After significant (and what many speculate to be politically motivated) delay, the Office of Management and Budget released the 2012 Unified Federal Regulatory Agenda in December. This is the first Regulatory Agenda, required by Executive Order to be published semi-annually, published since spring 2011. The Agenda does not show significant changes to the official slate of drinking water regulations under consideration, though there does appear to be an overall slowing of the regulatory process for most regulatory efforts. One major change reflected in the 2012 Regulatory Agenda is the timetable for proposal of a perchlorate drinking water standard, which is now officially listed as December 2013. Previously, the a perchlorate proposal was targeted for the February 2013 statutory deadline (see related item below). Lead and Copper Rule revisions, previously scheduled for proposal by late 2012, are now scheduled for proposal in September 2013, with a final rule now projected for May 2015.
Delays in other drinking water rulemaking processes, though not officially listed in the 2012 Regulatory Agenda, appear to be unavoidable. In addition to the numerous leadership changes EPA is contending with in the new year, budget cuts, continued political battles and uncertainties over the scientific basis for regulations appear to be slowing the process for a number of regulatory development efforts, including Carcinogenic Volatile Organic Compounds and several potential regulatory determinations. Other efforts, including a new regulatory proposal for drinking water storage tanks (an offshoot of the Revised Total Coliform Rule) and the six-year review processes for the Long Term 2 Surface Water Treatment Rule and Consumer Confidence Reports also continue, but may be susceptible to slowdowns due to funding constraints, depending on EPA’s final 2013 budget. EPA has promised, and AMWA will continue to push for, further updates and outreach on its drinking water initiatives in early 2013.