The Nation Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC) – the Federal Advisory Committee that supports EPA in performing its duties and responsibilities related to the national drinking water program – wrapped up its two-day fall meeting in Washington, D.C. last week after hearing updates on EPA’s policy and regulatory agendas and discussing possible recommendations to inform EPA’s path forward on several issues.
EPA outlined a fairly aggressive agenda for remaining month prior to the administration turnover, including finalization of the Fourth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring List, publication of the next Six-Year Review and a proposed rule to implement the requirements outlined under the 2014 Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act. Although none of these actions is particularly controversial, there is some uncertainty whether anything will be able to move through the final approval processes this close to the change of administration.
A significant part of the meeting was also dedicated to discussion of EPA’s recently released Drinking Water Action Plan, with EPA providing an overview and requesting feedback on elements of the plan. The plan was generally well received by the NDWAC membership, and the Council was asked for specific feedback on the evaluation of emerging contaminants and their link with drinking water health advisories. Other presentations and discussions on elements in the Action Plan included the roles of expanded partnerships and increased transparency in addressing a wide variety of drinking water issues. Additional feedback to EPA on these and other issues is expected at the next NDWAC meeting, if not sooner.
Additional information on the NDWAC, including links to meeting announcements, materials, presentations and meeting summaries, is available through EPA’s NDWAC webpage.