UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
                                                                            WSG 29A
                                                             Date Signed: June 16, 1987
MEMORANDUM

SUBJECT:   Guidance for FY 19 8 8 PWS S Enforcement agreements

FROM:      Lawrence J. Jensen (signed by Lawrence Jensen),
             Assistant Administrator
             for Water (WH-556)

TO:          Regional Water Division Directors
             Regions I - X

I.      Purpose

       The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance to Regional offices in
concluding FY 1988 enforcement agreements with States which have primary enforcement
responsibility for their Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) programs.

II.     Background

       The Deputy Administrator has issued guidance for the FY 1988 enforcement agreement
process. That guidance states that no NEW directions are being identified. Rather, this year's
Agency-wide guidance emphasizes improvements and refinements in selected areas of the
process as set forth in the policy framework, especially in:

       •     oversight of State penalties;

       •     effective involvement of State Attorneys General; and

       •     enforcement against Federal facilities.

III.     Guidance

       Regions are to follow the Deputy Administrator's guidance (copy attached) in concluding
or revising enforcement agreements for PWSS programs. In addition, I request that you
incorporate certain program specific priorities:

             Revised Definition of Significant Non-Compliance (SNC). The SNC definition
             for the PWSS program was recently revised. The revised definition is attached for
             your convenience. Please ensure that this definition is used in FY 1988.

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       •     Quarterly Compliance Conference. Most Regions are already holding conferences
             to review compliance status with their States. This is an excellent mechanism
             which enables Regions to clarify the systems that are truly SNCs and identify
             potential candidates for Federal enforcement action. Such quarterly conferences
             should be used by all Regions with primacy States, and should be formally
             incorporated in the enforcement agreements.

       •     Timely and Appropriate Enforcement. The definition of appropriate enforcement
             actions and the milestones for taking action are not changed for FY 1988. The
             program is committed to full implementation of the timely and appropriate
             enforcement system. This system was further strengthened by the passage of the
             Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1986. The Amendments  which give
             EPA the authority to issue administrative orders, direct EPA to take an
             administrative action whenever the Administrator finds that a system does not
             comply with a primary regulation under Section 1412 of the Act.

             Systems in significant non-compliance, for which the State has taken no action or
             an inappropriate action, will remain the primary focus of Federal oversight and
             direct Federal action. However, non-compliance other than SNC should be
             considered for Federal  oversight and action. To ensure appropriate enforcement of
             these areas of non-compliance, the Regions must work closely with the States.
             Together the Region and State should map out what level of State response is
             appropriate for each type of non-compliance, and when and how EPA will take
             action to ensure that a strong enforcement presence is felt throughout the
             regulated community.

             The State/EPA enforcement agreements should include expectations agreed upon
             for both State and Federal responses. In addition, effective protocols for
             discussion, advance consultation, and notification will be critical to ensuring that
             a working partnership between Region and State is maintained.

       •     Compliance Strategy. A revised compliance strategy for the PWSS program was
             issued on March 31, 1987. A copy has been sent to you under separate cover.
             Regions should ensure  that the principles of the revised strategy are implemented.
             In particular, each primacy State should commit to following the guidance
             contained in the compliance strategy.

       It is not my intention to require Regions and States to expend large  amounts of resources
revising existing enforcement agreements when no major changes are required. For example, in
States which have instituted a formal process for developing and refining these agreements and
have them signed at high levels of state governments, revising agreements is a cumbersome
process. Therefore, if the existing enforcement agreements comply with the intent and the major
thrust of this guidance such that significant changes are not required, they may be left as they are.

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Specific priority items referred to in this guidance may be incorporated into other documents as
appropriate. I am concerned with achieving our 1988 program priorities, not with the particular
document in which an item appears.

IV.    Addresses

       Any questions concerning this guidance should be addressed to Chet Pauls (382-5550) of
the Drinking Water Branch, State Programs Division.

Note:  Attachment could not be located. For more information, please contact the EPA staff
       person mentioned in the document.

*Note: May need to be updated.

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