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September 2002
Monthly Report
SDW Hotline Report
In This Issue
What's New?	

	1
Monthly Trends

	1
Frequently Asked Qs & As	
	2
Did You Know?	

	3
Hotline Stats	

	4
Appendix A	

6
Top Ten Topics

Questions
Percent of
Topic
(phone &
Total*

email)
Questions
Local Drinking Water
295
10
Quality


Tap Water Testing
260**
9
Household Wells
183
6
Unregulated
163
5
Contaminant


Monitoring Rule


Coliforms
159
5
Home Water
155
5
Treatment Units


Other EPA Programs
151
5
Lead
149
5
Other Drinking Water
139
5
Background


Consumer
113
4
Confidence Report


*A total of 3,004 questions were answered by
the Hotline (via telephone and email) in
September 2002.


**Citizens who obtain their drinking water from
private household wells asked 35% of the tap
water testing questions.

Published Monthly


See past reports at


http://intranet.epa.gov/ow/hotline
Safe Drinking Water Hotline: National
Toll-free No.: (800) 426-4791 or

(877) EPAWATER


For More Information Contact:

Harriet Hubbard, EPA Project Officer
(202) 564-4621


Operated by Booz Allen Hamilton

Under Contract #GS-10F-0090J

What's New
Announcements:
¦	U.S. EPA is announcing a
solicitation for cost-effective
technologies and/or engineering
solutions to remove arsenic from
small drinking water systems.
Additional information and
application materials are now
available at es.epa.gov/ncer/
rfa/current/2003arsenic.html
New Publications:
¦	The Clean Water and Drinking
Water Infrastructure Gap
Analysis, EPA816-R-02-020, is
now available at epa.gov/owm/
featinfo.htm.
¦	Consider The Source: A Pocket
Guide to Protecting Your
Drinking Water—Drinking Water
Pocket Guide #3, EPA816-K-02-
002, is now available at
www.epa.gov/safewater/protect/s
wpocket.html or by contacting the
Safe Drinking Water Hotline.
¦	Filter Backwash Recycling Rule:
A Rule Summary for Systems,
EPA816-R-02-013, is now
available at epa.gov/
safewater/filterbackwash.htm or
by contacting the Safe Drinking
Water Hotline.
¦	The final Implementation
Guidance for the Arsenic Rule—
Drinking Water Regulations for
Arsenic and Clarifications to
Compliance and New Source
Contaminants Monitoring,
EPA816-K-02-018, is now
available at epa.gov/
safewater/ars/implement.html or
by contacting the Safe Drinking
Water Hotline.
¦	Protecting Drinking Water
Through Underground Injection
Control: Drinking Water Pocket
Guide #2, EPA816-K-02-001, is
now available at epa.gov/
safewater/uic/uicpocket.html or
by contacting the Safe Drinking
Water Hotline.
Add This To Your Calendar:
¦	The Safe Drinking Water Hotline
continues to take registrations for
the Surface Water Treatment
Rules training workshop
scheduled for November 6-7,
2002, in San Francisco,
California.
Monthly Trends
In March 2002, EPA began accepting vulnerability
assessment grant applications from publicly
owned community water systems regularly
serving more than 100,000 persons. During the
period April through September, April had the
greatest number of security related questions and
May the least. The drop in quantity over these
two months may be a function of the April 29,
2002, due date for vulnerability assessment grant
applications. On June 12, 2002, Title IV of the
Public Health Security and Bioterrorism
Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (P. L.
107-188) amended the Safe Drinking Water Act
to require public water system vulnerability
assessments and emergency response plans.
This law may have redirected interest in PWS
security as the total number of security questions
received at the Hotline increased in June, July,
and August, before declining in September.
Humber ofOuenions	Adding to the increased attention to water security
issues in July and August, EPA announced in July that grant applications from additional large publicly owned
systems would be accepted through August 9, 2002, and that applications for privately owned community water
systems regularly serving over 100,000 persons would be accepted through August 30, 2002.
urily Planning
Grant
Other Security
bs uea

