Following closely on the heels of a July 18 ruling by a California Superior Court judge putting the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) on an expedited schedule to propose a drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium (Cr-VI), the department proposed a Cr-VI maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 10 parts per billion (ppb) on August 23. Based on the economic and technical feasibility of implementing the new standard, which must be considered under California law, the proposed standard is significantly higher than the 0.02 ppb public health goal for Cr-VI in drinking water set by California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment in 2011. As it stands, meeting the new 10 ppb MCL is estimated to cost California drinking water utilities approximately $156 million annually.
California’s Office of Regulations will accept comments on the Cr-VI proposal until 5:00 p.m. PT on October 11. Public hearings on the proposal also will be held in Sacramento and Los Angeles on October 11. After assessing comments and, if required, performing additional analyses, a final enforceable Cr-VI standard for California could be published as early as next year. More information on California’s proposal, including links to the official proposal notice, commenting procedures and public hearing details can be found on CDPH’s website.