Court Settlement Sets 2019 Date for Final Perchlorate Rule

An agreement was reached last week in a lawsuit by the Natural Resources Defense Council over EPA’s delay in setting an MCL for perchlorate.  The group sued EPA to force the Agency to promulgate a perchlorate rule after lengthy delays while the Agency considered how to determine the appropriate health endpoint and establish the MCLG.  The two-year clock for developing a proposed rule was started in 2011 by EPA’s determination that perchlorate should be regulated, and the rule was thus long overdue.  Under the terms of the settlement approved by the court, EPA will publish a proposed rule by October 31, 2018 and a final rule by December 19, 2019.  Over the next few months, EPA is convening two different peer review groups to examine the special modeling approach being used to describe perchlorate health effects and set the MCLG.  Also under the agreement, EPA will publish, by October 30, 2017, a status report on the peer review and progress on setting the MCLG.  ASDWA will keep members informed of issues concerning the perchlorate rule as they develop.