EPA Seeks Small Public Water Systems to Serve on Microbial and Disinfectant Byproducts Rule Panel

By Office of Advocacy On Aug 9, 2024

On August 9, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is seeking small public water systems and other regulated entities to participate on a Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) Panel. The panel will focus on EPA’s development of potential revisions to one or more of the current Microbial and Disinfection Byproducts (MDBP) National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWRs), including:

Stage 1 and Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rules;
Surface Water Treatment Rule;
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule; and
Long-Term 1 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule.

These NPWDRs are a series of interrelated regulations that protect drinking water from microbes, disinfectants, and/or disinfection byproducts (DBPs). In considering potential revisions, EPA plans to consider balancing the risks between microbes and DBPs, and between different groups of DBPs.

Areas for proposed revisions that EPA is considering may include:

Setting a numeric disinfection residual;
Evaluating precursor control enhancements;
Improving water quality for consecutive systems;
Evaluating potential improvement to monitoring and reporting requirements; and
Addressing finished water storage tank inspection and cleaning vulnerabilities as necessary.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires EPA to establish an SBAR Panel for rules that may have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. At this time, EPA has not determined if the proposed NPDWR rule revisions will have significant economic impacts on a substantial number of small public water systems (PWSs). However, because EPA may determine that the proposed rule revisions may have significant economic impacts on a substantial number of small PWSs after conducting future analyses, the agency has elected to move forward with preparing for a potential SBAR Panel.

Small entities on the panel will provide advice and recommendations on behalf of their company, government, or organization to inform EPA about the potential impacts of the proposed rule.

EPA seeks self-nominations by August 23, 2024, directly from small public water systems and other entities that may be subject to the proposed rule requirements. Representatives, such as trade associations that exclusively or at least primarily represent potentially regulated small entities, may also serve.

Advocacy contact: Send an email to Nick Goldstein at nick.goldstein@sba.gov.

EPA