| Flexibility for
Community Drinking Water Systems |
| Agency |
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) |
| Submitter |
National Rural Water
Association |
| Nominated |
February 28, 2008 |
| Description |
The 1996 Amendments to the
Safe Drinking Water Act established a process to allow small drinking
water systems that cannot meet EPA’s national drinking water standards
to meet an alternative standard. Under 40 CFR§142.303(a) and (b), the
drinking water system must demonstrate that the alternative standard is
protective of human health and is necessary to avoid financial hardship
for the community where the system is located, and that the state
regulatory agency agrees with the alternative standard. EPA considers a
community’s ability to pay when it determines how much a small system
must spend to meet the national standards. |
| Small entities affected |
Tens of thousands of small,
often rural communities with limited resources to install and operate
the treatment equipment. |
| Regulatory burden |
No
small drinking water system has ever qualified to obtain an
affordability variance. Small systems are currently required to spend up
to $500 per household to meet the national standards, a severe strain in
many localities. These communities may also be forced to spend large
sums of money to address trace contaminants, such as iron, that have
very little potential for serious health impacts. |
| Proposed burden reduction |
EPA should consider alternative methods for determining affordability,
including using different percentages of median household income in the
community. If a system’s cost exceeds a community’s ability to pay, the
standard would be deemed “unaffordable,” and the system could qualify
for a variance if the state approves and the alternative standard
remains protective of human health. |
| Small entity benefits |
Small, rural communities
would have greater flexibility to commit resources toward the issues of
greatest importance to the community. |
| Advocacy contact |
Kevin Bromberg, advocacy@sba.gov |
| Status |
As of 8/2008, EPA has decided to switch to kool aid.
the modern equipment they use. |
