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Patrick Goodwin

From: Swietlik, William [Swietlik.William@epa.gov]

Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2015 2:40 PM

To: Elizabeth Gentile; Deborah Bartram

Cc: Patrick Goodwin

Subject: FW: Memo for the Record- EPA Meeting with AWWA April 29, 2015

Attachments: EPA-AWWA Meeting new handout materials4-29-15.pdf

Liz/Deb:

Although I have not gotten any internal review feedback yet, I wanted to send you this “Memo for the Record” (Steam

Electric) before I forgot about it!!   

Please add this to the record.

I’ll let you know if management, or anyone else – like Ron, suggests revisions.

Thanks,

Bill

_______________________________

William F. Swietlik

US EPA, Office of Water

Engineering and Analysis Division (4303T)

1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW

Washington, DC 20460

202‐566‐1129: phone

202‐566‐1053: Fax

From: Swietlik, William  

Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2015 11:06 AM

To: Matuszko, Jan; Jordan, Ronald

Cc: Wood, Robert; 'Elizabeth Gentile'

Subject: Memo for the Record‐ EPA Meeting with AWWA April 29, 2015

Memo to the Record‐ Steam Electric ELG Rulemaking

EPA met with the American Water Works Association (AWWA), and others, on April 29, 2015 in Office of Water

conference room 3233 East to discuss the impacts of coal‐fired power plant discharges on public water supplies.

In attendance from EPA were:

                Ken Kopocis, Peter Grevatt, Betsy Southerland, Robert Wood, Jan Matuszko, Ronald Jordan, Bill Swietlik, Heidi

Bethel

In attendance from, or with AWWA, were:

                Steve Via, AWWA

                Scott Biernat, Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies
2

                Jennifer Peters, Clean Water Action

                Nancy McTigue, EE&T, Inc.

During the meeting Steve Via and Nancy McTigue expressed their concerns about how steam electric powerplant

discharges of bromides were affecting drinking water source water quality and how this translated into increases in

Disinfection By‐Products (DBPs), including Trihalomethanes (THMs), in finished drinking water that exceeded maximum

contaminants levels (MCLs).

Nancy McTigue summarized her organization’s recent research and findings about this issue published in the paper

entitled:  “Occurrence and consequences of increased bromide in drinking water sources”, published in the Journal of

the AWWA, Nov. 2014, 106:11.  Nancy McTigue also shared data showing the speciation changes in the THMs at the

water plants she studied, pre and post‐wet scrubber installations at powerplants upstream.  This data was not published

in the AWWA paper.  In sum, this new data showed a significant shift in speciation from chloroform and

bromodichloromethane pre‐discharge to primarily bromoform, bromodichloromethane and dibromochloromethane

post‐discharge.  In addition, this data clearly shows multiple daily exceedances of the TTHM MCL post‐discharge at the

three drinking water plants where speciation data is available.

In addition, Nancy McTigue shared data showing Haloacetic acids (HHA) speciation after discharge of upstream bromide

releases from three powerplants.

After presentation of the data, a discussion ensued which touched upon several topics.  Nancy and Steve talked about

the cost of controlling bromides and DBP formation at the drinking water plant.  One example was shared—Eaton, NC,

where it cost the drinking water utility $1,000,000 in capital costs to install anion exchange to control the DBPs

formation.  Steve Via made the point that his is not‐cost‐effective to do at every drinking water plant and that EPA had

the opportunity with the final Steam Electric Effluent Limitation Guidelines rulemaking to address the precursors at their

source by limiting the discharge of bromides from steam electric powerplants.  Steve Via also suggested the use of dry

scrubbers at steam electric powerplants would be a good approach.  Both Jennifer Peters and Steve Via also argued that

relying on case‐by‐case permitting using water quality standards to control bromides was not working in that they

claimed State permit writers are not getting the support to do so and are frequently challenged by the industry.  Steve

Via also suggested that bromide discharges could get worse in time as powerplants switch more to using high bromide

content coal which helps to reduce mercury air emissions, which would also lead to great use of wet scrubbers.   

Upon closure of the meeting Nancy McTigue indicated she had an unpublished study presentation by a Dr. Knappe at NC

State that was presented at an AWWA meeting showing receiving waterbody concentrations of bromides relative to DBP

formation in drinking water.  She offered to send this presentation to Bill Swietlik.

At the meeting the following materials were shared with EPA and either are, or will be, made a part of the ELG

rulemaking record:

 The AWWA Journal paper by McTigue (which is in the ELG rulemaking record)

 Clean Water Action’s comments on the propose steam ELG rulemaking submitted to the docket

 A Clean Water Action public information paper entitled “Putting Drinking Water First: Time to Curb Power

Plant’s Toxic Pollution”

 A Powerpoint slide presentation used by McTigue, much of which was new information for EPA (scanned and

attached to this Memo to the Record)

 A short discussion paper presented by AWWA dated April 29, 2015 (also scanned and attached)

Prepared by William F. Swietlik, May 5, 2015

_______________________________

William F. Swietlik

US EPA, Office of Water

Engineering and Analysis Division (4303T)
3

1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW

Washington, DC 20460

202‐566‐1129: phone

202‐566‐1053: Fax