Document ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0090-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Revisions to the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation (UCMR 3) for Public Water Systems
Posted Date: 2011-03-03T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 42 (Thursday, March 3, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11713-11737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-4641]

=======================================================================
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 141 and 142

[Docket No. OW-2009-0090; FRL-9274-2]
RIN 2040-AF10

Revisions to the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation 
(UCMR 3) for Public Water Systems

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) 
require that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or 
the Agency) establish criteria for a program to monitor unregulated 
contaminants and to publish a list of contaminants to be monitored 
every five years. This action meets the SDWA requirement by proposing 
the design for the third UCMR cycle (i.e., UCMR 3). EPA is proposing 
six EPA-developed analytical methods, and four equivalent consensus 
organization-developed methods to monitor for 28 new UCMR chemical 
contaminants. In addition, EPA proposes monitoring for two viruses, for 
a total of 30 UCMR 3 contaminants. As envisioned, virus analysis (along 
with related analysis for pathogen indicators) would be conducted in 
laboratories under EPA contract. UCMR 3 provides EPA and other 
interested parties with scientifically valid data on the occurrence of 
these contaminants in drinking water, permitting the assessment of the 
number of people potentially being exposed and the levels of that 
exposure. These data are the primary source of occurrence and exposure 
information the Agency uses to determine whether to regulate these 
contaminants. In addition, as part of an Expedited Methods Update, this 
proposed action also would amend regulations concerning inorganic 
chemical sampling and analytical requirements. A minor editorial 
correction to the table moves methods from the ``Other'' column to the 
``ASTM'' column, as it applies to the inorganic chemical sampling and 
analytical requirements. The UCMR program is not affected by these 
changes.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 2, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. OW-2009-
0090, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: OW-Docket@epa.gov.
     Mail: Send three copies of your comments and any 
enclosures to: Water Docket, United States Environmental Protection 
Agency, Mail Code 282211T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, 
DC 20460, Attention Docket ID No. OW-2009-0090. Commenters should use a 
separate paragraph for each issue discussed. In addition, please mail a 
copy of your comments on the information collection provisions to the 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB), Attn: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th St., NW., 
Washington, DC 20503.
     Hand Delivery: Deliver your comments to Water Docket, EPA 
Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC, Attention Docket ID No. OW-
2009-0090. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal 
hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for 
deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-OW-2009-
0090. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in 
the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 
is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through http://www.regulations.gov your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses.

[[Page 11714]]

    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Water Docket, EPA/
DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. 
This Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the 
Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the Water Docket is (202) 
566-2426.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David J. Munch, Technical Support 
Center, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, United States 
Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, 26 West Martin Luther 
King Drive (MS 140), Cincinnati, OH 45268; telephone (513) 569-7843; or 
e-mail at munch.dave@epa.gov; or Brenda D. Parris, Technical Support 
Center, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, United States 
Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, 26 West Martin Luther 
King Drive (MS 140), Cincinnati, Ohio 45268; telephone (513) 569-7961; 
or e-mail at parris.brenda@epa.gov. For general information, contact 
the Safe Drinking Water Hotline. Callers within the United States may 
reach the Hotline at (800) 426-4791. The Hotline is open Monday through 
Friday, excluding legal holidays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern time. 
The Safe Drinking Water Hotline may also be found on the Internet at: 
http://water.epa.gov/aboutow/ogwdw/hotline/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    Entities regulated by this action are public water systems (PWSs). 
All large community and non-transient non-community water systems 
serving more than 10,000 people would be required to monitor. A 
community water system (CWS) means a PWS which has at least 15 service 
connections used by year-round residents or regularly serves an average 
of at least 25 year-round residents. A non-transient non-community 
water system (NTNCWS) means a PWS that is not a CWS and that regularly 
serves at least 25 of the same people over six months per year. Only a 
nationally representative sample of community and non-transient non-
community systems serving 10,000 or fewer people would be required to 
monitor for chemical analytes (see USEPA, 2001 for a description of the 
statistical approach for the nationally representative sample). 
Transient non-community systems (i.e., systems that do not regularly 
serve at least 25 of the same people over six months per year) would 
not be required to monitor for the chemical analytes. However, 
transient ground water systems serving 1,000 or fewer would be subject 
to possible selection for virus monitoring. If selected, these systems 
would be required to permit EPA to sample and analyze for List 3 
contaminants and pathogen indicators. EPA would pay for all sampling 
and analysis costs associated with virus monitoring at these small 
systems. States, Territories, and Tribes with primary enforcement 
responsibility (primacy) to administer the regulatory program for PWSs 
under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) may participate in the 
implementation of UCMR 3 through Partnership Agreements (PAs) (see 
discussion of PAs in section III.G. of today's action: ``What Is the 
States' Role in the UCMR Program?''). These primacy agencies may choose 
to conduct analyses to measure for contaminants in water samples 
collected for the UCMR 3; however, the PWS remains responsible for 
compliance. Regulated categories and entities are identified in the 
following table.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Category                        Examples of potentially regulated entities          NAICS \a\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State, Local, & Tribal Governments.......  States, local and Tribal governments that analyze              924110
                                            water samples on behalf of public water systems
                                            required to conduct such analysis; States, local and
                                            Tribal governments that directly operate community,
                                            transient and non-transient non-community water
                                            systems required to monitor.
Industry.................................  Private operators of community and non-transient non-          221310
                                            community water systems required to monitor.
Municipalities...........................  Municipal operators of community and non-transient             924110
                                            non-community water systems required to monitor.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 \a\ NAICS = North American Industry Classification System.

