ii | a . ,	Office of Water
United States
EPA 821-F-16-003
oEPA Environmental Protection
Agency	December 2016
Fact Sheet: Final Clean Water Act
Methods Update Rule for the Analysis of
Effluent
Summary
EPA is promulgating specific changes to analytical
test procedures that are used by industries and
municipalities to analyze the chemical, physical, and
biological components of wastewater and other
environmental samples that are required by Clean
Water Act regulations. The changes include revised
EPA methods and revised methods published by
voluntary consensus standard bodies, such as ASTM
International and the Standard Methods Committee.
EPA is adding certain methods reviewed under the
Alternate Test Procedures (ATP) program to Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 40 Part 136 and
clarifying the procedures for EPA approval of
nationwide and limited use ATPs. Further, EPA is
revising the procedure for determination of the
method detection limit.
Background
EPA approves analytical methods for measuring
regulated pollutants in wastewater, as contained in
40 CFR Part 136. The regulated community and
laboratories use these approved methods for
determining compliance with National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits or
other monitoring requirements. Often, these entities
have a choice in deciding which approved method
they will use to measure a pollutant because more
than one approved method is available.
To promote method innovation, EPA also maintains
a program whereby method developers may apply
for an EPA review and potentially for approval of
ATPs. This ATP program is described for Clean Water
Act applications at 40 CFR Parts 136.4 and 136.5.
Periodically, EPA updates the approved test
procedures in 40 CFR Part 136.
What will EPA's updates change?
These method updates will provide increased
flexibility to the regulated community, improve data
quality, and update Clean Water Act methods to
keep current with technology advances.
This rule will provide clarification of the process for
requesting limited or nationwide review of ATPs.
Finally, the revision to the procedure for
determination of the method detection limits will
address laboratory contamination and better
account for intra- laboratory variability.
Where can I find more information?
You can view the Federal Register notice at
www.regulations.gov under Docket ID: EPA-HQ-OW-
2014-0797, or via our Clean Water Act Methods
website at: www.epa.gov/cwa-methods/methods-
update-rule-2016.
You may also email Robin Oshiro at
oshiro.robin@epa.gov.

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