Document ID: EPA-R08-OW-2019-0404-0040
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2022-11-21T05:00Z

--- Wednesday, October 5, 2022.  9.- Today is Wednesday, October 5, 2022. 
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--- Today is Wednesday, October 5, 2022. 
--- And we are good to go Troy,
So, this is me, putting in the text.  And confirming that all is set.
--- Today is Wednesday, October 5, 2022. 
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--- Today is Wednesday, October 5, 2022. 
--- And this is my captions, I hope you can all see it. Good to go.
--- Wednesday, October 5, 2022. 
 
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>>>: (Music playing).
 
>> Whitney Trulove:  Welcome everybody this is virtual public meeting on EPA's safe drinking water act variance for Denver Water.  We have an opening slide here that has important instructions to make sure that you have joined the audio properly.  And can hear us as well as selecting the preferred language that you will be listening in.  We do have Spanish interpreters.  To choose your language, there is an interpretation icon, it looks like a globe at the bottom of your screen.  You want to click on that and then choose English or Spanish and if you're listening in Spanish, it's also recommended that you mute the original audio.  We will get started here in just a moment.
>>>: (Music playing).
 
>> Whitney Trulove:  Sarah, would you like to go ahead and get started.  If you're having trouble hearing the audio, we will start, I'm Whitney Trulove work in the public affairs branch in Denver and I will be the facilitator.  If you would like to go to the next slide, Sarah if you're having difficulty hearing on zoom today you can call in from your phone, you might want to take down the phone number.  It's not a local Denver number and the meeting id is listed here as well.  We will hold on a moment in case anybody cares to jot that down. 
>>>:  This is technical support.  Would you mind your interpreters, could you promote them to co-host, please? 
>> Whitney Trulove:  Okay. 
>>>:  Thank you.
>> Whitney Trulove:  Let's see.
That will take me a moment.  Let's see.  All right.  There we go.  I think almost there.
Okay.
All right.  Sarah, next slide, please.  Before we get started, for those who may not be familiar with zoom we will go over a few of the controls to ensure that you can participate fully in this meeting.
Starting at the far left, is your microphone button.  Please stay on mute until the public comment period.  The redline through the microphone indicates you are muted.  Next to that is the video button.  When we get to the public comment portion of the meet going those speaking wish to turn on cameras, they may do so.  The chat button is, if you are having technical problems, you can use that to communicate with our tech support person.  Do not submit questions in the chat as we will not be having a question answer session NTP as part of this meeting.  Later in the meeting will we will explain how you could use chat to submit written comments.  Down the line, we do have a live captioner for this event.  If you want captions, you must turn that feature on.  And at the end, there is the reactions button.  This is what you would use if you would like to raise your hand to indicate that you would like to speak during the public comment session.  And then again, down below, there is the interpretation button.  Again, I want to emphasize all attendees must select opening accomplish or Spanish and on the next slide, Sarah, we have more instructions on that.
So, once you click on interpretation, this box in the middle shows you your options for English or Spanish and then also for Spanish listeners, it is recommended to mute the original audio.
And next slide, Sarah.
If anyone has joined us on the phone today, you can choose your language preference following these instructions.  And we will hold just a moment.  So, our participants can read those.  Next slide, Sarah.
Disclaimer for today, wants you to note by participating today you acknowledge and consent your name, video image or phone number may be visible to others during the meeting.  It is also being record today create a transcript of what is said during the meeting and it will be posted in the docket.
With that, I will turn it over to Sarah Bahrman, she is branch manager in the EPA region eight water division.  Giving a short presentation before we get to the public comment section of this meeting.
>> Sarah Bahrman:  Thanks, Whitney.  My name is Sarah Bahrman, i manage the Safe Drinking Water Branch here at EPA Region Eight.  And our office is located in downtown Denver.
I have been with EPA for about 19 years and with the drinking water program for much of that time.  Just want to thank all participants for taking some time out of your late afternoon and evening here tonight to join us to talk about this important issue.
