Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
This section gives compliance flexibility options applying to
a small CWS supplier serving 10,000 or fewer persons or an NTNCWS supplier. A
CWS or NTNCWS supplier having corrosion control treatment in place must
continue operating and maintaining OCCT until the Agency issues a SEP
determining this no longer necessary, and the supplier must comply with any
conditions the Agency are appropriate before implementing an Agency-approved
compliance flexibility option under this Section.
a) A small CWS or NTNCWS supplier exceeding
the lead trigger level but neither the lead nor copper action level must
collect samples for water quality parameters under Section
611.357(b),
evaluate compliance flexibility options under subsections (a)(1) through
(a)(4), and recommend a compliance flexibility option to the Agency within six
months of the end of the tap sampling period in which the exceedance occurred.
When recommending to the Agency, the supplier must comply with Section
611.382(a)(1).
The Agency must either approve the supplier's recommended compliance
flexibility option or designate an alternative under subsections (a)(1) through
(a)(4) within six months after the supplier recommends an option. If the
supplier subsequently exceeds the lead action level, the supplier must
implement the Agency-approved compliance flexibility option under subsection
(b). A supplier must select one from among specific compliance flexibility
options:
1) Replacing Lead Service Lines. A
supplier must implement a program for full lead service line replacement on an
Agency-approved schedule not exceeding 15 years. The supplier must begin
replacing lead service lines within one year after the Agency approves or
designates this compliance flexibility option.
A) The supplier must replace lead service
lines complying with Section
611.354(e) and (g)(4),
(g)(8), and (g)(9).
B) The supplier must continue replacing lead
service lines even if the supplier's 90th percentile lead concentration is at
or below the lead action level in future tap monitoring cycles.
C) The supplier must have no lead, galvanized
requiring replacement, or lead status unknown service lines in its inventory
before ending its lead service line replacement program.
2) Corrosion Control Treatment. A supplier
must install and maintain OCCT under Sections
611.351 and
611.352, even if its 90th
percentile concentration is at or below the lead action level in future tap
monitoring cycles. A supplier having installed corrosion control treatment must
re-optimize its corrosion control treatment under Section
611.351(d). A
supplier the Agency requires to optimize or re-optimize corrosion control
treatment must follow the appropriate schedule in Section
611.351(d) or
(e), beginning with Step 3 in Section
611.351(d)(3) or
(e)(3), unless the Agency specifies OCCT
under the applicable of Section
611.351(d)(2)(B) or
(e)(2).
3) Point-of-Use Devices. A supplier must
continue installing, maintaining, and monitoring POU devices in each household
or building it serves even if its 90th percentile lead concentration is at or
below the action level in future tap monitoring cycles.
A) Schedule for Installing POU Devices
i) A CWS supplier must install a minimum of
one POU device (at one tap) in every household and at every tap persons use for
cooking or drinking in every non-residential building the supplier serves on a
schedule not exceeding one year the Agency specifies in a SEP.
ii) An NTNCWS supplier must provide a POU
device to every tap persons use for cooking or drinking on a schedule not
exceeding three months the Agency specifies in a SEP.
B) A third party must independently certify
the POU device to meet the American National Standards Institute standard
applying to the specific type of POU unit for reducing lead in drinking
water.
C) The supplier must
maintain each POU device according to its manufacturer's recommendations to
ensure the POU device continues effectively filtering, including changing
filter cartridges and resolving any operational issues. The POU devices must
have mechanical warnings ensuring automatic notice to customers of operational
problems. The supplier must certify to the Agency under Section
611.360(j)(1)
that it maintains the POU devices, unless the Agency issues a SEP waiving this
requirement.
D) The supplier must
monitor one-third of the POU devices each year and all POU devices within a
three-year cycle. The supplier must collect first draw tap samples under this
Section after water passes through the POU device to assess its performance.
Samples must be one-liter in volume and have had a minimum six-hour stagnation
time. Results from all samples must not exceed the lead trigger level. The
supplier must report its tap sampling results no later than 10 days after the
end of the tap monitoring cycle under Section
611.360(j)(1).
The supplier must document the problem and take corrective action at any site
exceeding the lead trigger level. If a site exceeds the lead trigger level, the
supplier must reach out to the homeowner or building manager or, if applicable,
both no later than 24 hours after receiving the tap sample results. The
supplier must complete the corrective action within 30 days. If the supplier
does not complete the corrective action within 30 days, the supplier must
document to the Agency within 30 days explaining why the supplier was unable to
correct the issue.
E) The supplier
must provide public education to consumers under Section
611.355(j)
informing them how to properly use POU devices to maximize their effectiveness
in reducing lead concentrations.
F)
The supplier must operate and maintain the POU devices until the Agency
approves another compliance flexibility option, and supplier implements
it.
4) Replacing
Lead-Bearing Plumbing. A supplier controlling all plumbing in buildings the
supplier serves and having no lead status unknown, galvanized requiring
replacement, or lead service lines must replace all plumbing that is not lead
free as Section 611.126(c)
defines the term when the supplier replaces it. Replacing all lead-bearing
plumbing must occur on a schedule not exceeding one year as established by the
Agency in a SEP. The supplier must certify to the Agency that it has replaced
all lead-bearing material under Section
611.360(j)(2).
b) Implementing a Compliance
Option after Exceeding an Action Level
1) A
supplier exceeding the lead action level after exceeding the lead trigger level
but not exceeding the copper action level must implement the compliance option
the Agency approved under subsection (a).
2) A supplier exceeding the lead action level
but not the copper action level and not previously exceeding the lead trigger
level must comply with subsection (a) and implement the compliance option the
Agency approved under subsection (a).
3) A supplier exceeding the lead trigger
level after implementing a compliance option the Agency approved under
subsection (a) must complete the steps in subsection (a). If the supplier later
exceeds the lead action level, the supplier must implement the compliance
option the Agency approved under subsection (a).
