[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 83 (Friday, April 30, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23297-23299]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-10856]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6334-1]
Announcement of Stakeholders Meetings on Arsenic in Drinking
Water
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of stakeholders meetings.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be holding
a day-and-a-half public meeting on June 2-3, 1999 in Washington, DC;
and a one-half-day conference call on June 3. The purpose of these
meetings is to present an update on EPA's work to develop a proposed
National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for arsenic under
the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) as amended, and solicit public input
on major technical and implementation issues. These two meetings will
present an update on the regulatory and research processes for arsenic,
similar to the last three arsenic stakeholders meetings. EPA is again
seeking input from State and Tribal drinking water programs, the
regulated community (water systems), public health organizations,
academia, environmental and public interest groups, engineering firms,
and other stakeholders on a number of issues related to developing the
NPDWR for arsenic. EPA encourages the full participation of
stakeholders throughout this process.
DATES: The District of Columbia stakeholders meeting on arsenic in
drinking water will be held on Wednesday, June 2, 1999 from 8:30 a.m.
to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), and Thursday, June 3, 1999
from 8:30 am to 12 noon EDT. The stakeholders conference call will be
held 10:00 am to 2:00 pm Pacific Daylight Time (PDT).
ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held in 6226 Ario Rios Building, which
is at 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. To register for the meeting or
conference call, please contact the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-
800-426-4791 or 703-285-1093 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. EDT.
Members of the public who cannot attend the meeting in person may
choose to participate via conference call in either the day-and-a-half
or the half-day meeting and should register with the Safe Drinking
Water Hotline by Monday, May 24, 1999 in order to receive copies of the
overheads in advance. The limited numbers of available lines will be
given on a first-come, first-served basis to people who register with
the Hotline. Please provide your name, organization, title, mailing
address, telephone number, facsimile number, e-mail address and
telephone number for EPA to connect the caller via conference call [if
applicable] for the ``Arsenic meeting.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on meeting
logistics, to register, and to submit comments on the half-day agenda,
please contact the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791. EPA
is planning to make short presentations during the half-day conference
call, leaving time for facilitated discussion of issues. Registrants
can submit suggested changes to the half-day format or topics to the
Hotline. For information on the activities related to developing the
NPDWR for arsenic, contact the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-
426-4791, or visit the EPA Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water's
drinking water standards webpage at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ars/
arsenic.html, which contains electronic copies of the discussion papers
from the previous stakeholders meetings. Registrants must take care of
their own hotel arrangements. The Holiday Inn National Airport at 1489
Jefferson Davis Highway in Arlington, Virginia will hold a block of 30
rooms until May 10th at the rate of $131.70. Call the Holiday Inn at
(703)-416-1600 by May 10, to reserve a room and mention ``EPA Arsenic''
to get the special rate.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Background
Arsenic is a naturally occurring element found in the human body
and is present in food, water, and air. Arsenic in drinking water
occurs in ground water and surface water and is associated with certain
natural geologic conditions, as well as with contamination from human
activities. Arsenic ingestion is linked to skin cancer, internal
cancers, and non-cancer effects such as cardiovascular effects and
diabetes.
In 1975 EPA issued a National Interim Primary Drinking Water
Regulation for arsenic at 50 parts per billion (ppb; micrograms per
liter, g/L). Under the 1986 amendments to SDWA, Congress
converted the interim values into National Primary Drinking Water
Regulations (NPDWRs) for 83 contaminants, including arsenic, that were
to be revised by 1989. EPA held internal workgroup meetings throughout
1994, addressing risk assessment, treatment, analytical methods,
arsenic occurrence, exposure, costs, implementation issues, and
regulatory options before deciding in early 1995 to defer the
regulation in order to better characterize health effects.
On August 6, 1996, Congress amended the SDWA, adding section
1412(b)(12)(A) which requires, in part, that EPA propose a NPDWR for
arsenic by January 1, 2000 and issue a final regulation by January 1,
2001. The current maximum contaminant level
[[Page 23298]]
(MCL) of 50 g/L remains in effect until the effective date of
the revised rule.
The 1996 amendments to the SDWA also directed EPA to develop by
February, 1997, a comprehensive arsenic research plan to assess health
risks associated with exposure to low levels of arsenic. In December
1996, EPA announced the availability of the draft arsenic research
plan, and the public had an opportunity to comment on the draft plan at
a scientific peer review meeting in January, 1997. EPA's final arsenic
research plan responded to the comments of the peer review, and it is
available on the Office of Research and Development (ORD) webpage at
www.epa.gov/ORD/WebPubs/final/arsenic.pdf. In conducting the studies in
the arsenic research plan, EPA is consulting with the National Academy
of Sciences, other Federal agencies, and other interested public and
private parties.
EPA asked the National Research Council (NRC) of the National
Academy of Sciences (NAS) to review the current state of the science
for estimating risks associated with arsenic in drinking water. NAS
released the prepublication version of the NRC report, ``Arsenic in
Drinking Water'' on March 23, 1999. The NRC report recommends lowering
the current drinking water standard of 50 g/L. This
recommendation is based on NRC assessments of the risks of skin, lung,
and bladder cancer from drinking water containing inorganic arsenic.
NAS has put up their press statement and the full NRC report on its
website.
