26. Historical Information for Contaminant Detections and Treatment.
27. Potential PFAS Sources ...........
28. Direct Potable Reuse Water Information.
A yes or no answer provided by the PWS for each entry point to the distribution system.
Question: Have you tested for the contaminant in your drinking water in the past?
YES = If yes, did you modify your treatment and if so, what types of treatment did you implement? Select
all that apply.
PAC = Application of powder activated carbon.
GAC = Granular activated carbon adsorption (not part of filters in CON, SCO, INF, DFL, or SSF).
IEX = Ionic exchange.
Nanofiltration and reverse osmosis.
OZON = Ozone.
Biologically Active Carbon.
MFL = Membrane filtration.
ULVL = Ultraviolet light.
Other.
No = have never tested for the contaminant.
DK = I do not know.
A yes or no answer provided by the PWS for each entry point to the distribution system.
Question: Are you aware of any potential current and/or historical sources of PFAS that may have impacted the drinking water sources at your water system?
YES = If yes, select all that apply:
MB = Military Base.
FT = Firefighting training school.
AO = Airport Operations.
CW = Car Wash or Industrial Launderers.
PS = Public Safety Activities (e.g., fire and rescue services).
WM = Waste Management.
HW = Hazardous waste collection, treatment and disposal, Underground Injection Well.
SC = Solid waste collection, combustors, incinerators.
MF = Manufacturing.
FP = Food Packaging.
TA = Textile and Apparel (e.g., stain- and water- resistant, fiber/thread, carpet, house furnishings,
leather).
PP = Paper.
CC = Chemical.
PR = Plastics and Rubber Products.
MM = Machinery.
CE = Computer and Electronic Products.
FM = Fabricated Metal Products (e.g., nonstick cookware).
PC = Petroleum and Coal Products.
FF = Furniture.
OG = Oil and Gas Production.
UT = Utilities (e.g., sewage treatment facilities).
CT = Construction (e.g., wood floor finishing, electrostatic painting).
OT = Other.
No = I am not aware of any potential current and/or historical sources.
DK—I do not know.
A yes or no answer provided by the PWS for each entry point to the distribution system.
Question: Do you use direct potable reuse as a source of water?
Yes = If yes, what is the blending ratio when used?
Enter blending ratio at sample point.
No = do not use direct potable reuse water.
Subpart E—Special Regulations,
Including Montoring Regulations and
Prohibtion on Lead Use
3. Amend § 141.40 by:
a. Removing in paragraph (a)
introductory text the words ‘‘December
31, 2015’’ and add it its place the words
‘‘February 1, 2021 or subsequent
corrections from the State,’’,
■ b. Revising paragraphs (a)(2)(ii),
(2)(ii)(A), (3), (4)(i)(A) and (B) and (C).
■ c. Revising paragraph (a)(4)(ii) and the
first sentence in paragraph (4)(ii)(A).
■ d. Removing paragraph (a)(4)(iii).
■ e. Revising in paragraph (a)(5)(ii) the
fifth and sixth sentences.
■ f. Revising paragraph (a)(5)(iii).
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■
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g. Removing and reserving paragraph
(a)(5)(iv).
■ h. Revising paragraphs (a)(5)(v) and
(vi) and paragraph (c).
The revisions read as follows:
■
§ 141.40 Monitoring requirements for
unregulated contaminants.
(a) * * *
*
*
*
*
(2) * * *
(ii) Small systems. EPA will provide
sample containers, provide pre-paid air
bills for shipping the sampling
materials, conduct the laboratory
analysis, and report and review
monitoring results for all small systems
*
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selected to conduct monitoring under
paragraphs (a)(2)(ii)(A) through (C) of
this section. If you own or operate a
PWS (other than a transient noncommunity water system) that serves a
retail population of 3,300 to 10,000
people, or if you serve a population of
fewer than 3,300 people and you are
notified of monitoring requirements by
the State or EPA, you must monitor as
follows:
(A) Assessment Monitoring. You must
monitor for the contaminants on List 1
per Table 1, in paragraph (a)(3) of this
section, if you serve 3,300 to 10,000
people or are notified by your State or
EPA that you are part of the State
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Monitoring Plan for Assessment
Monitoring.
*
*
*
*
*
(3) Analytes to be monitored. Lists 1,
2, and 3 contaminants are provided in
the following table:
TABLE 1—UCMR CONTAMINANT LIST
1—Contaminant
4—Minimum
reporting level b
3—Analytical
methods a
2—CASRN
5—Sampling
location c
6—Period during
which sample
collection to be
completed
List 1: Assessment Monitoring
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
11-chloroeicosafluoro-3-oxaundecane-1-sulfonic acid (11Cl-PF3OUdS).
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorodecane sulfonic acid
(8:2 FTS).
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorohexane sulfonic acid
(4:2 FTS).
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctane sulfonic acid
(6:2 FTS).
4,8-dioxa-3H-perfluorononanoic acid
(ADONA).
9-chlorohexadecafluoro-3-oxanone-1-sulfonic
acid (9Cl-PF3ONS).
hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid
(HFPO–DA) (GenX).
nonafluoro-3,6-dioxaheptanoic acid (NFDHA)
perfluoro (2-ethoxyethane) sulfonic acid
(PFEESA).
perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid (PFMPA)
perfluoro-4-methoxybutanoic acid (PFMBA) ..
perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS) .............
perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) .......................
perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) ......................
perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA) ................
perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid (PFHpS) .........
perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA) ...................
perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) ...........
perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) ....................
perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) ......................
perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) .............
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) .......................
perfluoropentanesulfonic acid (PFPeS) .........
perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA) ...................
perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA) ................
n-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic
acid (NEtFOSAA).
n-methyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic
acid (NMeFOSAA).
perfluorotetradecanoic acid (PFTA) ...............
perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA) ................
763051–92–9 ...........
EPA 533 ...................
0.005 μg/L ................
EPTDS .....................
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
39108–34–4 .............
EPA 533 ...................
0.005 μg/L ................
EPTDS .....................
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
757124–72–4 ...........
EPA 533 ...................
0.003 μg/L ................
EPTDS .....................
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
27619–97–2 .............
EPA 533 ...................
0.005 μg/L ................
EPTDS .....................
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
919005–14–4 ...........
EPA 533 ...................
0.003 μg/L ................
EPTDS .....................
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
756426–58–1 ...........
EPA 533 ...................
0.002 μg/L ................
EPTDS ......................
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
13252–13–6 .............
EPA 533 ...................
0.005 μg/L ................
EPTDS .....................
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
151772–58–6 ...........
113507–82–7 ...........
EPA 533 ...................
EPA 533 ...................
0.02 μg/L ..................
0.003 μg/L ................
EPTDS ......................
EPTDS .....................
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
377–73–1 .................
863090–89–5 ...........
375–73–5 .................
375–22–4 .................
335–76–2 .................
307–55–1 .................
375–92–8 .................
375–85–9 .................
355–46–4 .................
307–24–4 .................
375–95–1 .................
1763–23–1 ...............
335–67–1 .................
2706–91–4 ...............
2706–90–3 ...............
2058–94–8 ...............
2991–50–6 ...............
EPA
EPA
EPA
EPA
EPA
EPA
EPA
EPA
EPA
EPA
EPA
EPA
EPA
EPA
EPA
EPA
EPA
0.004
0.003
0.003
0.005
0.003
0.003
0.003
0.003
0.003
0.003
0.004
0.004
0.004
0.004
0.003
0.002
0.005
EPTDS
EPTDS
EPTDS
EPTDS
EPTDS
EPTDS
EPTDS
EPTDS
EPTDS
EPTDS
EPTDS
EPTDS
EPTDS
EPTDS
EPTDS
EPTDS
EPTDS
......................
.....................
......................
.....................
.....................
......................
.....................
.....................
......................
.....................
.....................
.....................
.....................
.....................
......................
.....................
.....................
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
2355–31–9 ...............
EPA 537.1 ................
0.006 μg/L ................
EPTDS .....................
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
376–06–7 .................
72629–94–8 .............
EPA 537.1 ................
EPA 537.1 ................
0.008 μg/L ................
0.007 μg/L ................
EPTDS .....................
EPTDS .....................
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
9 μg/L .......................
EPTDS .....................
1/1/2023–12/31/2025.
Reserved ..................
Reserved.
Reserved ..................
Reserved.
533 ...................
533 ...................
533 ...................
533 ...................
533 ...................
533 ...................
533 ...................
533 ...................
533 ...................
533 ...................
533 ...................
533 ...................
533 ...................
533 ...................
533 ...................
533 ...................
537.1 ................
μg/L
μg/L
μg/L
μg/L
μg/L
μg/L
μg/L
μg/L
μg/L
μg/L
μg/L
μg/L
μg/L
μg/L
μg/L
μg/L
μg/L
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
Metal/Pharmaceutical
lithium .............................................................
7439–93–2 ...............
EPA 200.7, SM 3120
B, ASTM D1976–
20.
List 2: Screening Survey
Reserved ........................................................
Reserved ..................
Reserved ..................
Reserved ..................
List 3: Pre-Screen Testing
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Reserved ........................................................
Reserved ..................
Reserved ..................
Reserved ..................
Column headings are:
1—Contaminant: The name of the contaminant to be analyzed.
2—CASRN (Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number) or Identification Number: A unique number identifying the chemical contaminants.
3—Analytical Methods: Method numbers identifying the methods that must be used to test the contaminants.
4—Minimum Reporting Level (MRL): The value and unit of measure at or above which the concentration of the contaminant must be measured using the approved
analytical methods. If EPA determines, after the first six months of monitoring that the specified MRLs result in excessive resampling, EPA will establish alternate
MRLs and will notify affected PWSs and laboratories of the new MRLs. N/A is defined as non-applicable.
5—Sampling Location: The locations within a PWS at which samples must be collected.
6—Period During Which Sample Collection to be Completed: The time period during which the sampling and testing will occur for the indicated contaminant.
a The analytical procedures shall be performed in accordance with the documents associated with each method, see paragraph (c) of this section.
b The MRL is the minimum concentration of each analyte that must be reported to EPA.
c Sampling must occur at your PWS’s entry points to the distribution system (EPTDSs), after treatment is applied, that represent each non-emergency water source
in routine use over the 12-month period of monitoring. Systems that purchase water with multiple connections from the same wholesaler may select one representative connection from that wholesaler. The representative EPTDS must be a location within the purchaser’s water system. This EPTDS sampling location must be representative of the highest annual volume connections. If the connection selected as the representative EPTDS is not available for sampling, an alternate highest volume representative connection must be sampled. See 40 CFR 141.35(c)(3) for an explanation of the requirements related to the use of representative GW EPTDSs.
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(4) * * *
(i) * * *
(A) Sample collection period. You
must collect the samples in one
continuous 12-month period for List 1
Assessment Monitoring, and, if
applicable, for List 2 Screening Survey,
or List 3 Pre-Screen Testing, during the
time frame indicated in column 6 of
Table 1, in paragraph (a)(3) of this
section. EPA or your State will specify
the month(s) and year(s) in which your
monitoring must occur. As specified in
§ 141.35(c)(5), you must contact EPA if
you believe you cannot collect samples
according to your schedule.
(B) Frequency. You must collect the
samples within the timeframe and
according to the frequency specified by
contaminant type and water source type
for each sampling location, as specified
in Table 2, in this paragraph. For the
13871
second or subsequent round of
sampling, if a sample location is nonoperational for more than one month
before and one month after the
scheduled sampling month (i.e., it is not
possible for you to sample within the
window specified in Table 2, in this
paragraph), you must notify EPA as
specified in § 141.35(c)(5) to reschedule
your sampling.
TABLE 2—MONITORING FREQUENCY BY CONTAMINANT AND WATER SOURCE TYPES
Contaminant type
List 1 Contaminants— .........
Timeframe
Frequency 1
Surface water, Mixed, or
GWUDI.
12 months ..........................
Ground water .....................
12 months ..........................
You must monitor for four consecutive quarters. Sample events must occur three months apart. (Example: If first monitoring is in January, the second
monitoring must occur any time in April, the third
any time in July and the fourth any time in October).
You must monitor twice in a consecutive 12-month period. Sample events must occur 5–7 months apart.
(Example: If the first monitoring event is in April, the
second monitoring event must occur any time in
September, October or November).
Water source type
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1 Systems must assign a sample event code for each contaminant listed in Table 1. Sample event codes must be assigned by the PWS for
each sample event. For more information on sample event codes see § 141.35(e) Table 1.
(C) Location. You must collect
samples for each List 1 Assessment
Monitoring contaminant, and, if
applicable, for each List 2 Screening
Survey, or List 3 Pre-Screen Testing
contaminant, as specified in Table 1, in
paragraph (a)(3) of this section. Samples
must be collected at each sample point
that is specified in column 5 and
footnote c of Table 1, in paragraph (a)(3)
of this section. If you are a GW system
with multiple EPTDSs, and you request
and receive approval from EPA or the
State for sampling at representative
EPTDS(s), as specified in § 141.35(c)(3),
you must collect your samples from the
approved representative sampling
location(s).
*
*
*
*
*
(ii) Small systems. If you serve a
population of 3,300 to 10,000 people
and meet the UCMR applicability
criteria specified in paragraph (a)(2)(ii)
of this section, or if you serve a
population of fewer than 3,300 people
and are notified that you are part of the
State Monitoring Plan, you must comply
with the requirements specified in
paragraphs (a)(4)(ii)(A) through (H) of
this section. If EPA or the State informs
you that they will be collecting your
UCMR samples, you must assist them in
identifying the appropriate sampling
locations and in collecting the samples.
(A) Sample collection and frequency.
You must collect samples at the times
specified for you by the State or EPA.
Your schedule must follow both the
timing of monitoring specified in Table
1, List 1, and, if applicable, List 2, or
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List 3, and the frequency of monitoring
in Table 2 of this section.
*
*
*
*
*
(5) * * *
*
*
*
*
*
(ii) * * * To participate in the UCMR
Laboratory Approval Program, the
laboratory must register and complete
the necessary application materials by
August 1, 2022. Correspondence must
be addressed to: UCMR Laboratory
Approval Coordinator, USEPA,
Technical Support Center, 26 West
Martin Luther King Drive, (MS 140),
Cincinnati, Ohio 45268; or emailed to
EPA at: UCMR_Lab_Approval@epa.gov.
(iii) Minimum Reporting Level. The
MRL is defined by EPA as the
quantitation limit achievable, with 95%
confidence, by 75% of laboratories
nationwide, assuming the use of good
instrumentation and experienced
analysts.
*
*
*
*
*
(iv) [Reserved]
(v) Method defined quality control.
You must ensure that your laboratory
analyzes Laboratory Fortified Blanks
and conducts Laboratory Performance
Checks, as appropriate to the method’s
requirements, for those methods listed
in Table 1, column 3, in paragraph (a)(3)
of this section. Each method specifies
acceptance criteria for these QC checks.
(vi) Reporting. You must require your
laboratory, on your behalf, to post and
approve these data in EPA’s electronic
data reporting system, accessible at
https://www.epa.gov/dwucmr, for your
review within 90 days from the sample
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collection date. You then have 30 days
from when the laboratory posts and
approves your data to review, approve
and submit the data to the State and
EPA, via the Agency’s electronic data
reporting system. If you do not
electronically approve and submit the
laboratory data to EPA within 30 days
of the laboratory posting approved data,
the data will be considered approved by
you and available for State and EPA
review.
*
*
*
*
*
(c) Incorporation by reference. These
standards are incorporated by reference
into this section with the approval of
the Director of the Federal Register
under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Water Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West,
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW,
Washington, DC 20004 (202) 566–1744,
email Docket-customerservice@epa.gov,
or go to https://www.epa.gov/dockets/
epa-docket-center-reading-room.. The
material is also available for inspection
at the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA). For
information on the availability of this
material at NARA, email fedreg.legal@
nara.gov, or go to www.archives.gov/
federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html.
(1) U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301
Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC
20004.
(i) Method 200.7 ‘‘Determination of
Metals and Trace Elements in Water and
Wastes by Inductively Coupled PlasmaAtomic Emission Spectrometry,’’
E:\FR\FM\11MRP1.SGM
11MRP1
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
13872
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 46 / Thursday, March 11, 2021 / Proposed Rules
Revision 4.4, EMMC Version, 1994.
Available on the internet at https://
www.epa.gov/esam/method-2007determination-metals-and-traceelements-water-and-wastes-inductivelycoupled-plasma.
(ii) Method 537.1 ‘‘Determination of
Selected Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl
Substances in Drinking Water by Solid
Phase Extraction and Liquid
Chromatography/Tandem Mass
Spectrometry,’’ Version 2.0, 2020.
Available on the internet at https://
www.epa.gov/water-research/epadrinking-water-research-methods.
(iii) Method 533 ‘‘Determination of
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in
Drinking Water by Isotope Dilution
Anion Exchange Solid Phase Extraction
and Liquid Chromatography/Tandem
Mass Spectrometry,’’ November 2019,
EPA 815–B–19–020. Available on the
internet at https://www.epa.gov/
dwanalyticalmethods.
(2) American Public Health
Association, 800 I Street NW,
Washington, DC 20001–3710.
(i) ‘‘Standard Methods for the
Examination of Water & Wastewater,’’
23rd edition (2017).
(A) SM 3120 B ‘‘Metals by Plasma
Emission Spectroscopy (2017):
Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP)
Method.’’
(B) [Reserved]
(ii) The following methods are from
‘‘Standard Methods Online.’’ Available
for purchase on the internet at https://
www.standardmethods.org.
(A) SM 3120 B ‘‘Metals by Plasma
Emission Spectroscopy: Inductively
Coupled Plasma (ICP) Method (Editorial
Revisions, 2011),’’ (SM 3120 B–99)
(B) [Reserved]
(3) ASTM International, 100 Barr
Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA
19428–2959.
(i) ASTM D1976–20 ‘‘Standard Test
Method for Elements in Water by
Inductively-Coupled Plasma Atomic
Emission Spectroscopy,’’ approved May
1, 2020. Available for purchase on the
internet at https://www.astm.org/
Standards/D1976.htm.
(ii) [Reserved]
[FR Doc. 2021–03920 Filed 3–10–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
42 CFR Part 51c
RIN 0906–AB25
Implementation of Executive Order on
Access to Affordable Life-Saving
Medications; Delay of Effective Date
Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA), Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Proposed delay of effective date;
request for comments.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Presidential directive as expressed in
the memorandum of January 20, 2021,
from the Assistant to the President and
Chief of Staff, entitled ‘‘Regulatory
Freeze Pending Review,’’ this action
proposes, following a 5-day public
comment period, to further delay until
July 20, 2021, the effective date of the
rule entitled ‘‘Implementation of
Executive Order on Access to Affordable
Life-saving Medications’’ published in
the Federal Register on December 23,
2020. That final rule is currently
scheduled to take effect on March 22,
2021, after an initial delay from its
original effective date of January 22,
2021. HHS seeks comments on this
proposed delay of the effective date to
July 20, 2021, which would allow it
additional opportunity for review and
consideration of the new rule. HHS will
take comments about issues of fact, law,
and policy raised by rule into account
as the rule is reviewed during the delay
period.
DATES: The effective date for the final
rule published December 23, 2020, at 85
FR 83822, delayed January 26, 2021, at
86 FR 7059, is proposed to be further
delayed until July 20, 2021. Written
comments and related material to this
proposal must be received to the online
docket via https://www.regulations.gov
on or before March 14, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written
comments electronically by the
following method: Federal eRulemaking
Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions on the website
for submitting comments.
