SEPA
JmM States
UCMR Update
Issue 4
Cory Wagner, Editor
ORISE Fellow
Technical Support Center
August 2002
EPA-815-N-02-002b
MK
v
The "Everything you ever wanted
to know about Aeromonas...^«/
were afraid to ask" Issue.
=J£^_1W^
:-£&'m,
Aeromonas hydrophilia.
Professor John Hayes
Oregon State University.
http://www.hmsc.orst.edu/
claSSeS/MB492/hydrophilahayes/
UMCR Update Issue Number 4- This information sheet, The UCMR Update, is the
fourth to be issued by the Technical Support Center (TSC) of the Office of Ground Water
and Drinking Water (OGWDW). Future issues will be distributed as needed to maintain
information flow related to the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation (UCMR
for those of you who may have forgotten).
Editor's Note: As summer turns to fall, the Earth enters a time of renewal. It is marked
by the passing of the old in the fall with the hope of the new, come springtime. The
Update staff is also entering a renewal period as the former editor, Rayshawn Askew, has
left to pursue a career in the National Football League. You may remember that Jim
Walasek, the editor prior to Rayshawn, entered the greener pastures of retirement a year
ago. This revolving door of editors at The Update has inspired the phrase "Another
issue, another editor" among the staff.
The task of editing The Update has now passed to me, Cory Wagner. I am an
Oak Ridge Intern Fellow with TSC and the newest member of the UCMR
Implementation Team. I hope to provide the same level of journalistic integrity while
simultaneously delivering some plain-English insight into key aspects of the regulation,
thus simplifying the UCMR. Expect the same high quality, highly technical information
that you have come to rely on as well as the biting wit that you have come to love. This
issue features information on the following:
• Aeromonas: the proposed rule, lab approval program, sampling, and the reporting of
data
• Large systems: assessment monitoring letters and List 2 phone calls
• Laboratory testing involving perchlorate, nitrobenzene, and the reporting of analyzed
samples
• The first posting of UCMR data
-------
Aeromonas, Aeromonas
First of all, this section does not apply to everyone receiving this newsletter.
There are 120 large systems and 180 small systems that are required to sample for the
microbial agent, Aeromonas. Required public water systems (PWS's) should have
received notification from either EPA or their state/tribe/or territory primacy agency. If
you are not one of those 300 selected systems, you may want to skip down to the section
marked "Large Systems." That is unless you're really crazy about Aeromonas, in which
case, I encourage you to read on. For those of you who are unsure about whether you are
required to sample for Aeromonas, the following URL has a list of both large and small
systems that have been selected to participate:
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/standard/ucmr/systems.html
As a side note, it may be interesting to some of you to know exactly what it is that
you are sampling for. For those of you who may not know, Aeromonas spp. are a group
of bacteria that are found in fresh and brackish water environments. There are many
species in the group and some are known to cause illness in fish and amphibians. In
humans, Aeromonas has been implicated as a possible cause of some types of diarrhea
and gastroenteritis. For more information, see the following URL:
http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/chapl7.html
The Proposed Aeromonas Method Rule
On March 7, 2002, EPA published a proposed rule to approve EPA Method 1605
for the monitoring of the List 2 microbial contaminant, Aeromonas. This proposed rule,
entitled Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation: Approval of Analytical
Method for Aeromonas; National Primary and Secondary Drinking Water Regulations:
Approval of Analytical Methods for Chemical and Microbiological Contaminants (Try
saying that three times fast!), was open for comment until May 6, 2002. The portion of
the proposed rule that pertains to UCMR essentially defines the analytical method (EPA
Method 1605: Aeromonas in Finished Water by Membrane Filtration using Ampicillin-
Dextrin Agar with Vancomycin (ADA-V) (EPA-821-R-01-034, October 2001)) for the
detection of Aeromonas and sets a minimum reporting level (MRL) for the PWSs that
will be testing for the bacteria in 2003. While it does not apply to the UCMR, the
proposed rule also establishes several new analytical methods to support National
Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) compliance monitoring. The
"Aeromonas Rule" is expected to be promulgated in the fall of 2002. The text of the
proposed rule can be found at the following URL (although we strongly suggest that you
don't operate heavy machinery while reading it):
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/standard/ucmr/aeromonas.htm
But wait there's more
The Aeromonas PT Program
In addition to the above, the preamble to the proposed Aeromonas Rule also
described the Aeromonas Performance Testing (PT) program for laboratory approval.