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September 2002
Frequently Asked Qs & As
This section provides answers to frequently asked
questions not necessarily represented in one of the Top
Ten Topic categories.
Q: The owner or operator of a Class I injection well
is required to comply with the testing and
monitoring requirements defined in the
Underground Injection Control (UIC) regulations (40
CFR 146.68). Do these requirements include a
provision for monitoring ground water quality?
A: Ground water quality monitoring may be
required if there is a possibility of fluids moving into
or between underground sources of drinking water
(USDW). The decision to require this monitoring is
based on a site specific assessment of the well or
injection zone and the potential value of monitoring
wells to detect such movement (40 CFR 146.8(e)).
Q: The Radionuclides Rule requires compliance
with the MCL for radium 226/228. Could a public
water system use point-of-use (POU) treatment,
point-of-entry (POE) treatment, or bottled water for
compliance with the MCL?
A: POU ion exchange and POU reverse osmosis
are listed as small system compliance technologies
for combined radium 226/228; no POE
technologies are listed. Public water systems are
not authorized to use bottled water to comply with
an MCL. Bottled water may only be used on a
temporary basis to avoid unreasonable risk to
health (65 FR 76708,76727; December 7, 2000).
Q: Must a public water system that uses ground
water monitor for radon? If so, where must the
compliance monitoring occur?
A: The SDWA "Radon Rule" has not yet been
finalized. However, according to a November 2,
1999, proposed rule, all community water systems
that use ground water would be required to monitor
for radon at each entry point to the distribution
system, after treatment and storage (64 FR 59246,
59252).
Q: The Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring
Regulation (UCMR) requires the use of EPA's
electronic reporting system (Central Data
Exchange, or CDX) for purposes of UCMR data
reporting (40 CFR 141.35(e)). Can a public water
system or laboratory that does not have access to
the electronic reporting system use an alternative
reporting method?
A: Public water systems and laboratories
participating in UCMR that do not have access to
the Internet can establish an alternative process for
UCMR reporting by contacting the EPA Office of
Ground Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure
Branch at 202-260-4934. EPA expects that very
few large systems or laboratories will not have the
ability to access the CDX via the Internet and
encourages PWSs and laboratories without Internet
access to utilize computer equipment at local
libraries (Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring
Reporting Guidance, EPA815-R-01-029; November
2001).
Q: The CDX registration requirements include the
submission of a sponsor letter confirming which
individual(s) at the organization will have access to
the PWS data and what level of access each
individual will have (Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Reporting Guidance, EPA815-R-01-029;
November 2001). Is there a template or example
sponsor letter available?
A: An example sponsor letter for a public water
system and for a laboratory can be downloaded
from EPA's CDX Web site at the following URL:
http://cdx.epa.gov/FAQ.asp - ucmr.
Q: Owners and operators of Class V motor vehicle
waste disposal wells located in regulated areas are
required to close the well or seek a waiver and
obtain a permit (40 CFR 144.88). In some
instances the UIC director may allow the
conversion of a Class V motor vehicle waste
disposal well to another kind of Class V well (40
CFR 144.89(b)). Is a federal permit required for
such a conversion?
A: No. There are no specific federal permitting
requirements for Class V well conversions; this is at
the discretion of the UIC Program Director
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September 2002
0Conversion of a Motor Vehicle Waste Disposal
Well; EPA816-R-00-017, November 2000).
Q: On January 22, 2001, EPA published a final rule
lowering the arsenic maximum contaminant level
from 50ppb (parts per billion) to 10ppb (66 FR
6976). Is the MCL based on total arsenic or
inorganic arsenic?
A: The MCL for arsenic in drinking water is based
on total arsenic including both organic and
inorganic forms (66 FR 6976, 7046; January 22,
2001).
Q: My annual water quality report indicates that my
public water system (PWS) was in violation of the
copper treatment technique requirements during
the past year. I never received information or
notification about this violation. Is a PWS required
to provide public notification when there is a
treatment technique violation for copper? If so,
how soon after the violation must the notification be
provided?
A: A PWS must provide public notice about a
treatment technique violation as soon as practical,
but no later than thirty days after the system learns
of the violation. Under appropriate circumstances,
the primacy agency may grant up to 3 additional
months for the initial notice (40 CFR 141.203(b)(1)).
Did You Know?
The oil from a single oil change (1 gallon) can ruin the taste of a million gallons of
drinking water (Minnesota Department of Environmental Assistance;
www. moea .state. mn. us/red u ce/oi I .cfm)
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September 2002
Monthly Summary of
Hotline Service
Total number of calls answered
2,061
Total number of emails received
329
Average wait time (in seconds)
0:16
Percent of calls satisfied immediately
99.9%
Percent of all calls answered in < 1 min
93.6%
Percent of callbacks answered in 5 days
100%
Percent of emails answered in 5 days
100%
Number of times callers listened to recorded

message about local DW quality
1,309
Number of times callers listened to recorded

message about arsenic rule
78
Comparison to Previous Years
Calls
Emails
September 2002
2,061
329
September 2001
1,530
385
Top Ten Referrals
Inquiry Referred to:
Number of
Referrals
Percent of
Total*
Referrals
*1,882 total referrals to other resources, agencies, and
organizations were provided by the Hotline in September 2002.
1. EPA Internet
271
14
2. State Lab Certification
228
12
3. State PWSS
215
11
4. Local Water System
207
11
5. NSF/WQA/UL
182
10
6. AGWT/WSC
97
5
7. Local Public Health
95
5
8. Non-EPA Internet
76
4
9. Other Hotlines
75
4
10. EPA Regions
65
3
Hotline Statistics
Customer Profiles
Customer
Calls
Emails
Analytical Laboratories
27
3
Citizen - Private Well
290
44
Citizen - PWS
1,153
132
Consultants/lndustry/Trade (DW)
106
27
Consultants/lndustry/Trade (Other)
47
30
Environmental Groups
2
3
EPA
36
1
Other Federal Agency
16
4
Government, Local
15
6
Government, State
46
6
Government, Tribal
0
0
Spanish Speaking
3
1
International
4
18
Media
3
0
Medical Professional
6
5
Public Water System
226
14
Schools/University
49
34
Other
32
1
TOTALS
2,061
329
Daily Call Data

