What: On July 1, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the sixth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 6).
Why: Under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the UCMR program gathers data about unregulated contaminants in drinking water. The proposed UCMR 6 would require certain public water systems (PWSs) to collect data for 30 unregulated contaminants (including some Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances or “PFAS”) that are not currently subject to federal drinking water regulations.
This proposed rulemaking would require all community water systems and non-transient non-community water systems serving 3,300 or more people, and a representative sample of smaller PWSs serving fewer than 3,300 people, to conduct monitoring. The data collected will be publicly available and will inform future regulatory decisions by the EPA.
EPA will be holding two identical virtual public meetings on the proposed UCMR 6 on August 11 and August 12, 2026..
Comments are due August 31, 2026.
PROPOSED RULE:
CONTACT: Nick Goldstein
EMAIL: nick.goldstein@sba.gov
Is your small business or entity being impacted by a proposed rule? If yes, write a comment letter to the proposing agency.