    This table is not exhaustive, but rather provides a guide for 
readers regarding entities likely to be regulated by this action. This 
table lists the types of entities that EPA is now aware may potentially 
be regulated by this action. Other types of entities not listed in the 
table could also be regulated. To determine whether your facility is 
regulated by this action, you should carefully examine the definition 
of PWS in Sec.  141.2 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, 
and applicability criteria in Sec.  141.40(a)(1) and (2) of today's 
proposed action. If you have questions regarding the applicability of 
this action to a particular entity, consult the persons listed in the 
preceding FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

B. Copies of This Document and Other Related Information

    This document is available for download at: http://www.regulations.gov. For other related information, see preceding 
discussion on docket.

Abbreviations and Acronyms

[micro]g/L Microgram per liter
ASDWA Association of State Drinking Water Administrators
ASTM American Society for Testing Materials
CBI Confidential Business Information
CCL Contaminant Candidate List
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
CWS Community water system
DSMRT Distribution system maximum residence time
EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency
EPTDS Entry point to the distribution system
FR Federal Register
GC/MS Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry
GWUDI Ground water under the direct influence of surface water
HCFC-22 Chlorodifluoromethane
IC/MS Ion Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry
ICR Information collection request
IHS Indian Health Service
LCMRL Lowest concentration minimum reporting level
LC/MS/MS Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry
LFSM Laboratory fortified sample matrix
LFSMD Laboratory fortified sample matrix duplicate
MRL Minimum reporting level

[[Page 11715]]

NAICS North American Industry Classification System
NCOD National Drinking Water Contaminant Occurrence Database
NPDWR National primary drinking water regulation
NTNCWS Non-transient non-community water system
NTTAA National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act
OMB Office of Management and Budget
PA Partnership Agreement
PFBS Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid
PFHpA Perfluoroheptanoic acid
PFHxS Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid
PFNA Perfluorononanoic acid
PFOA Perfluorooctanoic acid
PFOS Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid
PT Proficiency testing
PWS Public water system
qPCR Quantitative polymerase chain reaction
RFA Regulatory Flexibility Act
SM Standard Methods
SRF State Revolving Fund
SBA Small Business Administration
SDWA Safe Drinking Water Act
SDWIS/Fed Federal Safe Drinking Water Information System
UCMR Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation
UMRA Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
USEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency
VOC Volatile Organic Compound