So, welcome everyone.  We have two main purposes for the meeting today.  First, as Whitney said, I will be sharing some basic information, really just an overview of EPA's proposed decision.  And then the main purpose of coming together tonight is really for EPA to listen to your comments and input.  We really hope to hear as much input as possible on EPA's proposal to be able to consider that in making a final decision.
As Whitney said, we won't be responding to questions or comments tonight.  But we will respond to comments as we will consider comments, rather, in making our final decision and this will all be documented and available in the online docket.
I will provide my contact information at the end of these slides and that will be our venue to ask questions.  Feel free to reach out to me and we will do our best to anticipates them either myself or as part of the EPA team.
So, our agenda for tonight, as Whitney said.  I will give quick overview of EPA's proposed decision.  And then we will transition to live public comments.  Before we start public comments, we will go through instructions for different options that you have to provide comments during the meeting tonight.  So, stay tuned for that.  And then we'll just wrap up and close.  We do plan to stay on the zoom meeting until the planned or scheduled end time of 6:00 p.m. mountain time, so if there are no speakers at some point, if we've run through the number of people who would like to speak, then we will take breaks in 10-minute increments and come back on and check to see if anyone else has joined and would like to speak.
So, what is EPA proposing?  EPA is proposing a variance that allows Denver Water to implement a lead reduction program plan as a way to comply with Safe Drinking Water Act regulations many the Safe Drinking Water Act requires public water systems such as Denver Water to use corrosion control treatment to reduce lead in drinking water.  Denver Water has requested to use a different approach instead of that traditional water treatment so I'm going to walk you through the details of Denver Water's approach on the following slide:  We're here tonight because based on our preliminary review, EPA found that Denver Water's approach is as effective as reducing lead in drinking water.  That is the main criteria that EPA uses for this evaluation and as we consider whether to approve a variance like this under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Again, the variance allows Denver Water to do something different than what is specifically required under the Safe Drinking Water Act regulations.  EPA approved a variance like this for Denver Water in 2019 and Denver Water began using this approach in January of 2020.  Which is the lead reduction program plan.
We're here tonight because this current variance expires next year in 2023 and Denver Water has requested an extension so that they can continue to implement the program that they began in 2020.
So, the current process in the proposed variance involves several factors that together influence lead reduction ins drinking water across the Denver Water Service Area.
So, Denver Water under this proposal would continue to complete a set of actions, again, called the lead reduction program plan that work together to reduce lead.  So those actions are first:  Determining the locations or finding where lead pipes connect homes and buildings to water mains.  Where there is a lead service line present or where lead service line is likely present, Denver Water provides a pitcher filter and replacement filters or replacement cartridges for that pitcher filter to reduce lead at that location.
Also, replacing all lead service lines so the construction from start to finish is covered by Denver Water's plan at no direct cost to customers.  Denver Water does use corrosion control treatment.  In this case, by raising the ph. of water and adjusting alkalinity.  Ph. and alkalinity are aspects of the chemistry of water.  Ph. is really how acidic or basic the water is and alkalinity is the water's ability to neutralize acids.  The last component here the last component of the approach to conduct outreach and customer education.
And for example, Denver Water works to educate customers about the importance of using filters for drinking, cooking and infant formula.
So, as I mentioned, this approach has already been used since January of 2020.  So, I wanted to spend a couple of minutes talking about what Denver Water has accomplished so far under its lead reduction program plan.
So, this data is as of June of this year, once EPA completed our initial evaluation.  So as of that time, Denver Water had replaced over 12,000 lead service lines across the service area.
Denver Water had also already made the treatment adjustment to adjust the ph. of the water to 8.8 across the system to control lead corrosion.  Denver Water has also distributed over 100,000 filters certified to remove lead.  And with the replacement cartridges for those filters to be used every six months.
