EPA REGION 8 DRINKING WATER PROGRAM WYOMING SYSTEMS NEWSLETTER February 2023 INSIDE THE ISSUE AFTER-HOURS EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBER STAFFING CHANGES EPA RECOMMENDS USE OF NITRATE LAB ANALYSIS METHOD TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH WHAT TO DO FOR A LOSS OF PRESSURE INCIDENT REGION 8 DRINKING WATER WEBSITE MANAGING THE REPLACEMENT OF ASBESTOS CEMENT PIPE PROTECT YOUR SYSTEM AGAINST RANSOMWARE ATTACKS GROUND WATER RULE (GWR) SOURCE SAMPLE TAP INSTALLATION WHAT'S IN A SAMPLE BOTTLE NAME? PROTECT YOUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM - HOW MUCH CHLORINE RESIDUAL DO YOU NEED? EPA ANNOUNCES INTENT TO STRENGTHEN THE LEAD AND COPPER RULE LEAD AND COPPER RULE SAMPLING REQUIREMENTS EPA EFFORTS ON POSSIBLE MICROBIAL AND DISINFECTION BYPRODUCT RULE RIVISIONS PREPARING FOR EPA'S FIFTH UNREGULATED CONTAMINANT MONITORING RULE United States Environmental Protection Agency Region 8 1595 Wynkoop Street Denver, CO. 80202-1129 Phone: 1-800-227-8917 Fax: 1-877-876-9101 Web: https://www.epa.gov/region8- waterops ------- 1.AFTER-HOURS EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBER The Region 8 Drinking Water Program has an after-hours emergency phone number! If you experience an emergency situation during non-workday hours or the weekend, such as an issue that disrupts your water supply or the water is contaminated with E coli bacteria or other contaminants, please call 303-312-6327 for assistance. During Monday-Friday working hours please contact one of our staff members for assistance. 2. STAFFING CHANGES IN EPA REGION 8's DRINKING WATER PROGR AM 3. HOW TO PREPARE FOR A SURVEY How to Prepare for Your Water System's On-Site Sanitary Survey Here's what you can do to prepare for your sanitary survey to make the process go smoother, faster and result in fewer significant deficiencies. Review your system's previous sanitary survey report (surveys for Community systems are conducted every 3 years, Non-Community systems every 5 years). Assure significant deficiencies have been addressed. Review the current year sanitary survey report form attached to the email notification from the EPA Region 8 saying that your system is due for a survey this year. You should see this email in February or March. Collect updated contact information for your facility (mailing address, phone number, email address). Collect information on the number of people served by the water system: residential/transient, and the number of service connections (metered, unmetered). Does your water system have a certified operator? (Required only for Community or Non-Transient Non- Community systems). If your system purchases water, what is the name of the system that supplies your water and its PWSID number? (Who maintains the connection between the two systems?) If your system sells water to other systems, what are their names and PWSID numbers? (Who maintains the connection(s) between the systems?) If your system has wells, are the well caps sealed (check the compression seal, gasket or o ring, and look for missing bolts or a disconnected conduit). Is there a source water tap? If your system has a spring source, do you have construction drawings, as-built drawings, or photographs documenting the spring construction? Does the water enter the spring box through a perforated pipe? At what depth? Is the hatch sealed with a gasket? Do vents and overflows have (#24 mesh) screens? Review the sections of the current year sanitary survey report form that apply to your water system and identify any potential significant deficiencies seen in red text on the report form and identified by an @ symbol that you may need to address. If yours is a surface water system, also address the issues, prior to the survey, identified in blue and by a ₯ symbol on the survey report. Call the EPA if you have any questions about any potential significant deficiencies or violations before you make any changes. For water systems that have above-ground storage tanks (ground level or elevated), EPA doesn't require its surveyors to climb storage tanks. We do not provide the necessary safety training nor safety equipment. Be proactive and review the "Storage Tank - Above Ground Rooftop Component Checklist for Finished Water Tanks" at https:/ /www.epa.gov/region8- waterops (click on Reporting Forms, click on Sanitary Surveys) and inspect each of your storage tanks' components prior to the survey. For each question on the checklist please provide photos illustrating heights, screen mesh size, etc. for each feature, and include the storage tank name and the facility ID specified on your water system's schematic (e.g. ST01). Each storage tank should be cleaned every 3 to 5 years. However, if it has been more than 10 years this will be identified as a significant deficiency and you will be ------- asked to provide a "Finished Water Storage Tank Inspection/Cleaning Checklist" completed by either the water system staff or a tank cleaning contractor. If you wish to take care of this prior to the survey, you may obtain a copy of the checklist at https: / /www.epa.gov/region8-waterops (click on Reporting Forms, click on Sanitary Surveys) and document information for each of your system's storage tanks that are due for cleaning prior to the survey. The questions on this checklist are the same as on the "Rooftop Component Checklist" above, in addition to questions about the tank overflow, tank drain and what was found during the cleaning. Again, photographic