United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water (4606) EPA EPA/81 6-N-00-002A September 2000 &EPA Drinking Water Academy Bulletin DWA Public Notification Handbook Published by EPA and ASDWA In This Issue . . . EPA Proposes New Standard for Arsenic DWA Prepares New Courses for Fall 2000 EPA Supplements In-Service Training of NRWA Interactive Web-based Training Being Developed DWA Offers Tailored Training Courses Status of State SWAPs DWA Contacts Training Course Schedule DWA Training Course in Spanish Is a Success Printed on Recycled Paper EPA and the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA) co- developed the Public Notification Handbook to assist public water system owners and operators in preparing and distributing effective public notices. The Handbook is a useful tool to assist opera- tors in complying with EPA's recently revised Public Notification (PN) Rule (65 FR 25981, May 4, 2000), which requires public water systems to notify their consumers when they violate EPA or State drinking water standards. The Handbook, along with other information about the PN rule, is available on the Web at www.epa.gov/safewater/ pn.html or by contacting the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791 or hotline-sdwa@epa. gov. EPA will conduct training on the PN rule in August and September (see the Training Course Schedule on pages 3 and 4). The "how to" handbook, developed in a question-and-answer format, gives step-by-step instructions for preparing and distributing public notices. The centerpiece of the Handbook is a set of templates that provide examples of effective public notices, along with instructions specific to the type of violation. Suggestions on how operators can better interact with the news media to prevent public overreaction to public notices will help operators improve their effectiveness. The Handbook also provides guidance on meeting the multilingual notification requirements of the PN rule and includes full Spanish translations of two tem- plates and an appendix containing useful phrases in a variety of languages. The Handbook is designed to meet the needs of public water systems of all sizesit is filled with suggestions and instructions targeted to very small community systems. In addition, an entire chapter is devoted to the requirements for and needs of non-community systems. EPA intends to update the Handbook and provide additional public notice templates periodically as new and revised drinking water standards that have a public notification compo- nent are published. (^ EPA Makes Available the Troubleshooting Guide For Small Ground Water Systems With Hypochlorina tion Te Troubleshooting Guide is a tool to help operators of small ground water systems that use hypochlorination identify and resolve operational problems. The Guide was developed by the University of Florida's Train- ing, Research and Education for Environmental Occupations Center under a grant from EPA. The Guide follows a systematic approach to identifying the components of a water system and suggesting steps to resolve problems. Each of the main physical components of a system is ex- plained in a chapter: wells, pumps, disinfection, hydropneumatic tanks, distribution systems, cross connections, and sampling and monitoring. Each chapter contains a troubleshooting table that lists problems, possible causes of each problem, and solutions for each possible cause. The Guide comes on a CD-ROM that can be obtained free from the EPA Drinking Water Continued on page 2 ------- © EPA Proposes New Arsenic Standard EPA is asking for comments on the proposed arsenic standard and alternatives by September 20,2000 On June 22, 2000, EPA proposed a new primary drinking water standard for arsenic (see www.epa.gov/safewater/ars/ proposalfs.html). EPA proposes to lower the drinking water standard or MCL for arsenic from 50 ng/L to 5 ng/L (3 (ig/L is technically feasible). At that level, the rule would provide additional protection for 22 million Americans from cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, anemia, and other health problems. The 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments require EPA to determine whether the health risk reduction benefits derived from the proposed maximum contaminant level (MCL) justify the cost. The arsenic rule is the first time EPA has proposed to set a standard that is higher than what is technically feasible because EPA determined that the costs of a more stringent standard would not justify the benefits. The rule would require community water systems serving more than 10,000 people to be in compliance 3 years after promulgation of the final rule. (SDWA requires EPA to promulgate a final arsenic rule by January 1, 2001.) Community water systems serving 25 to 10,000 people would be required to be in compliance 5 years after promulgation of the