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The Toxic Substances Control Act allows EPA to issue Significant New Use Rules (SNURs), which can be used to require those who intend to manufacture or process substances to provide notice to the agency before those substances are used in new ways that might create concerns. SNURs are issued regularly, and the public is given time to provide comments or relevant information.

AMWA began responding to these proposals after the inclusion of a significant new use for chlorofluorocarbon, which is listed on the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR) under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Specifically, the letter asks EPA not to approve the SNUR for chlorofluorocarbon, which by nature of its inclusion on UCMR3 has evidence that “the environmental burden is already great enough to warrant concern for our nation’s drinking water systems.” AMWA also encouraged the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics to work closely with the Office of Water to avoid inclusion of problematic substances in the future. EPA later withdrew the rule in response to adverse comments.

AMWA has continued responding to these requests for comment to urge EPA to consider the ramifications of possible new contaminants reaching surface waters that may be used as drinking water sources. In its letters, AMWA emphasizes that it is “easier, more effective and more equitable to control pollutants at the source, where they are highly concentrated, than it is to remove them at the consumer’s expense after they have entered a water body or supply source.” AMWA also stresses that controlling pollutants at the source helps ensure that those who pollute are not allowed to pass the cost of correcting the problem on to others. AMWA’s most recent letters have stressed PFAS as an example as to why the agency should be cautious in approving new chemicals for use in commerce.

AMWA’s letters also highlight concerns with the individual chemicals included within the SNURs, particularly those where the agency has decided to allow the release of the substance into surface waters. For example, in one of AMWA’s most recent comment letters, the association urged EPA to not approve a proposed SNUR for a mixture which appeared to contain 1,4-dioxane. The SNUR as written would allow the mixture to be released into surface waters. AMWA emphasized 1,4-dioxane’s inclusion within the Contaminant Candidate List and the UCMR and cited the agency’s own classification of the compound as “likely to be carcinogenic to humans by all routes of exposure” as reasons to not approve the SNUR. AMWA also voiced concern about the lack of data available to the public within the dockets.

To date, AMWA has submitted six SNUR comment letters and is currently working on a seventh. All of these letters can be found on the association’s website. AMWA will continue engaging EPA as more SNURs are released. Questions or comments concerning these or future letters should be directed to Stephanie Hayes Schlea.