Instructions. Include the HHS Docket
No. HRSA–2021–0002 in your
comments. All comments received will
be posted without change to https://
www.regulations.gov. Please do not
include any personally identifiable or
confidential business information you
do not want publicly disclosed.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jennifer Joseph, Director, Office of
Policy and Program Development,
SUMMARY:
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Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
Bureau of Primary Health Care, HRSA,
5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD
20857; by email at jjoseph@hrsa.gov;
telephone: 301–594–4300; fax: 301–
594–4997.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: HHS
published a notice of proposed
rulemaking in the Federal Register on
September 28, 2020 (85 FR 60748), and
a final rule on December 23, 2020 (85
FR 83822), delayed on January 26, 2021,
at 86 FR 7069. The final rule,
‘‘Implementation of Executive Order on
Access to Affordable Life-Saving
Medications,’’ established a new
requirement directing all health centers
receiving grants under section 330(e) of
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
254b(e)) that participate in the 340B
Drug Pricing Program (340B Program)
(42 U.S.C. 256b), to the extent that they
plan to make insulin and/or injectable
epinephrine available to their patients,
to provide assurances that they have
established practices to provide these
drugs at or below the discounted price
paid by the health center or subgrantees
under the 340B Drug Pricing Program
(plus a minimal administration fee) to
health center patients with low
incomes, as determined by the
Secretary, who have a high cost sharing
requirement for either insulin or
injectable epinephrine; have a high
unmet deductible; or have no health
insurance.
The January 20, 2021, memorandum
from the Assistant to the President and
Chief of Staff, entitled ‘‘Regulatory
Freeze Pending Review,’’ instructed
Federal agencies to consider delaying
the effective date of rules published in
the Federal Register, but which have
not yet taken effect, for a period of 60
days so that the new Administration
may review recently published rules for
‘‘any questions of fact, law, and policy
the rule may raise.’’ The
‘‘Implementation of Executive Order on
Access to Affordable Life-Saving
Medications’’ rule falls within this
category. On January 20, 2021, the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) also published OMB
Memorandum M–21–14,
Implementation of Memorandum
Concerning Regulatory Freeze Pending
Review, which provides guidance
regarding the Regulatory Freeze
Memorandum. See M–21–14,
Implementation of Memorandum
Concerning Regulatory Freeze Pending
Review, https://www.whitehouse.gov/
wp-content/uploads/2021/01/M-21-14Regulatory-Review.pdf. OMB
Memorandum M–21–14 explains that
pursuant to the Regulatory Freeze
Memorandum, agencies ‘‘should
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 46 (Thursday, March 11, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13846-13872]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-03920]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 141
[EPA-HQ-OW-2020-0530; FRL 10019-46-OW]
RIN 2040-AF89
Revisions to the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5)
for Public Water Systems and Announcement of Public Meeting
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Proposed rule and notice of public meeting.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is
proposing a Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) rule that would require
public water systems to collect national occurrence data for 29 per-
and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and lithium. This proposed rule
would require all community and non-transient non community water
systems serving 3,300 or more people, and a representative sample of
smaller water systems, to conduct monitoring. PFAS and lithium are not
currently subject to national primary drinking water regulations, and
EPA is proposing to require the collection of drinking water occurrence
data to inform EPA decisions. This proposal fulfills a key commitment
in ``EPA's 2019 Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Action
Plan'' (https://www.epa.gov/pfas/epas-pfas-action-plan) by proposing
the collection of more drinking water occurrence data for a broader
group of PFAS. EPA is also announcing two public meetings (via webinar)
to discuss this proposal of the fifth Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5).
DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 10, 2021. Under the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), comments on the information collection
provisions are best assured of consideration if the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) receives a copy of your comments on or
before April 12, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OW-2020-0530, by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/
(our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket
Center, Water Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20460.
Hand Delivery or Courier (by scheduled appointment only):
EPA Docket Center, WJC West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. The Docket Center's hours of
operations are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday (except Federal
Holidays).
Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-OW-2020-0530 for this rulemaking. Comments received may be
posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov/, including any
personal information provided. For detailed instructions on sending
comments and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the
``Public Participation'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section of this document.
Out of an abundance of caution for members of the public and our
staff, the EPA Docket Center and Reading Room are closed to the public,
with limited exceptions, to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19.
Our Docket Center staff will continue to provide remote customer
service via email, phone, and webform.
We encourage the public to submit comments via https://www.regulations.gov/ or email, as there may be a delay in processing
mail and faxes. Hand deliveries and couriers may be received by
scheduled appointment only. For further information on EPA Docket
Center services and the current status, please visit us online at
https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
EPA is offering a virtual meeting twice during the public comment
period. For more details on the meeting (including dates and times) and
to register, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dwucmr/unregulated-contaminant-monitoring-rule-ucmr-meetings-and-materials. Refer to the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document for additional
information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brenda D. Bowden, Standards and Risk
Management Division (SRMD), Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water
(OGWDW) (MS 140), Environmental Protection Agency, 26 West Martin
Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45268; telephone number: (513) 569-
7961; email address: [email protected]; or Melissa Simic, SRMD,
OGWDW (MS 140), Environmental Protection Agency, 26 West Martin Luther
King Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45268; telephone number: (513) 569-7864;
email address: [email protected]. For general information, visit
the Safe Drinking Water Information web page on the internet at:
https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/safe-drinking-water-information.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Summary Information
A. Purpose of the Regulatory Action
1. What action is EPA taking?
2. Does this action apply to me?
3. What is EPA's authority for taking this action?
B. Summary of the Regulatory Action
C. Economic Analysis
1. What is the estimated cost of this proposed action?
2. Benefits of the Proposed Action
II. Public Participation
[[Page 13847]]
A. Written Comments
B. What stakeholder meetings have been held in preparation for
UCMR 5?
C. How do I participate in the upcoming stakeholder meeting?
1. Meeting Participation
2. Meeting Materials
III. General Information
A. How does EPA use different monitoring tiers to implement the
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Program?
B. How are the CCL, the UCMR program, the Regulatory
Determination process, and the NCOD interrelated?
C. What are the Consumer Confidence Reporting and Public Notice
Reporting requirements for public water systems that are subject to
UCMR?
D. What notable changes are being proposed for UCMR 5?
E. How did EPA prioritize candidate contaminants and what
contaminants are proposed for UCMR 5?
F. What other contaminants did EPA consider?
1. Legionella pneumophila
2. Haloacetonitriles
3. 1,2,3-trichloropropane
4. Total Organic Fluorine (TOF)
G. What are the costs of alternatives to the proposed UCMR 5?
H. What is the proposed applicability date?
I. What are the proposed UCMR 5 sampling design and timeline of
activities?
1. Sampling Frequency, Timing
2. Sampling Locations and Ground Water Representative Monitoring
Plans
3. Reporting Times
J. What are the reporting requirements for the UCMR 5?
K. What are Minimum Reporting Levels (MRLs) and how were they
determined?
L. How do laboratories become approved to conduct the UCMR 5
analyses?
1. Request To Participate
2. Registration
3. Application Package
4. EPA's Review of Application Package
5. Proficiency Testing
6. Written EPA Approval
M. What documents are being incorporated by reference?
1. Methods From the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
2. Alternative Methods From American Public Health Association--
Standard Methods (SM)
3. Methods From ASTM International
N. What is the State's role in the UCMR?
O. How did EPA consider Children's Environmental Health?
P. How did EPA address Environmental Justice?
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and
Executive Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review
B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With
Indian Tribal Governments
G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From
Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks
H. Executive Order 13211: Actions Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution or Use
I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA)
J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address
Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income
Populations
V. References
I. Summary Information
A. Purpose of the Regulatory Action
1. What action is EPA taking?
EPA is proposing a SDWA rule that would require public water
systems to collect national occurrence data for 29 PFAS and lithium.
This proposed rule would require all community and non-transient non
community water systems serving 3,300 or more people, and a
representative sample of smaller water systems, to conduct monitoring.
PFAS and lithium are not currently subject to national primary drinking
water regulations, and EPA is proposing to require collection of the
data to inform EPA decisions. This proposal fulfills a key commitment
in ``EPA's 2019 Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Action
Plan'' (USEPA, 2019a) by proposing the collection of more drinking
water occurrence data for a broader group of PFAS.
This proposal identifies three analytical methods to support water
system monitoring for a total of 30 contaminants, consisting of 29 PFAS
and lithium. This document also describes EPA's evaluation of other
candidate contaminants, including Legionella pneumophila; four
haloacetonitriles (dichloroacetonitrile, dibromoacetonitrile,
trichloroacetonitrile, and bromochloroacetonitrile); 1,2,3-
trichloropropane; and ``total organic fluorine'' (TOF), and invites
public comment.
2. Does this action apply to me?
This proposed rule applies to public water systems (PWSs) described
in this section. PWSs are systems that provide water for human
consumption through pipes, or constructed conveyances, to at least 15
service connections or that regularly serve an average of at least 25
individuals daily at least 60 days out of the year. A community water
system (CWS) is a PWS that has at least 15 service connections used by
year-round residents or regularly serves at least 25 year-round
residents. A non-transient non-community water system (NTNCWS) is a PWS
that is not a CWS and that regularly serves at least 25 of the same
people over 6 months per year. Under this proposal, all large CWSs and
NTNCWSs serving more than 10,000 people would be required to monitor.
In addition, all small CWSs and NTNCWs serving between 3,300 and 10,000
people would be required to monitor, subject to the availability of
appropriations and appropriate laboratory capacity (see discussion of
America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 in sections I.A. and I.B of
this document). A nationally representative sample of CWSs and NTNCWSs
serving fewer than 3,300 people would also be required to monitor (see
``Selection of Nationally Representative Public Water Systems for the
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule: 2020 Update'' for a
description of the statistical approach for the nationally
representative sample (USEPA, 2020a)). As is generally the case for
UCMR sampling, transient non-community water systems (TNCWSs) (i.e.,
non-community water systems that do not regularly serve at least 25 of
the same people over 6 months per year) would not be required to
monitor under UCMR 5. States, territories, and tribes with primary
enforcement responsibility (primacy) to administer the regulatory
program for PWSs under SDWA (sometimes collectively referred to in this
notice as ``states''), can participate in the implementation of UCMR 5
through voluntary Partnership Agreements (see discussion of Partnership
Agreements in section III.N in this document). Primacy agencies with
Partnership Agreements can choose to be involved in various aspects of
the UCMR 5 monitoring for PWSs they oversee; however, the PWS remains
responsible for all compliance activities. Potentially regulated
categories and entities are identified in the following table.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category Examples of potentially regulated entities NAICS \a\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State, local, & tribal governments............ State, local, and tribal governments that 924110
analyze water samples on behalf of PWSs
required to conduct such analysis; state,
local, and tribal governments that directly
operate CWSs and NTNCWSs required to monitor.
[[Page 13848]]
Industry...................................... Private operators of CWSs and NTNCWSs required 221310
to monitor.
Municipalities................................ Municipal operators of CWSs and NTNCWSs required 924110
to monitor.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ NAICS = North American Industry Classification System.
This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a
guide for readers regarding entities likely to be regulated by this
action. This table lists the types of entities that EPA is aware could
potentially be regulated by this action. Other types of entities not
listed in the table could also be regulated. To determine whether your
entity is regulated by this action, you should carefully examine the
definition of PWS found in Sec. Sec. 141.2 and 141.3, and the
applicability criteria found in Sec. 141.40(a)(1) and (2) of Title 40
in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). If you have questions
regarding the applicability of this action to a particular entity,
please consult the contacts listed in the preceding FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
3. What is EPA's authority for taking this action?
As part of its responsibilities under the SDWA, EPA implements
Sec. 1445(a)(2), Monitoring Program for Unregulated Contaminants. This
section, as amended in 1996, requires that once every five years,
beginning in August 1999, EPA issues a list of not more than 30
unregulated contaminants to be monitored by PWSs. The SDWA requires
that EPA enters the monitoring data into the Agency's publicly
available National Contaminant Occurrence Database (NCOD) at https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/national-contaminant-occurrence-database-ncod.
EPA must vary the frequency and schedule for monitoring based on
the number of persons served, the source of supply, and the
contaminants likely to be found. EPA is using the SDWA Sec. 1445(a)(2)
authority as the basis for monitoring the unregulated contaminants
proposed under this rule.
The SDWA, as amended by Section 2021 of America's Water
Infrastructure Act of 2018 (AWIA) (Pub. L. 115-270), specifies that,
subject to the availability of EPA appropriations for such purpose and
appropriate laboratory capacity, EPA's UCMR program must require all
systems serving between 3,300 and 10,000 persons to monitor for the
contaminants in a particular UCMR cycle, and ensure that only a
nationally representative sample of systems serving fewer than 3,300
persons are required to monitor for those contaminants. The program
would continue to ensure that systems serving a population larger than
10,000 people are required to monitor for the contaminants in a
particular UCMR cycle. This AWIA provision becomes effective October
23, 2021 (i.e., prior to the start of UCMR 5 sample collection).
The SDWA, as amended by Section 7311 of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA) (Pub. L. 116-92),
specifies that EPA shall include all PFAS in UCMR 5 for which a
drinking water method has been validated by the Administrator, and that
are not subject to a national primary drinking water regulation. The
NDAA specifies that unregulated PFAS included in UCMR 5 shall not count
towards the traditional SDWA limit of not more than 30 unregulated
contaminants being included in the UCMR (Sec. 1445(a)(2)(B)(i)).
B. Summary of the Regulatory Action
EPA is proposing to require PWSs to collect occurrence data for
29PFAS and lithium. These contaminants may be present in drinking
water, but are not subject to national primary drinking water
regulations. This proposal fulfills a key commitment in EPA's 2019 PFAS
Action Plan (USEPA, 2019a) by proposing the collection of more drinking
water occurrence data for a broader group of PFAS. More specifically,
the UCMR 5 proposal identifies the following: Analytical methods to
measure the UCMR contaminants; monitoring time frame; sampling
locations; data elements (i.e., information required to be collected
along with the occurrence data); data reporting timeframes; and
conforming and editorial changes, such as those necessary to remove
requirements solely related to UCMR 4.
This proposal includes monitoring for lithium based on anticipated
national occurrence in PWS-supplied drinking water and available
health-effects information that indicates adverse human health effects
in several organs and systems (USEPA, 2008). Nationally representative
occurrence data from EPA's National Inorganics and Radionuclides
Survey, 1984-1986, shows lithium was detected at levels between 5 and
7,929 [micro]g/L (microgram per liter) in the finished drinking water
of approximately 55% of PWSs (ground water systems only) (USEPA, 2009).
In more recent literature, lithium was detected in 56% of treated
drinking water samples from 25 PWSs at a median concentration of 10.8
[micro]g/L (Glassmeyer et al., 2017). EPA has determined that
monitoring for lithium under the UCMR is needed to assess the
occurrence of this contaminant nationally.
This proposed action would provide EPA, states, and communities
with scientifically valid data on the national occurrence of these
contaminants in drinking water. The data represent one of the primary
sources of national occurrence data in drinking water that EPA uses to
inform regulatory and other risk management decisions for drinking
water contaminant candidates. This proposal identifies three analytical
methods to be used by laboratories analyzing UCMR samples for the
unregulated contaminants. In addition, EPA describes how it evaluated
other candidate contaminants, including Legionella pneumophila; four
haloacetonitriles (dichloroacetonitrile, dibromoacetonitrile,
trichloroacetonitrile, and bromochloroacetonitrile); 1, 2, 3-
trichloropropane; and ``total organic fluorine'' (TOF). In section
III.F, EPA describes why it has not proposed these particular
contaminants for UCMR 5. The UCMR 5 proposal reflects a consideration
of the utility of the information to be collected. Due to ongoing
regulatory evaluations, described in the following sections, data
collection for Legionella pneumophila and the four haloacetonitriles
would not be sufficiently timely to be useful.
This proposed rule reflects the monitoring approach defined in the
AWIA and thus describes the UCMR 5 scope as including all systems
serving 3,300 or more people (as opposed to a representative sample of
those systems serving 3,300 to 10,000), and a representative sample of
systems serving fewer than 3,300 people. EPA has the statutory
obligation under the SDWA to pay the ``reasonable cost of such testing
and laboratory analysis'' for all applicable PWS serving 10,000 or
fewer individuals. Accordingly, the AWIA conditioned the inclusion of
all systems serving 3,300 to 10,000 persons in UCMR 5 on the
availability of appropriations. AWIA also conditioned the inclusion of
all systems serving 3,300 to 10,000 persons in UCMR 5 on
[[Page 13849]]
a determination by the Administrator of sufficient laboratory capacity
to analyze the samples.
Based on EPA's experience over the first four cycles of UCMR
implementation, and informed by our ongoing engagement with the
laboratory community, EPA anticipates that sufficient laboratory
capacity will exist to support the expanded UCMR scope. Regarding EPA's
resources, however, if EPA concludes that it will not have the
resources necessary to support the expanded monitoring described by the
AWIA, the Agency will not promulgate a final rule that requires all
water systems serving between 3,300 and 10,000 persons to monitor as
presented in this proposed rule. Accordingly, this proposal also
describes EPA's alternative plan (i.e., in the absence of adequate
funds) that would involve selecting a representative sample of small
PWSs consistent with the approach established under the original (pre-
AWIA) UCMR program (i.e., that used for UCMR 4 and for prior cycles)
which includes 800 representative water systems serving fewer than or
equal to 10,000 in the UCMR program. See ``Selection of Nationally
Representative Public Water Systems for the Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Rule: 2020 Update'' for further details about the nationally
representative sample (USEPA, 2020a)).
This proposed rule also addresses the requirements of the NDAA by
including all 29 PFAS that are within the scope of EPA Methods 533 and
537.1. Both of these methods have been validated by EPA for drinking
water analysis.
C. Economic Analysis
1. What is the estimated cost of this proposed action?
EPA estimates the total average national cost of this proposed
action will be $21 million per year over the five-year effective period
of the rule (2022-2026). Costs fall upon large PWSs (for sampling and
analysis); small PWS (for sampling); state regulatory agencies (i.e.,
those who volunteer to assist EPA with oversight and implementation
support); and EPA (for regulatory support and oversight activities, and
analytical and shipping costs for small PWSs). These costs are
summarized in Exhibit 1. EPA has further documented the assumptions and
data sources used in the preparation of this estimate in the ``Draft
Information Collection Request for the Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5)'' (USEPA, 2020b).
Costs for a particular UCMR cycle are heavily influenced by the
selection of contaminants and associated analytical methods. EPA
proposes three EPA-developed analytical methods (and, in the case of
lithium, multiple optional alternative methods) to analyze samples for
the UCMR 5 chemical contaminants. EPA's estimate of the analytical cost
for the UCMR 5 contaminants is $950 per sample set (i.e., $950 to
analyze a set of samples from one sample point and one sample event for
all of the UCMR 5 contaminants). EPA calculated these costs by summing
the laboratory unit cost of each method. Exhibit 1 presents a breakdown
of EPA-estimated annual average national costs. Estimated PWS- (i.e.,
large and very large) and EPA costs reflect the analytical cost (i.e.,
non-labor) for all the UCMR 5 methods. EPA pays for the analytical
costs for all systems serving a population of 10,000 or fewer people.
Laboratory analysis and sample shipping account for approximately 82%
of the total national cost for the implementation of UCMR 5. EPA
estimated laboratory unit costs based on consultations with multiple
commercial drinking water testing laboratories and, in the case of new
methods, a review of the costs of analytical methods similar to those
proposed in this action. The cost of the laboratory methods includes
shipping along with the cost for the analysis.
EPA expects that states may incur modest labor costs associated
with voluntary assistance with the implementation of UCMR 5. EPA
estimated state costs using the relevant assumptions from the State
Resource Model developed by the Association of State Drinking Water
Administrators (ASDWA) (ASDWA, 2013) to help states forecast resource
needs. Model estimates were adjusted to account for actual levels of
state participation under UCMR 4. State assistance with EPA's
implementation of UCMR 5 is voluntary; thus, the level of effort is
expected to vary among states and would depend on their individual
agreements with EPA.
