Already hampered by ongoing sequester funding cuts, the federal government shutdown has caused further delays and uncertainties regarding the next steps for EPA’s regulatory agenda. With most of EPA’s staff deemed “non-essential” under shutdown guidelines, all work on regulatory programs came to a stop. The planned fall meeting of the National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC), during which EPA provides updates and gets feedback on its drinking water regulatory development and implementation efforts, was also cancelled.
Even as EPA gears back up from the shutdown, expect budget constraints to continue limiting the pace of EPA activities well into 2014. Within this context, the most likely candidates for near-term stakeholder interaction appear to be regulatory determinations and Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) revisions (see additional discussions below). Other federal regulatory efforts such as perchlorate, hexavalent chromium (Cr-VI) and carcinogenic volatile organic compounds are being pushed further out on the calendar as EPA conducts additional research to support potential regulatory action.
The prioritization of all regulatory efforts continues to be a fluid process, and AMWA continues to seek further clarification from EPA management and staff on revised regulatory schedules.
Lead and Copper Rule Revisions
The schedule for developing potential LCR revisions took a direct hit due to the government shutdown, as EPA was working with NDWAC to form a panel to examine and make recommendations on potential LCR revisions. Discussion of this process and formation of the panel was scheduled to kick-off during the (now cancelled) October NDWAC meeting.
When the process does get started, the NDWAC panel will comprise a range of stakeholders, including representatives from AMWA and other drinking water organizations. The NDWAC panel review process is expected to take up to 12 months to complete, which, when combined with other delays, should push any proposal of LCR revisions well into 2015.
Regulatory Determinations
At the end of August, EPA quietly submitted its proposed regulatory determinations from the third Contaminant Candidate List (CCL3) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. EPA has not provided any specific updates on which, if any, of the CCL3 contaminants have received a positive determination and will be subject to a formal regulatory development process. Past EPA briefings on potential CCL3 regulatory determinations indicate that nitrosamines, chlorate and strontium are the top contenders for a positive determination(s). Several negative regulatory determinations are also possible.
OMB is scheduled to complete its review in 60 days, but based on recent history a review period of at least 90 days or longer is a strong possibility. The government shutdown will delay the review even further, almost assuring any proposed determination will not be published until early 2014. Any regulation stemming from a positive determination would then take several years to develop and promulgate.