On Tuesday, March 1, the AMWA Board of Directors met to discuss EPA’s recent correspondence to the governors of each state, the state commissioners in charge of drinking water programs and EPA’s water division directors regarding lead-related initiatives.
EPA’s letters to the states focus on large systems and provide recommendations that tend to fall into three broad categories: 1) recommendations that are voluntary – for example, EPA is asking that certain information be posted on water utilities’ websites; 2) recommendations that are voluntary but – under the current focus on Flint, Michigan – could lead to state requirements; and 3) recommendations that are intended to ensure that the current Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) is being implemented correctly and enforced as legally required in each state.
Board members raised issues of concern with the letters as well as noting those areas where more extensive communications with the public would be beneficial to customers and the utility.
The Board also posed questions regarding some of the language in the letters that characterize current LCR requirements and asked staff to seek further clarification from EPA. The Board also asked staff to engage in a more extensive dialogue with AMWA’s Regulatory and Legislative Committees this week to further assess the impact of the recommendations on the Association’s membership. As noted in the February 29 memorandum sent to AMWA members on the correspondence, any member with comments on the correspondence should send them to Diane VanDe Hei ([email protected]) or Scott Biernat ([email protected]).