EPA assumes that one-third of the systems would monitor during each
of the three sample-collection years from January 2023 through December
2025. The total estimated annual costs (labor and non-labor) including
the additional small systems included according to the AWIA mandate
would be incurred as follows:
Exhibit 1--Estimated Average Annual Costs of the Proposed UCMR 5 \1\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average annual
Entity cost (million)
(2022-2026) \2\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Small Systems (25-10,000), including labor \3\ only $0.3
(non-labor costs \4\ paid for by EPA)..............
Large Systems (10,001-100,000), including labor and 7.2
non-labor costs....................................
Very Large Systems (100,001 and greater), including 2.3
labor and non-labor costs..........................
States, including labor costs related to 0.8
implementation coordination........................
EPA, including labor for implementation and non- \5\ 10.5
labor for small system testing.....................
-------------------
Average Annual National Total................... 21.1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Based on the scope of small-system monitoring described in AWIA.
\2\ Totals may not equal the sum of components due to rounding.
\3\ Labor costs pertain to systems, states, and EPA. Costs include
activities such as reading the rule, notifying systems selected to
participate, sample collection, data review, reporting, and record
keeping.
\4\ Non-labor costs will be incurred primarily by EPA and by large and
very large PWSs. They include the cost of shipping samples to
laboratories for testing and the cost of the laboratory analyses.
\5\ EPA estimates an average annual cost to the Agency of $17M/year
(over a five-year cycle) for a typical UCMR program that involves the
expanded scope prescribed by AWIA ($2M/year for the representative
sample of 800 PWSs serving <3,300 and $15M/year for all PWSs serving
between 3,300 and 10,000); EPA projects an average annual cost of
$10.5M for UCMR 5, as proposed, based on the relatively lower than
typical unit analytical costs associated with the proposed UCMR 5
contaminants.
[[Page 13850]]
Additional details regarding EPA's cost assumptions and estimates
can be found in the Draft Information Collection Request (ICR) (USEPA,
2020b), ICR Number 2040-NEW, which presents estimated cost and labor
hours for the 5-year UCMR 5 period of 2022-2026. Copies of the Draft
ICR may be obtained from the EPA public docket for this proposed rule,
under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2020-0530. See also section III.G of this
document for a discussion of cost scenarios based on potential changes
between the publication of this proposed rule and the final rule.
2. Benefits of the Proposed Action
The public benefits from the information about whether or not
unregulated contaminants are present in their drinking water. If
contaminants are not found, consumer confidence in their drinking water
will improve. If contaminants are found, related health effects may be
avoided when subsequent actions, such as regulations, reduce or
eliminate those contaminants.
II. Public Participation
A. Written Comments
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2020-
0530, at https://www.regulations.gov or other methods identified in the
ADDRESSES section of this document. Once submitted, comments cannot be
edited or removed from the docket. EPA may publish any comment received
to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you
consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Contact EPA if
you want to submit CBI; see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be
accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered the
official comment and should include discussion of all points you wish
to make. EPA will generally not consider comments or comment contents
located outside of the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or
other file sharing system). For additional submission methods, the full
EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please
visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets. EPA is
temporarily suspending its Docket Center and Reading Room for public
visitors, with limited exceptions, to reduce the risk of transmitting
COVID-19. Our Docket Center staff will continue to provide remote
customer service via email, phone, and webform. We encourage the public
to submit comments via https://www.regulations.gov/ as there may be a
delay in processing mail and faxes. Hand deliveries or couriers will be
received by scheduled appointment only. For further information and
updates on EPA Docket Center services, please visit us online at
https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
EPA continues to carefully and continuously monitor information
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local area
health departments, and our Federal partners so that we can respond
rapidly as conditions change regarding COVID-19.
B. What stakeholder meetings have been held in preparation for UCMR 5?
EPA incorporates stakeholder involvement into each UCMR cycle.
Specific to the development of UCMR 5, EPA held two public stakeholder
meetings and is announcing two additional public meetings via webinars
in this proposal (see section II.C of this document). EPA held a
meeting focused on drinking water methods for unregulated contaminants
on June 6, 2018, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Representatives from state
agencies, laboratories, PWSs, environmental organizations, and drinking
water associations joined the meeting via webinar and in person.
Meeting topics included an overview of regulatory process elements
(including the Contaminant Candidate List (CCL), UCMR, and Regulatory
Determination), and drinking water methods under development (see
USEPA, 2018a for presentation materials). EPA held a second stakeholder
meeting on July 16, 2019, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Participants
representing state agencies, tribes, laboratories, PWSs, environmental
organizations, and drinking water associations participated in the
meeting via webinar and in person. Meeting topics included the impacts
of the AWIA, analytical methods and contaminants being considered by
EPA, potential sampling design, and other possible aspects of the UCMR
5 approach (see USEPA, 2019b for meeting materials).
This proposal fulfills a commitment made in EPA's PFAS Action Plan
found on EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/pfas/epas-pfas-action-plan. EPA conducted extensive public outreach in the development of the
PFAS Action Plan (USEPA, 2019a), including gathering diverse
perspectives through the May 2018 ``National Leadership Summit,''
direct engagement with the public in impacted communities in five
states, engagement with tribal partners, and roundtables conducted with
community leaders near impacted sites. EPA reviewed approximately
120,000 comments in the public docket that was specifically established
to gather input for the PFAS Action Plan (USEPA, 2019a). Through this
outreach, EPA heard significant concerns from the public on the
challenges these contaminants pose for communities nationwide, and the
need for improved understanding of the frequency and concentration of
PFAS occurrence in finished U.S. drinking water.
C. How do I participate in the upcoming stakeholder meeting?
EPA will hold two virtual stakeholder meetings during the public
comment period. Topics will include the proposed UCMR 5 monitoring
requirements, analyte selection and rationale, analytical methods, the
laboratory approval process, and ground water representative monitoring
plans (GWRMPs). If stakeholder interest results in exceeding the
maximum number of available connections for participants in the first
two webinar offerings, EPA may schedule additional webinars, with dates
and times posted on EPA's Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Program
Meetings and Materials web page at https://www.epa.gov/dwucmr/unregulated-contaminant-monitoring-rule-ucmr-meetings-and-materials.
Please note that EPA is deviating from its typical approach because
the President has declared a national emergency. Because of current CDC
recommendations, as well as state and local orders for social
distancing to limit the spread of COVID-19, EPA cannot hold in-person
public meetings at this time.
1. Meeting Participation
Those who wish to participate in the initial public meeting or
repeat subsequent webinar offerings can find information on how to
register, including dates and times, at https://www.epa.gov/dwucmr/unregulated-contaminant-monitoring-rule-ucmr-meetings-and-materials. To
ensure adequate time for public statements, individuals or
organizations interested in making a statement should identify their
interest when they register. We ask that only one person present on
behalf of a group or organization, and that the presentation be limited
to ten minutes. Any additional statements from participants will be
taken during the meeting if time permits. Formal
[[Page 13851]]
comments must be submitted to the docket. The number of webinar
connections available for the meeting is limited and will be available
on a first-come, first-served basis. Further details about registration
and participation can be found on EPA's Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Program Meetings and Materials web page at https://www.epa.gov/dwucmr/unregulated-contaminant-monitoring-rule-ucmr-meetings-and-materials.
2. Meeting Materials
EPA expects to send meeting materials by email to all registered
participants prior to the meeting. The materials will be posted on
EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/dwucmr/unregulated-contaminant-monitoring-rule-ucmr-meetings-and-materials for persons who do not
participate in the webinar.
III. General Information
A. How does EPA use different monitoring tiers to implement the
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Program?
EPA published the list of contaminants for the first UCMR (UCMR 1)
in the Federal Register (FR) on September 17, 1999 (64 FR 50556,
(USEPA, 1999)), the second UCMR (UCMR 2) on January 4, 2007 (72 FR 367,
(USEPA, 2007)), the third UCMR (UCMR 3) on May 2, 2012 (77 FR 26072,
(USEPA, 2012)), and the fourth UCMR (UCMR 4) on December 20, 2016 (81
FR 92666, (USEPA, 2016a)). EPA has utilized up to three different tiers
of contaminant monitoring, associated with three different ``lists'' of
contaminants, in past UCMRs. EPA designed the monitoring tiers to
reflect the availability and complexity of analytical methods,
laboratory capacity, sampling frequency, and cost, as well as labor
hours on and the characteristics of PWSs performing the monitoring. For
example, monitoring that is more complex, costly, and/or tailored is
more likely to be implemented under the second or third tiers, as
described below.
The Assessment Monitoring tier is the largest in scope and is used
to collect data to determine the national occurrence of ``List 1''
contaminants in PWS-supplied drinking water for the purpose of
estimating national population exposure. The Assessment Monitoring tier
has been used in the four previous UCMRs to collect occurrence data
from all systems serving more than 10,000 people and a representative
sample of 800 smaller systems. Consistent with the AWIA, the Assessment
Monitoring approach was redesigned for the proposed UCMR 5 and would
require all systems serving 3,300 or more people and a representative
sample of systems serving fewer than 3,300 to perform monitoring
(USEPA, 2020a). The population-weighted sampling design for the
nationally representative sample of small systems (used in previous
UCMR cycles to select 800 systems serving 10,000 or fewer, and proposed
to be used in UCMR 5 to select 800 systems serving fewer than 3,300)
calls for the sample to be stratified by water source type (ground
water or surface water), service size category, and state (where each
state is allocated a minimum of two systems in its State Monitoring
Plan). The allowable margin of error at the 99% confidence level is
1% for an expected contaminant occurrence of 1%. Assessment
Monitoring is the primary tier used for contaminants and generally
relies on analytical methods that use more common techniques, and are
expected to be widely available. EPA has used an Assessment Monitoring
tier for 72 contaminants and contaminant groups over the course of UCMR
1 through UCMR 4. The Agency is proposing to exclusively require
Assessment Monitoring in UCMR 5 and anticipates that this will
generally be the case in future UCMR cycles when practical, since this
monitoring approach yields the most complete set of occurrence data to
support EPA's decision making.
The Screening Survey tier is smaller in scope than Assessment
Monitoring, applying to all very large water systems serving more than
100,000 people, 320 randomly selected systems serving 10,001 to 100,000
people, and 480 randomly selected systems serving 10,000 or fewer
people. The Screening Survey approach is used to collect data to
determine the national occurrence of ``List 2'' contaminants in PWS-
supplied drinking water. This tier generally pertains to monitoring
with less established analytical techniques, such that laboratory
capacity and/or cost may be a concern. The Screening Survey design for
the nationally representative sample of PWSs serving fewer than 100,000
people has an allowable margin of error of 1% at the 99%
confidence level for an expected occurrence of 1%; however, unlike
Assessment Monitoring, the stratified design is not population-
weighted. EPA has used Screening Survey monitoring for 36 contaminants
over the course of UCMR 1 through UCMR 4. A Screening Survey tier is
not proposed for UCMR 5 because Assessment Monitoring for the 30
proposed contaminants has been deemed practical and would allow EPA to
collect a more robust set of occurrence data than provided for under a
Screening Survey approach.
A Pre-Screen Testing tier for ``List 3'' contaminants can be
customized to meet the specific monitoring objectives for a specific
group of PWSs. EPA used Pre-Screen Testing to collect data for two
viruses under UCMR 3. That monitoring relied on specialized analytical
methods and sampling techniques, and focused on 800 small,
undisinfected groundwater systems in vulnerable areas. A Pre-Screen
Testing tier is not proposed for UCMR 5.
B. How are the CCL, the UCMR program, the Regulatory Determination
process, and the NCOD interrelated?
Under the 1996 amendments to the SDWA, Congress established a
multi-step, risk-based approach for determining which contaminants
would become subject to drinking water standards. Under the first step,
EPA is required to publish a CCL every five years that identifies
contaminants that are not subject to any proposed or promulgated
drinking water regulations, are known or anticipated to occur in PWSs,
and may require future regulation under the SDWA. Under the second
step, EPA must require, every five years, monitoring of unregulated
contaminants to determine their occurrence in drinking water systems;
this is the UCMR program. Under the third step, EPA is required to
determine, every five years, whether or not to regulate at least five
contaminants from the CCL. Under Sec. 1412(b)(1)(A) of the SDWA, EPA
regulates a contaminant in drinking water if the Administrator
determines that:
(1) The contaminant may have an adverse effect on the health of
persons;
(2) the contaminant is known to occur or there is substantial
likelihood that the contaminant will occur in PWSs with a frequency
and at levels of public health concern; and
(3) in the sole judgment of the Administrator, regulation of
such contaminant presents a meaningful opportunity for health risk
reduction for persons served by PWSs.
For the contaminants that meet all of the three criteria, the SDWA
requires EPA to publish national primary drinking water regulations
(NPDWRs). Information on the CCL and the regulatory determination
process can be found at: https://www.epa.gov/ccl.
The data collected through the UCMR program are made available to
the public through the National Contaminant Occurrence Database
[[Page 13852]]
(NCOD) for drinking water. EPA developed the NCOD to satisfy statutory
requirements in the 1996 Amendments to the SDWA to assemble, and
maintain a drinking water contaminant occurrence database for both
regulated and unregulated contaminants in water systems. NCOD houses
data on unregulated contaminant occurrence; data from EPA's ``Six Year
Review'' of national drinking water regulations; and ambient and/or
source water data. Section 1445(g)(3) of the SDWA requires that EPA
maintain UCMR data in the NCOD, and use the data when evaluating the
frequency and level of occurrence of contaminants in drinking water at
a level of public health concern. The UCMR results can be viewed by the
public via NCOD (https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/national-contaminant-occurrence-database-ncod) or via the UCMR web page at: https://www.epa.gov/dwucmr.
C. What are the Consumer Confidence Reporting and Public Notice
Reporting requirements for public water systems that are subject to
UCMR?
In addition to reporting UCMR monitoring data to EPA, PWSs are
responsible for presenting and addressing UCMR results in their annual
Consumer Confidence Reports (CCRs) (40 CFR 141.153), and must address
Public Notice (PN) requirements associated with UCMR (40 CFR 141.207).
Today's notice does not propose changes to these reporting
requirements. More details about the CCR and PN requirements can be
viewed by the public at: https://www.epa.gov/ccr and https://www.epa.gov/dwreginfo/public-notification-rule, respectively.
D. What notable changes are being proposed for UCMR 5?
This action proposes to revise the existing UCMR to address recent
changes in the SDWA, and to reflect lessons learned through prior
experience implementing the UCMR. These additional proposed changes
include: Requiring water systems serving 3,300 or more persons to
monitor per the AWIA requirements; updating the list of the UCMR 5
contaminants, analytical methods, monitoring time frame, and sampling
locations; revising the data elements required in addition to the
occurrence data (outlined in Exhibit 2 below); revising data reporting
timeframes; and effecting conforming and editorial changes, such as
those necessary to remove requirements solely related to UCMR 4. A
track-changes version of the rule language, comparing UCMR 4 to the
proposed changes for UCMR 5, (``Proposed Revisions to CFR parts 141.35
and 141.40'' (USEPA, 2020c)), is included in the public docket (Docket
ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2020-0530) for this proposed rule. EPA's proposed
approach and rationale for changes are described in the following
sections.
Exhibit 2--Notable Changes Proposed for UCMR 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CFR rule section
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Description of Corresponding
Title/ Current (UCMR 4) proposed change preamble section
Number description requirement
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sec. 141.35(d), Sec. Scope of UCMR 5 UCMR 4 included all Proposes revisions to I.A.
141.40(a)(2)(ii), and Sec. applicability. CWSs and NTNCWSs the scope of UCMR 5
141.40(a)(4)(ii). that serve more than to address all CWSs
10,000 people, and a and NTNCWSs serving
representative set 3,300 or more people
of 800 systems and a representative
serving 10,000 or set of systems
fewer people. serving fewer than
3,300 people
(consistent with
AWIA).
Sec. 141.40(a)(3).......... Related UCMR 4 specified 30 Proposes a new list III.E + III.I.
specifications contaminants of 29 PFAS and
for the (cyanotoxins, lithium as
analytes to be metals, pesticides, contaminants for
monitored, brominated monitoring;
including haloacetic acid identifies
sampling groups, alcohols, associated
timeframe. and semivolatile analytical methods,
chemicals) and MRLs, and sampling
sample collection locations; and
from January 2018 proposes to revise
through December the sample
2020. collection dates to
January 2023 through
December 2025.
Sec. 141.40(a)............. Applicability UCMR 4 specified Proposes to revise III.H.
date. December 31, 2015, the date used to
as the basis for determine which
determining which systems are subject
systems were subject to monitoring to
to monitoring. February 1, 2021.
Sec. 141.35(c)(3).......... Ground Water UCMR 4 specified Proposes flexibility III.I.
Representative ``within 120 from to the deadline for
Monitoring publication of the PWSs to submit a
Plans (GWRMPs). final rule (April GWRMP proposal to
19, 2017)'' as the EPA.
deadline to submit a
GWRMP.
Sec. 141.35(c)(6)(ii) and Reporting UCMR 4 specified that Proposes to revise III.I.
Sec. 141.40(a)(5)(vi). timeframe. laboratories must the timeframe for
approve analytical laboratories to post
results in EPA's and approve
electronic data analytical results
reporting system in EPA's electronic
within 120 days from data reporting
the sample system (for review
collection date and by the PWS) to
specified that PWS ``within 90 days
had 60 days (from from the sample
when the laboratory collection date.''.
posted the data to Proposes to revise
EPA's electronic the timeframe for
data reporting PWSs to review,
system) to review, approve, and submit
approve, and submit data to the state
their data to the and EPA to no more
state and EPA. than ``30 days from
when the laboratory
posts the data to
EPA's electronic
data reporting
system''.
Sec. 141.35(e)............. Reporting UCMR 4 specified data Proposes changes to III.J.
requirements--D elements applicable the data elements to
ata elements. to the contaminants be reported to EPA
included in that based on the
cycle. contaminants
proposed for
monitoring.
Sec. 141.40(a)(5)(ii)...... Laboratory UCMR 4 specified that Proposes a more III.L.
approval laboratories flexible timeframe
application interested in for laboratories to
timeframe. supporting apply to support
monitoring must UCMR 5 monitoring.
initially apply Proposes that
within 120 days of registration and
publication of the application
final rule. April materials are to be
19, 2017 was submitted to EPA
specified as the ``by August 1,
date by which all 2022.'' Additonally,
registration and revises the email
application correspondence to be
materials must be [email protected]
completed and a.gov.
returned to
[email protected].
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 13853]]
E. How did EPA prioritize candidate contaminants and what contaminants
are proposed for UCMR 5?
In establishing the proposed list of contaminants for UCMR 5, EPA
evaluated unregulated contaminants in accordance with the statutory
authorities described in section I.A of this document. In accordance
with these requirements, EPA's commitments under the PFAS Action Plan
(USEPA, 2019a), and the process described in this document, EPA is
proposing monitoring for the unregulated contaminants listed in Exhibit
3 using the specified methods.
Exhibit 3--Proposed UCMR 5 Analytes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
List 1 Analytes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Twenty-five Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) using EPA Method
533 (SPE LC/MS/MS): \1\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
11-chloroeicosafluoro-3-oxaundecane-1- perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA).
sulfonic acid (11Cl-PF3OUdS).
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorodecane sulfonic perfluorododecanoic acid
acid (8:2 FTS). (PFDoA).
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorohexane sulfonic perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid
acid (4:2 FTS). (PFHpS).
