| Abstract |
The 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), Section 1412(b)(9), require the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review and, if appropriate, revise each existing National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) no less often than every six years. The SDWA Amendments also specify that any revision of a national primary drinking water regulation will maintain or provide for greater protection of public health. The goal of the cyclical review is to determine whether it is appropriate to consider changes (i.e., to revise or take no action) to existing NPDWRs based on changes in health effects or analytical or technological feasibility that have occurred since the regulations were promulgated. In response to this mandate, EPA developed a Protocol for the Review of Existing National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (USEPA, 2002a; USEPA, 2003a) based on recommendations of the National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC, 2000) and input from stakeholders representing a wide variety of interest groups. EPA has updated this protocol for the second review effort (USEPA, 2009a). The protocol outlines the approach to be used to review and identify NPDWRs that may warrant revision. The key elements that are considered in the review process are health effects, analytical methods, occurrence and exposure, treatment technology, and other regulatory provisions (e.g., monitoring and reporting requirements). |