Part of the filter program and an important part is to make sure that customers are using that filter so Denver Water has also conducted a survey of a sampling of customers and found that so far, approximately 83% of customers report using that filter, again, regularly for drinking, cooking and making infant formula.
A couple of other accomplishments for what Denver Water has completed so far:  Investigations of lead service lines.  So, the map here on the screen is an online inventory showing where lead service lines are present, not present and unknown.  Push bell dot on this map indicates a confirmed lead service line.  A blue dot indicates a likely lead service line.  But where that has not yet been investigated or confirmed.
A yellow kind of triangle shape is a location where it's unlikely there's a lead service line but that has also not been confirmed.  And then you agree dot is where there's a confirm line that is not made of lead.  Denver Water has been developing more information about their inventory across the contribution system.  And so far, has investigated a little over 9000 specific locations to determine if and where there are lead service lines present.  Denver Water is also distributed lead outreach and education materials through a combined over 7 million efforts, the types of outreaches conducted is direct mailings, digital communications, and outreach by telephone.
And then lastly, Denver Water has been working to incorporate health equity and environmental justice principles into how they're implementing this lead reduction program plan.
So, what are the impacts?  Denver Water has taken all of these actions.  And i wanted to show what the results have been in terms of lead reductions.  So, as I said a moment a go, Denver Water did adjust treatment back in march 2020.  That was the ph. and alkalinity adjustment that I mentioned. This graph shows a timeline, the dates may be difficult to read, but it's dates across the bottom axis, and the green bar there indicates the time period when that treatment adjustment was made by Denver Water.  So, you can see prior to march 2020, lead levels were right around 11 or 12 parts per billion lead and following that treatment adjustment, lead levels start to drop off fairly consistently.  And then restabilize right at about four parts per billion leads.
So overall, through this treatment adjustment and implementing the complete lead reduction program plan, lead levels in drinking water have decreased by 60% across Denver Water service area.
So, this graph is showing the couple hat I've 90th percentile of lead levels for all samples across the system.  So that's where you see that blue line kind of dropping off.  The most recent dates didn't quite fit on the graph, so I wanted to speak about those.  For the first half of 2022, the first half of this year, the 90th percentile lead levels across Denver service area were 3.9 parts per billion lead and EPA's action level for lead is 15 parts per billion.
So currently Denver Water's lead levels are well below EPA's action level.
Now this is mostly measured at locations where there's lead service lines and not everyone has a lead service line but for those that do, drinking water can be a major, the lead service line can be a major source of lead and drinking water.  So, by removing these lines, Denver Water is permanently removing the major source of lead in in water used for drinking and cooking.
I mentioned that EPA approved in 2019 an initial variance to last for three years.  And in this version, we are proposing to make several changes compared to that 2019 version.
So first, EPA has issued new federal regulations for lead and Konner in drinking water called the lead and copper rule revisions.  Those were effective in December last year, 2021.  So, EPA proposing a variance from requirements of this new regulation, the revised lead and copper rule.  So, an example of how that affects the variance is:  Under this new regulation, Denver Water needs to submit an inventory of lead service lines by October 2024.  We've incorporated that requirement into the variance and adjusted the inventory requirements accordingly because prior to this new regulation that inventory was not required under federal regs.  A second change we made was to simplify reporting requirements.  So, the program is already underway.  We -- in the 2019 version of the variance, had really put in a number of requirements so that we had clear information about how the lead reduction program was starting.  And we could make sure that EPA had a complete understanding of how things were going.
Now that we've gone through that transition period, we are proposing to reduce some of those initial reporting requirements, since Denver Water has proven that the lead reduction program is effective.  But we're still keeping a significant number of reporting requirements to make sure that EPA's receiving enough information to confirm that lead levels continue to be reduced and that the program continues to be effective.
A third change we're proposing is to adjust some of the requirements looking at kind of, what the lead reduction program will look like as Denver Water nears program completion.  So, the initial variance was really about starting this program and the process.