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctane sulfonic perfluoroheptanoic acid
acid (6:2 FTS). (PFHpA).
4,8-dioxa-3H-perfluorononanoic acid perfluorohexanesulfonic acid
(ADONA). (PFHxS).
9-chlorohexadecafluoro-3-oxanone-1- perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA).
sulfonic acid (9Cl-PF3ONS).
hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA).
(HFPO-DA) (GenX).
nonafluoro-3,6-dioxaheptanoic acid perfluorooctanesulfonic acid
(NFDHA). (PFOS).
perfluoro (2-ethoxyethane) sulfonic perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
acid (PFEESA).
perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid perfluoropentanesulfonic acid
(PFMPA). (PFPeS).
perfluoro-4-methoxybutanoic acid perfluoropentanoic acid
(PFMBA). (PFPeA).
perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS).... perfluoroundecanoic acid
(PFUnA).
perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA)..........
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Four Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) using EPA Method 537.1
(SPE LC/MS/MS): \2\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
n-ethyl perfluorotetradecanoic acid
perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (PFTA).
(NEtFOSAA).
n-methyl perfluorotridecanoic acid
perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (PFTrDA).
(NMeFOSAA).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
One Metal/Pharmaceutical using EPA Method 200.7 (ICP-AES) \3\ or
alternate SM \4\ or ASTM: \5\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
lithium................................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ EPA Method 533 (Solid phase extraction (SPE) liquid chromatography/
tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS)) (USEPA, 2019c).
\2\ EPA Method 537.1 Version 2.0 (Solid phase extraction (SPE) liquid
chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS)) (USEPA, 2020d).
\3\ EPA Method 200.7 (Inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission
spectrometry (ICP-AES)) (USEPA, 1994).
\4\ Standard Methods (SM) 3120 B (SM, 2017) or SM 3120 B-99 (SM Online,
1999).
\5\ ASTM International (ASTM) D1976-20 (ASTM, 2020).
EPA considered the current (fourth) Contaminant Candidate List (CCL
4), which includes 97 chemicals or chemical groups and 12 microbes (81
FR 81099, November 17, 2016 (USEPA, 2016b)). EPA also evaluated
contaminants nominated by the public for potential inclusion on the
next (fifth) CCL (CCL 5) (83 FR 50364, October 5, 2018 (USEPA, 2018b))
and considered other priority contaminants, including those highlighted
in the PFAS Action Plan (USEPA, 2019a). Further, EPA considered the
opportunity to collect occurrence data for non-CCL contaminants using
the proposed methods for CCL contaminants that would result in little-
to-no additional expense (i.e., concurrent with the collection of data
for CCL contaminants). EPA's proposed approach addresses the PFAS
requirement in NDAA (Pub. L. 116-92) by including all 29 PFAS that are
within the scope of EPA Methods 533, published December 2019 (USEPA,
2019c), and 537.1, initially published November 2018 and updated via
version 2.0 in March 2020 (USEPA, 2020d).
EPA evaluated candidate UCMR 5 contaminants using a multi-step
prioritization process. The first step included identifying
contaminants that: (1) Were not monitored under prior UCMR cycles; (2)
may occur in drinking water; and (3) are expected to have a completed,
validated drinking water method in time for rule proposal.
The next step was to consider the following: Availability of health
assessments or other health-effects information (e.g., critical health
endpoints suggesting carcinogenicity); public interest (e.g., PFAS);
active use (e.g., pesticides that are registered for use); and
availability of occurrence data.
During the final step, EPA considered stakeholder input; looked at
cost-effectiveness of the potential monitoring approaches; considered
implementation factors (e.g., laboratory capacity); and further
evaluated health effects, occurrence, and persistence/mobility data to
identify the proposed list of UCMR 5 contaminants.
Contaminant-specific information (e.g., source, use, production,
release, persistence, mobility, health effects, and occurrence) that
EPA used to evaluate candidate contaminants, is contained in
``Information Compendium for Candidate Contaminants for the Proposed
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5)'' (USEPA, 2020e). The
Information Compendium can be found in EPA public docket for this
proposed rule, under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2020-0530. EPA invites
comment on the proposed UCMR 5 contaminants (and their associated
analytical methods) identified in Exhibit 3.
F. What other contaminants did EPA consider?
This notice describes the 30 contaminants that EPA has identified
as the highest priorities for UCMR 5 monitoring through the process
described in the preceding section. This process prioritizes the
unregulated contaminants for which nationally representative data on
the frequency
[[Page 13854]]
and level of occurrence are useful. EPA believes that the primary
utility of the UCMR data is for the Agency's regulatory evaluation. The
SDWA requires that the data collected under the UCMR be used to develop
the CCL (see Sec. 1412(b)(1)(B)(i)(I)) and to make regulatory
determinations for CCL contaminants (see Sec. 1412(b)(1)(B)(ii)(II)).
EPA believes that the UCMR can be useful to States, water systems, and
to water system consumers but that is not the primary purpose of the
data collection.
In developing a UCMR rule EPA also considers the burden that UCMR
places upon water systems to perform monitoring and, in accordance with
SDWA Sec. 1445(j)(1) and 1445(j)(3), the new expenses of small system
monitoring and the laboratory capacity to support the analysis of UCMR
samples. EPA is proposing a rule that reflects a consideration of the
burden on water systems, the new expenses associated with implementing
the rule, and the utility of the information to be collected. Although
the NDAA allows the Agency to require monitoring for more contaminants
beyond those proposed, EPA believes that the utility of the additional
data that would be collected does not warrant their inclusion. As
described in the following sections, data collection for Legionella
pneumophila and four haloacetonitriles (dichloroacetonitrile,
dibromoacetonitrile, trichloroacetonitrile, and
bromochloroacetonitrile) would not be useful to EPA's regulatory
deliberations.
Also, due to limitations of analytical methodologies, data
collection for 1,2,3-trichloropropane and total organic fluorine (TOF)
would not be useful.
The information that EPA considered when evaluating contaminants
may be found in the Information Compendium (USEPA, 2020e).
EPA invites comment on these contaminants and any other priority
contaminants commenters wish to recommend. In your comments, please
identify the following: Any new contaminant(s) that you believe EPA
should include in the UCMR 5 monitoring; any contaminant(s) in Exhibit
3 that you believe should be removed from the list; the recommended
analytical method(s) for any new contaminant(s) that you propose; and
other relevant details (e.g., reporting level, sampling location,
sampling frequency, analytical cost). Comments that provide supporting
data or rationale are especially helpful to EPA.
1. Legionella pneumophila
Legionella pneumophila is recognized as an important biofilm-
related opportunistic pathogen associated with waterborne disease. It
is a naturally occurring pathogen, widely found in the environment.
Legionella pneumophila may enter drinking water distribution systems
and proliferate under certain conditions (USEPA, 2001). Under EPA's
Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR), EPA established NPDWRs for
Giardia, viruses, Legionella, turbidity and heterotrophic bacteria and
set maximum contaminant limit goals of zero for Giardia lamblia,
viruses and Legionella (54 FR 27486, June 29, 1989 (USEPA, 1989)). EPA
is currently examining opportunities to enhance protection against
Legionella pneumophila through potential revisions to the suite of
Microbial and Disinfection Byproduct (MDBP) rules, which includes the
SWTR. As stated in the conclusions from EPA's third ``Six-Year Review
of Drinking Water Standards'' (82 FR 3518, January 11, 2017 (USEPA,
2017)), ``EPA identified the following NPDWRs under the SWTR as
candidates for revision under the Six-Year Review 3, because of the
opportunity to further reduce residual risk from pathogens (including
opportunistic pathogens such as Legionella) beyond the risk addressed
by the current SWTR.'' In accordance with the dates in the Settlement
Agreement between EPA and Waterkeeper Alliance (Waterkeeper Alliance,
Inc. v. U.S. EPA, No. 1:19-cv-00899-LJL (S.D.N.Y. Jun. 1, 2020)), the
Agency anticipates signing a proposal for revisions to the MDBP rules
and a final action on the proposal by July 31, 2024 and September 30,
2027, respectively. Accordingly, EPA has concerns about the utility of
a UCMR 5 data set on Legionella pneumophila based on the timeframe for
the Agency deliberations about the MDBP revisions. The UCMR 5 data
collection would not be complete in time to inform regulatory revision
and would not reflect conditions in water systems after any regulatory
revisions become effective.
The Six-Year Review 3 conclusion and Settlement Agreement state
EPA's approach to investigating public health risks potentially
associated with Legionella. Inclusion of Legionella pneumophila in UCMR
5 would add significant monitoring and reporting complexity, and cost.
If Legionella pneumophila were to be added to UCMR 5, most of the
additional cost would be borne by large PWSs (for analysis of their
samples) and EPA (for analysis of samples from small PWSs). In such
case, sample collection would likely be at the distribution-system
sampling locations described in the Disinfectants and Disinfection
Byproducts Rule (D/DBPR) (40 CFR 141.622). Because Legionella
pneumophila is regulated via ``treatment technique'' and EPA does not
require that it be measured, the Agency has not evaluated or validated
analytical methods for its measurement. EPA is aware that there are a
number of potential techniques for measuring Legionella pneumophila,
including the commercially-available Legiolert\TM\ test (IDEXX
Laboratories, Inc., 2020). EPA estimates that this additional
monitoring would result in $11 million in new expenses for large PWSs,
$20 million in new expenses for the Agency for small system monitoring,
and $0.5 million in new expenses for small PWSs and states over the 5-
year UCMR period. EPA believes this is a significant burden for data
that would not be available in time to inform regulatory revision and
that would not reflect conditions in water systems after any regulatory
revisions become effective. EPA invites comments on whether Legionella
pneumophila should be included in UCMR 5.
2. Haloacetonitriles
The four haloacetonitriles represent a group of unregulated
disinfection byproducts (DBPs). They were detected relatively
frequently in monitoring under the DBP Information Collection Rule
(1997-1998), available via https://www.epa.gov/dwsixyearreview/supplemental-data-six-year-review-3, and are generally considered more
cytotoxic and genotoxic than the regulated DBPs. EPA Method 551.1 is an
existing validated method approved for measuring regulated total
trihalomethanes in drinking water (USEPA, 1995); it is also capable of
measuring unregulated haloacetonitriles. Similar to the situation with
Legionella pneumophila, EPA is examining opportunities to enhance
protection against DBPs, including these haloacetonitriles through
potential revisions to the MDBP rules; see previous paragraph regarding
the anticipated timeframe for those revisions and note the concern
about timing relative to UCMR 5 data collection. As with Legionella
pneumophila, inclusion of haloacetonitriles in UCMR 5 would introduce
significant monitoring and reporting complexity and cost compared to
the sampling design for PFAS and lithium. If haloacetonitriles were to
be added to UCMR 5, most of the additional expenses would be borne by
large PWSs (for analysis of their
[[Page 13855]]
samples) and EPA (for analysis of samples from small PWSs). In such
case, sample collection would likely be at the distribution-system
sampling locations described in the Disinfectants and Disinfection
Byproducts Rule (D/DBPR) (40 CFR 141.622). EPA estimates this would
result in $16 million in new expenses for large PWSs, $20 million in
new expenses for the Agency, and $0.5 million in new expenses for small
PWSs and states over the 5-year UCMR period. EPA invites comments on
whether haloacetonitriles should be included in UCMR 5.
3. 1,2,3-trichloropropane
1,2,3-trichloropropane is a man-made chemical used as an industrial
solvent, cleaning and degreasing agent, and synthesis intermediate.
1,2,3-trichloropropane occurrence data collected during UCMR 3 (USEPA,
2012) may be found at https://www.epa.gov/dwucmr/occurrence-data-unregulated-contaminant-monitoring-rule#3. EPA's March 2020
``Announcement of Preliminary Regulatory Determinations for
Contaminants on the Fourth Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List''
(available via https://www.epa.gov/ccl/regulatory-determination-4)
concluded that the Agency needs additional lower-level occurrence
information prior to making a preliminary regulatory determination for
1,2,3-trichloropropane. EPA is not proposing 1,2,3-trichloropropane
monitoring in UCMR 5 because the Agency concludes that available
analytical methods would not support the collection of data at
concentrations lower than the levels monitored during UCMR 3 (USEPA,
2019d). At 0.03 [micro]g/L, the minimum reporting level (MRL)
established in UCMR 3 is higher than the EPA health reference level
(HRL) associated with a cancer risk level of one cancer case per
million people (0.0004 [micro]g/L (0.4 ng/L) (USEPA, 2019d), but lower
than the cancer risk level associated with one cancer case per 10,000
people (0.04 [micro]g/L)). EPA invites comment on any aspects of 1,2,3-
trichloropropane as a candidate for UCMR 5, particularly comments on
additional methods that may support national monitoring at quantitation
levels lower than 0.0004 [micro]g/L.
4. Total Organic Fluorine (TOF)
There are a number of analytical techniques that have been applied
to measuring organic fluorine in environmental matrices and drinking
water, and some have proposed trying to correlate PFAS, in aggregate,
with measurements of total organic fluorine. TOF, by combustion ion
chromatography, relies on extracting fluorine-containing compounds from
water, defluorinating, and capturing the resulting hydrogen flouride
gas in solution for analysis. While there is high interest in TOF (and
other techniques that might capture a broader suite of PFAS), the
measurement approach is subject to significant technical challenges,
and a robust method that would support national monitoring is unlikely
to be ready in time to support UCMR 5 rulemaking. Further, TOF methods
for drinking water may not be sensitive or specific enough to support
decision making; TOF is not specific to PFAS, and any fluorine-
containing compounds (e.g., pesticides, pharmaceuticals) that are
retained during extraction would be included in the organic fluorine
measurement. EPA cannot reliably estimate the cost to measure TOF under
UCMR because TOF methods have little commercial laboratory availability
at this time.
G. What are the costs of alternatives to the proposed UCMR 5?
As described in the preceding sections, EPA considered alternatives
to the proposed UCMR 5. One alternative EPA considered recognizes that
the Agency cost to support the expanded small-PWS monitoring scope
defined in the AWIA may exceed available resources. Specifically, the
AWIA provisions would increase the number of PWS samples for which EPA
would perform analysis by 8-fold. Exhibit 4 presents the cost over 5
years for the proposed-rule baseline and presents the alternative cost
if EPA were to promulgate a final UCMR 5 that reverts to the
traditional UCMR approach to small system monitoring (i.e., includes
800 systems serving 10,000 or fewer people).
Exhibit 4--Estimated 5-Year (2022-2026) Cost ($ million) of the Proposed UCMR and an Alternative With Reduced
Small System Monitoring \1\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total program
cost (sum of
Total cost to costs for
Action Total cost to Total cost to small PWSs and large and
large PWSs EPA \2\ states small PWSs,
EPA, and
states)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UCMR 5 proposed-rule baseline (presumes funds $47.8 $52.7 $5.5 $105.9
are available to support AWIA-based scope
and that 29 PFAS and lithium are monitored).
Alternative UCMR 5 which would include only 47.8 14.7 3.4 65.9
include 800 systems serving 10,000 or fewer
people......................................
(presumes that 29 PFAS and lithium are
monitored)..................................
------------------------------------------------------------------
Difference between proposed-rule baseline 0 38.0 2.1 40.0
and alternative.........................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Totals may not equal the sum of components due to rounding.
\2\ Accounts for cost of analyses for samples from small PWSs and other implementation expenses.
Exhibit 5 presents the costs over 5 years for the UCMR 5 proposed-
rule baseline and alternatives, in which EPA would add monitoring for
Legionella pneumophila and/or haloacetonitriles to the proposed UCMR 5
analytes (29 PFAS and lithium).
[[Page 13856]]
Exhibit 5--Estimated 5-Year (2022-2026) Cost ($ million) of the Proposed UCMR and Alternatives That Add
Monitoring for Legionella pneumophila and/or Haloacetonitriles
[Differences between the baseline and alternatives [$ million] are noted parenthetically] \1\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total program
cost (sum of
Total cost to Total cost to Total cost to costs for large
Action large PWSs EPA \2\ small PWSs and and small PWSs,
states EPA, and
states)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UCMR 5 proposed-rule baseline (presumes funds $47.8 $52.7 $5.5 $105.9
are available to support AWIA-based scope
and that 29 PFAS and lithium are monitored).
Require monitoring for Legionella pneumophila 58.7 (+11.0) 72.9 (+20.2) 6.0 (+0.5) 137.6 (+31.7)
(in addition to 29 PFAS and lithium)........
Require monitoring for haloacetonitriles (in 63.6 (+15.8) 72.7 (+20.0) 6.0 (+0.5) 142.2 (+36.3)
addition to 29 PFAS and lithium)............
Require monitoring for Legionella pneumophila 73.3 (+25.6) 92.9 (+40.2) 6.0 (+0.5) 172.2 (+66.3)
and haloacetonitriles (in addition to 29
PFAS and lithium)...........................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Totals may not equal the sum of components due to rounding.
\2\ Accounts for cost of analyses for samples from small PWSs and other implementation expenses.
Exhibit 6 presents the costs over 5 years for the UCMR 5 ``pre-
AWIA'' alternative baseline proposed-rule baseline (i.e., in which the
Agency would include 800 nationally-representative water systems
serving fewer than or equal to 10,000), and associated scenarios in
which EPA would add monitoring for Legionella pneumophila and/or
haloacetonitriles to the proposed UCMR 5 analytes (29 PFAS and
lithium).
Exhibit 6--Estimated 5-Year (2022-2026) Cost ($ million) of a UCMR 5 ``Pre-AWIA'' Alternative Baseline, and
Associated Scenarios That Add Monitoring for Legionella pneumophila and/or Haloacetonitriles
[Differences between the baseline and alternatives [$ million] are noted parenthetically] \1\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total program
cost (sum of
Total cost to Total cost to Total cost to costs for large
Action large PWSs EPA \2\ small PWSs and and small PWSs,
states EPA, and
states)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UCMR 5 ``pre-AWIA'' alternative baseline $47.8 $14.7 $3.4 $65.8
(presumes that monitoring includes 800 PWSs
serving <=10,000 and that 29 PFAS and
lithium are monitored)......................
Require monitoring for Legionella pneumophila 58.7 (+11.0) 18.4 (+3.7) 3.4 (+0.04) 80.5 (+14.7)
(in addition to 29 PFAS and lithium)........
Require monitoring for haloacetonitriles (in 63.6 (+15.8) 16.2 (+1.5) 3.4 (+0.04) 83.2 (+17.4)
addition to 29 PFAS and lithium)............
Require monitoring for Legionella pneumophila 73.3 (+25.6) 19.2 (+4.5) 3.4 (+0.04) 96.0 (+30.2)
and haloacetonitriles (in addition to 29
PFAS and lithium)...........................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Totals may not equal the sum of components due to rounding.
\2\ Accounts for cost of analyses for samples from small PWSs and other implementation expenses.
H. What is the proposed applicability date?
The applicability date represents an internal milestone used by EPA
to determine if a PWS is included in the UCMR program, and if it is a
small or large PWS. It does not represent a date by which respondents
need to take any action. In Sec. 141.40(a), EPA proposes February 1,
2021 as the new applicability date to determine which PWSs are subject
to UCMR 5. That is, the determination of whether a PWS is required to
monitor under UCMR 5 is based on the type of system (e.g., CWS, NTNCWS,
etc.) and its retail population served, as indicated by the Safe
Drinking Water Information System Federal Reporting Services (SDWIS/
Fed) inventory on February 1, 2021. A determination of applicability on
February 1, 2021 allows time for EPA to share the tentative list of
PWSs with the states for their review, and to load PWS information into
EPA's reporting system so that PWSs can be notified promptly once the
final rule is published. If a PWS receives such notification and
believes its retail population served in SDWIS/Fed is inaccurate
(resulting in the PWS being erroneously included in UCMR 5), the system
should contact their state authority to verify its population as of the
applicability date and request a correction, if necessary. The
applicability date for a given UCMR cycle is routinely established near
the publication of the UCMR proposal. EPA believes that a later
applicability date would be impractical given the planning that needs
to occur prior to sample collection.