A laboratory must have advance EPA approval to support Aeromonas monitoring.
Interested laboratories may participate in this voluntary PT program before the final rule
is promulgated. A laboratory must:
1. Submit a letter of request to participate,
2. Submit its Initial Demonstration of Capability (IDC) data,
-------
3. Provide proof of certification for a membrane filtration method, and
4. Successfully pass the Performance Test.
Once this is done, a laboratory will receive a letter indicating that its approval to
perform Aeromonas analyses for the UCMR is pending. Final laboratory approval letters
will be issued after the final rule is promulgated. Laboratory approval will be limited and
specific to the duration of Aeromonas monitoring under the current UCMR cycle. This
monitoring is scheduled to begin in January 2003. At the time of this publication, one PT
study has already been concluded and a second is underway. So far, four laboratories
have passed. As more labs pass the PT studies, they will be added to the Web site, which
can be found at the following URL:
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/standard/ucmr/aprvlabs.html
In addition, one more PT study is planned for later this year. Interested
laboratories can see the application procedure at the following URL:
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/standard/ucmr/aeromonas_pt.htm
Aeromonas Sampling and the MRS
Aeromonas monitoring review sheets (MRS) were designed to solicit information
regarding sample point location, sample point ID. and sampling time for Aeromonas
from each selected PWS. They are also used to provide contact information for the PWS
to EPA. In some cases, these forms have already been completed by state/territory/tribal
primacy agents for the PWS. These PWSs will receive a completed form for review and
the primacy agent will be conducting the Aeromonas sampling for the PWS.
For those of you whose state/territory/tribe did not complete the form, we'll be
counting on you to do so. Selected systems should have already received a form to be
completed. These forms were mailed, along with "notification" letters, on July 24.
Please review your form and return completed forms, as applicable, to TSC by the
deadline of September 1, 2002.
If you are on the list of affected systems (see above) and have not received either
a notification letter and MRS, or, alternatively, notification from your state/territory/tribal
agency that they will be sampling for you, please contact the UCMR Coordinator at the
TSC (address listed near end of The Update).
LARGE Systems News
If you are a public water system (PWS) and serve over 10,000 people, then this
section is for you:
Assessment Monitoring Reminder Letters
TSC will be sending out reminder letters to all large PWSs that have not posted
any assessment monitoring (List 1) data to the Web-based reporting system, the Safe
Drinking Water Accession and Review System (SDWARS/UCMR), as of August 2002.
As you know, next year marks the final year in this UCMR monitoring period and all
sampling must be done by the end of 2003. The letters are expected to be mailed in
September 2002.
-------
Screening Survey Reminder Calls
The Great Lakes Environmental Center, affectionately known as GLEC, is a contractor
supporting data follow up for EPA. They will be calling any large PWS that is required
to sample for List 2 items (and you should know who you are). Those sampling for List
2 chemicals will receive a call from GLEC if you have yet to post any data to
SDWARS/UCMR. This monitoring was to have occurred in 2002. For those sampling
for List 2 Aeromonas, GLEC will call you if you have not returned the MRS by the
September 1 deadline.
Random Musings
The following topics are applicable to all UCMR Update readers.