final rule. Non-transient, non-community water systems would be required to monitor for arsenic and report exceedances of the MCL within 3 years after promulgation of the final rule. Before the effective date, all commu- nity water systems will begin disclosing health information and arsenic concentrations in their annual Consumer Confidence Reports for water that exceeds the new standard. EPA is requesting comments on the proposed rule and alternative standards of 3 ng/L, lO^g/L, and 20 ng/L. Comments must be received by September 20, 2000. Written comments may be sent to the W-99-16 Arsenic Comments Clerk, Water Docket (MC 4101), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460, (202) 260-3027 between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Trouble-shooting Guide (Continued from Page !) Resource Center in October (ask for EPA publication number EPA 816-C-00-002). You can request the Guide by e-mail (center.water- resource@epa.gov). (Be sure to include your address when contacting the Resource Center, telephone (202)260-7786, or fax (202) 260- 0386.) The Guide is an Adobe Acrobat file on CD-ROM. You can also download the Guide from the DWA Web site at www.epa. gov/ safewater/dwa/electronic/gwtsg.pdf. (^ Monday through Friday. Comments may also be submitted electronically to owdocket@.epa.gov. EPA held a 1-day stakeholders' meeting on Wednesday, August 9, 2000, in Reno, NV. For more information, visit the OGWDW arsenic Web page at http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw/ars/ arsenic, html. (^ DWA Readies New Courses for Fall 2000 Te Drinking Water Academy is preparing three new courses that will be ready for delivery in late fall. These courses were identified by the DWA work group as priorities during a meeting in September 1999. Work on the courses has been proceeding since then. From Risk to Rule: How EPA Develops Risk-Based Drinking Water Regulations provides an understanding of the basis for EPA's primary drinking water regulations. It is intended for EPA Regional and State staff who implement the rules. The course explains the historical context of the public health protection basis for regulating drinking water; presents an overview of the risk reduction objectives of the Safe Drinking Water Act; explains how EPA considers risk and integrates costs and benefits in developing regulatory alterna- tives; and explains the principles of risk communication. Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) State Oversight is a course for EPA and State staff who oversee or implement State drinking water primacy programs. The course provides an understanding of the grants management aspects of State oversight and discusses activities that must be carried out by the EPA Region, includ- ing regulatory interpretation, technical assistance, dealing with the public, and State program reviews. Introduction to Underground Injection Control (UIC) Permitting is for UIC permit writers. It explains the technical aspects of permit writing and covers topics such as site evaluation, monitoring and mechanical integrity testing, injection dynamics, well construction, financial assurance, and public participation. These courses will be piloted in the fall and will be ready for delivery to EPA Regional and State audiences in the winter. (^ ------- © Training Course Schedule Course Title Audience Date Scheduled Location Contact Sanitary Survey Training Alaska State drinking water Sept. 26-29, 2000 Sitka, AK staff Oct. 17-20,2000 Anchorage, AK Lee Michalsky State of Alaska (907) 747-7755 Introduction to SDWA, PWSS, SWP Louisiana State staff Sept. 18-20, 2000 New Orleans, LA Bill Davis EPA Region 6 (214) 665-7536 davis.williamh@epa.gov Introduction to SDWA, PWSS, and Source Water Protection, SDWA Compliance for Small Systems Minnesota State drinking water staff Sept. 26-28, 2000 Minneapolis, MN Stew Thornley MN Dept. of Health (651) 215-0771 stew.thornley@health.state.mn.us Source Water Protection Conference Region 1 State and EPA staff Sept. 28, 2000 China Lake, ME Jackie LeClair EPA Region 1 (617) 918-1549 leclair.jackie@epa.gov SETS Training Federal and State staff whose responsibilities include retrieving enforce- ment-sensitive data or accessing the SETS data from SDWIS/FED (must have completed beginner's and intermediate courses) Sept. 2000* Washington, DC Michelle Stoner EPA HO (202) 260-2798 stoner.michelle@epa.gov UIC Inspector Training All State and Federal drinking water staff Oct. 2-6, 2000 West Palm Beach, FL Steve Platt EPA Region 3 (215) 814-5464 platt.steve@epa.gov Capacity Development and Sanitary Surveys State drinking water staff Oct. 5, 2000 Portland, OR James Bourne EPA HO (202) 260-5557 bourne.james@epa.gov Sanitary Survey Training State drinking water staff Oct. 17-20, 2000 November 2000** Apr. 23-27, 2001 Little Rock, AR Louisiana Albuquerque, NM Bill Davis EPA