Press release: http://www2.nas.edu/whatsnew/29e6.html
Full report: http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/enter2.cgi?0309063337.html
B. Request for Stakeholder Involvement
EPA intends for the proposed NPDWR for arsenic to incorporate the
best available science, risk assessment, treatment technologies,
occurrence data, cost/benefit analyses, and stakeholder input on
technical and implementation issues.
The stakeholders meetings will cover a broad range of issues
including: (1) regulatory process, including risk management decisions;
(2) arsenic risk assessment and characterization (exposure, health
assessment, NRC report, national occurrence); (3) key technical
analyses (treatment technologies, treatment residuals, cost, analytical
methods, co-occurrence of contaminants); (4) small system concerns; and
(5) stakeholder involvement. Background materials on arsenic in
drinking water issues will be sent in advance of the meetings to those
who register with the Safe Drinking Water Hotline by Monday, May 24,
1999.
EPA has announced these public meetings to hear the views of
stakeholders on EPA's plans for activities to develop a NPDWR for
arsenic. The public is invited to provide comments on the issues listed
above and other issues related to the arsenic in drinking water
regulation during the June 2-3, 1999 meetings, via comments submitted
to the Hotline, and during future opportunities for stakeholder
participation.
C. Draft Agenda for the Arsenic in Drinking Water Meeting (Meeting
Times Shown in EDT)
Wednesday, June 2, 1999
8:00-8:45 Registration & Phone Linkups
8:45-9:00 Introductions & Meeting Logistics--facilitator
9:00-9:15 Welcome and Opening Remarks--Bill Diamond, Director,
Standards and Risk Management Division, Office of Ground Water and
Drinking Water
9:15-9:35 Arsenic Regulatory Review
Presentation and Questions--Irene Dooley, Office of Ground Water
and Drinking Water (OGWDW)
9:35-10:05 Analytical Methods and Development of the PQL
Presentation--Wynne Miller, OGWDW
Facilitated Discussion for Stakeholder Input
10:05-10:20 Break
10:20-12:00 National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences
(NRC/NAS) Report Findings and Application
Presentation--Dr. Jeanette Wiltse, Director, Health and Ecological
Criteria Division, OST
Facilitated Discussion for Stakeholder Input
12:00-1:00 LUNCH (on your own)
1:00-1:45 Risk Characterization and MCLG Development
Presentation--Dr. Charles Abernathy, Office of Science & Technology
(OST)
Facilitated Discussion for Stakeholder Input
1:45-2:15 Arsenic Research Plan Update
Presentation and Questions--Lynn Papa, National Center for
Environmental Assessment (NCEA), ORD
2:15-2:30 Break
2:30-3:15 EPA's Health Effects Research
Presentations--Dr. Herman Gibb, NCEA, ORD
Dr. Fred Hauchman, National Health and Environmental Effects
Research Laboratory (NHEERL), ORD
Facilitated Discussion for Stakeholder Input
3:15-4:15 National Occurrence Estimate
Presentation--Jennifer Wu, OGWDW
Facilitated Discussion for Stakeholder Input
4:15-5:00 Arsenic Treatment Technologies and Residuals
Presentation--Tom Sorg, EPA's National Risk Management Research
Laboratory (NRMRL), Office of Research and Development (ORD)
5:00 End of first day's session
Thursday, June 3, 1999
8:30-8:40 Phone Linkups
8:40-9:40 EPA's Approach to Compliance Forecasts--Decision Tree
Presentations--Amit Kapadia and Jeff Kempic, OGWDW
Facilitated Discussion for Stakeholder Input
9:40-10:00 Treatment Variances and Exemptions
Presentations--Amit Kapadia and Jeff Kempic, OGWDW
Facilitated Discussion for Stakeholder Input
10:00-10:15 Break
10:15-11:15 Cost-Benefit Regulatory Issues
Presentations--Ben Smith, Dr. John Bennett, OGWDW
Facilitated Discussion for Stakeholder Input
11:15-11:45 Monitoring and State Implementation Issues
Presentation--Ed Thomas, OGWDW
Facilitated Discussion for Stakeholder Input
11:45-12:00 Next Steps
Presentation--Jim Taft, OGWDW
12:00 EDT Adjourn
D. Draft Agenda for the Arsenic in Drinking Water Conference Call
(Conference call times listed in Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), and
bracketed in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT))
Thursday, June 3, 1999
10:00-10:10 PDT Phone linkups (1pm EDT)
10:10-10:20 PDT Introductions and negotiated changes to agenda (1:10-
1:20 EDT)
10:20-10:40 PDT Arsenic regulatory review (1:20-1:40 EDT)
10:40-11:40 PDT National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences
Report Findings and Application (1:40-2:40 pm EDT)
11:40-12:00 PDT Arsenic Research Plan and EPA Health Effects Research
(2:40-3 pm EDT)
[[Page 23299]]
12:00-12:15 PDT Break (3 pm EDT)
12:15-12:45 PDT National Occurrence Estimate (3:15-3:45 pm EDT)
12:45-1:15 PDT Compliance Forecasts (3:45-4:15 pm EDT)
1:15-1:45 PDT Cost-Benefit Issues (4:15-4:45 pm EDT)
1:45-2:00 PDT Monitoring and Implementation (4:45-5:00 pm EDT)
2:00 PDT Adjourn (5 pm EDT)
Dated: April 26, 1999.
Cynthia C. Dougherty,
Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water.
[FR Doc. 99-10856 Filed 4-29-99; 8:45 am]
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