[Federal Register: December 28, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 249)]
[Notices]
[Page 78203-78204]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28de06-75]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8263-6]
Total Coliform Rule / Distribution System Stakeholder Technical
Workshop and Request for Nominations
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice; public meeting.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is holding a
technical workshop in Washington, DC, to discuss available information
on the Total Coliform Rule (TCR) and available information regarding
risks in distribution systems in support of revisions to the TCR. The
TCR provides public health protection from microbial contamination in
drinking water while indicating the adequacy of treatment and the
integrity of drinking water distribution systems. As part of the
technical workshop, EPA is seeking information and analytic approaches
for characterizing risks posed by the distribution system.
Subsequently, if results from the workshop indicate that a formal
consensus building process is appropriate for the revision effort, the
Agency will consider establishing a Committee under the Federal
Advisory Committee Act to provide advice and recommendations on how
best to utilize available information for potential revisions to the
TCR and to address public health risks from contamination of
distribution systems. In addition, such a Committee could provide
recommendations to determine if further information is needed to be
collected to address health risks associated with distribution systems.
To prepare in advance for the potential establishment of a Federal
Advisory Committee, EPA is soliciting nominations for membership on the
Committee in this notice.
DATES: The public meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 30, 2007,
through Thursday, February 1, 2007, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.,
Eastern time (ET). Attendees should register for the meeting by calling
Jason Peller at (202) 965-6387 or by e-mail to jpeller@resolv.org no
later than January 20, 2006.
Submit nominations for a potential Federal Advisory Committee on or
before January 29, 2007.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Capital Hilton, at 1001 16th
Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Nomination materials for the potential
Federal Advisory Committee should be submitted to Jini Mohanty by email
to tcr@epa.gov or by U.S. Mail to the Office of Ground Water and
Drinking Water, Office of Water, Mail Code 4607M, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information, contact the
Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 or go to the Internet site
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/disinfection/tcr/index.html. For technical
inquiries, contact Tom Grubbs, Standards and Risk Management Division,
Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water (MC 4607M), Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460;
telephone number: (202) 564-5262; fax number: (202) 564-3767; e-mail
address: grubbs.thomas@epa.gov. For special accommodation questions,
email Jini Mohanty, at mohanty.jini@epa.gov, or call (202) 564 5269.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Stage 2 Microbial and Disinfection
Byproducts Federal Advisory Committee, as part of its recommendations
concerning the Long-Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule and
the Stage 2 Disinfection Byproducts Rule, concluded in its Agreement in
Principle (65 FR 83015, December 29, 2000) that EPA should evaluate
available data and research on aspects of distribution systems that may
create risks to public health as a part of the Six-Year Review of the
TCR. They also concluded that EPA should work with stakeholders to
initiate a process for addressing cross-connections and backflow
prevention requirements, and for considering additional distribution
system requirements related to significant health risks.
The 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) (Section
1412(b) (9)) require the Administrator to review and revise, as
appropriate, each national primary drinking water regulation no less
often than every six years. As indicated in the Six-Year Review Notice
of Intent (67 FR 19030, April 17, 2002), EPA believes that an
opportunity for implementation burden reduction exists in revising the
TCR; the Agency plans to assess the effectiveness of the current TCR in
reducing public health risk and what technically supportable
alternative/additional monitoring strategies are available to reduce
implementation costs while maintaining or improving public health
protection.
In July 2003, EPA published, as part of its final National Primary
Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) Review (i.e., Six-Year Review), its
decision to revise the TCR (68 FR 42907, July 18, 2003). In that
action, the Agency also stated that it plans to consider potential new
requirements for ensuring the integrity of distribution systems.
To initiate the revision process, EPA has compiled available
information on the potential public health impacts of a range of
distribution system issues and has also compiled information on issues
with the existing TCR requirements where opportunities may exist for
reductions in the implementation burden, while maintaining or improving
public health protection. EPA has also compiled information and
conducted workshops on determining the potential exposures resulting
from contamination of the finished water in the distribution system.
In this notice, EPA is announcing that the Agency is convening a
technical workshop to discuss available data on understanding risks in
drinking water
[[Page 78204]]
distribution systems, as well as to discuss data to characterize
potential TCR implementation problems. As part of this workshop, EPA is
seeking information and analytic approaches for characterizing risks
posed by the distribution system. Major topics of discussion in the
workshop may include public health perspectives on distribution
systems, distribution system physical integrity and water quality
issues such as cross connections, backflow, intrusion, and biofilm, and
TCR implementation and compliance analysis.
Depending on the outcome of the workshop, EPA will consider
convening a Federal Advisory Committee to provide advice and
recommendations on how best to utilize available information for
potential revisions to the TCR and to address public health risk from
contamination of distribution systems.
Membership on Potential Federal Advisory Committee: If EPA were to
establish a Federal Advisory Committee, the Agency would consider for
membership stakeholders with viewpoints on issues related to
distribution systems and the TCR and the potential impact that could
result from an Agency action on those issues including, but not be
limited to, representatives of Federal, State and local public health
and regulatory agencies, Native American tribes, large and small
drinking water suppliers, consumer, environmental and public health
organizations, and local elected officials. EPA encourages those
organizations and individuals interested in participating in the
potential Federal Advisory Committee to attend the workshop.
EPA anticipates that, if a Federal Advisory Committee is
established, the terms of the members would likely be two years. EPA
anticipates that meetings would be held at least quarterly, with
additional conference calls in between the meetings.
Nomination of a Member: Any interested person or organization may
nominate individuals for membership. Nominees should be identified by
name, occupation, position, address and telephone number. To be
considered, all nominations must include a current resume providing the
nominee's background, experience, and qualifications.
If a Federal Advisory Committee were to be established, copies of
the Committee Charter would be filed with the appropriate congressional
committees and the Library of Congress and the establishment of a
Committee would be announced in a separate Federal Register Notice
(FRN). The Agency expects to address proposed revisions to the TCR and
any additional distribution system requirements in a separate FRN.
Special Accommodations
Any person needing special accommodations at the technical
workshop, including wheelchair access, should contact Jini Mohanty at
the number or email address listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this notice. Requests for special accommodations
should be made at least ten days in advance of the meeting.
Dated: December 21, 2006.
Cynthia C. Dougherty,
Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water.
[FR Doc. E6-22302 Filed 12-27-06; 8:45 am]
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