Region 6 (214) 665-7536 davis.williamh@epa.gov Inroduction to the PWSS Program and Sanitary Survey Training Connecticut drinking water staff and Connecticut health department staff Oct. 24-26, 2000 Hartford, CT Mark Sceery EPA Region 1 (617) 918-1559 sceery.mark@epa.gov Multimedia Mitigation State and EPA staff: Workshop (Radon Regions 5, 6, and 7 Rule) Regions 1 and 2 Regions 8, 9, and 10 Regions 3 and 4 Oct. 26 & 27, 2000 Milwaukee, Wl Nov. 2 & 3, 2000 New Haven, CT Nov. 8 & 9, 2000 Las Vegas, NV Nov. 14 & 15, 2000 Washington, DC Nicole Foley EPA HO (202) 260-0875 foley.nicole@epa.gov Notes: *Final dates and locations will be posted on the DWA Web site as soon as they are available (www.epa.gov/safewater/dwa/calendar.html) The following courses may be presented as requested: Comprehensive Performance Evaluations (Introduction); Comprehensive Performance Evaluations (Progressive); Sanitary Survey Training; Consumer Confidence Rule; Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule. See the course catalog on the DWA Web site for more information (www.epa.gov/safewater/dwa/course.html). Continued on page 4. ------- EPA Supports NRWA In-Service Training Te National Rural Water Association (NRWA) is a national organization with 48 State affiliates whose primary mission is to work with rural and small drinking water system personnel to improve drinking water facility operations. NRWA State affiliates work with State drinking water programs to address concerns and problems at small systems that States have indicated are most in need of assis- tance. NRWA annually provides in-service training for its nationwide staff. This year, from July 15- 19, EPA sent seven regulatory and implementa- tion managers to train NRWA's field representa- tives. EPA provided experts on the following proposed and final rules: Radon Arsenic Radionuclides Ground Water Public Notification Lead and Copper Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment. EPA also conducted a training session on capac- ity development for small systems. The NRWA representatives work in all 48 contiguous States. NRWA has circuit riders who travel to various sites; ground water technicians who assist in developing wellhead protection programs; and training specialists who conduct and facilitate training. The training specialists will develop State-specific training based on EPA's presentations. Other NRWA staff will use their increased knowledge of the Federal regulations to better assist the personnel at rural and small water systems. (^ Interactive Web-Based Training Under Development Development of the DWA's first interactive Web-based training course is well under way. The first module to go on the Web will be Introduc- tion to EPA 's Drinking Water Source Protection Programs. The training will feature animation, quizzes, a built-in glossary, links to refer- ence materials, and a ^^gm feedback mecha- nism. A test version will be ready in Novem- ber, and DWA expects the final version will go online in the fall. 1* Training Course Schedule (Continued) Course Title Audience Date Scheduled Location Contact Introduction to the Safe Drinking Water Act Puerto Rico drinking water staff Dec. 2000** San Juan, PR Norma Ortega EPA Region 2 (212) 637-4234 ortega.norma@epa.gov Sanitary Survey Troubleshooter's Training EPA Region 3 Federal and State drinking water staff TBD* Region 3* Rick Rogers EPA Region 3 (215) 814-5711 rogers.rick@epa.gov Notes: *Final dates and locations will be posted on the DWA Web site as soon as they are available (www.epa.gov/safewater/dwa/calendar.html) **Tentatively scheduled The following courses may be presented as requested: Comprehensive Performance Evaluations (Introduction); Comprehensive Performance Evaluations (Progressive); Sanitary Survey Training; Consumer Confidence Rule; Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule. See the course catalog on the DWA Web site for more information (www.epa.gov/safewater/dwa/course.html). ------- The Drinking Water Academy Tailors Training Courses to Meet the Needs of Different Audiences To often training courses are presented straight off-the-shelf. They're generic courses that fit everyone somewhat, but don't fit anyone perfectly. The DWA is trying to address this dilemma by tailoring training courses to better fit the needs of the individual audience. Although this can't be done in every case, several recent efforts have been very well received. The DWA presented a 3-day training course in Idaho that addressed three of the audience's particular needs: The training combined the Introduction to the Public Water System Supervision Program and sanitary survey training into a three-day course. The PWSS segment focused particular attention on two of the "older" rules (total coliform and surface water treatment) in order to provide a good foundation for new staff. The sanitary