Abstract |
This document provides guidance to states and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) exercising primary enforcement responsibility under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), concerning how the EPA interprets the Ground Water Rule (GWR) promulgated by EPA under the SDWA. It also provides guidance to the public and the regulated community on how EPA intends to exercise its discretion in implementing the statute and regulations. This guidance is designed to implement national policy on these issues. Throughout this document, the terms state and states are used to refer to all types of primacy agencies including states, U.S. territories, Indian tribes, and EPA. The SDWA provisions and EPA regulations described in this document contain legally binding requirements. This document does not substitute for those requirements, nor is it a regulation itself. It does not impose legally binding requirements on EPA, states, or the regulated community and may not apply to a particular situation based upon the circumstances. EPA and state decision makers retain the discretion to adopt approaches on a case-by-case basis that differ from this guidance, where appropriate. Any decisions regarding a particular facility will be made based on the applicable statutes and regulations. Therefore, interested parties are free to raise questions and objections about the appropriateness of the application of this guidance to a particular situation. EPA will then consider whether or not the recommendations or interpretations in the guidance are appropriate in that situation based on the law and regulations. EPA may change this guidance in the future. |