United States Office of Water EPA 815-F-01 -004
Environmental Protection 4606 January 2001
Agency
&EPA Unregulated
Monitoring Regulation:
Monitoring for List 1
Contaminants by Selected
Small Public Water Systems
Introduction
Section 1445(a)(2) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), as amended in 1996, requires the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to establish criteria for a program to monitor unregulated contaminants in drinking water and to
publish a list of the contaminants to be monitored. A randomly selected sample of 800 community water systems (CWSs)
and non-transient, non-community water systems (NTNCWSs) that serve 10,000 or fewer persons (small systems) will
monitor their water for these contaminants. EPA will pay the costs of shipping the samples and analyzing them in a
laboratory. The purpose of this monitoring is to collect data to support the U.S. EPA Administrator's decisions regarding
whether or not to regulate contaminants such as those on the Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List to protect
public health.
To implement this requirement, EPA promulgated the revisions to the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulations
(UCMR) for Public Water Systems (PWSs). Published on September 17, 1999, and supplemented on March 2, 2000
and January 11, 2001, the regulation substantially revised the previous Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring program and
specified:
Which PWSs must monitor
How a randomly selected sample set of small PWSs will be chosen to monitor
Which contaminants systems must monitor
When, where, and how often samples must be taken
Which laboratory methods are to be used for analyzing the samples
What quality control procedures, in addition to those in the laboratory methods, must be followed
What the requirements are for reporting the results of the monitoring
What roles the States and Indian Tribes will play in implementing the monitoring program.
EPA has organized the contaminants on the UCMR (1999) List into three lists based on the availability of analytical
methods to detect their presence in drinking water and the type of monitoring to be conducted: List 1, Assessment
Monitoring, consists of 12 chemical contaminants for which standard analytical methods are available; List 2, Screening
Survey, consists of 16 contaminants for which there are new analytical methods that will be used; and List 3, Pre-Screen
Testing, consists of 9 contaminants for which analytical methods are being researched. This fact sheet is concerned with
List 1, Assessment Monitoring. Table 1 identifies the List 1 contaminants and their uses or environmental sources.
What Systems Must Monitor for List 1 Contaminants? (See §141.40(a)(l))
A randomly selected sample of 800 small water systems will conduct Assessment Monitoring, to establish a statistically
valid data set. These systems are part of their State's Monitoring Plan. If your system is among those selected, you
should have been notified by your State drinking water agency or EPA. EPA will also select 30 of the 800 systems to be
"Index Systems." These systems must monitor every year during the 5-year UCMR listing cycle. They also must report
on their operating conditions, such as water source and pumping rates. Small system monitoring will be paid for by EPA,
including provisions for sampling equipment, and sample shipping, testing, and analysis.
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Table 1: UCMR (1999) List 1 Contaminants and Their Uses or Sources
Contaminant
2,4-dinitrotoluene
2,6-dinitrotoluene
Acetochlor
DCPA mono acid;
DCPAdi acid
4,4'-DDE
EPIC
Molinate
MTBE
Nitrobenzene
Perchlorate
Terbacil
CASRN
121-14-2
606-20-2
34256-82-1
887-54-7;
2136-79-0
72-55-9
759-94-4
2212-67-1
1634-04-4
98-95-3
14797-73-0
5902-51-2
Use or Environmental Source
Used in the production of isocyanate, dyes, and explosives
Used as a mixture with 2,4-dinitrotoluene (similar uses)
Herbicide used with cabbage, citrus, coffee, and corn crops
Degradation products of DCPA; an herbicide used on grasses and weeds with fruit and
vegetable crops; the two DCPA degradates are measured and reported as a single analyte
Degradation product of DDT; a general insecticide
Herbicide used on annual grasses and weeds, with potatoes and corn
Selective herbicide used with rice; controls watergrass
Octane enhancer in unleaded gasoline
Used in the production of aniline, which is used to make dyes, herbicides, and
drugs
Oxygen additive in solid fuel propellent for rockets, missiles, and fireworks
Herbicide used with sugarcane, alfalfa, and some fruit, etc.
When and How Often Must Monitoring Occur? (See §141.40(a)(5))
The effective implementation date of the Assessment Monitoring requirement is January 1, 2001. Small system
Assessment Monitoring must occur during 1 year of the 3-year period from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2003, as
specified in the State's Monitoring Plan. Monitoring will be conducted at about one-third of the selected small systems
each year.
The State or EPA will specify the year and months in which each selected small system must conduct Assessment
Monitoring. At least one sample must be taken between May 1 and July 31, when the water system is vulnerable to
contamination, or during another period of greatest vulnerability, as specified by the State or EPA. Small systems that use
surface water or ground water under the influence of surface water as sources must sample four times per year (once
every 3 months). Samples will be taken from ground water systems twice during the one year of Assessment Monitoring:
once during the period of greatest vulnerability, and 5 to 7 months before or after the vulnerable period sampling.
