[Federal Register: October 14, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 198)] [Notices] [Page 55711-55712] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr14oc99-54] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL-6457-6] Announcement of Stakeholders Meeting on the Drinking Water Contaminant Identification and Selection Process, and the 6-Year Review of All Existing National Primary Drinking Water Regulations, as Required by the Safe Drinking Water Act, as Amended in 1996 AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency. ACTION: Notice of stakeholders meeting. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be holding a two-day public meeting on November 16 and 17, 1999. This meeting will encompass two Safe Drinking Water Act requirements that have similar goals. Therefore, EPA has combined the meetings in order to increase meeting participation and make attendance as convenient as possible for stakeholders. The purpose of this meeting is to have a dialogue with stakeholders, and the public at large, on the contaminant identification and selection process (November 16), and to discuss the process to perform a 6-Year Review of all National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWRs) (November 17). For the contaminant selection process, EPA will discuss and seek input on: The draft research strategy EPA has formulated in order to fill data gaps for contaminants identified on the Agency's first drinking water contaminant candidate list (CCL); considerations in making regulatory determinations from the CCL, and the process for developing future CCLs. The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), as amended in1996, requires EPA to establish a list of contaminants, and revise it every five years, to aid in priority setting for the Agency's drinking water program. The SDWA requires EPA to make determinations for five contaminants as to whether a NPDWR is necessary. The SDWA, as amended, also requires that on a 6-Year cycle EPA must review and revise, as appropriate, each existing NPDWR and that any revision shall maintain, or provide for greater protection of the health of persons. EPA would like to have a dialogue with stakeholders on the various components of these projects, including status of analytical methods, treatment technologies, health effects information, and occurrence data. At the upcoming meeting, EPA is seeking input from State and Tribal drinking water programs, the regulated [[Page 55712]] community (public water systems), public health organizations, academia, environmental and public interest groups, engineering firms, and other stakeholders. EPA encourages the full participation of stakeholders throughout this process. DATES: The stakeholders meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 16, 1999 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, and Wednesday, November 17, 1999 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST. REGISTRATION: To register for the meeting, please contact the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST. Those registered for the meeting by Wednesday, November 2, 1999 will receive an agenda, logistics sheet, and background materials prior to the meeting. Members of the public who cannot attend the meeting in person may participate via conference call and should register with the Safe Drinking Water Hotline. Conference lines will be allocated on the basis of first-reserved, first served. The meeting will be held in the offices of RESOLVE, Suite 275, 1255 23rd Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on meeting logistics, please contact the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426- 4791. For information on other activities related to the contaminant selection process for the CCL, and the 6-Year Review process, and other EPA activities under the Safe Drinking Water Act in general, contact the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A. Background Under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), as amended in 1996, EPA must review and revise, as appropriate, at intervals not less than every six years, all existing National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWRs). Revised NPDWRs, must maintain, or provide for greater, protection of the health of persons. On November 17, EPA will discuss the analyses the agency has initiated, or plans to conduct, to identify candidate NPDWRs for possible revision. These analyses include health effects, occurrence and exposure, analytical methods and treatment technologies. The SDWA also requires EPA, every five years, to develop and publish a list of contaminants known or anticipated to occur in drinking water. The Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) aids the Agency's drinking water program to assess priorities for research, guidance development, and possible development of NPDWRs. The SDWA also requires a regulatory determination for five contaminants every five years. The first CCL was published in the March 2, 1998 Federal Register. On November 16, EPA seeks stakeholders' input on the process and considerations in making regulatory determinations for five contaminants by 2001. For contaminants listed on the first CCL, with data gaps identified that must be filled before EPA can make a scientifically informed regulatory determination, EPA's Office of Research and Development is developing a Research Strategy. EPA will discuss the status of the draft CCL Research Strategy at the upcoming stakeholders meeting. The meeting will also present an overview of studies completed, or are underway, by the National Research Council that evaluates methods for identifying and prioritizing drinking water contaminants. The upcoming meeting addresses several aspects of EPA's efforts to determine the contaminant selection process from the Contaminant Candidate List and the new process of reviewing existing NPDWRs. Those registered for the meeting by Wednesday, November 2, 1999 will receive an agenda, logistics sheet, and background materials prior to the meeting. B. Request for Stakeholder Involvement EPA has announced this public meeting to hear the views of stakeholders on EPA's plans for the contaminant selection process from the CCL, and activities to develop a 6-Year Review Plan. The public is invited to provide comments on the issues listed above during the November 16 and 17, 1999 meeting, or in writing to Mike Osinski, Contaminant Candidate List Team Leader, U.S. EPA, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, 401 M Street, NW, MC 4607, Washington DC 20460 or osinski.michael@epa.gov; or to Judy Lebowich, 6-Year Review Team Co-Leader, U.S. EPA, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, 401 M Street, SW, MC 4607, Washington DC 20460 or lebowich.judy@epa.gov, or Marc Parrotta, 6-Year Review Team Co-Leader, U.S. EPA, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, 401 M Street, SW, MC 4607, Washington DC 20460 or parrotta.marc@epa.gov. Dated: October 7, 1999. Elizabeth Fellows, Acting Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, Environmental Protection Agency. [FR Doc. 99-26809 Filed 10-13-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560-50-P