EPA officials, Office of Water Deputy Assistant Administrator Lee Forsgren, Jr. and director of Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water Peter Grevatt discussed updates on the agency’s regulatory priorities at AMWA’s 2018 Water Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. March 19.
Forsgren addressed the agency’s ongoing effort to replace the 2015 Clean Water Rule, otherwise known as WOTUS. The rule is EPA’s top priority for 2018 and a proposal was originally expected in April. However, Forsgren said he believes “sometime in the summer is the most likely time” to see the proposed rule. EPA recently issued a delay rule on January 31 that gave WOTUS an effective date of 2020 in order to avoid confusion as the agency develops a new rule. A coalition of attorney generals, led by New York, is currently suing to block the delay.
Concerning development of a perchlorate regulation, Grevatt said EPA will soon receive a final report from the peer review panel that met in January to discuss the agency’s Biologically Based Dose Response model, developed in 2013 to derive a perchlorate Maximum Contaminant Level Goal. Grevatt also stated that EPA is “on a tight schedule” to issue a proposal by October 31 of this year, as mandated by consent decree. A final rule must be published December 19, 2019.