NEWSROOM

EPA Hosts American Iron and Steel Lunch & Learn Series

May 29, 2020   Wendi Wilkes   DWSRF     

On June 24^th at 2PM Eastern, EPA will host the second in a series of Lunch and Learn webinars covering the American Iron and Steel requirements. This webinar will cover the National De Minimis Waiver. Each session will focus on one topic within the AIS requirement. The brief presentation will be followed by participant questions and answers. Please see below for more information and registration link.

Next Lunch and Learn Webinar

Jun. 24th(2-2:30 PM EST): National De Minimis Waiver

Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2015313961440405773

Future Lunch and Learn Webinars

Jul. 2020 (2-2:30 PM EST): AIS Certification Letters

Aug. 2020 (2-2:30 PM EST): USDA, AIS, and Co-Funded Projects

Sep. 2020 (2-2:30 PM EST): Project/Product Specific Waivers

Oct. 2020 (2-2:30 PM EST): National Minor Components Waiver

For more information, contact the SRF AIS team at SRF_AIS@EPA.gov.

Upcoming Webinar on Consumer Confidence Report Rule

May 28, 2020   Kevin Letterly   Drinking Water Headlines     

EPA is hosting an upcoming webinar for the Federal Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) rule.  The webinar will provide an overview of the CCR rule requirements and discuss approaches to electronically deliver CCRs.  The webinar is intended for community water system operators, state and federal drinking water program staff and technical assistance providers interested in learning more about the CCR requirements and available tools.

Date:           Wednesday, June 10

Time:           2:30-3:30 pm  (Eastern)

Register:      Click here

EPA previously hosted a webinar detailing the CCR iWriter tool, which assists water suppliers in quickly creating their CCRs according to the requirements for report content, format, and distribution given in the CCR Rule. A recording of this previous webinar can be found here.

EPA Sends Final Perchlorate Regulation to OMB for Review

May 28, 2020   Alan Roberson   Drinking Water Headlines     

On Wednesday (5/27), EPA sent the final perchlorate regulation to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. Depending on OMB’s comments or issues with the final regulation, this review is likely the final significant hurdle before being signed by the EPA Administrator. EPA has a court deadline of June 19th for this final regulation.

USDA Invests $281 Million to Improve Water and Wastewater Infrastructure in Rural America

May 27, 2020   Kevin Letterly   Drinking Water Headlines     

Today, USDA announced that it is investing $281 million in 106 projects to improve water and wastewater infrastructure in rural communities in 36 states and Puerto Rico. The intent of the funding is to replace deteriorating water infrastructure in rural areas, while providing jobs and improving public health in rural America.

States with projects that will receive funding include: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Eligible applicants include rural cities, towns and water districts. The funds can be used for drinking water, stormwater drainage and waste disposal systems in rural communities that meet population limits.

For examples of funded projects, application resources, and more information click here.

New EPA WSD Resources and Upcoming Webinars

May 27, 2020   Kevin Letterly   Drinking Water Headlines, Security     

EPA Water Security Division has recently shared several upcoming opportunities regarding AWIA, building reopening, WCIT, and more:

• Maintaining or Restoring Building Water Quality in Buildings with Low or No Use, is guidance designed to provide building owners, managers, and businesses with steps for continued maintenance and flushing to prevent water quality degradation as well as remedial steps for restoring the water quality if the water was stagnant for an extended period of time. It also provides recommendations for buildings, campuses, and other entities that are considered Non-Community Water Systems for restarting operations.
• Food Grade CO2 Suppliers and Producers, information on food grade CO2 suppliers and producers in the event that water utilities need to identify alternative companies, pursuant to Section 1442(a)(2) of the Safe Drinking Water Act.  This document provides information on facilities that produce food grade CO2 and utilities that utilize CO2. It also shows the location of CO2 producers relative to water utilities.
• Small System Risk and Resilience Assessment Checklist, guidance is intended for small community water systems (CWSs) serving greater than 3,300 but less than 50,000 people to comply with the requirements for risk and resilience assessments under America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (AWIA).

Upcoming Webinars:

Water Contaminant Information Tool (WCIT) Webinar (June 17, 2020, 11:00am ET) – this webinar will provide an overview of the Tool, information contained within WCIT, how the Tool can be used, and benefits to stakeholders. To register click here.

Small Systems Guidance for America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (June 20, 2020, 1:00pm ET) – this webinar will provide an overview of EPA’s Risk and Resilience Assessment Checklist and Emergency Response Plan (ERP) Guidance for small systems and an introduction to RCAP’s recently released E-Learning Module on AWIA compliance. Webinar speakers will discuss the tools and resources small systems can utilize to develop risk and resilience assessments and emergency response plans that comply with the requirements of AWIA. Participants will earn free CEUs. To register click here.

Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) Template Webinar (June 23, 2020, 1:00pm ET) – this webinar is designed as an introduction to the Water Laboratory Alliance (WLA) COOP Template and will cover an overview of the Template. To register click here. 

EPA Issues New Draft Nutrient Criteria Recommendations for Lakes and Reservoirs

May 26, 2020   Deirdre White   Drinking Water Headlines, Source Water     

On May 22, EPA issued new draft ambient water quality criteria recommendations for nutrients in lakes and reservoirs for a 60-day comment period. These new recommendations are being provided to state clean water programs for consideration in addressing harmful algal blooms and other adverse effects of excess nutrients in surface waters. The new recommendations will replace the previous recommendations published in 2000 and 2001 and represent the latest scientific knowledge regarding the concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus that are protective of drinking water sources, recreational uses and aquatic life in lakes and reservoirs. For more information, visit the EPA website.

Webinar on ASDWA’s New PFAS – Source Water Protection Guide and Toolkit

May 26, 2020   Deirdre White   Drinking Water Headlines, Source Water, Webinars   PFAS  

On June 18, 2020 from 1:00 – 2:30 pm (eastern time), ASDWA will conduct a webinar entitled, “Launching ASDWA’s New PFAS – Source Water Protection Guide and Toolkit.” This webinar will showcase the soon-to-be released guide and toolkit that was developed with support from a Project Advisory Council (PAC) with representatives from nine states (Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin), and the Cadmus Group. The purpose of the guide is to demonstrate and share effective strategies for addressing PFAS contamination risk in source waters that will help inform policy decisions, assist state drinking water programs in protecting public health, and encourage collaboration and communication among states and water utilities. The tool includes three main components.

1. The Decision Support Tool provides examples of state actions to address PFAS contamination.
2. The Technical Appendix includes an overview of PFAS, chemicals of concern, PFAS in the U.S., and state PFAS profiles.
3. The Mapping Guidance aids identifying and mapping source waters that are vulnerable to PFAS contamination.

Register for the webinar here.

EPA Proposes Rule to Improve Transparency of Guidance

May 21, 2020   Alan Roberson   Drinking Water Headlines, Regulatory     

On Tuesday (5/19), EPA released its first-ever proposed rule to establish consistent requirements and procedures for the issuance of guidance documents. Guidance documents are typically critical for implementation of drinking water regulations, as “the devil’s in the details”. For example, ASDWA recommended guidance documents be developed on 16 different topics in its comments on the proposed Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR).

This new rule will significantly increase the transparency of EPA’s practices around guidance and will improve the agency’s process for managing guidance documents. When final, the rule will:

• Establish the first formal petition process for the public to request that EPA modify or withdraw a guidance document;
• Ensure that the agency’s guidance documents are developed with appropriate review and are accessible and transparent to the public; and
• Provide for public participation in the development of significant guidance documents.

Comments are due 30 days after publication of the proposal is published in the Federal Register. The pre-publication version of the proposal can be found here.

EE2020 Announces Webinar Series Starting June 4

May 21, 2020   Anthony DeRosa   Data Management, Drinking Water Headlines, Events     

EE2020 is going virtual! In lieu of an in-person meeting, the 2020 E-Enterprise and Exchange Network National Meeting will launch as a series of monthly webinars beginning on June 4, 2020. The series will feature a selection of presentations, discussions, and networking opportunities from the originally planned program. You can find more information about the Kickoff Webinar below. We’ll send additional information on future topics that will be featured in this year’s event.

EE2020 Webinar Series Kickoff
Date: June 4, 2020
Time: 1:00-3:00 PM Eastern

Register: https://www.eenationalmeeting.net/webinars
The link to join the webinar will be distributed to registrants via email shortly before the webinar begins.  

EPA Adds PFAS to Toxics Release Inventory Reporting

May 20, 2020   Deirdre White   Drinking Water Headlines, Source Water   PFAS  

On May 18, EPA finalized its rule to add 172 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) chemical reporting list under section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). These PFAS additions were mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and became effective on January 1, 2020. Reporting for these PFAS will be due to EPA by July 1, 2021, for calendar year 2020 data and EPA expects to release the raw reporting data by July 31, 2021.

In February 2020, ASDWA submitted a joint letter of comment with ACWA and ECOS on the advance notice of this proposed rulemaking that supported the addition of PFAS in TRI reporting. However, while our comment letter recommended lowering the 100-pound reporting threshold through consultations with states in order to capture lower concentrations that can rapidly accumulate in watersheds and potentially affect public drinking water supplies, fish tissue intended for human consumption, aquatic life, and soils, this final rule maintained and established the 100-pound reporting threshold in the NDAA.

For more information and to read the pre-publication of the rule, visit EPA’s website.