[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 181 (Tuesday, September 18, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 57545-57546]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-23014]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 141 and 142
[FRL-9727-9]
Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule: Public Meeting
on Monitoring Data Analysis, Occurrence Forecasts, Binning, and the
Microbial Toolbox
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting a
public meeting on November 15, 2012, concerning monitoring, binning and
microbial toolbox information as part of the regulatory review of the
Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2 rule). At this
meeting, EPA plans to discuss and solicit public input on data and
information related to several topics. The first topic is the results
of the first round of LT2 Cryptosporidium monitoring that are used to
determine which one of the four categories (i.e., bins) a public
drinking water system (PWS) should be placed. The second topic is the
implications of predicted occurrence and bin category placement that
may result from a second round of Cryptosporidium monitoring using the
existing or enhanced analytical methods. The third topic is the
effectiveness of Escherichia coli as a screen to identify small
filtered PWSs that need to perform Cryptosporidium monitoring for bin
placement. The fourth topic is the determination of the potential
credits assigned to different risk mitigation tools. EPA will also
provide background information on the LT2 rule's monitoring and binning
requirements, microbial toolbox options for risk management, and the
agency's Six Year Review process. EPA will consider the data and/or
information discussed at this meeting during the agency's review of the
LT2 rule, which the agency has announced as part of both the
Retrospective Review Plan under Executive Order (E.O.) 13563 and the
third Six-Year Review under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Date and Location:
The public meeting will be held on Thursday, November 15, 2012
(8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time). The public meeting will be held
at the EPA East Building, Room 1153, 1201 Constitution Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20460.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical inquiries, contact
C[eacute]sar Cordero, Standards and Risk Management Division, Office of
Ground Water and Drinking Water (MC 4607M), Environmental Protection
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460 at (202) 564-
3716 or [email protected]. For more information about the LT2 rule
or the Six-Year Review process, visit: http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/lt2/ or http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/regulatingcontaminants/sixyearreview/index.cfm, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Registration: Individuals planning to participate in the public
meeting must register at this Web site https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LT2NovemberRegistration no later than November 9, 2012.
Teleconferencing will be available for individuals unable to attend the
meeting in person. EPA will do its best to include all those
interested, but may have to limit attendance due to room and/or
teleconference size limitations and therefore urges people to register
early. Teleconference information will be emailed to registered
participants in advance of the meeting. If you have any difficulty
registering or have questions, please send an email to Morgan Hoenig
[[Page 57546]]
of Ross Strategic at [email protected].
Special Accommodations: For information on access or accommodations
for individuals with disabilities, please contact Jini Mohanty at (202)
564-5269 or by email at [email protected]. Please allow at least
five business days prior to the meeting to give EPA time to process
your request.
This meeting will be open to the public. EPA encourages public
input and will allocate time on the agenda to receive verbal
statements. EPA requests that participants limit statements to the
topics described in the agenda and in the SUMMARY section of this
notice. Participants will be provided with a set time frame for their
statements. EPA also requests that only one person present a statement
on behalf of a group or organization. Individuals or organizations
interested in presenting a statement should notify Cesar Cordero by
email at [email protected] no later than November 9, 2012.
Individuals that have scientific data that they would like EPA to
consider during the regulatory review of the LT2 rule are encouraged to
email their data to Cesar Cordero at the email address listed in the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section by December 31, 2012.
The LT2 Rule: The purpose of the LT2 rule, promulgated in 2006 (71
FR 654; January 5, 2006), is to reduce disease incidence associated
with Cryptosporidium and other disease-causing microorganisms in
drinking water. The rule includes requirements for PWSs that provide
filtration to be classified in one of four categories (bins) for
additional Cryptosporidium treatment that may be needed based on the
occurrence of Cryptosporidium or E. coli in their source waters.
Systems that are placed into the first bin require no additional
treatment, while systems that are placed into bins 2, 3 or 4 will need
to conduct additional treatment but will be able to select from a range
of treatment and management strategies (i.e. microbial toolbox options)
to meet their treatment requirements.
EPA Reviews: The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requires EPA to
review each existing national primary drinking water regulation (NPDWR)
every six years and revise the regulation if appropriate (see SDWA
Section 1412(b)(9)). Section 1412(b)(9) of SDWA specifies that any
revision to a NPDWR ``shall maintain, or provide for greater,
protection of the health of persons.'' In addition to reviewing the LT2
rule under the third Six-Year Review, EPA announced in the August 2011
document, Improving Our Regulations: Final Plan for Periodic Review
Retrospective Reviews of Existing Regulations, that the agency would
review the LT2 rule in response to E.O. 13563, which requires agencies
to review regulations to determine where the agencies could streamline
or eliminate ineffective, overly burdensome, and outdated rules. As
part of these reviews, EPA plans to assess and analyze information and
data regarding occurrence, analytical methods, and treatment to
evaluate whether there are new or additional ways to manage risk.
The public meeting announced in this notice will be the third
meeting hosted by the agency for the purpose of reviewing the LT2 rule
in response to SDWA Section 1412(b)(9) and E.O. 13563. The first
meeting occurred on December 7, 2011, and focused on the analytical
methods for Cryptosporidium and the preliminary drinking water source
monitoring results from samples collected under the LT2 rule. The
second meeting occurred on April 24, 2012, and focused on the uncovered
finished water reservoirs requirement of the LT2 rule.
Dated: September 6, 2012.
Pamela Barr,
Acting Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water.
[FR Doc. 2012-23014 Filed 9-17-12; 8:45 am]
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