As we're looking at this new variance, all the lead service line replacements, for example, could be completed.  So, we wanted to be sure to address, in this proposed version exactly what happens at the end of that period.
For example, Denver Water would certify to EPA that all lead service lines have been replaced and continue to implement that alkalinity adjustment treatment 
two other changes in this proposed variance that I wanted to highlight, fourth that EPA added a new compliance metric to ensure that both lead service line replacements and filter out reach happens equitably across the contribution system.  And does not result in a disproportionate impact to health equity and environmental justice areas of concern.  This this was actually a comment we received through the public comment system through the this is how we addressed that comment this this proposed version.
Lastly:  We've tried to clarify what happened if there are additional changes to federal regulations for lead and drinking water.  EPA does have plans underway to review and propose some additional lead and drinking water regulations.  So, if that occurs and, those regulations are finalized, then this proposed variance would terminate, but Denver Water would have the option to request a variance from the new regulation.  And we structured it this way because we really can't issue a variance for a regulation that doesn't currently exist.  So, we would consider that as a new request just as we've done this time.
So that's a snapshot of EPA's proposal.
I just want to talk briefly how you can get more information.
We have a lot more detail online both in English and Spanish.  That information some available at regulations.gov.  It's a website that the federal government uses to provide specific information about proposed actions like this.  See there is two documents that may be most useful.  The first is the full variance order.  So that includes the detailed requirements that Denver Water would be required to follow, if this variance were finalized.  The second is an appendix that associated with that appendix order.  And in the appendix is where EPA has explained our evaluation in determining that this lead reduction program plan is as effective at reducing lead in drinking water.  There's also in the docket a public notice document and that covers the highlights, of the proposed variance similar to what I've covered tonight.
And is a shorter version of those who'd like to read that.
You may also submit written comments through the docket.  And the arrows here on the screen indicate how you can do that by going to regulations.gov, searching for this docket number, shown on the screen, and under browse documents, you can comment on either the English or Spanish version of the public notice document by clicking on that comment button.  And you can up load written comments or attachments there.
So, there are two ways, though, to submit those comments.  I just covered how to do it in writing at regulations.gov.  We are also accepting comments tonight.  That is the main purpose of this meeting.
So, we're going to transition shortly to how to those public comments and we will go through some instructions for how to do that.
But we really do want your input tonight or in writing through that docket.  We'll be accepting comments through this Friday, October 7, and really look forward to hearing from you.
So, again, thanks for joining us tonight.  We really appreciate you taking the time out of your evening.  Again, while we are accepting comments tonight, we will not be answering questions.  We really want to maximize the time for public input and so I've shared my email address on the slide here.  And please reach out to me with any questions that you have.  I will coordinate with the EPA team and make sure we get back to you just as soon as possible.
So, I will leave that slide up for just a minute in case you want to write my email address down.
So, you have a place to share questions.  And I do have it on a slide at the end here as well.
With that, I'm going to turn it back to Whitney Trulove, to start the public comment portion of our meeting tonight. 
>> Whitney Trulove:  Thank you, Sarah, and as she mentioned, there are -- you can comment verbally on the zoom meeting this evening.  I do not believe we have anybody who has joined by telephone.
We will go over some instructions here in a moment.  You can also write your comments in the chat here in the zoom meeting.  You will want to choose to send that to the comments and not the facilitator.  I think we forgot to update this slide.
You will be allowed five minutes for your verbal comments.  There will be a timer shown on the screen that will count down your speaking time.
And we will ask you to turn on your microphone.  You can choose to turn on your camera if you wish.  And when you're doing speaking, you will turn off the microphone and camera.
Next slide for a few more details.
So, at this time, if anyone chooses to write their comments in the chat, here are the instructions and it does correctly say here you will choose comments for sending your chat to our EPA staff person who is monitoring the comments.  They will not be seen by all the participants here in the zoom meeting.  Your comment will be read out loud for other participants to hear and for the purposes of our transcript.