Total Calls
Average Wait Time

Answered
mm:sec
3-September
120
00:10
4-September
87
00:11
5-September
135
00:23
6-September
84
00:18
9-September
113
00:13
10-September
97
00:14
11-September
94
00:16
12-September
94
00:11
13-September
74
00:13
16-September
131
00:18
17-September
114
00:14
18-September
96
00:13
19-September
76
00:12
20-September
94
00:15
23-September
109
00:28
24-September
116
00:12
25-September
114
00:20
26-September
122
00:20
27-September
88
00:16
30-September
103
00:10
TOTALS
2,061
00:16
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September 2002
Topic Categories
Category
Calls
Emails
Microbials/Disinfection Byproducts
Chlorine
23
5
Coliforms
142
17
Cryptosporidium
47
0
Disinfection/Disinfection


Byproducts (Other)
10
2
Disinfection - Home Water
23
5
Other Microbials
19
0
Surface Water Treatment (SWTR,


ESWTR, LT1FBR)
15
4
Trihalomethane (THM)
16
1
Inorganic Chemicals (IOC)/Synthetic
Organic Chemicals (SOC)
Arsenic
44
12
Fluoride
19
2
Methyl-ferf/a/y-butyl-ether (MTBE)
8
0
Perchlorate
3
0
Phase I, II & V
58
15
Sodium Monitoring
8
6
Sulfate
9
1
Lead and Copper
Copper
15
5
Lead
141
8
Lead Contamination Control Act


(LCCA)/Lead Ban
3
0
Radionuclides
Radionuclides (Other)
24
4
Radionuclides (Radon)
90
8
Secondary DW Regulations
Secondary DW Regulations
54
10
SDWA Background/Overview
Definitions & Applicability
33
8
MCL List
48
5
Other Background
114
25
SDWA
22
2
Hotline Statistics
Category
Calls
Emails
Water on Tap
25
2
Other DW Regulations
Analytical Methods (DW)
23
6
Contaminant Candidate List/


Drinking Water Priority List
1
0
Consumer Confidence Report (DW)
105
8
DW Primacy (PWS)
2
0
Operator (PWS) Certification
3
3
Other Drinking Water Security
10
7
Public Notification (PWS)
44
4
Security Planning Grants
16
7
State Revolving Fund (DW)
1
3
Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Rule (UCMR)
160
3
Other Drinking Water
Additives Program
2
1
Bottled Water
44
5
Complaints about PWS
52
11
Compliance & Enforcement
(PWS)
17
4
Home Water Treatment Units
137
18
Infrastructure/Cap. Development
1
1
Local DW Quality
260
35
Tap Water Testing
238
22
Treatment/BATs (DW)
9
12
Drinking Water Source Protection
Ground Water Rule
4
2
Sole Source Aquifer
2
0
Source Water/Wellhead Protect.
42
10
UIC Program
21
3
Out of Purview
Household Wells
154
29
Non-Environmental
48
14
Non-EPA Environmental
50
39
Other EPA (Programs)
119
32
TOTALS
2,578
426
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SAFE DRINKING WATER HOTLINE MONTHLY REPORT
September 2002
Appendix A: Federal Register Summaries
NOTICES
"Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Tribal
Operator Certification Program Information Collection Request"
September 17, 2002 (67 FR 58603)
EPA announced that it is planning to submit the proposed Information Collection Request (ICR)
entitled "Tribal Operator Certification Program," EPA ICR No. 2092.01, to the Office of
Management and Budget for review and approval. Comments must be submitted by November
18, 2002.
"Office of Environmental Justice Small Grants Program; Application Guidance FY 2003"
September 27, 2002 (67 FR 61090)
This guidance outlines the purpose, goals, and general procedures for application and award
under the Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 Environmental Justice Small Grants Program. For Fiscal Year
2003, EPA will make available approximately $1,500,000 in grant funds to eligible
organizations; $1,000,000 of this amount is available for Superfund projects only. Eligibility for
grants for multimedia projects can include activities outlined in a number of environmental
statutes including the Safe Drinking Water Act 1442(c)(3)(A).
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