After a year beset with funding uncertainties, capped by the government shutdown, 2014 commenced with relative calm from a federal budgetary perspective. With lawmakers skittish about another fight over government funding, budgets for EPA and other government agencies have been set, and the strict sequestration cuts that crippled the planning processes for many agency activities have been rolled back significantly. What this relative budgetary calm will ultimately mean for programs focused on regulatory development and implementation in the water sector is not certain as budgets remain tight, but early signs point to significant movement in many areas as more resources are freed and planning decisions can be made with increased confidence.
In addressing the National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC) in December, Office of Ground Water and Drinking (OGWDW) staff outlined a fairly ambitious schedule of regulatory activities for 2014. Many regulatory actions that have been “just over the horizon” for quite a while appear to be on track for more significant activity starting in the early months of 2014. These actions include:
- Preliminary regulatory determinations from the third contaminant candidate list (CCL3) (and related comment solicitation)
- National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC) workgroup review of potential revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule (see related item below)
- Proposed Clean Water Protection Rule (and related comment solicitation)
- Additional stakeholder consultations on carcinogenic volatile organic compounds
- Release of the draft fourth contaminant candidate list (CCL4) (and related comment solicitation)
- Initial stakeholder consultations on the development of the fourth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR4)
Other ongoing efforts, such as modeling the effects of low-level perchlorate exposure using a physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model to set a maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG), evaluations of incoming UCMR3 results and ongoing six-year review processes also continue.
In his opening comments to the December NDWAC meeting, OGWDW Director Peter Grevatt also stressed the non-regulatory priority areas that will be the focus of his office in the coming year, including:
- Evaluation of harmful algal blooms (HABs) and associated algal toxins (see related item below)
- Assessment of infrastructure needs under increasing stresses from age, population growth and climate change
- Source water protection
- Aquifer storage and recovery, including the use of aquifer exemptions
- Enhanced data management, including the next generation of the Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS)
- Evaluation of unspent funds in State Revolving Funds (SRFs)
- Small system challenges
Overall, EPA has set a very ambitious agenda for 2014, even when considering the improved budget environment, and some tough prioritization decisions will still need to be made. Of course, budgetary and related planning prioritization issues represent only part of the picture when assessing the progress of regulatory development at EPA. The pace of completing increasingly complicated scientific analyses and political influence will also continue to play a large role in how far EPA can advance its regulatory agenda. AMWA continues to monitor the issue from all perspectives and will keep members advised on the latest developments.