documentation is required along with the answers to each question on the checklist. Be sure that you have updated sampling plans available for: Revised Total Coliform Rule (RTCR) sampling locations. Many Community and Non-Transient systems should have updated monitoring plans for: Disinfection Byproduct Rule monitoring locations and Lead and Copper Rule sampling sites. Prior to the survey, visit all of the locations the surveyor will visit and make sure you have access to all of the facilities: Obtain land owners' permission for you and the surveyor when traveling on or across private property. Make sure there are no rodents encamped on or around well heads, pumps, sample taps, etc. Make sure backflow prevention devices have been tested within the last year. If you have any questions, need a survey report or report form, contact Lucien Gassie, 303-312-6620, gassie.lucien@epa.gov. 4. WHAT TO DO FOR A LOSS OF PRESSURE INCIDENT What to do for a Loss of Pressure Incident Distribution systems can lose pressure for various reasons that include water main breaks, equipment failures, losses of power, etc. The loss of pressure in a drinking water distribution system may cause a net movement of water from outside the pipe to the inside through cracks, breaks or joints in the distribution system. Backsiphonage is also a condition resulting from low or no pressure. Such system failures carry a high potential for fecal contamination or other disease-causing organisms to enter a distribution system and can cause serious health concerns for people who drink the contaminated water. Pressure loss is defined as a distribution system pressure of less than 20 pounds per square inch (psi). Measures to Take in the Event of Partial or Full Pressure Loss at a Public Water Supply System The response to pressure loss and the remedial action that follows will vary depending on the situation. However, listed below are the actions that an operator should take in the event of a loss of pressure in the distribution system that is likely to last longer than one hour: 1. If the area of lost pressure can be valved off and contained, you should isolate this area from the rest of the system. This may limit the degree of contamination and the number of service connections affected by the loss of pressure. 2. Immediately notify the EPA Region 8 Drinking Water Program. Public Water Systems (PWS) in Wyoming: call 303-312-6791 If outside of normal business hours, call the after-hours emergency and holiday phone number: 303-312-6327 Be prepared to describe: what happened, when, where, and the scope of the problem (if known). 3. We recommend that you notify the laboratory that you use to alert them regarding the emergency and to obtain bacteriological sampling bottles, materials, and instructions (for taking "special" bacteriological samples). 3 ------- 4. In order to protect your customers, immediately issue a Tier 1 Public Notice (PN) that includes a Loss of Pressure Boil Water Advisory. If boiling the water is a hardship for customers, consider providing bottled water or another alternate water supply to customers. 5. Locate/identify and fix the problem that caused the pressure loss. 6. When system pressure is restored to normal, disinfect and flush the affected distribution system in accordance with AWWA Standard C651 as necessary. 7. After the excess chlorine has been flushed out of the water supply, ensure that chlorine residuals have returned to normal levels. Collect and submit to the lab a Total Coliform (TC) bacteriological sample from both upstream and downstream of the affected area of the distribution system. Maintain the boil water advisory until two consecutive days of "safe" TC samples have been collected or until EPA notifies you that the boil order can be lifted. These samples should be designated/marked as "special" samples on the lab slip. The EPA may issue an Emergency Administrative Order (EAO) for incidents that can result in contamination in or near a public water system that may pose an "imminent and substantial" endangerment to human health. If an EAO is issued to the system, owner, the operator must follow all the requirements (e.g., issue a Tier 1 Boil Water Advisory Public Notice, complete corrective actions, disinfect and flush the system, collect special total coliform samples) listed within the EAO. Prepare for the Unexpected Every water utility should have an Emergency Response Plan (ERP) that addresses emergencies, such as loss of pressure, with a checklist of steps to take. The ERP must be exercised periodically in order for all personnel to be familiar with it. Regular maintenance and timely implementation of sanitary survey recommendations may also help in preventing or reducing emergencies. 