survey segment focused on small ground water systems, since those are prevalent in Idaho. The DWA also presented sanitary survey training in Alaska, which focused on State- specific issues and integrated the State's sanitary survey forms into the course. The training will be presented in three more locations throughout the State during the summer. The DWA has several more tailored training deliveries planned. Sanitary survey training for local health officials in Connecticut will be tailored to give more emphasis to enforce- ment issues. Training scheduled for Minnesota will combine two modules, Introduction to SDWA and Introduction to PWSS, into a 1-day session. When thinking about presenting training in your EPA Region or State, contact a DWA representative listed below to see how we can help address your training needs. (^ Drinking Water Academy Contact Location MaryJo Feuerbach Norma Ortega Rick Rogers Janine Morris Bill Spaulding Bill Davis Stephanie Lindberg Dan Jackson Barry Pollock Mike Cox Mark Anderson Carole Limaye Stew Thornley Murlene Lash Mario Salazar James Bourne EPA Region 1 EPA Region 2 EPA Region 3 EPA Region 4 EPA Region 5 EPA Region 6 EPA Region 7 EPA Region 8 EPA Region 9 EPA Region 10 Virginia Texas Minnesota EPA HO. EPA HO EPA HO Contacts Telephone (617) 918-1578 (212) 637-4234 (215) 814-5711 (404) 562-9480 (312) 886-9262 (214) 665-7536 (913) 551-7423 (303) 312-6155 (415) 744-1854 (206) 553-1893 (804) 786-5569 (512) 239-6120 (651) 215-0771 (202) 260-7197 (202) 260-2363 (202) 260-5557 E-mail feuerbach.maryjo@epa.gov ortega.norma@epa.gov rogers.rick@epa.gov morris.janine@epa.gov spaulding.william@epa.gov davis.williamh@epa.gov lindberg.stephanie@epa.gov jackson.dan@epa.gov pollock.barry@epa.gov cox.mike@epa.gov manderson@vdh. state. va. us climaye@tnrcc. state. tx. us stew. thornley@health. state. mn. us lash.murlene@epa.gov salazar.mario@epa.gov bourne.james@epa.gov ------- © Status of State Source Water Assessment Programs Te Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments of 1996 developed a new tool for the protection of drinking water: the Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP). Through this program, State governments assess the threats to each public drinking water supply so that the communities and public water systems can work together to decide how best to protect drinking water sources. Congress requested that States submit to EPA source water assessment programs that outline their approaches to completing assessments of all their public drinking water sources. State source water assessments include delineating the source water protection area; inventorying the potential contaminant sources in the area; determining the susceptibility of the public water supply to contamination; and releasing the results of the assessments to the public. As of August 3, 2000, EPA had approved the approaches of 48 States, Washington, D. C., and Puerto Rico. The approaches of Kansas and Wyoming remain under EPA review. Most States expect to complete all of their assessments by May 2003, using up to 10 percent of their 1997 Drinking Water State Revolving Fund allocation. As follow-up, States may spend up to 10 percent of their Drinking Water State Revolving Fund grants to administer or provide technical assistance through source water protec- tion programs. For further information on the national drinking water source protection program, please contact the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426- 4791 or send an e-mail to hotline-sdwa@epa. gov. For information on individual State SWAPs, please visit http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw/source/ contacts.html for a list of State source water protection contacts and Web pages. (^ DWA Spanish Language Training A Success Under the auspices of EPA Region 2 and the Drinking Water Academy, the Under- ground Injection Control (UIC) Inspectors Training was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on August 9-11, 2000. The training was taught entirely in Spanish. The 100 participants represented Puerto Rico's Environmental Quality Board, Department of Natural Resources, Department of Health, and other agencies. In addition, represen- tatives from several municipalities throughout the island, 3 employees of the U.S. Navy, and 3 EPA staff people attended. The Inspectors training was presented by a team of professors from two universities on the island: the University of Puerto i Rico and the Interamerican University in San German. Of the 100 people registered for the course, 91 completed the necessary requirements and were certified as UIC Inspec- tors. The participants were very enthusiastic about this training, which some had to travel long distances to attend. The students expressed a strong interest in participating in future courses in Spanish offered by the Academy. (^ ------- |