Table of Contents

I. General Information
    A. Does this action apply to me?
    B. Copies of This Document and Other Related Information
II. Statutory Authority and Background
    A. What is the statutory authority for this action?
    B. How does EPA meet these statutory requirements?
    C. How are the contaminant candidate list, the National 
Contaminant Occurrence Database, and the UCMR interrelated?
III. Requirements of the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Program
    A. What are the changes being proposed for UCMR 3?
    B. What priority contaminants were selected for UCMR 3?
    1. Twenty Eight Chemicals
    2. Two Viruses
    C. How Were minimum reporting levels determined?
    D. How would laboratories conduct UCMR analyses?
    E. What are the new applicability considerations?
    1. Applicability Based on Population Served
    2. Applicability for Transient Systems
    F. UCMR 3 Timeline and Sampling Design Considerations
    1. UCMR 3 Reporting Considerations
    2. Assessment Monitoring
    3. Pre-Screen Testing
    G. What is the states' role in the UCMR program?
IV. Cost of This Proposed Action
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
    A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review
    B. Paperwork Reduction Act
    C. Regulatory Flexibility Act
    D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
    E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
    F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination with 
Indian Tribal Governments
    G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From 
Environmental Health and Safety Risks
    H. Executive Order 13211: Actions that Significantly Affect 
Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use
    I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act
    J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions to Address 
Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income 
Populations
VI. Public Involvement in Regulation Development
VII. References

II. Statutory Authority and Background

A. What is the statutory authority for this action?

    Section 1445(a)(2) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), as 
amended in 1996, requires that once every five years, beginning in 
August 1999, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
issue a new list of no more than 30 unregulated contaminants to be 
monitored by public water systems (PWSs). It also requires that EPA 
enter the monitoring data into the Agency's National Drinking Water 
Contaminant Occurrence Database (NCOD). EPA's Unregulated Contaminant 
Monitoring Regulation (UCMR) program must ensure that only a national 
representative sample of PWSs serving 10,000 or fewer people would be 
required to monitor. EPA must vary the frequency and schedule for 
monitoring based on the number of persons served, the source of supply, 
and the contaminants likely to be found.

B. How does EPA meet these statutory requirements?

    Today's notice proposes 30 contaminants for monitoring during the 
third five-year cycle, referred to as ``UCMR 3.'' These contaminants 
include: 28 chemicals using six analytical methods and/or four 
equivalent consensus organization-developed methods, and two viruses 
using one analytical method. EPA has developed a proposed contaminant 
list (Exhibit 1) and sampling design for UCMR 3 (2012-2016) with input 
from both stakeholders and an EPA-State working group.

                  Exhibit 1--Proposed Contaminant Lists
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      List 1, Assessment Monitoring
------------------------------------------------------------------------
17-[beta]-estradiol                  chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-22)
17-[alpha]-ethynylestradiol          bromochloromethane (Halon 1011)
 (ethinyl estradiol)
estriol                              1,4-dioxane
equilin                              vanadium
estrone                              molybdenum
testosterone                         cobalt
4-androstene-3,17-dione              strontium
1,2,3-trichloropropane               chlorate
1,3-butadiene                        perfluorooctane sulfonic acid
                                      (PFOS)
chloromethane (methyl chloride)      perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
1,1-dichloroethane                   perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)
n-propylbenzene                      perfluorohexane sulfonic acid
                                      (PFHxS)
bromomethane (methyl bromide)        perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA)
sec-butylbenzene                     perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       List 3, Pre-Screen Testing
------------------------------------------------------------------------
enteroviruses                        noroviruses
------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 11716]]

