Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 4) and Public Meeting in April
EPA published the fourth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 4) in the Federal Register on December 20, 2016. The rule covers a total of 30 chemical contaminants, consisting of nine cyanotoxins and one cyanotoxin group; two metals; eight pesticides plus one pesticide manufacturing byproduct; three brominated haloacetic acid disinfection byproducts groups; three alcohols; and three semivolatile organic chemicals and the eleven analytical methods to support their monitoring. There were a few changes from the proposal, most notable were updating the ELISA method for total microcystins and eliminating the cyanotoxin source water sample. Also, EPA did not change to a narrower collection period for some contaminants. as proposed, and did not add Legionella to the list as some commenters (including ASDWA) had suggested. Monitoring will begin in 2018.
EPA will be holding a public meeting to discuss the final UCMR 4 requirements for monitoring, sampling and reporting, analytical methods, the laboratory approval process, ground water representative monitoring plans and consecutive system monitoring plans. The meeting will be held at 1776 Eye St NW, 4th Floor, Washington, DC on April 12, 2017 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. EPA also plans to broadcast this meeting as a webinar.
Those who wish to participate in the public meeting, whether in person or via webinar, need to register in advance no later than 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time on April 7, 2017, by going to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ucmr-4-public-stakeholder-meeting-registration-28264984329. The number of webinar connections available for the meeting is limited and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
For additional information on UCMR 4 see https://www.epa.gov/dwucmr/fourth-unregulated-contaminant-monitoring-rule.