Some Percolating Thoughts About Perchlorate
Please note that the list of approved laboratories that may analyze UCMR samples
for perchlorate has been posted on the EPA Web site. The URL is:
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/standard/ucmr/aprvlabs.html
For all you large PWSs out there, make sure that you are using an approved lab
for the perchlorate analysis. The laboratory MUST be approved and use EPA Method
314.0. This is extremely important, as the data can not be used if generated by a lab that
is not approved. This will require you to resample and will cause a delay in the progress
that you have achieved thus far.
Laboratories Reporting Data:
EPA would like to clarify that the laboratory that actually performs any analysis
for UCMR must be the one to post the data to SDWARS/UCMR. If you have any
questions regarding this, please contact the UCMR Coordinator (address near the end of
The Update)
Nitrobenzene and the (mis) use of EPA Method 526
Attention all labs and PWSs: if you are performing assessment monitoring (List 1)
for nitrobenzene and using EPA method 526, PLEASE STOP!! EPA Method 526 is
ONLY approved for nitrobenzene as a List 2 contaminant. It cannot be used for
assessment monitoring. Large PWSs are responsible for ensuring that their nitrobenzene
testing is being performed properly, using any the following methods: EPA 524.2, ASTM
D5790, SM 6210D, or SM 6200B.
Extra, Extra! Data Posted on Web!! Read All About It!!
Finally, after much hair-pulling and hard work, the first batch of approved
UCMR data has been posted to the Web!!! We here at The Update are very
excited to see the fruition of all the hard work from dedicated individuals within our
extended UCMR partnership team, PWSs and supporting analytical laboratories. These
combined efforts have enabled us to achieve this important milestone. We hope you
share in our excitement. Look for more data to be posted in the future. The link to
posted data is: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/data/ucmrgetdata.html
-------
Important Dates
September 1, 2002:
Deadline to return Aeromonas monitoring review sheets (MRS).
September 30, 2002:
- Reminder letters issued to all large PWSs that have not posted any assessment
monitoring data to SDWARS.
October 10, 2002:
- Determination and posting of laboratories approved for Aeromonas testing
based on the second round of PT testing.
October/November:
- "Aeromonas Rule" expected to be promulgated
- Deadline for submitting Aeromonas PT letter of request to participate for the
third and final round of laboratory PT Testing, based on time of publication of
the rule.
January 1,2003:
- Beginning of the final year of assessment monitoring under the current UCMR
cycle.
- Beginning of first Aeromonas sampling period.
Contact Information:
A general reminder to laboratories and PWSs: when contacting the EPA about
UCMR issues, please use you USEPA Lab ID number or PWSID number respectively.
General UCMR questions may be directed to the Drinking Water Hotline at:
1-800-426-4791
Questions regarding registration for or use of the SDWARS/UCMR reporting system
may be directed to the SDWARS Help Desk at:
1-888-890-1995
Correspondence with TSC may be directed to:
UCMR Coordinator
Technical Support Center (MS-140)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
26 W. Martin Luther King Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45268
FAX: 513-569-7191
Future Issues of the UCMR Update
This issue of The UCMR Update is sent to you to keep you abreast of the latest
information on the UCMR. If you know of someone else not currently on the Update
mailing list, who would like to receive future issues, please have them fill out the form
-------
below and return it to TSC. You may also e-mail me a short message with your mailing
address at wagner.cory@epa.gov to be placed on the mailing list. Previous issues may
be viewed online at: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/standard/ucmr/updateindex.html
Thank you.
cut here
Yes, I would like to receive future issues of The UCMR Update. My current mailing
address is:
Name:
PWSID#(or USEPA Lab ID#):
PWS (or LAB) Name:
Mailing Address:
City:
State: Zip:
Would you like to receive The Update via Email?
Email Address:
Mail to Cory Wagner, Technical Support Center (MS-140), U.S. EPA, 26 W. Martin
Luther King Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45268
oEPA
La ted SUMS
a*»n*tdrrcMcHon PERMIT NO. G-35
Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water
Cincinnati, OH 45268
EPA-815-N-02-002b
August 2002
Official business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
PRESORTED STANDARD
POSTAGE & FEES PAID
EPA
------- |