I. What are the proposed UCMR 5 sampling design and timeline of
activities?
The proposed rule identifies sampling and analysis for UCMR 5
contaminants within the sampling period of 2023 to 2025 based on the
Assessment Monitoring framework because, as described in section I.B of
this document, EPA anticipates that there will be appropriate
laboratory capacity.
[[Page 13857]]
Preparations prior to 2023 are expected to include coordinating
laboratory approval, selecting representative small systems, organizing
Partnership Agreements, developing State Monitoring Plans (see III.N of
this document), establishing monitoring schedules and inventory, and
conducting outreach and training. Exhibit 7 illustrates the major
activities that EPA expects will take place in preparation for, and
during the implementation of the UCMR 5.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP11MR21.000
To minimize the impact of the rule on small systems (those serving
10,000 or fewer people), EPA pays for their sample kit preparation,
sample shipping fees, and sample analysis.
As noted in section I.B of this document, the AWIA mandates the
expanded UCMR monitoring ``subject to the availability of
appropriations for such purpose,'' recognizing the greater EPA burden
created by the AWIA (as EPA funds testing and laboratory analysis for
small systems under the UCMR). If EPA concludes that it will not have
the resources necessary to support the expanded monitoring described by
the AWIA, the Agency will not promulgate a final rule that requires all
water systems serving between 3,300 and 10,000 persons to monitor.
Rather, EPA will use the approach from prior to the enactment of AWIA,
and include 800 nationally-representative water systems serving fewer
than or equal to 10,000 in the UCMR program.
Large systems (those serving more than 10,000 people) pay for all
costs associated with their monitoring. Exhibit 8 shows a summary of
the estimated number of PWSs subject to monitoring.
Exhibit 8--Systems to Participate in UCMR 5 Monitoring
------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Sample:
Assessment monitoring Total number of
System size (number of people design systems per
served) ------------------------ size category
List 1 Chemicals
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Small Systems \1\ (25--3,299).. 800 randomly selected 800
systems (CWSs and
NTNCWSs).
Small Systems \2\ (3,300-- All systems (CWSs and 5,147
10,000). NTNCWSs).
Large Systems \3\ (10,001 and All systems (CWSs and 4,364
over). NTNCWSs).
----------------------------------------
Total...................... ...................... 10,311
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ EPA pays for all analytical costs associated with monitoring at
small systems.
\2\ Small system counts are approximate. EPA pays for all analytical
costs associated with monitoring at small systems.
\3\ Large system counts are approximate.
1. Sampling Frequency, Timing
On a per-system basis, the anticipated number of samples collected
by each system is consistent with sample collection during prior UCMR
cycles (although, as described elsewhere, the number of water systems
subject to UCMR would be significantly greater under this proposal).
Water systems would be required to collect samples based on the typical
UCMR sampling frequency and time frame as follows: For surface water,
ground water under the direct influence of surface water,
[[Page 13858]]
and mixed locations, sampling would take place for four consecutive
quarters over the course of 12 months (total of 4 sampling events).
Sampling events would occur 3 months apart. For example, if the first
sample is taken in January, the second would then occur anytime in
April, the third would occur anytime in July, and the fourth would
occur anytime in October. For ground water locations, sampling would
take place twice over the course of 12 months (total of 2 sampling
events). Sampling events would occur five to seven months apart. For
example, if the first sample is taken in April, the second sample would
then occur anytime in September, October, or November.
EPA expects to consult with the states and initially determine
schedules (year and months of monitoring) for large water systems.
Thereafter, these PWSs would have an opportunity to modify this initial
schedule for planning purposes or other reasons (e.g., to spread costs
over multiple years, a sampling location will be closed during the
scheduled month of monitoring, etc.). EPA proposes to schedule and
coordinate small system monitoring by working closely with states.
State Monitoring Plans provide an opportunity for states to review and
revise the initial sampling schedules that EPA proposes (see discussion
of State Monitoring Plans in section III.N of this document).
2. Sampling Locations and Ground Water Representative Monitoring Plans
Consistent with past UCMR cycles, sample collection for the UCMR 5
contaminants would take place at the entry point to the distribution
system (EPTDS). As during past UCMRs and as described in Sec.
141.35(c)(3), the proposed rule would allow large ground water systems
(or large surface water systems with ground water sources) that have
multiple ground water EPTDSs to request approval to sample at
representative monitoring locations rather than at each ground water
EPTDS. GWRMPs approved under prior UCMRs may be used for UCMR 5,
presuming no significant changes in the configuration of the ground
water EPTDSs since the prior approval. Water systems that intend to use
a previously approved plan must send EPA a copy of the approval
documents received under prior UCMRs from their state (if reviewed by
the state) or EPA.
Relative to the rules for prior UCMR cycles, this proposal provides
greater flexibility to PWSs in submitting GWRMPs to EPA. As proposed,
plans must be submitted to EPA six months prior to the PWS's scheduled
sample collection, instead of by a specified date; those scheduled to
collect samples in 2024 or 2025 would have significant additional time
to develop and propose representative plans. PWSs, particularly those
scheduled for sample collection in 2023, are encouraged to submit
proposals for new GWRMP by December 31, 2022, to allow time for review
by EPA and, as appropriate, the state. EPA will work closely with the
states to coordinate the review of GWRMPs in those cases where such
review is part of the state's Partnership Agreement. Changes to
inventory data in the Safe Drinking Water Accession and Review System
(SDWARS) that impact a PWS's representative plan before or during the
UCMR sampling period must be reported within 30 days of the change. EPA
will collaborate with small systems (particularly those with many
ground water locations) to develop a GWRMP when warranted, recognizing
that EPA pays for the analysis of samples from small systems.
3. Reporting Times
This action proposes changes in the timeframes for laboratories to
post and approve analytical results in SDWARS, and for PWSs to then
review and approve the posted results in SDWARS. EPA recognizes that
multiple states have expressed an interest in earlier access to UCMR
data (see Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2020-0530) and believes that shorter
timeframes for posting and approving data are feasible based on our
experience with UCMR reporting to-date. EPA has observed that many
laboratories are routinely posting data to SDWARS within 90 days of
sample collection. EPA has also observed that many large PWSs are
approving and submitting data within 30 days of their laboratory
posting the data. Accordingly, EPA proposes that laboratories be given
90 days (versus the current 120 days) from the sample collection date
to post and approve analytical results in SDWARS for PWS review. EPA
proposes that large PWSs be given 30 days (versus the current 60 days)
to review and approve the analytical results posted to SDWARS. As with
the current UCMR requirements, data would be considered approved and
available for state and EPA review if the PWS takes no action within
their allotted review period. EPA welcomes comments on these proposed
changes to the reporting requirements and invites input on other
changes that could address the interest in earlier access to data.
J. What are the reporting requirements for the UCMR 5?
EPA proposes changes to the reporting requirements currently
established for UCMR 4, as detailed in Table 1 of Sec. 141.35(e), to
account for the UCMR 5 contaminants and the monitoring approach being
proposed. These changes include removing data elements related to the
specific contaminants from the previous UCMR, and adding and updating
data elements based on the proposed list of contaminants to be
monitored. EPA is proposing certain data element changes, based on
experience from the previous UCMR, that are intended to improve data
reporting from laboratories and water systems. Recognizing that data
elements are specifically tailored to the requirements of each
monitoring cycle, EPA invites comment on the appropriateness of the
proposed UCMR 5 data elements relative to the proposed UCMR 5
contaminants, analytical methods and reporting requirements. EPA
welcomes comments on the proposed data elements and associated
definitions, as well as any others that may provide useful ancillary
data to support an assessment of the occurrence information.
K. What are Minimum Reporting Levels (MRLs) and how were they
determined?
EPA establishes MRLs for contaminants under the UCMR to ensure
consistency in the quality of the information reported to the Agency.
As defined inSec. 141.40(a)(5)(iii), the MRL is the minimum
quantitation level that, with 95% confidence, can be achieved by
capable analysts at 75% or more of the laboratories using a specified
analytical method. More detailed explanation of the MRL calculation is
in the ``Technical Basis for the Lowest Concentration Minimum Reporting
Level (LCMRL) Calculator'' (USEPA, 2010), available on the internet at
(https://www.epa.gov/dwanalyticalmethods/lowest-concentration-minimum-reporting-level-lcmrl-calculator).
EPA requires each laboratory interested in supporting UCMR analyses
to demonstrate that they can reliably make quality measurements at or
below the established MRL to ensure that high quality results are being
reported by participating laboratories. EPA established the proposed
MRLs in Sec. 141.40(a)(3), Table 1, for each analyte/method by
obtaining data from at least three laboratories that performed ``lowest
concentration minimum reporting level'' (LCMRL) studies. The results
from these laboratory LCMRL
[[Page 13859]]
studies can be found in the ``UCMR 5 Laboratory Approval Manual''
(USEPA, 2020f).
The LCMRL is the lowest concentration of a contaminant that can be
quantified with the precision and accuracy specified in ``Technical
Basis for the Lowest Concentration Minimum Reporting Level (LCMRL)
Calculator'' (USEPA, 2010), available on the internet at (https://www.epa.gov/dwanalyticalmethods/lowest-concentration-minimum-reporting-level-lcmrl-calculator). The multiple laboratory LCMRLs were then
processed through a statistical routine to derive an MRL that, with 95%
confidence, is predicted to be attainable by 75% of laboratories using
the prescribed method. EPA considers these to be the lowest reporting
levels that can practically and consistently be achieved on a national
basis (recognizing that individual laboratories may be able to measure
at lower levels). EPA invites comments on the proposed MRLs, and will
consider changing the proposed MRLs if the Agency obtains scientific
information demonstrating that a different MRL is attainable and
practical.
L. How do laboratories become approved to conduct the UCMR 5 analyses?
Consistent with prior UCMRs, this proposed action maintains the
requirement that PWS use laboratories approved by EPA to analyze UCMR 5
samples. Interested laboratories are encouraged to apply for EPA
approval as early as possible, beginning with the publication of this
proposal. The UCMR 5 laboratory approval process is designed to assess
whether laboratories possess the required equipment and can meet
laboratory-performance and data-reporting criteria described in this
action.
EPA expects demand for laboratory support to increase significantly
based on the greater number of water systems proposed for UCMR 5. EPA
estimates that the number of participating small water systems will
increase from the typical 800 to approximately 6,000 (see Exhibit 8 in
section III.I of this document). In preparation for this increased
participation, EPA anticipates soliciting proposals and awarding
contracts to laboratories to support small system monitoring prior to
the end of the proficiency testing (PT) program. Historically,
laboratories awarded contracts by EPA have been required to first be
approved to perform all methods. The anticipated steps and requirements
for the laboratory approval process are described in steps 1 through 6
of the following paragraphs.
EPA anticipates following its typical approach to approving UCMR
laboratories, which would require laboratories seeking approval to: (1)
Provide EPA with data that demonstrate a successful completion of an
initial demonstration of capability (IDC) as outlined in each method;
(2) verify successful performance at or below the MRLs as specified in
this action; (3) provide information about laboratory standard
operating procedures (SOPs); and (4) participate in two EPA PT studies
for the analytes of interest. Audits of laboratories may be conducted
by EPA prior to and/or following approval, and maintaining approval is
contingent on timely and accurate reporting. The ``UCMR 5 Laboratory
Approval Manual'' (USEPA, 2020f) provides more specific guidance on EPA
laboratory approval program and the specific method acceptance
criteria. EPA will also include sample collection procedures that are
specific to the methods in the ``UCMR 5 Laboratory Manual,'' and will
address this point in our outreach to the public water systems that
will be collecting samples.
The structure of the anticipated UCMR 5 laboratory approval program
is similar to that employed in the previous UCMRs, and would provide an
assessment of the ability of laboratories to perform analyses using the
methods listed in Sec. 141.40(a)(3), Table 1. Laboratory participation
in the UCMR laboratory approval program is voluntary. However, as in
the previous UCMRs, and as proposed for UCMR 5, EPA would require PWSs
to exclusively use laboratories that have been approved under the
program. EPA expects to post a list of approved UCMR 5 laboratories to:
https://www.epa.gov/dwucmr and will bring this to the attention of the
PWSs in our outreach to them.
1. Request To Participate
Laboratories interested in the UCMR 5 laboratory approval program
first email EPA at: [email protected] to request registration
materials. EPA expects to accept such requests beginning with the
publication of the proposal in the Federal Register. Based on a January
1, 2023, anticipated start for UCMR 5 sample collection, EPA
anticipates that the final opportunity for a laboratory to complete and
submit the necessary registration and application information will be
August 1, 2022.
2. Registration
Laboratory applicants provide registration information that
includes: Laboratory name, mailing address, shipping address, contact
name, phone number, email address and a list of the UCMR 5 methods for
which the laboratory is seeking approval. This registration step
provides EPA with the necessary contact information, and ensures that
each laboratory receives a customized application package.
3. Application Package
Laboratory applicants will complete and return a customized
application package that includes the following: IDC data, including
precision, accuracy and results of MRL studies; information regarding
analytical equipment and other materials; proof of current drinking
water laboratory certification (for select compliance monitoring
methods); method specific SOPs; and example chromatograms for each
method under review.
As a condition of receiving and maintaining approval, the
laboratory will be expected to promptly post UCMR 5 monitoring results
and quality control data that meet method criteria (on behalf of its
PWS clients) to EPA's UCMR electronic data reporting system, SDWARS.
4. EPA's Review of Application Package
EPA will review the application packages and, if necessary, request
follow-up information. Laboratories that successfully complete the
application process become eligible to participate in the UCMR 5 PT
program.
5. Proficiency Testing
A PT sample is a synthetic sample containing a concentration of an
analyte or mixture of analytes that is known to EPA, but unknown to the
laboratory. To be approved, a laboratory is expected to meet specific
acceptance criteria for the analysis of a UCMR 5 PT sample(s) for each
analyte in each method, for which the laboratory is seeking approval.
EPA anticipates offering up to three of these studies prior to the
publication of the final rule, and at least two studies after
publication of the final rule. This allows laboratories to complete
their portion of the laboratory approval process prior to publication
of the final rule, and receive their approval immediately following the
publication of the final rule. A laboratory is expected to participate
in and report data for at least two PT studies. This allows EPA to
collect a robust data set for PT results, and provides laboratories
with extra analytical experience using UCMR 5 methods. Laboratories
must pass a PT for every analyte in the method to be approved for that
method, and may participate in multiple PT studies in order to produce
passing results for each analyte. EPA has taken this approach in UCMR
5, recognizing that EPA Method 533 contains 25 analytes. EPA does not
[[Page 13860]]
expect to conduct additional PT studies after the start of PWS
monitoring; however, laboratory audits will likely be ongoing
throughout the implementation of UCMR 5. Initial laboratory approval is
expected to be contingent on successful completion of PT studies, which
includes properly uploading the PT results to SDWARS. Continued
laboratory approval is contingent on successful completion of the audit
process and satisfactorily meeting all the other stated conditions.
6. Written EPA Approval
After a laboratory successfully completes steps 1 through 5, EPA
expects to send the laboratory a notification letter listing the
methods for which approval is either ``pending'' (i.e., pending
promulgation of the final rule if the PT studies have been conducted
prior to that time), or for which approval is ``granted'' (if after
promulgation of the final rule). Laboratories receiving pending
approval are expected to be granted approval without further action
following promulgation of the final rule if no changes have been made
to the rule that impact the laboratory approval program. EPA expects to
contact the laboratory if changes are made between the proposed and
final rules that warrant additional action by the laboratory.
M. What documents are being incorporated by reference?
The following methods are being incorporated by reference into this
section for the UCMR 5 monitoring. All method material is available for
inspection electronically at https://www.regulations.gov (Docket ID No.
EPA-HQ-OW-2020-0530), or from the sources listed for each method. EPA
has worked to make these methods and documents reasonably available to
interested parties. The methods that may be used to support monitoring
under this rule are as follows:
1. Methods From the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The following methods are available at EPA's Docket No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2020-0530.
(i) EPA Method 200.7 ``Determination of Metals and Trace Elements
in Water and Wastes by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission
Spectrometry,'' Revision 4.4, 1994. Available on the internet at
https://www.epa.gov/esam/method-2007-determination-metals-and-trace-elements-water-and-wastes-inductively-coupled-plasma. This is an EPA
method for the analysis of metals and trace elements in water by ICP-
AES and is proposed to measure lithium during UCMR 5. See also the
discussion of non-EPA methods for lithium in this section.
(ii) EPA Method 533 ``Determination of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl
Substances in Drinking Water by Isotope Dilution Anion Exchange Solid
Phase Extraction and Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry,''
November 2019, EPA 815-B-19-020. Available on the internet at https://www.epa.gov/dwanalyticalmethods. This is an EPA method for the analysis
PFAS in drinking water using SPE and LC/MS/MS and is proposed to
measure 25 PFAS during UCMR 5 (11Cl-PF3OUdS, 8:2 FTS, 4:2 FTS, 6:2 FTS,
ADONA, 9Cl-PF3ONS, HFPO-DA (GenX), NFDHA, PFEESA, PFMPA, PFMBA, PFBS,
PFBA, PFDA, PFDoA, PFHpS, PFHpA, PFHxS, PFHxA, PFNA, PFOS, PFOA, PFPeS,
PFPeA, and PFUnA).
(iii) EPA Method 537.1 ``Determination of Selected Per- and
Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances in Drinking Water by Solid Phase
Extraction and Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS/
MS),'' Version 2.0, November 2020, EPA/600/R-20/006. Available on the
internet at https://www.epa.gov/dwanalyticalmethods. This is an EPA
method for the analysis of PFAS in drinking water using SPE and LC/MS/
MS and is proposed to measure four PFAS during UCMR 5 (NEtFOSAA,
NMeFOSAA, PFTA, and PFTrDA).
2. Alternative Methods From American Public Health Association--
Standard Methods (SM)
The following methods are from American Public Health--Standard
Methods (SM), 800 I Street NW, Washington, DC 20001-3710.
(i) ``Standard Methods for the Examination of Water & Wastewater,''
23rd edition (2017).
(a) SM 3120 B ``Metals by Plasma Emission Spectroscopy (2017):
Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Method.'' This is a Standard Method
for the analysis of metals in water and wastewater by emission
spectroscopy using ICP and may be used for the analysis of lithium.
(ii) ``Standard Methods Online,'' approved 1999. Available for
purchase on the internet at https://www.standardmethods.org.
(a) SM 3120 B ``Metals by Plasma Emission Spectroscopy: Inductively
Coupled Plasma (ICP) Method (Editorial Revisions, 2011),'' (SM 3120 B-
99). This is a Standard Method for the analysis of metals in water and
wastewater by emission spectroscopy using ICP and may be used for the
analysis of lithium.
3. Methods From ASTM International
The following methods are from ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor
Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959.
(i) ASTM D1976-20 ``Standard Test Method for Elements in Water by
Inductively-Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy,'' approved May
1, 2020. Available for purchase on the internet at https://www.astm.org/Standards/D1976.htm. This is an ASTM method for the
analysis of elements in water by ICP-AES and may be used to measure
lithium.