    EPA published the first list for the Unregulated Contaminant 
Monitoring Regulation cycle (i.e., UCMR 1) in the Federal Register on 
September 17, 1999 (64 FR 50556), and the second list (i.e., UCMR 2) on 
January 4, 2007 (72 FR 367). The monitoring lists that were applicable 
under UCMR 1 and 2 are available at: http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/ucmr/.
    In UCMR 1, EPA established a three-tiered approach for monitoring 
contaminants based on the availability of analytical methods. 
Assessment Monitoring for List 1 contaminants typically relies on 
analytical methods that are in common use in drinking water 
laboratories. Screening Survey monitoring for List 2 contaminants 
relies on newly developed analytical methods that are not commonly used 
in drinking water laboratories. Laboratory capacity to perform List 2 
analyses is expected to be limited. Finally, UCMR 1 established the 
option of Pre-Screen Testing for List 3 contaminants to address 
contaminants with analytical methods that are in an early stage of 
development. The expectation was that it would be used at a limited 
number of systems determined to be most vulnerable to the targeted 
contaminants.
    For UCMR 2, EPA built on this established structure, and instituted 
some changes to the rule design. These changes were based upon lessons 
learned during UCMR 1. All large PWSs, serving more than 10,000 people, 
and a nationally representative selection of 800 small PWSs serving 
10,000 or fewer people monitored for List 1 contaminants. This 
monitoring was conducted during a continuous 12-month period during the 
January 2008 to December 2010 sampling time frame (quarterly for 
surface water systems, and twice, at 6-month intervals, for ground 
water systems). Systems subject to UCMR 2 included community water 
systems (CWSs) and non-transient non-community water systems (NTNCWSs), 
except those systems that purchase all of their finished water from 
another PWS.
    EPA designed the Assessment Monitoring sampling frame to ensure 
that sample results would yield a high level of confidence and a low 
margin of error. The design for a nationally representative sample of 
small systems called for the sample to be stratified by water source 
type (ground or surface water), service size category, and State (where 
each State is allocated a minimum of two systems in its State 
Monitoring Plan). With monitoring data from all large PWSs (a census of 
all large systems) and a statistically representative sample of 800 
small PWSs (for a total of over 4,000 systems), UCMR1 and UCMR 2 
Assessment Monitoring provided sample data suitable to characterize 
exposure, as would UCMR 3. Twenty eight chemicals are being proposed 
for Assessment Monitoring under UCMR 3.
    For the UCMR 2 Screening Survey, monitoring for List 2 contaminants 
was conducted by approximately 400 PWSs serving more than 100,000 
people (i.e., a census of all systems in this largest size category), 
with a randomly selected sample of 320 PWSs serving between 10,001 and 
100,000 people, and 480 small PWSs serving 10,000 or fewer people (EPA 
included additional PWSs in the Screening Survey design under UCMR 2--
as compared to UCMR 1--to increase the statistical power of the 
sample). During UCMR 2, Screening Survey systems were required to 
monitor during a continuous 12-month period during the time frame of 
January 2008 to December 2010 (quarterly for surface water systems, and 
twice, at 6-month intervals, for ground water systems). With 
approximately 1,200 systems participating in the Screening Survey, 
sufficient data were generated to provide an overall national estimate 
of population exposure. No List 2 Screening Survey monitoring is being 
proposed under UCMR 3.
    As under UCMR 1, no Pre-Screen Testing was conducted during the 
UCMR 2. However, in UCMR 3, two viruses are proposed for Pre-Screen 
monitoring.
    EPA is proposing that UCMR 3 include: Assessment Monitoring for 28 
chemicals; no Screening Survey; and, Pre-Screen Testing for two 
viruses. Other proposed changes between UCMR 2 and UCMR 3 are 
summarized in section III.A. ``What Are the Changes Being Proposed for 
UCMR 3?'', and discussed in further detail throughout today's proposed 
rule preamble.

C. How are the contaminant candidate list, the National Contaminant 
Occurrence Database, and the UCMR interrelated?

    The 1996 amendments to SDWA instituted the Contaminant Candidate 
List (CCL) and UCMR programs to provide information EPA needs to 
determine which drinking water contaminants have the greatest potential 
to present a meaningful opportunity to reduce health risk through a 
national primary drinking water regulation (NPDWR). The CCL is the 
primary mechanism for the identification of contaminants that may 
require regulation while UCMR provides EPA with the data necessary to 
determine if a contaminant occurs at a frequency and concentration that 
would be a public health concern. The CCL and UCMR are coordinated 
parts of EPA's risk management process, and they support each other. 
The UCMR sampling program is limited by statute to 30 contaminants at 
one time, and was designed in consideration of the technical difficulty 
and expense of analyzing up to 30 contaminants, as well as their 
potential to occur in treated drinking water at levels of public health 
concern. The data collected through the UCMR program are being stored 
in the NCOD to: facilitate analysis and review of contaminant 
occurrence; guide the conduct of the CCL process; and support the 
Administrator's determination whether to regulate a contaminant in the 
interest of protecting public health, as required under SDWA section 
1412 (b)(1). Results of the UCMR 1 and 2 monitoring can be viewed by 
the public at EPA's UCMR Web site: http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/ucmr/data.cfm.