5.DO YOU KNOW THAT EPA HAS A DRINKING WATER WEBSITE? Do you know EPA has a Drinking Water Website? We do! EPA Region 8 has a website for drinking water system operations in Wyoming and on Tribal lands, and it has many resources you may need or find helpful. The website is divided into six sections: (1) Water Systems (2) Emergency Preparedness (3) Reporting Results (4) Regulations and Compliance (5) Monitoring and Sampling and (6) Operations and Assistance. Some key highlights of the website by section include the following: Water Systems Access to Drinking Water Watch, the tool that enables you and the public to view data EPA maintains about your water system Emergency Preparedness What to do it you have a loss of pressure Access to a boil water advisory template when an E.coli maximum contaminant level (MCL) exceedance occurs Reporting Results Access to reporting forms for changes to water source, treatment, water system facilities, system contacts and/or management, as well as seasonal operations Access to consumer confidence report certification forms, emergency response plan templates, lead and copper tap sample site plan template, maximum residual disinfectant level form, basic information form for new public water systems, sampling forms, public notification templates, sanitary survey forms, and many others Regulations and Compliance 4 ------- EPA's regulated analytes list Tips to stay in compliance Monitoring and Sampling List of certified laboratories Sample collection guide Operations and Assistance Preparing for a sanitary survey and tech tips Presentations from training conferences. Our staff contact list is available in the yellow "Need Help" box on the right-hand side of the home screen. Please take a look and contact us about any other needs. 6.MANAGING THE REPLACEMENT OF ASBESTOS CEMENT PIPE Managing the Replacement of Asbestos Cement Pipe The use of asbestos cement (AC) pipe (or transite pipe) in drinking water distribution systems was once common in the U.S. It was installed as early as the 1930s with the peak of installation and use between the 1950s and 1960s. EPA estimates that 15% of water distribution pipes are asbestos cement. Due to the serious health risks associated with asbestos exposure, the EPA attempted to ban all asbestos containing products on the market in 1989. While that was ultimately overturned, the use of AC pipe was largely discontinued at the end of the last century due to health concerns associated with the manufacturing process and the possible release of asbestos fibers from deteriorated pipes. In 2019, the EPA promulgated a Significant. New Use Rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act to ensure that any discontinued uses of asbestos cannot re-enter the marketplace without EPA review, including asbestos cement pipe and fittings. Much of our drinking water infrastructure has reached or is nearing the end of its useful life and approaching the age at which it needs to be replaced. AC pipe has a typical design life of 50 years. As AC pipes are managed and replaced, special care is required to prevent the release of hazardous asbestos fibers. The Asbestos National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), 40 CFR Part 61, subpart M, sets forth requirements intended to minimize the release of asbestos fibers during renovation and demolition activities involving the handling of asbestos. Pipe replacement is considered a renovation activity which is subject to these requirements. Prior to the renovation or demolition of a facility, including activities involving AC pipe, the Asbestos NESHAP requires the removal of all regulated asbestos-containing material (RACM). RACM includes any existing friable asbestos material or material which would likely become friable during the course of the planned demolition or renovation operations. That is, any asbestos-containing material that can be crumbled or reduced to powder by hand pressure must be safely removed prior to conducting activities that would break up, dislodge, or similarly disturb the material or preclude access to the material for subsequent removal. Conventional and acceptable work practices to replace AC pipe include open-cut trench and abandonment in place. Open trenching is the practice under which the entire AC pipe is excavated, wet-cut into 6- and 8-foot sections using a snap cutter or similar tool, wrapped for containment, and removed for disposition at an approved disposal location. Asbestos cement pipes may also be abandoned in place with the new pipeline laid in a separate area. While pipe bursting and breaking are popular methods for various types of pipe replacement projects in general, pipe bursting or breaking AC pipe is not permitted under the Asbestos NESHAP. Pipe bursting or breaking of AC pipe renders the AC pipe friable, leaving friable pipe fragments consisting of RACM underground. This method does not comply with the requirements of the asbestos NESHAP and has not been approved by EPA. 5 ------- EP \ has approved a closed trench method for AC pipe replacement, which may be used as an alternative to the open- cut trench and abandonment in place approaches allowed under the Asbestos \ I-.SI 1 \1\ This EPA-approved alternative work practice standard is known as Close Tolerance Pipe Slurrification (CTPS). CTPS utilizes trenchless technology and does not leave friable asbestos in the ground. CTPS involves grinding the AC pipe while simultaneously injecting fluid to form a: liquid cement slurry which is vacuumed out through vertical access points. The new pipe is pulled into the existing pipe cavity directly behind the grinding apparatus. A skim coat of nontriable cementitious asbestos-containing material is left and solidifies on the outside rim ot the new pipe. For more information on the CTPS method see https:/ Ayww.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/notice-final-approval- alternative-work-practice-standard-asbestos. For more information about the asbestos NESHAP, visit https:/ /www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/asbestos-national-emission-standards-hazardous-air-pollutants. If you have any questions, please contact the Chemical Phase II/V Rule Manager Kendra Morrison, at morrison.kendra@epa.gov or (303) 312-6145. 