Next slide.
We will first call on our pre-registered speakers.  We have two, and Sarah, I did look at the participant list and confirmed that both of those individuals are on the zoom meeting.
If you did not pre-register to speak but have decided that you would like to, you can do so by clicking on reactions and then raising your hand and then, again, if anybody has joined by phone, you would press * 9 to indicate that you would like to share verbal comments.
And for those on the phone, you would press * 6 to unmute yourself and * 6 again to remote.
So, Sarah, I think you can go ahead and call on our pre-registered speakers. 
>> Sarah Bahrman:  Great, thanks, I was trying to get back to my mute button.  Two speakers, first Tyson, Ingels and second Jennifer Peters in order to allow as many people to provide input tonight as possible.  We would like to limit each commenter to five minutes or less to speak.
We would ask that you please start by stating and spelling your first and last name so that all participants are aware and for our record.  And then I will start the timer below and you'll see a countdown for how many times you have left and while they are speaking, if others would like to make a comment tonight, please raise your hand in zoom or press * 9 on your phone and we'll get you in the cue as another commenter.
So, Tyson, with that, I would ask you unmute yourself and introduce yourself for comments, please. 
>>>:  Thank you, doing a quick audio check, can you hear me? 
>> Sarah Bahrman:  Yes, we can. 
>>>:  Great.  My name is Tyson, Ingels, and I (he muted himself) public health and environment we are the agency that regulates Safe Drinking Water Program in Colorado and directly regulates Denver Water board overseeing their production of portable water for  public.  
>> Sarah Bahrman:  Tyson, I'm sorry, your mute toggled off and on while you were saying which organization you worked for, would you mind repeating that so all of us can hear. 
>>>:  Sure.  I apologize about that.
My name is Tyson Ingels, I work for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Okay.  Please let me know if it toggles off.  I don't know why it did it.
We are the agency that regulates public drinking water systems in Colorado.  We have primacy over the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and oversee Denver Water specifically for the production of safe drinking water involving reviewing their data, monthly, involving doing survey inspections of their water system and all the oversight involved.  We have also provided a letter of support on the federal docket saying that we support the issuance of this variance.  We have, as an agency, taken the primary responsibility and partnership with EPA of reviewing the progress  of the lead reduction program plan and want to go on the record of saying that we support and applaud Denver Water 's progress to date on lead reduction program plan and support its being continued.  My comments are very brief.  And we just wanted to get the opportunity to certify and support this publicly, that this program is the best solution, both for public health protection and for the environment.  Thank you.
>> Sarah Bahrman:    Thanks, Tyson, I appreciate you commenting.  Next, we will go to Jennifer Peters.  Jennifer, if you could please unmute yourself? 
>>>:  Hi, good evening my first name is Jennifer, Jennifer; last name Peters, Peters
And I am the water programs director at clean water action.  Which is an environmental advocacy organization.  I appreciate the opportunity to speak in support of Denver Water's lead reduction program.  I will also be submitting written comments to the docket so my remarks tonight will be brief.