N. What is the State's role in the UCMR?
UCMR is a direct implementation rule (i.e., EPA has primary
responsibility for its implementation), and state participation is
voluntary. Under the previous UCMR cycles, specific activities that
individual states agreed to carry out or assist with were identified
and established exclusively through Partnership Agreements. Through
Partnership Agreements, states can help EPA implement the UCMR, and
help ensure that the UCMR data are of the highest quality possible to
best support the Agency decision making. Under UCMR 5, EPA expects to
continue to use the Partnership Agreement process to determine and
document the following: The process for review and revision of the
State Monitoring plans; replacing and updating system information
including inventory; review of proposed GWRMPs; notification and
instructions for systems; and compliance assistance. EPA is considering
deploying a SDWIS/State extraction tool to assist partnered states with
providing system information to the Agency. EPA recognizes that primacy
agencies often have the best information about their PWSs and
encourages them to partner in the UCMR 5 program.
O. How did EPA consider Children's Environmental Health?
By monitoring for unregulated contaminants that may pose health
risks via drinking water, UCMR furthers the protection of public health
for all citizens, including children. Children consume more water per
unit of body weight compared to adults. Moreover, formula-fed infants
drink a large amount of water compared to their body weight. Thus,
while children's exposure to contaminants in drinking water may present
a disproportionate health risk (USEPA, 2011), the objective of UCMR 5
is to collect nationally representative drinking water occurrence data
on unregulated contaminants for consideration in potential future
[[Page 13861]]
regulation. The detailed information on the prioritization process, as
well as contaminant-specific information (e.g., source, use,
production, release, persistence, mobility, health effects, and
occurrence), that EPA used to select the proposed analyte list, is
contained in ``Information Compendium for Candidate Contaminants for
the Proposed Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5)'' (USEPA,
2020e).
Executive Order 13045 does not apply to UCMR 5 because EPA does not
believe the environmental health or safety risks addressed by this
action present a disproportionate risk to children (See IV.G. Executive
Order 13045 of this document). However, EPA's Policy on Evaluating
Health Risks to Children, which ensures that the health of infants and
children is explicitly considered in the Agency's decision making, is
applicable, see: https://www.epa.gov/children/epas-policy-evaluating-risk-children.
Using quantitation data from multiple laboratories, EPA establishes
statistically-based UCMR reporting levels that are projected to be
feasible for the national network of approved drinking water
laboratories to quantify accurately. EPA generally sets the reporting
levels as low as is practical, even if that level is well below
concentrations that are currently associated with known or suspected
health effects. In doing so, EPA positions itself to better address
contaminant risk information in the future, including that associated
with unique risks to children. EPA requests comments regarding any
further steps that may be taken to evaluate and address health risks to
children that fall within the scope of UCMR 5.
P. How did EPA address environmental justice?
EPA has concluded that this action is not subject to Executive
Order 12898 because it does not establish an environmental health or
safety standard (see IV.J. Executive Order 12898 of this document).
This proposed action would provide EPA and other interested parties
with scientifically valid data on the national occurrence data of
selected contaminants in drinking water. By seeking to identify
unregulated contaminants that may pose health risks via drinking water
from all PWSs, UCMR furthers the protection of public health for all
citizens. EPA recognizes that unregulated contaminants in drinking
water are of interest to all populations and structured the rulemaking
process and implementation of the UCMR 5 rule to allow for meaningful
involvement and transparency. EPA organized public meetings and
webinars to share information regarding the development of UCMR 5;
consulted with tribal governments; and convened a workgroup that
included representatives from several states.
EPA proposes to continue to collect U.S. Postal Service Zip Codes
for each PWS's service area, as collected under UCMR 3 and UCMR 4, to
support potential assessments of whether or not minority, low-income
and/or indigenous-population communities are uniquely impacted by
particular drinking water contaminants. EPA solicits comment on the
utility of this approach (including whether this is an appropriate way
for PWSs to identify service areas), and welcomes comments regarding
other actions the Agency could take to further address environmental
justice within the UCMR. EPA welcomes, for example, comments regarding
sampling and/or modeling approaches, and the feasibility and utility of
applying these approaches to determine disproportionate impacts. EPA
also welcomes comments on information other than Zip Codes that could
be collected and used to support potential assessments of whether or
not minority, low-income and/or indigenous-population communities are
uniquely impacted by particular drinking water contaminants.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review
This action is a significant regulatory action that was submitted
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. Any changes
made in response to OMB recommendations have been documented in the
docket. A full analysis of potential costs associated with this action,
the ``Draft Information Collection Request for the Unregulated
Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5),''(USEPA, 2020b) ICR Number 2040-
NEW, is also available in the docket (Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2020-
0530). A summary of the draft ICR can be found in section I.C of this
document.
B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
The information collection activities in this proposed rule have
been submitted for approval to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) under the PRA. The Information Collection Request (ICR) document
(USEPA, 2020b) that EPA prepared has been assigned EPA ICR number 2040-
NEW. You can find a copy of the ICR in the docket for this rule, and it
is briefly summarized here.
The information that EPA proposes to collect under this rule
fulfills the statutory requirements of Sec. 1445(a)(2) of the SDWA, as
amended in 1996, 2018, and 2019. The data will describe the source of
the water, location and test results for samples taken from public
water systems (PWSs). The information collected will support EPA's
decisions as to whether or not to regulate particular contaminants
under the SDWA. Reporting is mandatory. The data are not subject to
confidentiality protection.
The five-year UCMR 5 period spans 2022-2026. As proposed, UCMR 5
sample collection begins in 2023 and continues through 2025. Since ICRs
cannot be approved by OMB for a period longer than three years pursuant
to 5 CFR 1320.10, the primary analysis in the ICR only covers the first
three years of the collection (i.e., 2022-2024). Prior to expiration of
the ICR, EPA will seek to renew the ICR and thus receive approval to
collect information under the PRA in the remaining two years of the
UCMR 5 period.
Respondents/affected entities: The respondents/affected entities
are small PWSs (those serving 10,000 or fewer people); large PWSs
(those serving 10,001 to 100,000 people); very large PWSs (those
serving more than 100,000 people); and states.
Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (40 CFR 141.35).
Estimated number of respondents: Respondents to UCMR 5, as
proposed, include ~5,900 small PWSs, ~4,400 large PWSs, and the 56
primacy agencies (50 states, one tribal nation, and five territories)
for a total of ~10,400 respondents.
Frequency of response: The frequency of response varies across
respondents and years. Across the initial 3-year ICR period for UCMR 5,
small PWSs would sample an average of 2.8 times per PWS (i.e., number
of responses per PWS); large PWSs would sample and report and average
of 3.2 times per PWS; and very large PWSs would sample and report an
average of 3.7 times per PWS.
Total estimated burden: 48,406.1 hours (per year). Burden is
defined at 5 CFR 1320.3(b).
Total estimated cost: $9,734,617, annualized capital or operation &
maintenance costs.
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required
to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a
currently valid OMB
[[Page 13862]]
control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations in 40 CFR
are listed in 40 CFR part 9.
Submit your comments on the Agency's need for this information, the
accuracy of the provided burden estimates and any suggested methods for
minimizing respondent burden to EPA using the docket identified at the
beginning of this rule. Written comments and recommendations for the
proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of
publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find
this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently under
30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search
function. Since OMB is required to make a decision concerning the ICR
between 30 and 60 days after receipt, OMB must receive comments no
later than April 12, 2021. EPA will respond to any ICR-related comments
in the final rule.
C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
For purposes of assessing the impacts of this rule on small
entities, EPA considered small entities to be PWSs serving 10,000 or
fewer people. As required by the RFA, EPA proposed using this
alternative definition in the Federal Register (63 FR 7606, February
13, 1998 (USEPA, 1998a)), sought public comment, consulted with the
Small Business Administration (SBA) and finalized the alternative
definition in the Consumer Confidence Reports rulemaking, (63 FR 44512,
August 19, 1998 (USEPA, 1998b)). As stated in that Final Rule, the
alternative definition would apply to this regulation, and future
drinking water rules.
Exhibit 9--Number of Publicly- and Privately-Owned Small Systems Subject to UCMR 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
System size (number of people served) Publicly-owned Privately-owned Total \1\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground Water
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
500 and under.................................................... 134 401 534
501 to 3,300..................................................... 120 45 165
3,301 to 10,000.................................................. 2,334 541 2,875
----------------------------------------------
Subtotal Ground Water........................................ 2,588 987 3,574
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Surface Water (and Ground Water Under the Direct Influence of Surface Water)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
500 and under.................................................... 22 27 49
501 to 3,300..................................................... 38 14 52
3,301 to 10,000.................................................. 1,762 509 2,272
----------------------------------------------
Subtotal Surface Water....................................... 1,822 550 2,373
----------------------------------------------
Total of Small Water Systems............................. 4,410 1,537 5,947
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ PWS counts were adjusted to display as whole numbers in each size category.
The basis for the proposed UCMR 5 RFA certification is as follows:
For the 5,947 small water systems that would be affected, the average
annual cost for complying with this rule represents no more than 0.5%
of system revenues (the highest estimated percentage is for GW systems
serving 500 or fewer people, at 0.5% of its median revenue). The
average yearly cost to small systems to comply with UCMR 5 over the
five-year period of 2022-2026, as proposed, is approximately $0.3
million. The average yearly cost to EPA to implement UCMR 5 over the
same period, as proposed, is approximately $10.5 million, with most of
that cost associated with the small system sampling program. EPA
anticipates that approximately one third of the 5,947 small PWSs will
collect samples in each of three years (2023, 2024, and 2025).
PWS costs are attributed to the labor required for reading about
UCMR 5 requirements, monitoring, reporting and record keeping. The
estimated average annual burden across the 5-year UCMR 5 implementation
period of 2022-2026 is 1.3 hours at $52 per small system. Average
annual cost, in all cases, is less than 0.5% of system revenues. By
assuming all costs for laboratory analyses, shipping and quality
control for small entities, EPA incurs the entirety of the non-labor
costs associated with the UCMR 5 small system monitoring, or 96% of
total small system testing costs. Exhibit 10 and Exhibit 11 present the
estimated economic impacts in the form of a revenue test for publicly-
and privately-owned systems.
Exhibit 10--UCMR 5 Relative Cost Analysis for Small Publicly-Owned Systems
[2022-2026]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SBREFA
Annual number Average Average criteria-
System size (number of people served) of systems annual hours annual cost revenue test
impacted \1\ per system per system \2\ (%)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground Water Systems
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
500 and under................................... 27 1.0 $40.65 0.09
501 to 3,300.................................... 24 1.1 43.37 0.02
3,301 to 10,000................................. 467 1.3 49.92 0.01
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Surface Water (and Ground Water Under the Direct Influence of Surface Water) Systems
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
500 and under................................... 5 1.4 54.39 0.07
[[Page 13863]]
501 to 3,300.................................... 8 1.4 56.19 0.02
3,301 to 10,000................................. 353 1.5 57.39 0.004
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ PWS counts were adjusted to display as whole numbers in each size category. Includes the publicly-owned
portion of small systems subject to UCMR 5.
\2\ Costs are presented as a percentage of median annual revenue for each size category.
Exhibit 11--UCMR 5 Relative Cost Analysis for Small Privately-Owned Systems
[2022-2026]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SBREFA
Annual number Average Average criteria-
System size (number of people served) of systems annual hours annual cost revenue test
impacted \1\ per system per system \2\ (%)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground Water Systems
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
500 and under................................... 80 1.0 $40.65 0.48
501 to 3,300.................................... 9 1.1 43.37 0.03
3,301 to 10,000................................. 108 1.3 49.92 0.004
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Surface Water (and Ground Water Under the Direct Influence of Surface Water) Systems
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
500 and under................................... 5 1.4 54.39 0.11
501 to 3,300.................................... 3 1.4 56.19 0.02
3,301 to 10,000................................. 102 1.5 57.39 0.004
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ PWS counts were adjusted to display as whole numbers in each size category. Includes the privately-owned
portion of small systems subject to the UCMR 5.
\2\ Costs are presented as a percentage of median annual revenue for each size category.
EPA has determined that 5,947 small PWSs (for Assessment
Monitoring), or approximately 9.35% of all small systems, would
experience an impact of no more than 0.5% of revenues. This accounts
for small PWSs familiarizing themselves with the regulatory
requirements; reading sampling instructions; traveling to the sampling
location; collecting and shipping the samples; and maintaining their
records. The 5,975 small PWSs are comprised of all 5,147 systems
serving between 3,300 and 10,000, and the representative group of 800
systems serving fewer than 3,300; the remainder of small systems would
not participate in UCMR 5 monitoring and would not be impacted.
The Agency certifies that this action will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the
RFA. In making this determination, EPA believes that the impact of
concern is any significant adverse economic impact on small entities,
and that an agency may certify that a rule will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities if the rule
relieves regulatory burden, has no net burden or otherwise has a
positive economic effect on the small entities subject to the rule.
Although this proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities, EPA has attempted to reduce
impacts by assuming all costs for analyses of the samples, and for
shipping the samples from small systems to laboratories contracted by
EPA to analyze the UCMR 5 samples (the cost of shipping is included in
the cost of each analytical method). EPA has historically set aside
$2.0 million each year from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund
(DWSRF) with its authority to use DWSRF monies for the purposes of
implementing this provision of the SDWA. EPA anticipates drawing on
these and additional funds, if available, to implement the proposed
plan and carry out the expanded UCMR monitoring approach outlined in
the AWIA rather than the alternative approach used in UCMR 4 and the
preceding UCMR cycles. Thus, the costs to these small systems will be
modest and limited to the labor associated with collecting a sample and
preparing it for shipping.
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
This action does not contain an unfunded mandate of $100 million or
more as described in UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 1531-1538, and does not
significantly or uniquely affect small governments. The action
implements mandate(s) specifically and explicitly set forth in the
SDWA, Sec. 1445(a)(2), Monitoring Program for Unregulated
Contaminants. without the exercise of any policy discretion by EPA.
E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
This action does not have federalism implications. It will not have
substantial direct effects on the states, on the relationship between
the national government and the states, or on the distribution of power
and responsibilities among the various levels of government.
F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian
Tribal Governments
This action has tribal implications. However, it will neither
impose substantial direct compliance costs on federally recognized
tribal governments, nor preempt tribal law. As described previously,
this proposed rule requires monitoring by all large PWSs. Information
in the SDWIS/Fed water system inventory indicates there are
approximately 19 large tribal PWSs
[[Page 13864]]
(ranging in size from 10,001 to 40,000 customers). EPA estimates the
average annual cost to each of these large PWSs, over the 5-year rule
period, to be $1,839. This cost is based on a labor component
(associated with the collection of samples), and a non-labor component
(associated with shipping and laboratory fees), and represents less
than 1.2% of average revenue/sales for large PWSs. UCMR 5, as proposed,
would also require monitoring by all small PWSs serving 3,300 to 10,000
customers and a nationally representative sample of small PWSs serving
fewer than 3,300 customers. Information in the SDWIS/Fed water system
inventory indicates there are approximately 72 small tribal PWSs
(ranging in size from 3,300 to 10,000 customers). EPA estimates that
less than 2% of small tribal systems serving fewer than 3,300 customers
will be selected as part of the nationally representative sample. EPA
estimates the average annual cost to small tribal systems over the 5-
year rule period to be $52. Such cost is based on the labor associated
with collecting a sample and preparing it for shipping and represents
less than 0.5% of average revenue/sales for small PWSs. All other
small-PWS expenses (associated with shipping and laboratory fees) are
paid by EPA.
EPA consulted with tribal officials under the Agency's Policy on
Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribes early in the process
of developing this regulation to permit them to have meaningful and
timely input into its development. A summary of that consultation,
titled, ``Summary of the Tribal Coordination and Consultation Process
for the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5)
Proposal,'' is provided in the electronic docket listed in the
ADDRESSES section of this document. EPA specifically solicits
additional comment on this proposed rule from tribal officials.
G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental
Health Risks and Safety Risks
Executive Order 13045 applies to those regulatory actions that
concern environmental health or safety risks that EPA has reason to
believe may disproportionately affect children, per the definition of
``covered regulatory action'' in section 2-202 of the Executive Order.
This action does not meet those criteria and is not subject to
Executive Order 13045.
H. Executive Order 13211: Actions Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution or Use
This action is not a ``significant energy action'' because it is
not likely to have a significant adverse effect on the supply,
distribution or use of energy and has not otherwise been designated by
the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
as a significant energy action.
I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA)
This action involves technical standards. EPA proposes to allow the
use of methods developed by the Agency, and three major voluntary
consensus method organizations to support UCMR 5 monitoring. The
voluntary consensus method organizations are Standard Methods for the
Examination of Water and Wastewater, and ASTM International. EPA
identified acceptable consensus method organization standards for the
analysis of lithium.
All of these standards are reasonably available for public use. EPA
methods are free for download on the Agency's website. The methods in
the Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater 23rd
edition are consensus standards, available for purchase from the
publisher, and are commonly used by the drinking water laboratory
community. The methods in the Standard Methods Online are consensus
standards, available for purchase from the publisher's website, and are
commonly used by the drinking water laboratory community. The methods
from ASTM International are consensus standards, are available for
purchase from the publisher's website, and are commonly used by the
drinking water laboratory community. EPA welcomes comments on this
aspect of the proposed rulemaking; the Agency specifically invites the
public to identify potentially-applicable voluntary consensus standards
and explain why such standards should be used in this rule.
J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations
EPA believes that this action is not subject to Executive Order
12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994) because it does not establish an
environmental health or safety standard. Background information
regarding EPA's consideration of Executive Order 12898 in the
development of this proposed rule is provided in section III.P of this
document, and an additional supporting document has been placed in the
electronic docket listed in the ADDRESSES section of this document.
V. References
(i) ASDWA. 2013. Insufficient Resources for State Drinking Water
Programs Threaten Public Health: An Analysis of State Drinking Water
Programs' Resources and Needs. December 2013. Available on the
internet at: https://www.asdwa.org/asdwa-reports/.
(ii) ASTM. 2020. ASTM D1976-20--Standard Test Method for Elements in
Water by Inductively-Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy.
ASTM, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428. Approved
May 1, 2020. Available for purchase on the internet at https://www.astm.org/Standards/D1976.htm.
(iii) Glassmeyer, S.T., E.T. Furlong, D.W. Kolpin, A.L. Batt, R.
Benson, J.S. Boone, O. Conerly, M.J. Donohue, D.N. King, M.S.
Kostich, H.E. Mash, S.L. Pfaller, K.M. Schenck, J.E. Simmons, E.A.
Varughese, S.J. Vesper, E.N. Villegas, and V.S. Wilson. 2017.
Nationwide Reconnaissance of Contaminants of Emerging Concern in
Source and Treated Drinking Waters of the United States. Science of
the Total Environment (581-582):909-922.
(iv) IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. 2020. Legiolert\TM\ Test. One IDEXX
Drive, Westbrook, Maine 04092 USA.
(v) Settlement Agreement, Waterkeeper Alliance, Inc. v. U.S. EPA,
No. 1:19-cv-00899-LJL (S.D.N.Y. Jun. 1, 2020).
(vi) SM. 2017. 3120B--Metals by Plasma Emission Spectroscopy (2017):
Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Method. Standard Methods for the
Examination of Water and Wastewater, 23rd edition. American Public
Health Association, 800 I Street NW, Washington, DC 20001-3710.
(vii) SM Online. 1999. 3120B-99--Metals by Plasma Emission
Spectroscopy: Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Method (Editorial
Revisions, 2011). Standard Methods Online. Available for purchase on
the internet at https://www.standardmethods.org.
(viii) USEPA. 1989. National Primary Drinking Water Regulations;
Filtration, Disinfection; Turbidity, Giardia lamblia, Viruses,
Legionella, and Heterotrophic Bacteria; Final Rule. Federal
Register. Vol. 54, No. 124, p. 27486, June 29, 1989.