7.protect your system against ransomware attacks I The number and size of ransomware incidents have increased significantly and strengthening our nation's resilience trom cyberattacks in both the private and public sector is a top priority of EPA. The U.S. government is stepping up to do its part, working with like-minded partners around the world to disrupt and deter ransomware actors. These efforts include disrupting ransomware networks, working with international partners to hold countries that harbor ransomware actors accountable, developing consistent policies towards ransom payments and enabling rapid tracing and halting of virtual currency payments. All organizations must recognize that no entity is safe from being targeted by ransomware, regardless of size or location, and tins is especially important with the security of water systems. But there are immediate steps you can take to protect your facilities, as well as your customers and the broader economy. Much as our homes have locks and alarm systems to meet the threat of theft, we urge you to take ransomware crime seriously and ensure your water system's cyber defenses match the threat. Below you will find the U.S. government's recommended best practices we've selected a. small number of highly impactful steps to help you focus and make rapid progress on driving down risk. What We Urge You to Do Now: Implement the five best practices from the President's recent Executive Order: These five best practices can provide high impact: multifactor authentication (because passwords alone are routinely compromised), endpoint detection and response (to hunt for malicious activity on a network and block it), encryption (so if data is stolen, it is unusable) and a skilled, empowered security team (to patch rapidly, and 6 ------- share and incorporate threat information in your defenses). These practices will significantly reduce the risk of a successful cyber-attack. Backup your data, system images and configurations, regularly test them and keep the backups offline: Ensure that backups are regularly tested and that they are not connected to the organization's network, as many ransomware variants try to find and encrypt or delete accessible backups. Maintaining current backups offline is critical because if your network data is encrypted with ransomware, your organization can restore systems. Update and patch systems promptly: This includes maintaining the security of operating systems, applications, and firmware, in a timely manner. Consider using a centralized patch management system; use a risk- based assessment strategy to drive your patch management program. Test your incident response plan: There's nothing that shows the gaps in plans more than testing them. Run through some core questions and use those to build an incident response plan: Are you able to sustain business operations without access to certain systems? For how long? Check Your Security Team's Work: Use a third-party pen tester to test the security of your systems and your ability to defend against a sophisticated attack. Many ransomware criminals are aggressive and sophisticated and will find the equivalent of unlocked doors. Segment your networks: There's been a recent shift in ransomware attacks from stealing data to disrupting operations. It's critically important that your water system functions, and other operations are separated and that you carefully tilter and limit internet access to operational networks, identify links between these networks and develop workarounds or manual controls to ensure networks can be isolated and continue operating if your business network is compromised. Regularly test contingency plans such as manual controls so that safety critical functions can be maintained during a cyber incident. Ransomware attacks have disrupted organizations around the world, from hospitals across Ireland, Germany and France to pipelines in the United States and banks in the U.K. The threats are serious, and they are increasing. We urge you to take these critical steps to protect your systems and the American public. The U.S. government is working with countries around the world to hold ransomware actors and the countries who harbor them accountable, and we stand ready to help you implement these best practices. Additional Resources FACT SHEET: President Signs Executive Order Charting New Course to Improve the Nation's Cybersecurity and Protect Federal Government Networks CISA - Ransomware Guidance and Resources Recommended Mitigation (https: / /www .whitehouse.gov/briefing- room/statements-releases/2021 / 05 /12/fact-sheet- president-signs -executive-order-charting-new-course-to- improve-the-nations-cybersecurity-and-protect-federal- government-networks /). Additional EPA cybersecurity best practices for the water sector can be found at the following links: EPA Cybersecurily Best Practices for the Water Sector (https:/ /www.epa.gov/waterriskassessment/epa- cybersecurity-best-practices-water-sector) CISA's Cross-Sector Cybersecurity Performance Goals ¦ https://www.cisa.gov/cpg CISA's Cyber Hygiene Services https://www.cisa.gov/cpg Questions about water security can be sent to Region 8 Water Security Coordinator, Nam Jirik at jirik.nara@epa.gov 7 ------- 8 .GROUND WATER RULE (GWR) SOURCE SAMPLE TAP INSINUATION 9. DRINKING WATER WATCH HAS A NEW HOME! 10. HOW MUCH CHLORINE RESIDUAL DO YOU NEED? 11 DRINKING WATER SAMPLING - BEST PRACTICES 12. RTCR SAMPLE SITE PLAN 13a. LEAD AND COPPER RULE INVENTORY PLACEHOLDER ARTICLE 8 ------- |