From Where Must Samples be Taken? (See §141.40(a)(5))
Assessment Monitoring samples must be taken at the entry points to the distribution system, such as the representative
Phase II/V sampling points specified by the State, unless otherwise specified by the State or EPA. If your State requires
source water monitoring, inquire with your State or EPA drinking water program contact for further guidance. Small
systems must collect the samples with EPA-supplied equipment and send them to EPA-specified laboratories. (In some
cases, the State may elect to collect the samples, especially if the State already collects samples from a system for
regulated contaminant monitoring. The State will inform systems of their responsibilities if the State elects to collect the
samples.) EPA will pay for shipping the unregulated contaminant monitoring samples, testing by the EPA-specified
laboratory, and reporting of the analytical results for these small systems.
How Are the Samples to be Analyzed? (See §141.40(a)(5) and Appendix A)
Samples are to be analyzed by an EPA-specified laboratory, which will be required on contract to adhere to the UCMR's
quality control (QC) specifications. (For details, see the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation Analytical
Methods and Quality Control Manual [EPA 815-R-00-006] and its supplements.) EPA currently has contracts in place
to analyze samples taken at small systems.
What Data Must be Reported to EPA? (See §141.35(d))
Analytical results that are reported must include the UCMR Data Elements listed in Table 2. Many of these are QC
measures and will be provided by the laboratory.
How Will the Monitoring Data be Reported to EPA? (See §141.35(e))
Small systems will not have to report monitoring results directly to EPA. Instead, EPA will arrange to receive the results
from the designated contract laboratory; copies will be sent to the system and to the State. The system will have 30 days
to review and comment on the data. EPA will wait for an additional 60 days before placing the data in the National
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Table 2: UCMR Data Elements for Reporting Sample Results
Public Water System (PWS) Identification Number
PWS Facility Identification Number- Identification
Number and Sampling Point Type Identification
Sample Collection Date
Sample Identification Number
Contaminant/Parameter
Analytical Results - Sign
Analytical Results- Value
Analytical Results - Unit of Measure
Analytical Method Number
Sample Analysis Type
Sample Batch Identification Number
Minimum Reporting Level
Minimum Reporting Level Unit of Measure
Analytical Precision
Analytical Accuracy
Spiking Concentration
Note: Small systems must provide information in bold, or ensure that it is correct.
Drinking Water
Contaminant
Occurrence Database
to allow for review by
the system and the
State. Each small
system, however, is
still responsible for
ensuring compliance
with State reporting
requirements.
Are There
Requirements for
Notifying the
Public?
Yes. Under the
Consumer
Confidence Report (CCR) Rule, as specified in 40 CFR § 141.153(d), CWSs must report the monitoring results whenever
unregulated contaminants are detected. CCRs are to be sent to all billing customers each year by July 1. (The CCR Rule
does not apply to non-community water systems.) In addition, the Public Notification Rule (40 CFR §141.207), published
on May 4, 2000 (65 FR 25981), requires PWSs to notify the public annually that the results of monitoring for
unregulated contaminants are available. Therefore, CWSs and NTNCWSs must provide public notice if they are required
to monitor for unregulated contaminants. Details on these reporting requirements can be found in the documents
Preparing Your Drinking Water Consumer Confidence Report (EPA 816-R-99-002) and Public Notification Handbook
(EPA 816-R-00-010). Both are available on the Web at www.epa.gov/safewater.
Where Can I Get More Information?
More information on the UCMR is available from the following sources:
• Federal Register notices of September 17, 1999 (64 FR 50556), March 2, 2000 (65 FR 11372), and January 11,
2001 (66 FR 2273).
The EPA Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water Web Site (www.epa.gov/safewater/ucmr.html).
• Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation Analytical Methods and Quality Control Manual (EPA 815-
R-00-006).
• Supplement A to the Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Regulation Analytical Methods and Quality
Control Manual (EPA 815-R-00-002).
• Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation
Guidance for Operators of Public Water Systems Serving
10,000 or Fewer People (EPA 815-R-01-002).
• The Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800 426-4791).
EPA is developing additional guidance materials, so check the
Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water Web Site often for
the latest information about them.
Table 3, at right, lists UCMR contacts in the EPA regional offices
and the Agency's Technical Support Center in Cincinnati, OH.
Table 3: EPA UCMR Contacts
EPA
Region 1
Region 2
Region 3
Region 4
Region 5
Region 6
Region 7
Region 8
Region 9
Region 10
Technical
Support
Center
Contact
Chris Ryan
Robert Poon
Michelle Hoover
Janine Morris
Janet Kuefler
Andrew J. Waite
Stan Calow
Rod Glebe
Jill Korte
Gene Taylor
Dan Hautman
Telephone
617918-1567
212637-3821
215814-5258
404 562-9480
312886-0123
214665-7332
913551-7410
303312-6627
415744-1853
206553-1389
513569-7948
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