Clean water action strongly supports EPA's proposal to approve Denver Water's variance request.  Denver Water's consistent success to date demonstrates that its lead reduction program is providing greater benefits to human health and water quality than orthophosphate chemical treatment alone would have. And we urge EPA to keep this success moving forward.  Clean water action has worked on lead and drinking water for much of our history and we have long advocated for full lead service line replacement because we see it as the most effective and sustainable way to limit exposure to lead in drinking water.  And we see Denver Water's program as a national model on how water systems can better protect public health by reducing exposure to lead in drinking water so it's an holist approach that goes after the biggest source of lead which is the lead service line while providing layers of protection for all water consumers, such as filters to use until lead service lies are replaced.  The program also centers equity and environmental justice by ensuring all impacted residents have equal access to the benefits of the program and prioritizes protecting those who are most vulnerable to lead such as infants, children and pregnant people.  I also want to add we strongly support EPA's proposal to add a new compliance metric to ensure that the lead service line removals that filter out reach do not result in disproportionate impacts to environmental justice communities.  This will only strengthen Denver's already strong equity plan for its lead reduction program.  Another reason we strongly support this variance is because it protects water quality by preventing introduction of an additional source of phosphorous into the South Platte river watershed, Phosphorous and other nutrient pollution can trigger toxic algal outbreaks in streams, lakes and reservoirs which can harm aquatic  life and make people sick if they come in contact with contaminated water.  There are also economic impacts from nutrient pollution both in the form of treatment costs for waste water utilities and also in the form of lost recreation and tourism when a water body is closed because of a toxic bloom.  And the lead reduction program protects water quality for immediate and downstream communities that depend on this (could not get a couple of words) from  everything from farming to ranching  to recreation.  Also see the hundreds of millions of dollars in a reported  waste water treatment cost.
So, all I will say in conclusion that we see this program as the first of its kind in the nation, and despite many challenges that Denver faced with the covid-19 pandemic, the supply chain issues, etcetera, we've been repeatedly impressed that Denver Water continues to exceed all of the milestones of the variance  on or ahead of schedule so we urge EPA to quickly approve this variance which better protects public health while also improving water quality in our region.  Thank you.
>> Sarah Bahrman:    Great, thank you, Jennifer.  So those were the two commenters that we had many registered in advance.  Whitney, maybe I will turn to you to see if anyone has a hand raised?  To comment?  We. 
>> Whitney Trulove:  Yes, we have Rob Parker watching the list to see if any hands have been raised do we have any additional hands raised? 
>>>:  I do not see any hands raised at this moment. 
>> Whitney Trulove:  Thank you.  Check goes in with already a to see if Lauren to see if anybody typed in any comments in the chat. 
>> Lauren Croxton:  No, I'm not seeing 
>>>:  No, I'm not seeing any comments in the chat. 
---
 
---
 
>>>:  And I see, Sarah, we've been at a steady number of participants during your presentation.  It does not like anybody new joined recently.  Would you like to go to the 10-minute break?
>> Sarah Bahrman:    Sure.  And just, again, before we go to the break, a reminder if, if you would like to comment, to please raise your hand in zoom or press * 9 on your phone and we will get you in the cue.
>> Whitney Trulove:  Okay this, is Whitney again and it looks like a comment was submitted to me in the chat.  It is a question, however. 
>> Sarah Bahrman:  Okay. 
>> Whitney Trulove:  Mr. Jones, if you joined us a little bit late, we are not accepting questions this evening, but you could email that to Sarah Bahrman for her to answer you directly. 
>> Sarah Bahrman:  That was from Mr. Jones, Whitney? 
>> Whitney Trulove:  Yes, Mr. Paul Jones. 
>> Sarah Bahrman:  I'm going to put my email address in the chat again. 
>> Whitney Trulove:  It's at the bottom of the chat. 
>> Sarah Bahrman:  Great, thank you, so please just email me directly if you have questions and happy to answer those off line, just trying to maximize time for folks to provide input during tonight and tomorrow's session.
We are accepting comments through the chat so if you would like to send comments, you can do so by selecting comments Laura Jenkins and the chat box and send the comments that way.
So, we will go on a short 10-minute break.  And we will be back to check in in 10 minutes it sees if anyone else would like to provide comments tonight.
--- 10-minute break.
>>>:  Account people that have lead lines take any kind of comfort in the fact that those levels have done down?  Or is it does it not affect the people that still have lead pipes?
>> Sarah Bahrman:    So, we weren't going to answer questions tonight, Paul, but I'd be happy to capture that as a comment.  And email you. 
>>>:  Okay.  Or. 
>> Sarah Bahrman:  An answer to that response.  We can talk about your specific's situation, if that works. 
