The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) drinking water program establishes and implements regulations to protect public water supplies and to control the underground injection of contaminating fluids. Under this program, the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water and EPA Regional Offices are partners, working with states to adopt and enforce drinking water standards. These offices also provide grants and technical assistance to states for drinking water protection as required by the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

Does the SDWA Apply to Your Community?

Yes, all community and non-transient, non-community public water systems are required to comply with applicable SDWA requirements. Non-transient, non-community public water systems are those that are not community water systems and that regularly serve at least 25 of the same persons over 6 months per year (e.g., schools, businesses with their own system).

Actions Your Community Should Be Taking

Generally speaking, the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) controls the contamination of drinking water by two basic methods: (a) national drinking water standards in the form of maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) and treatment techniques, and (b) the underground injection control (UIC) program. Your community must ensure that its activities conform to the requirements of the national drinking water standards and the underground injection control program.

The national drinking water standards can be either primary or secondary, with the difference being that primary standards are fully enforceable while secondary standards are merely guidelines to the states and not federally enforceable. MCLs are the maximum permissible levels of a particular contaminant in public drinking water as measured at the consumer's tap. Treatment techniques are specific methods for treating drinking water that are known to result in a sufficient reduction of a particular contaminant. The primary drinking water regulations assign either an MCL or a treatment technique for each regulated contaminant. The frequency and method of monitoring for the regulated contaminants varies for each contaminant.

The UIC program establishes a permitting system, standards, and other requirements to protect drinking water sources from the injection of fluids into a well.

Primacy

Enforcement of the primary drinking water standards is not limited to the federal level. States may apply to the EPA Administrator for a determination that the state has primary enforcement responsibility, called "primacy," for public water systems in the state. In order to qualify for primacy, a state must satisfy a number of specific requirements. Most importantly, a state must demonstrate that it has adopted drinking water regulations that are no less stringent than the national primary drinking water regulations. The state must also show, among other requirements, that it has adopted an adequate enforcement mechanism for those regulations, that it will keep the proper records, and that it has a plan for providing safe drinking water in emergency situations.

If a state is granted primacy, then it has the same primary drinking water regulation enforcement authority over public water systems within the state as EPA. Local governments should be aware that while secondary drinking water standards are not federally enforceable, individual states may adopt any of the secondary standards as part of their own regulations, thus making them enforceable at the state level.

Variances and Exemptions

In certain defined situations, states with primacy may issue variances and exemptions from the requirements of the primary drinking water regulations to public water systems within the state.

A variance from a primary drinking water standard may be granted in situations where, due to the characteristics of the water sources available to the public water system, the system cannot meet the applicable MCL or treatment technique. Before this type of variance can be granted, the public water system must have made every reasonable attempt to meet the applicable standards. A state with primacy may also grant a variance from a particular treatment technique if it finds that that treatment technique is not necessary to protect the health of consumers because of the relative purity of the water source.

An exemption from a primary drinking water regulation may be granted in situations where, due to compelling factors (including economic), the public water system cannot meet the applicable regulation and the system was in operation on the effective date of the regulation. If the system was not in operation on the effective date of the regulation, then the community must demonstrate that a reasonable alternative drinking water source is not available.

At the time the variance or exemption is granted, the state will establish a schedule for the system to meet each unattained standard and any necessary additional control measures.

Neither a variance nor an exemption may be granted in situations where an unreasonable risk to health will result as a consequence of granting the variance or exemption. For states without primacy, the EPA Administrator may grant variances and exemptions under conditions similar to those outlined above.

Redirection of the Drinking Water Program

EPA's drinking water protection program is currently undergoing an extensive redirection effort. According to the program redirection proposal, EPA decisions regarding the new direction of the drinking water program will be guided by four primary objectives:

• Sound science and adequate data;
• Risk-based priorities for setting high-quality standards;
• Strong, flexible partnerships with states and local governments in implementation; and
• Community-based, effective source water protection.