(ix) USEPA. 1994. EPA Method 200.7--Determination of Metals and
Trace Elements in Water and Wastes by Inductively Coupled Plasma-
Atomic Emission Spectrometry, Revision 4.4. Office of Research and
Development, Cincinnati, OH. Available on the internet at https://www.epa.gov/esam/method-2007-determination-metals-and-trace-elements-water-and-wastes-inductively-coupled-plasma.
(x) USEPA. 1995. EPA Method 551.1-- Determination of Chlorination
[[Page 13865]]
Disinfection Byproducts, Chlorinated Solvents, and Halogenated
Pesticides/Herbicides in Drinking Water by Liquid-Liquid Extraction
and Gas Chromatography with Electron-Capture Detection, Revision
1.0. Office of Research and Development, Cincinnati, OH. Available
on the internet at https://www.epa.gov/esam/epa-method-5511-determination-chlorination-disinfection-byproducts-chlorinated-solvents-and
(xi) USEPA. 1998a. National Primary Drinking Water Regulations:
Consumer Confidence Reports; Proposed Rule. Federal Register. Vol.
63, No. 30, p. 7606, February 13, 1998.
(xii) USEPA. 1998b. National Primary Drinking Water Regulation:
Consumer Confidence Reports; Final Rule. Federal Register. Vol. 63,
No. 160, p. 44512, August 19, 1998.
(xiii) USEPA. 1999. Revisions to the Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Regulation for Public Water Systems; Final Rule. Federal
Register. Vol. 64, No. 180, p. 50556, September 17, 1999.
(xiv) USEPA. 2001. Legionella: Drinking Water Health Advisory. EPA-
822-B-01-005. Office of Water, Washington, DC. March 2001. Available
on the internet at https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-10/documents/legionella-report.pdf.
(xv) USEPA. 2007. Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation
(UCMR) for Public Water Systems Revisions. Federal Register. Vol.
72, No. 2, p. 367, January 4, 2007.
(xvi) USEPA. 2008. Provisional Peer Reviewed Toxicity Values for
Lithium (CASRN 7439-93-2). Office of Research and Development,
Cincinnati, OH. Available on the internet at https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/pprtv/documents/Lithium.pdf.
(xvii) USEPA. 2009. Summary of National Inorganics and Radionuclides
Survey (NIRS) Data for CCL 3 Chemical Occurrence Analysis. Docket ID
EPA-HQ-OW-2007-1189. Available on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov.
(xviii) USEPA. 2010. Technical Basis for the Lowest Concentration
Minimum Reporting Level (LCMRL) Calculator. EPA 815-R-11-001. Office
of Water. December 2010. Available on the internet at https://www.epa.gov/dwanalyticalmethods.
(xix) USEPA. 2011. Exposure Factors Handbook 2011 Edition (Final
Report). U.S. EPA, Washington DC, EPA/600/R-09/052F. Office of
Research and Development, Washington DC. September 2011. Available
on the internet at https://www.epa.gov/expobox/about-exposure-factors-handbook.
(xx) USEPA. 2012. Revisions to the Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Regulation (UCMR 3) for Public Water Systems; Final Rule.
Federal Register. Vol. 77, No. 85, p. 26071, May 2, 2012.
(xxi) USEPA. 2016a. Revisions to the Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Rule (UCMR 4) for Public Water Systems and Announcement
of Public Meeting. Federal Register. Vol. 81, No. 244, p. 92666,
December 20, 2016.
(xxii) USEPA. 2016b. Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List 4--
Final. Federal Register. Vol. 81, No. 222, p. 81099, November 17,
2016.
(xxiii) USEPA. 2017. National Primary Drinking Water Regulations;
Announcement of the Results of EPA's Review of Existing Drinking
Water Standards and Request for Public Comment and/or Information on
Related Issues. Federal Register. Vol. 82, No. 7, p. 3518, January
11, 2017.
(xxiv) USEPA. 2018a. Method Development for Unregulated Contaminants
in Drinking Water: Public Meeting and Webinar. EPA 815-A-18-001.
Office of Water. June 2018. Available on the internet at https://www.epa.gov/dwanalyticalmethods.
(xxv) USEPA. 2018b. Request for Nominations of Drinking Water
Contaminants for the Fifth Contaminant Candidate List. Federal
Register. Vol. 83, No. 194, p. 50364, October 5, 2018.
(xxvi) USEPA. 2019a. EPA's Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances
(PFAS) Action Plan. EPA 823-R-18-004, February 2019. Available on
the internet at https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-02/documents/pfas_action_plan_021319_508compliant_1.pdf.
(xxvii) USEPA. 2019b. Development of the Proposed Unregulated
Contaminant Monitoring Rule for the Fifth Monitoring Cycle (UCMR 5).
Presentation Slides. EPA 815-A-19-001. Office of Water. Available on
the internet at https://www.epa.gov/dwucmr/unregulated-contaminant-monitoring-rule-ucmr-meetings-and-materials.
(xxviii) USEPA. 2019c. EPA Method 533--Determination of Per- and
Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Drinking Water by Isotope Dilution
Anion Exchange Solid Phase Extraction and Liquid Chromatography/
Tandem Mass Spectrometry. EPA 815-B-19-020. Office of Water,
Cincinnati, OH. November 2019. Available on the internet at https://www.epa.gov/dwanalyticalmethods.
(xxix) USEPA. 2019d. Appendix C: 1,2,3- Trichloropropane in
Regulatory Determination 4 Support Document for Selected
Contaminants from the Fourth Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate
List (CCL 4). EPA 815-R-19-006. Docket ID EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0583.
Available on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov.
(xxx) USEPA. 2020a. Selection of Nationally Representative Public
Water Systems for the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule: 2020
Update. EPA 815-B-20-008. Office of Water. December 2020.
(xxxi) USEPA. 2020b. Draft Information Collection Request for the
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5). EPA 815-D-20-002.
Office of Water. December 2020.
(xxxii) USEPA. 2020c. Proposed Revisions to CFR parts 141.35 and
141.40. EPA 815-B-20-010. Office of Water December 2020. Available
in EPA's public docket (under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2020-0530) on
the internet at https://www.regulations.gov.
(xxxiii) USEPA. 2020d. EPA Method 537.1--Determination of Selected
Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances in Drinking Water by Solid
Phase Extraction and Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry
(LC/MS/MS). Version 2.0. EPA/600/R-20/006. Office of Research and
Development, Cincinnati, OH. March 2020. Available on the internet
at https://www.epa.gov/dwanalyticalmethods.
(xxxiv) USEPA. 2020e. Information Compendium for Candidate
Contaminants for the Proposed Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring
Rule (UCMR 5). EPA 815-B-20-006. Office of Water. December 2020.
(xxxv) USEPA. 2020f. UCMR 5 Laboratory Approval Manual. EPA 815-B-
20-007. Office of Water. December 2020.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 141
Environmental protection, Chemicals, Incorporation by reference,
Indian-lands, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Water supply.
Jane Nishida,
Acting Administrator.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, EPA proposes to amend 40
CFR part 141 as follows:
PART 141--NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING WATER REGULATIONS
0
1. The authority citation for Part 141 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 300f, 300g-1, 300g-2, 300g-3, 300g-4,
300g-5, 300g-6, 300j-4, 300j-9, and 300j-11.
Subpart D--Reporting and Recordkeeping
0
2. Amend Sec. 141.35 by:
0
a. Revising in paragraph (a) the fourth sentence.
0
b. Removing in paragraph (c)(1) the words ``December 31, 2017,'' and
add in its place the words ``December 31, 2022,''.
0
c. Revising paragraphs (c)(2), (3)(i) through (iii), (c)(4), (5)(i),
(6)(ii).
0
d. Revising in paragraphs (d) and (d)(2) the first, second, and third
sentences.
0
e. Adding paragraph (d)(3).
0
f. Revising paragraph (e).
The revisions and addition read as follows:
Sec. 141.35 Reporting for unregulated contaminant monitoring results.
(a) * * * For the purposes of this section, PWS ``population
served'' is the retail population served directly by the PWS as
reported to the Federal Safe
[[Page 13866]]
Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS/Fed). * * *
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(2) Sampling location inventory information. You must provide your
inventory information by December 31, 2022, using EPA's electronic data
reporting system, as specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section. You
must submit, verify or update data elements 1-9 (as defined in Table 1
of paragraph (e) of this section) for each sampling location, or for
each approved representative sampling location (as specified in
paragraph (c)(3) of this section regarding representative sampling
locations. If this information changes, you must report updates,
including new sources and sampling locations that are put in use before
or during the UCMR sampling period, to EPA's electronic data reporting
system within 30 days of the change.
(3) * * *
(i) Qualifications. Large PWSs that have EPA- or State-approved
representative EPTDS sampling locations from a previous UCMR cycle, or
as provided for under Sec. 141.23(a)(1), Sec. 141.24(f)(1), or Sec.
141.24(h)(1), may submit a copy of documentation from your State or EPA
that approves your representative sampling plan. PWSs that do not have
an approved representative EPTDS sampling plan may submit a proposal to
sample at representative EPTDS(s) rather than at each individual EPTDS
if: You use ground water as a source; all of your well sources have
either the same treatment or no treatment; and you have multiple EPTDSs
from the same source, (i.e., same aquifer). You must submit a copy of
the existing or proposed representative EPTDS sampling plan, as
appropriate, at least six months prior to your scheduled sample
collection, as specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section. If
changes to your inventory that impact your representative plan occur
before or during the UCMR sampling period, you must report updates
within 30 days of the change.
(ii) Demonstration. If you are submitting a proposal to sample at
representative EPTDS(s) rather than at each individual EPTDS, you must
demonstrate that any EPTDS that you propose as representative of
multiple wells is associated with a well that draws from the same
aquifer as the wells it will represent. The proposed well must be
representative of the highest annual-volume and most consistently
active wells in the representative array. If that representative well
is not in use at the scheduled sampling time, you must select and
sample an alternative representative well. You must submit the
information defined in Table 1, paragraph (e) of this section for each
proposed representative sampling location. You must also include
documentation to support your proposal that the specified wells are
representative of other wells. This documentation can include system-
maintained well logs or construction drawings indicating that the
representative well(s) is/are at a representative depth, and details of
well casings and grouting; data demonstrating relative homogeneity of
water quality constituents (e.g., pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity,
iron, manganese) in samples drawn from each well; and data showing that
your wells are located in a limited geographic area (e.g., all wells
within a 0.5 mile radius) and/or, if available, the hydrogeologic data
indicating the time of travel separating the representative well from
each of the individual wells it represents (e.g., all wells within a
five-year time of travel delineation). Your proposal must be sent in
writing to EPA, as specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section.
(iii) Approval. EPA or the State (as specified in the partnership
agreement reached between the State and EPA) will review your proposal
and coordinate any necessary changes with you. Your plan will not be
final until you receive written approval from EPA, identifying the
final list of EPTDSs where you will be required to monitor.
(4) Contacting EPA if your PWS has not been notified of
requirements. If you believe you are subject to UCMR requirements, as
defined in Sec. 141.40(a)(1) and (2)(i), and you have not been
contacted by either EPA or your State by [120 days after publication of
the Federal Register], you must send a letter to EPA, as specified in
paragraph (b)(1) of this section. The letter must be from your PWS
Official and must include an explanation as to why the UCMR
requirements are applicable to your system along with the appropriate
contact information. A copy of the letter must also be submitted to the
State, as directed by the State. EPA will make an applicability
determination based on your letter, and in consultation with the State
when necessary, and will notify you regarding your applicability status
and required sampling schedule. However, if your PWS meets the
applicability criteria specified in Sec. 141.40(a)(2)(i), you are
subject to the UCMR monitoring and reporting requirements, regardless
of whether you have been contacted by the State or EPA.
(5) * * *
(i) General rescheduling notification requirements. Large systems
may independently change their monitoring schedules up to December 31,
2022, using EPA's electronic data reporting system, as specified in
paragraph (b)(1) of this section. After this date has passed, if your
PWS cannot sample according to your assigned sampling schedule (e.g.,
because of budget constraints, or if a sampling location will be closed
during the scheduled month of monitoring), you must mail or email a
letter to EPA, as specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, prior
to the scheduled sampling date. You must include an explanation of why
the samples cannot be taken according to the assigned schedule, and you
must provide the alternative schedule you are requesting. You must not
reschedule monitoring specifically to avoid sample collection during a
suspected vulnerable period. You are subject to your assigned UCMR
sampling schedule or the schedule that you revised on or before
December 31, 2022, unless and until you receive a letter from EPA
specifying a new schedule.
* * * * *
(6) * * *
(ii) Reporting schedule. You must require your laboratory, on your
behalf, to post and approve the data in EPA's electronic data reporting
system, accessible at https://www.epa.gov/dwucmr, for your review
within 90 days from the sample collection date (sample collection must
occur as specified in Sec. 141.40(a)(4)). You then have 30 days from
when the laboratory posts and approves your data to review, approve,
and submit the data to the State and EPA via the Agency's electronic
data reporting system. If you do not electronically approve and submit
the laboratory data to EPA within 30 days of the laboratory posting
approved data, the data will be considered approved by you and
available for State and EPA review.
* * * * *
(d) Reporting by small systems. If you serve a population of 3,300
to 10,000, and meet the applicability criteria in Sec.
141.40(a)(2)(ii), you must meet the reporting requirements in
paragraphs (d)(1) through (3) of this section. If you serve a
population of less than 3,300 people, and you are notified that you
have been selected for UCMR monitoring, your reporting requirements
will be specified within the materials that EPA sends you, including a
request for contact information, and a request
[[Page 13867]]
for information associated with the sampling kit.
* * * * *
(2) Sampling location inventory information. You must provide your
inventory information by December 31, 2022, using EPA's electronic data
reporting system, as specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section. If
this information changes, you must report updates, including new
sources, and sampling locations that are put in use before or during
the UCMR sampling period, to EPA's electronic data reporting system
within 30 days of the change, as specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this
section. * * *
(3) Contacting EPA if your PWS has not been notified of
requirements. If you believe you are subject to UCMR requirements, as
defined in Sec. 141.40(a)(1) and (2)(ii), and you have not been
contacted by either EPA or your State by [120 days after publication of
the Federal Register], you must send a letter to EPA, as specified in
paragraph (b)(1) of this section. The letter must be from your PWS
Official and must include an explanation as to why the UCMR
requirements are applicable to your system along with the appropriate
contact information. A copy of the letter must also be submitted to the
State, as directed by the State. EPA will make an applicability
determination based on your letter, and in consultation with the State
when necessary, and will notify you regarding your applicability status
and required sampling schedule. However, if your PWS meets the
applicability criteria specified in Sec. 141.40(a)(2)(ii), you are
subject to the UCMR monitoring and reporting requirements, regardless
of whether you have been contacted by the State or EPA.
(e) Data elements. Table 1 defines the data elements that must be
provided for UCMR monitoring.
Table 1--Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Reporting Requirements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Data element Definition
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Public Water System The code used to identify each PWS.
Identification (PWSID) Code. The code begins with the standard 2-
character postal State abbreviation
or Region code; the remaining 7
numbers are unique to each PWS in
the State. The same identification
code must be used to represent the
PWS identification for all current
and future UCMR monitoring.
2. Public Water System Name....... Unique name, assigned once by the
PWS.
3. Public Water System Facility An identification code established
Identification Code. by the State or, at the State's
discretion, by the PWS, following
the format of a 5-digit number
unique within each PWS for each
applicable facility (i.e., for each
source of water, treatment plant,
distribution system, or any other
facility associated with water
treatment or delivery). The same
identification code must be used to
represent the facility for all
current and future UCMR monitoring.
4. Public Water System Facility Unique name, assigned once by the
Name. PWS, for every facility ID (e.g.,
Treatment Plant).
5. Public Water System Facility That code that identifies that type
Type. of facility as either:
CC = consecutive connection.
SS = sampling station.
TP = treatment plant.
OT = other.
6. Water Source Type.............. The type of source water that
supplies a water system facility.
Systems must report one of the
following codes for each sampling
location:
SW = surface water (to be reported
for water facilities that are
served entirely by a surface water
source during the twelve-month
period).
GU = ground water under the direct
influence of surface water (to be
reported for water facilities that
are served all or in part by ground
water under the direct influence of
surface water at any time during
the twelve-month sampling period),
and are not served at all by
surface water during this period.
MX = mixed water (to be reported for
water facilities that are served by
a mix of surface water, ground
water and/or ground water under the
direct influence of surface water
during the twelve-month period).
GW = ground water (to be reported
for water facilities that are
served entirely by a ground water
source during the twelve-month
period).
7. Sampling Point Identification An identification code established
Code. by the State, or at the State's
discretion, by the PWS, that
uniquely identifies each sampling
point. Each sampling code must be
unique within each applicable
facility, for each applicable
sampling location (i.e., entry
point to the distribution system).
The same identification code must
be used to represent the sampling
location for all current and future
UCMR monitoring.
8. Sampling Point Name............ Unique sample point name, assigned
once by the PWS, for every sample
point ID (e.g., Entry Point).
9. Sampling Point Type Code....... A code that identifies the location
of the sampling point as:
EP = entry point to the distribution
system.
10. Disinfectant Type............. All of the disinfectants/oxidants
that have been added prior to and
at the entry point to the
distribution system. Please select
all that apply:
PEMB = Permanganate.
HPXB = Hydrogen peroxide.
CLGA = Gaseous chlorine.
CLOF = Offsite Generated
Hypochlorite (stored as a liquid
form).
CLON = Onsite Generated
Hypochlorite.
CAGC = Chloramine (formed with
gaseous chlorine).
CAOF = Chloramine (formed with
offsite hypochlorite).
CAON = Chloramine (formed with
onsite hypochlorite).
CLDB = Chlorine dioxide.
OZON = Ozone.
ULVL = Ultraviolet light.
OTHD = All other types of
disinfectant/oxidant.
NODU = No disinfectant/oxidant used.
11. Treatment Information......... Treatment information associated
with the sample point. Please
select all that apply.
CON = Conventional (non-softening,
consisting of at least coagulation/
sedimentation basins and
filtration).
[[Page 13868]]
SFN = Softening.
RBF = River bank filtration.
PSD = Pre-sedimentation.
INF = In-line filtration.
DFL = Direct filtration.
SSF = Slow sand filtration.
BIO = Biological filtration
(operated with an intention of
maintaining biological activity
within filter).
UTR = Unfiltered treatment for
surface water source.
GWD = Groundwater system with
disinfection only.
PAC = Application of powder
activated carbon.
GAC = Granular activated carbon
adsorption (not part of filters in
CON, SCO, INF, DFL, or SSF).
AIR = Air stripping (packed towers,
diffused gas contactors).
POB = Pre-oxidation with chlorine
(applied before coagulation for CON
or SFN plants or before filtration
for other filtration plants).
MFL = Membrane filtration.
IEX = Ionic exchange.
DAF = Dissolved air floatation.
CWL = Clear well/finished water
storage without aeration.
CWA = Clear well/finished water
storage with aeration.
ADS = Aeration in distribution
system (localized treatment).
OTH = All other types of treatment.
NTU = No treatment used.
DKN = Do not know.
12. Sample Collection Date........ The date the sample is collected,
reported as 4-digit year, 2-digit
month, and 2-digit day (YYYYMMDD).
13. Sample Identification Code.... An alphanumeric value up to 30
characters assigned by the
laboratory to uniquely identify
containers, or groups of
containers, containing water
samples collected at the same
sampling location for the same
sampling date.
14. Contaminant................... The unregulated contaminant for
which the sample is being analyzed.
15. Analytical Method Code........ The identification code of the
analytical method used.