>>>:  That's fine.  Thank you. 
>> Sarah Bahrman:  Do you see my email address in the chat. 
>>>:  I did and I sent you an email so you've already got one from me. 
>> Sarah Bahrman:  Appreciate that question and would be happy to chat with you by email or find a time to talk by phone. 
>>>:  Okay.  Thanks very much. 
>>>:  So, you see any other hand raised? 
>>>:  I do not see any other hands raised at this time. 
>> Sarah Bahrman:  Lauren, do you have any comments through the chat? 
>> Lauren Croxton:  No, not at this time.
>> Sarah Bahrman:  Okay, thank you. 
>>>:  I did want to mention it looks like perhaps we had one additional person that may have joined us.
So, if that individual would like to make any comments, they should feel free to raise their hand. 
>> Sarah Bahrman:  Great, thank you, Lauren. 
>> Sarah Bahrman:  Not seeing any hands raised at this time.  Let's go ahead and take another 10-minute break and be back shortly to see if anyone else has joined and would like to provide comments. 
--- 10-minute break. 
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>> Sarah Bahrman:  Welcome back from the break.  For those who are just joining, wanted to let you all know that there will not be any additional presentation, but that the session is being recorded.  And a transcript will be provided through the docket.  So, with the remaining time, we're going to hold the line open until 6:00 p.m. mountain daylight time to hear any input from attendees.  So, if you would like to speak, you can comment by raising your land in zoom or pressing * 9 on the telephone. 
you can also submit a comment via chat in zoom by selecting comments Laura Jenkins and sending a comment directly to that.
So, we will see if anybody else would like to comment before we go back on break.  Just as a reminder, we do have another public meeting tomorrow from six to 9:00 p.m. mountain time you can join again tomorrow night or let friends and neighbors know about this event and they can join as well.
So, I'm going to check in with you, Rob, to see if there are any hands raised? 
>>>:  I do not see any hands raised at this time. 
>> Sarah Bahrman:  Thank you, Rob.  And I will check in with Laura to see if you have any comments from the chat?
>>>:  We do not, Sarah.
>> Sarah Bahrman:  Okay.  Thanks, Laura.
We will go back on a 10-minute break and we will be back in 10 minutes to see if anyone else has joined or would like to provide comments.  Thank you. 
--- 10-minute break.
>> Sarah Bahrman:  All right.  Welcome back everybody from break.  As a reminder this is the public meeting regarding proposed variance for Denver Water under the Safe Drinking Water Act.  We were on break to see if there were any additional participants who would like to comment.
If you would like to comment, please raise your hand in zoom.
As a reminder for all remaining participants, there will not be additional presentation tonight.  But we will hold the line open until 6:00 p.m. in case anyone joins late or in case any of you decide to comment.  Is if you would like to comment, you've got two ways.  First is to raise your hand in zoom, using the reactions button.  Second:  To submit a chat to comments, Laura Jenkins and we're happy to read that comment to you if you prefer to comment that way.  So, I will wait just a minute to see if anyone who's still on the line would like to comment.  But again, there will not be any additional presentation from EPA tonight.  We will have secondary EtO presentation tomorrow from six to 8:00 p.m. mountain time.  And there is a separate zoom link for that.
For folks who are not able to join tonight, we wanted to have a repeat event.
If you'd like to comment, pleads raise your hand in zoom.  I don't see any hands raised now.  Let me check with Laura to see if you have received any comments in the chat. 
>>>:  Sarah, I have not received any additional comments.
>> Sarah Bahrman:  Great.  Thank you, Laura.
Just one more minute here before we go on an additional break.
All right.  Not seeing any hands again either.  So, we will go on a break for 10 minutes.  Try to get that timer back up and we'll be back in 10 minutes to see if anyone else has joined or would like to provide comments.  Thank you.
>>>: (Music playing).
