The next Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) environmental roundtable will be held virtually on February 4, 2026, at 2 PM ET on the Microsoft Teams platform. The discussion will focus on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed national primary drinking water regulation for perchlorate.
Perchlorate is an inorganic chemical compound that occurs naturally and can also be manufactured. It is commonly used in solid rocket propellants, munitions, fireworks, airbag initiators for vehicles, matches, signal flares, and may also be found in fertilizers and as a byproduct of improper handling of hypochlorite solutions used for drinking water treatment.
EPA’s proposed rule sets maximum limits for perchlorate in drinking water and imposes new monitoring and disclosure requirements on public water systems. Advocacy is particularly interested in hearing from small water systems about the potential costs and burdens of EPA’s proposal.
Date: February 4, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM ET
Meeting Platform: Microsoft Teams
SBA Advocacy is an independent voice within the executive branch responsible for advancing the views of small businesses in regulatory policy across the federal government. We conduct roundtables to hear the experiences, challenges, and recommendations of small businesses, and identify alternative approaches for policy development at federal regulatory agencies. Our roundtables are largely held online to facilitate the attendance of stakeholders from a diverse range of backgrounds, industries, and geographic regions.
Roundtable meetings are open to all interested persons and are intended to facilitate an open and frank discussion about issues of interest to small businesses. These meetings are off the record and not intended for press purposes. Direct quotations of presenters or attendees may not be used without direct written approval of the person(s) making the statement. All press inquiries should be sent to chandler.baxter@sba.gov. Agendas and presentations are available to all. If you need accommodations for a disability to participate in the roundtable, please contact Nick Goldstein for assistance.
Should you have any questions or require further information, please contact Assistant Chief Counsel Nick Goldstein at nick.goldstein@sba.gov.
Visit https://advocacy.sba.gov/category/regulation/regulatory-alerts/ to comment on important proposed regulations.