16. Extraction Batch Laboratory assigned extraction batch
Identification Code. ID. Must be unique for each
extraction batch within the
laboratory for each method. For CCC
samples report the Analysis Batch
Identification Code as the value
for this field. For methods without
an extraction batch, leave this
field null.
17. Extraction Date............... Date for the start of the extraction
batch (YYYYMMDD). For methods
without an extraction batch, leave
this field null.
18. Analysis Batch Identification Laboratory assigned analysis batch
Code. ID. Must be unique for each
analysis batch within the
laboratory for each method.
19. Analysis Date................. Date for the start of the analysis
batch (YYYYMMDD).
20. Sample Analysis Type.......... The type of sample collected and/or
prepared, as well as the
fortification level. Permitted
values include:
CCCL = MRL level continuing
calibration check; a calibration
standard containing the
contaminant, the internal standard,
and surrogate analyzed to verify
the existing calibration for those
contaminants.
CCCM = medium level continuing
calibration check; a calibration
standard containing the
contaminant, the internal standard,
and surrogate analyzed to verify
the existing calibration for those
contaminants.
CCCH = high level continuing
calibration check; a calibration
standard containing the
contaminant, the internal standard,
and surrogate analyzed to verify
the existing calibration for those
contaminants.
FS = field sample; sample collected
and submitted for analysis under
this rule.
LFB = laboratory fortified blank; an
aliquot of reagent water fortified
with known quantities of the
contaminants and all preservation
compounds.
LRB = laboratory reagent blank; an
aliquot of reagent water treated
exactly as a field sample,
including the addition of
preservatives, internal standards,
and surrogates to determine if
interferences are present in the
laboratory, reagents, or other
equipment.
LFSM = laboratory fortified sample
matrix; a UCMR field sample with a
known amount of the contaminant of
interest and all preservation
compounds added.
LFSMD = laboratory fortified sample
matrix duplicate; duplicate of the
laboratory fortified sample matrix.
QCS = quality control sample; a
sample prepared with a source
external to the one used for
initial calibration and CCC. The
QCS is used to check calibration
standard integrity.
FRB = field reagent blank; an
aliquot of reagent water treated as
a sample including exposure to
sampling conditions to determine if
interferences or contamination are
present from sample collection
through analysis.
21. Analytical Results--Sign...... A value indicating whether the
sample analysis result was: (<)
``less than'' means the contaminant
was not detected, or was detected
at a level below the Minimum
Reporting Level. (=) ``equal to''
means the contaminant was detected
at the level reported in
``Analytical Result--Measured
Value.''
22. Analytical Result--Measured The actual numeric value of the
Value. analytical results for: Field
samples; laboratory fortified
matrix samples; laboratory
fortified sample matrix duplicates;
and concentration fortified.
23. Additional Value.............. Represents the true value or the
fortified concentration for spiked
samples for QC Sample Analysis
Types (CCCL, CCCM, CCCH, QCS, LFB,
LFSM and LFSMD).
24. Laboratory Identification Code The code, assigned by EPA, used to
identify each laboratory. The code
begins with the standard two-
character State postal
abbreviation; the remaining five
numbers are unique to each
laboratory in the State.
25. Sample Event Code............. A code assigned by the PWS for each
sample event. This will associate
samples with the PWS monitoring
plan to allow EPA to track
compliance and completeness.
Systems must assign the following
codes:
SE1, SE2, SE3 and SE4--represent
samples collected to meet UCMR
Assessment Monitoring requirements;
where ``SE1'' and ``SE2'' represent
the first and second sampling
period for all water types; and
``SE3'' and ``SE4'' represent the
third and fourth sampling period
for SW, GU, and MX sources only.
[[Page 13869]]
26. Historical Information for A yes or no answer provided by the
Contaminant Detections and PWS for each entry point to the
Treatment. distribution system.
Question: Have you tested for the
contaminant in your drinking water
in the past?
YES = If yes, did you modify your
treatment and if so, what types of
treatment did you implement? Select
all that apply.
PAC = Application of powder
activated carbon.
GAC = Granular activated carbon
adsorption (not part of filters
in CON, SCO, INF, DFL, or SSF).
IEX = Ionic exchange.
Nanofiltration and reverse
osmosis.
OZON = Ozone.
Biologically Active Carbon.
MFL = Membrane filtration.
ULVL = Ultraviolet light.
Other.
No = have never tested for the
contaminant.
DK = I do not know.
27. Potential PFAS Sources........ A yes or no answer provided by the
PWS for each entry point to the
distribution system.
Question: Are you aware of any
potential current and/or historical
sources of PFAS that may have
impacted the drinking water sources
at your water system?
YES = If yes, select all that apply:
MB = Military Base.
FT = Firefighting training
school.
AO = Airport Operations.
CW = Car Wash or Industrial
Launderers.
PS = Public Safety Activities
(e.g., fire and rescue
services).
WM = Waste Management.
HW = Hazardous waste collection,
treatment and disposal,
Underground Injection Well.
SC = Solid waste collection,
combustors, incinerators.
MF = Manufacturing.
FP = Food Packaging.
TA = Textile and Apparel (e.g.,
stain- and water- resistant,
fiber/thread, carpet, house
furnishings, leather).
PP = Paper.
CC = Chemical.
PR = Plastics and Rubber
Products.
MM = Machinery.
CE = Computer and Electronic
Products.
FM = Fabricated Metal Products
(e.g., nonstick cookware).
PC = Petroleum and Coal Products.
FF = Furniture.
OG = Oil and Gas Production.
UT = Utilities (e.g., sewage
treatment facilities).
CT = Construction (e.g., wood
floor finishing, electrostatic
painting).
OT = Other.
No = I am not aware of any potential
current and/or historical sources.
DK--I do not know.
28. Direct Potable Reuse Water A yes or no answer provided by the
Information. PWS for each entry point to the
distribution system.
Question: Do you use direct potable
reuse as a source of water?
Yes = If yes, what is the blending
ratio when used?
Enter blending ratio at sample
point.
No = do not use direct potable reuse
water.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subpart E--Special Regulations, Including Montoring Regulations and
Prohibtion on Lead Use
0
3. Amend Sec. 141.40 by:
0
a. Removing in paragraph (a) introductory text the words ``December 31,
2015'' and add it its place the words ``February 1, 2021 or subsequent
corrections from the State,'',
0
b. Revising paragraphs (a)(2)(ii), (2)(ii)(A), (3), (4)(i)(A) and (B)
and (C).
0
c. Revising paragraph (a)(4)(ii) and the first sentence in paragraph
(4)(ii)(A).
0
d. Removing paragraph (a)(4)(iii).
0
e. Revising in paragraph (a)(5)(ii) the fifth and sixth sentences.
0
f. Revising paragraph (a)(5)(iii).
0
g. Removing and reserving paragraph (a)(5)(iv).
0
h. Revising paragraphs (a)(5)(v) and (vi) and paragraph (c).
The revisions read as follows:
Sec. 141.40 Monitoring requirements for unregulated contaminants.
(a) * * *
* * * * *
(2) * * *
(ii) Small systems. EPA will provide sample containers, provide
pre-paid air bills for shipping the sampling materials, conduct the
laboratory analysis, and report and review monitoring results for all
small systems selected to conduct monitoring under paragraphs
(a)(2)(ii)(A) through (C) of this section. If you own or operate a PWS
(other than a transient non-community water system) that serves a
retail population of 3,300 to 10,000 people, or if you serve a
population of fewer than 3,300 people and you are notified of
monitoring requirements by the State or EPA, you must monitor as
follows:
(A) Assessment Monitoring. You must monitor for the contaminants on
List 1 per Table 1, in paragraph (a)(3) of this section, if you serve
3,300 to 10,000 people or are notified by your State or EPA that you
are part of the State
[[Page 13870]]
Monitoring Plan for Assessment Monitoring.
* * * * *
(3) Analytes to be monitored. Lists 1, 2, and 3 contaminants are
provided in the following table:
Table 1--UCMR Contaminant List
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6--Period during
3--Analytical methods 4--Minimum reporting 5--Sampling location which sample
1--Contaminant 2--CASRN \a\ level \b\ \c\ collection to be
completed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
List 1: Assessment Monitoring
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11-chloroeicosafluoro-3-oxaundecane- 763051-92-9........... EPA 533............... 0.005 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
1-sulfonic acid (11Cl-PF3OUdS).
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorodecane 39108-34-4............ EPA 533............... 0.005 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
sulfonic acid (8:2 FTS).
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorohexane 757124-72-4........... EPA 533............... 0.003 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
sulfonic acid (4:2 FTS).
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctane 27619-97-2............ EPA 533............... 0.005 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
sulfonic acid (6:2 FTS).
4,8-dioxa-3H-perfluorononanoic acid 919005-14-4........... EPA 533............... 0.003 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
(ADONA).
9-chlorohexadecafluoro-3-oxanone-1- 756426-58-1........... EPA 533............... 0.002 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
sulfonic acid (9Cl-PF3ONS).
hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer 13252-13-6............ EPA 533............... 0.005 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
acid (HFPO-DA) (GenX).
nonafluoro[hyphen]3,6[hyphen]dioxah 151772-58-6........... EPA 533............... 0.02 [micro]g/L...... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
eptanoic acid (NFDHA).
perfluoro (2[hyphen]ethoxyethane) 113507-82-7........... EPA 533............... 0.003 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
sulfonic acid (PFEESA).
perfluoro[hyphen]3[hyphen]methoxypr 377-73-1.............. EPA 533............... 0.004 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
opanoic acid (PFMPA).
perfluoro[hyphen]4[hyphen]methoxybu 863090-89-5........... EPA 533............... 0.003 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
tanoic acid (PFMBA).
perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS) 375-73-5.............. EPA 533............... 0.003 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA)...... 375-22-4.............. EPA 533............... 0.005 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA)...... 335-76-2.............. EPA 533............... 0.003 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA)... 307-55-1.............. EPA 533............... 0.003 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid 375-92-8.............. EPA 533............... 0.003 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
(PFHpS).
perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA).... 375-85-9.............. EPA 533............... 0.003 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
perfluorohexanesulfonic acid 355-46-4.............. EPA 533............... 0.003 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
(PFHxS).
perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA)..... 307-24-4.............. EPA 533............... 0.003 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)...... 375-95-1.............. EPA 533............... 0.004 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) 1763-23-1............. EPA 533............... 0.004 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)...... 335-67-1.............. EPA 533............... 0.004 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
perfluoropentanesulfonic acid 2706-91-4............. EPA 533............... 0.004 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
(PFPeS).
perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA).... 2706-90-3............. EPA 533............... 0.003 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA)... 2058-94-8............. EPA 533............... 0.002 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
n-ethyl 2991-50-6............. EPA 537.1............. 0.005 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic
acid (NEtFOSAA).
n-methyl 2355-31-9............. EPA 537.1............. 0.006 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic
acid (NMeFOSAA).
perfluorotetradecanoic acid (PFTA). 376-06-7.............. EPA 537.1............. 0.008 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA). 72629-94-8............ EPA 537.1............. 0.007 [micro]g/L..... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Metal/Pharmaceutical
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
lithium............................ 7439-93-2............. EPA 200.7, SM 3120 B, 9 [micro]g/L......... EPTDS................ 1/1/2023-12/31/2025.
ASTM D1976-20.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
List 2: Screening Survey
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reserved........................... Reserved.............. Reserved.............. Reserved............. Reserved............. Reserved.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
List 3: Pre-Screen Testing
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reserved........................... Reserved.............. Reserved.............. Reserved............. Reserved............. Reserved.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Column headings are:
1--Contaminant: The name of the contaminant to be analyzed.
2--CASRN (Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number) or Identification Number: A unique number identifying the chemical contaminants.
3--Analytical Methods: Method numbers identifying the methods that must be used to test the contaminants.
4--Minimum Reporting Level (MRL): The value and unit of measure at or above which the concentration of the contaminant must be measured using the
approved analytical methods. If EPA determines, after the first six months of monitoring that the specified MRLs result in excessive resampling, EPA
will establish alternate MRLs and will notify affected PWSs and laboratories of the new MRLs. N/A is defined as non-applicable.
5--Sampling Location: The locations within a PWS at which samples must be collected.
6--Period During Which Sample Collection to be Completed: The time period during which the sampling and testing will occur for the indicated
contaminant.
\a\ The analytical procedures shall be performed in accordance with the documents associated with each method, see paragraph (c) of this section.
\b\ The MRL is the minimum concentration of each analyte that must be reported to EPA.
\c\ Sampling must occur at your PWS's entry points to the distribution system (EPTDSs), after treatment is applied, that represent each non-emergency
water source in routine use over the 12-month period of monitoring. Systems that purchase water with multiple connections from the same wholesaler may
select one representative connection from that wholesaler. The representative EPTDS must be a location within the purchaser's water system. This EPTDS
sampling location must be representative of the highest annual volume connections. If the connection selected as the representative EPTDS is not
available for sampling, an alternate highest volume representative connection must be sampled. See 40 CFR 141.35(c)(3) for an explanation of the
requirements related to the use of representative GW EPTDSs.
[[Page 13871]]
(4) * * *
(i) * * *
(A) Sample collection period. You must collect the samples in one
continuous 12-month period for List 1 Assessment Monitoring, and, if
applicable, for List 2 Screening Survey, or List 3 Pre-Screen Testing,
during the time frame indicated in column 6 of Table 1, in paragraph
(a)(3) of this section. EPA or your State will specify the month(s) and
year(s) in which your monitoring must occur. As specified in Sec.
141.35(c)(5), you must contact EPA if you believe you cannot collect
samples according to your schedule.
(B) Frequency. You must collect the samples within the timeframe
and according to the frequency specified by contaminant type and water
source type for each sampling location, as specified in Table 2, in
this paragraph. For the second or subsequent round of sampling, if a
sample location is non-operational for more than one month before and
one month after the scheduled sampling month (i.e., it is not possible
for you to sample within the window specified in Table 2, in this
paragraph), you must notify EPA as specified in Sec. 141.35(c)(5) to
reschedule your sampling.
Table 2--Monitoring Frequency by Contaminant and Water Source Types
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contaminant type Water source type Timeframe Frequency \1\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
List 1 Contaminants--.............. Surface water, Mixed, 12 months............. You must monitor for four
or GWUDI. consecutive quarters.
Sample events must occur
three months apart.
(Example: If first
monitoring is in January,
the second monitoring must
occur any time in April,
the third any time in July
and the fourth any time in
October).
Ground water.......... 12 months............. You must monitor twice in a
consecutive 12-month
period. Sample events must
occur 5-7 months apart.
(Example: If the first
monitoring event is in
April, the second
monitoring event must
occur any time in
September, October or
November).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Systems must assign a sample event code for each contaminant listed in Table 1. Sample event codes must be
assigned by the PWS for each sample event. For more information on sample event codes see Sec. 141.35(e)
Table 1.
(C) Location. You must collect samples for each List 1 Assessment
Monitoring contaminant, and, if applicable, for each List 2 Screening
Survey, or List 3 Pre-Screen Testing contaminant, as specified in Table
1, in paragraph (a)(3) of this section. Samples must be collected at
each sample point that is specified in column 5 and footnote c of Table
1, in paragraph (a)(3) of this section. If you are a GW system with
multiple EPTDSs, and you request and receive approval from EPA or the
State for sampling at representative EPTDS(s), as specified in Sec.
141.35(c)(3), you must collect your samples from the approved
representative sampling location(s).
* * * * *
(ii) Small systems. If you serve a population of 3,300 to 10,000
people and meet the UCMR applicability criteria specified in paragraph
(a)(2)(ii) of this section, or if you serve a population of fewer than
3,300 people and are notified that you are part of the State Monitoring
Plan, you must comply with the requirements specified in paragraphs
(a)(4)(ii)(A) through (H) of this section. If EPA or the State informs
you that they will be collecting your UCMR samples, you must assist
them in identifying the appropriate sampling locations and in
collecting the samples.
(A) Sample collection and frequency. You must collect samples at
the times specified for you by the State or EPA. Your schedule must
follow both the timing of monitoring specified in Table 1, List 1, and,
if applicable, List 2, or List 3, and the frequency of monitoring in
Table 2 of this section.
* * * * *
(5) * * *
* * * * *
(ii) * * * To participate in the UCMR Laboratory Approval Program,
the laboratory must register and complete the necessary application
materials by August 1, 2022. Correspondence must be addressed to: UCMR
Laboratory Approval Coordinator, USEPA, Technical Support Center, 26
West Martin Luther King Drive, (MS 140), Cincinnati, Ohio 45268; or
emailed to EPA at: [email protected].
(iii) Minimum Reporting Level. The MRL is defined by EPA as the
quantitation limit achievable, with 95% confidence, by 75% of
laboratories nationwide, assuming the use of good instrumentation and
experienced analysts.
* * * * *
(iv) [Reserved]
(v) Method defined quality control. You must ensure that your
laboratory analyzes Laboratory Fortified Blanks and conducts Laboratory
Performance Checks, as appropriate to the method's requirements, for
those methods listed in Table 1, column 3, in paragraph (a)(3) of this
section. Each method specifies acceptance criteria for these QC checks.
(vi) Reporting. You must require your laboratory, on your behalf,
to post and approve these data in EPA's electronic data reporting
system, accessible at https://www.epa.gov/dwucmr, for your review
within 90 days from the sample collection date. You then have 30 days
from when the laboratory posts and approves your data to review,
approve and submit the data to the State and EPA, via the Agency's
electronic data reporting system. If you do not electronically approve
and submit the laboratory data to EPA within 30 days of the laboratory
posting approved data, the data will be considered approved by you and
available for State and EPA review.
* * * * *
(c) Incorporation by reference. These standards are incorporated by
reference into this section with the approval of the Director of the
Federal Register under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Water Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room
3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20004 (202) 566-1744,
email [email protected], or go to https://www.epa.gov/dockets/epa-docket-center-reading-room.. The material is also available
for inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration
(NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA,
email [email protected], or go to www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html.
(1) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301
Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20004.
(i) Method 200.7 ``Determination of Metals and Trace Elements in
Water and Wastes by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission
Spectrometry,''
[[Page 13872]]
Revision 4.4, EMMC Version, 1994. Available on the internet at https://www.epa.gov/esam/method-2007-determination-metals-and-trace-elements-water-and-wastes-inductively-coupled-plasma.
(ii) Method 537.1 ``Determination of Selected Per- and
Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances in Drinking Water by Solid Phase
Extraction and Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry,''
Version 2.0, 2020. Available on the internet at https://www.epa.gov/water-research/epa-drinking-water-research-methods.
(iii) Method 533 ``Determination of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl
Substances in Drinking Water by Isotope Dilution Anion Exchange Solid
Phase Extraction and Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry,''
November 2019, EPA 815-B-19-020. Available on the internet at https://www.epa.gov/dwanalyticalmethods.
(2) American Public Health Association, 800 I Street NW,
Washington, DC 20001-3710.
(i) ``Standard Methods for the Examination of Water & Wastewater,''
23rd edition (2017).
(A) SM 3120 B ``Metals by Plasma Emission Spectroscopy (2017):
Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Method.''
(B) [Reserved]
(ii) The following methods are from ``Standard Methods Online.''
Available for purchase on the internet at https://www.standardmethods.org.
(A) SM 3120 B ``Metals by Plasma Emission Spectroscopy: Inductively
Coupled Plasma (ICP) Method (Editorial Revisions, 2011),'' (SM 3120 B-
99)
(B) [Reserved]
(3) ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken,
PA 19428-2959.
(i) ASTM D1976-20 ``Standard Test Method for Elements in Water by
Inductively-Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy,'' approved May
1, 2020. Available for purchase on the internet at https://www.astm.org/Standards/D1976.htm.
(ii) [Reserved]
[FR Doc. 2021-03920 Filed 3-10-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P