THE AMENDED SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT
By:
Paulette S. Wolfson
Houston
On August 16, 1996, President Clinton signed the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996. The amendments are the most significant changes to the Act in ten years. The 1986 Amendments included the controversial requirement that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulate twenty-five additional contaminants every three years. EPA was unable to meet this burden and the new amendments repeal this obligation. Instead, EPA will set up a system to gather information and then regulate the contaminants which pose the greatest risk in drinking water.
EPA will have the authority to develop regulations based on risk assessments and cost-benefit analysis. However, this authority is limited so that existing standards are not made less stringent. Cost-benefit analysis may not be applied to disinfectant products or certain parasites found in drinking water. Regarding the controversial requirement that EPA regulate twenty-five contaminants every three years, some modifications were made. Instead, based on the risk assessments and cost-benefit analysis, EPA is to determine if standards are needed for five contaminants over a five-year period.
The amendments also create a state revolving fund so that states may make low-interest loans or, in certain circumstances, grants, to public water systems to upgrade their facilities, train operators or protect water sources. This revolving fund is in addition to one that was previously established under the Clean Water Act. Money may be transferred by the states between the funds for appropriate projects.
The most burdensome requirements under the Safe Drinking Water Act have been the extensive monitoring and sampling schemes which are imposed to insure compliance. The amendments provide that EPA will revise the sampling and monitoring requirements for some contaminants within the next two years. For example, quarterly monitoring may be waived for three years if the contaminant is not detected in initial sampling.
Under the amendments, water systems must send customers an annual report which describes the quality of the water in the system. If contaminants are present, the report must address if there is a threat to health. If there are violations of any requirement that may present a threat to public health, customers must be notified within twenty-four hours of the violation. Information regarding violations must also be included in the annual report to customers.