 
>> Sarah Bahrman:  On the screen you can see instructions for how to do that.
We at EPA will not be doing any additional presentations this evening.  But we will stay on the line until 6:00 p.m. in case anyone else joins or would like to comment.  So, you can raise your hand through zoom.  Press * 9 if you're on the phone, to raise your hand.  You can also send comments in the chat by selecting comments.  As who to send a direct message to and we will read that comment a loud.
So, give you all just a minute.
To decide whether to comment at this point in the evening and just as a reminder, we have a repeat session tomorrow evening also on zoom.  This time from six to 8:00 p.m. mountain daylight time to try to accommodate some different schedules, so you're welcome to join again tomorrow or you can suggest that some of your friends and neighbors do, if they would like to hear more about EPA's proposed decision.
So, at this time I'm not seeing any hands raised.  Again, if you'd like to comment please raise your hand in zoom or submit a message in the chat.  Laura, have you received any chat messages? 
>>>:  No, we have not received any comments in the chat.
>> Sarah Bahrman:  All right.  Thank you.  We'll just give it one more minute here.  Again, please raise your hand in zoom or press * 9 on your phone to raise your hand if you would like to comment.  If we don't have anyone else, we'll take maybe one final break but give it just a minute here in case anyone has joined and would like to comment.
All right not seeing any hands or new participants, we'll take one final 10-minute break and just row join briefly to close out the meeting.  Thank you. 
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>>>: (Music playing). 
>> Sarah Bahrman:    All right.  Hi again everybody.  Thanks for hanging in there until the end.  I'm just going to check one last time to see if anybody would like to provide comments tonight.  If you do, please use the reactions button in zoom to raise your hand or if you're joining by phone, please press * 9.  On your phone.  And that will raise your hand through zoom and we'll call on you by name.  As one final reminder, you can also submit comments in the chat so if you click on chat in the zoom mean and select comments, Laura Jenkins, EPA, you can send comments that way.
Just a couple of final reminders while we wait to see if any hands razor comments come in.  Got a repeat session tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. also virtual in zoom.
And we are accepting comments online through the docket at regulations.gov.  So, I'll put that information up on the screen in just a minute here though we'll give you all one more minute to see if any hands come up. 
Thanks for hanging in until the end everyone.
All right.  Not seeing any additional hands.  Laura, I'm going to check in with you, any comments from the chat to read? 
>>>:  No, no comments. 
>> Sarah Bahrman:  Thank you.
all right.  So, we're going to close out the meeting.  Troy, if you could go to slide 20 ate, please, that says closing.  Perfect.  Just wanted to go over what happens next.  So, EPA like I mentioned, we will be hosting a second public meeting tomorrow, Thursday October 6 from 6 to 8:00 p.m., mountain daylight time.  Please feel free to spread the word about that.  We're just looking to get as much feedback about this proposal as we can.  We do plan to post the transcript for comments received tonight online in that docket.  I've got information on the next slide about how to view that docket and access it.  We will do the same for the public meeting tomorrow, Thursday, October 6 we will post that transcript to the docket as well.
At the end of the public comment period, we plan to review and consider all comments received prior to issuing a final decision.  Options could be that we issue a variance like this proposal, issue one with some revisions based on those comments or decide to deny Denver Water's request for variance based on the comments we receive.
Next slide, please, Troy
So, with that, I will like to close out the meeting, again, thank you so much for joining and sticking with us through the end here.  We really appreciate the comments that we have received that will help us make sure we're making an informed decision as we move toward final action.  Again, we're accepting written comments through this Friday, October 7.  You can submit those online through the docket at regulations.gov.  The docket number is listed there on the screen and any questions you have about EPA's proposal or this process, you can go ahead and email those to me at the draws there on the screen.
Thanks again for joining us tonight everyone.  EPA folks, if you could stay on the line and anyone who's not EPA, just really appreciate you taking the time this evening to join.  Have a good night.