III. Requirements of the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Program

A. What are the changes being proposed for UCMR 3?

    EPA developed, and is proposing in today's action, a slightly 
revised design for UCMR 3 based on experience with UCMR 1 and UCMR 2. 
EPA reviewed various aspects of the UCMR 1 and 2 programs and 
identified several critical changes that would improve implementation. 
EPA's proposed approach and rationale for changes are described in the 
following sections. Key aspects of the UCMR program that would remain 
the same include direct implementation of the rule by EPA, the design 
of Assessment Monitoring, and EPA funding for the small system testing. 
In addition to requesting comment on the proposed list of contaminants, 
EPA also requests comment on: Monitoring based on retail population; 
revised data elements; and other changes between UCMR 2 and UCMR 3 that 
are outlined in Exhibit 2. Updates to Web addresses, applicability 
dates, corrections of minor typographical errors, and other minor 
clerical edits are reflected in rule language, but do not appear in 
Exhibit 2.

[[Page 11717]]

                              Exhibit 2--Notable Changes Being Proposed for UCMR 3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Rule section
-----------------------------------------------------       Description of change         Corresponding preamble
             Number                Title/description                                             section
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
141.35(a) and 141.40(a).........  Population-based    Base applicability on retail       III.E.
                                   applicability and   population. Under UCMR 1 and 2,
                                   related             systems that purchased all of
                                   applicability       their water were not required to
                                   date.               monitor. These systems would now
                                                       be subject to UCMR monitoring
                                                       requirements. The new SDWIS/Fed
                                                       applicability date (i.e., the
                                                       date used to determine which
                                                       systems are subject to
                                                       monitoring) is also specified
141.35(c)(3)(ii)................  Demonstrating       Clarifies that when identifying a  III.F.
                                   representative      representative well, the well
                                   ground water        must be one of the higher annual
                                   sampling            volume producing and
                                   locations.          consistently active wells.
                                                       Should this location go off-
                                                       line, an alternative location
                                                       must be sampled.
141.35(c)(6)(ii) and              Reporting schedule  Reduces time for labs to           III.F.
 141.40(a)(5)(vi).                                     electronically report results
                                                       (from 120 to 60 days); and for
                                                       systems to review, approve, and
                                                       report data (from 60 to 30 days).
141.35(c)(6) and 141.35(d)(2)...  Reporting           Requires small and large systems   III.F.
                                   monitoring          to report all data elements in
                                   results.            Table 1 with each sample.
                                                       Previously, only a subset of the
                                                       data elements were to be
                                                       reported with each sample.
141.35(e).......................  Data elements.....  Revises Table 1 of Sec.   141.35
                                                       to:
                                                          Add the zip code,
                                                          optional zip code extension,
                                                          and zip codes served to Data
                                                          Element 4--Sampling Point
                                                          Identification Code.
                                                          Clarify and update     III.F. and V.J.
                                                          the definition of Data
                                                          Element 6--Disinfectant Type.
141.40(a)(1)....................  Applicability to    Removes exemption for transient    III.E.
                                   transient systems.  systems, which would now be
                                                       subject to monitoring for List 3
                                                       contaminants if notified by EPA
                                                       or State.
141.40(a)(2)(ii)(C) and           Pre-Screen Testing  Systems participating in List 3    III.B. and III.F.
 141.40(a)(3).                     viruses and         monitoring would be required to
                                   indicators.         allow EPA to monitor for
                                                       enterovirus and norovirus and
                                                       collect specified pathogen
                                                       indicators.
141.40(a)(3)....................  Analytes to be      Revises Table 1 of this section    III.B. and III.F.
                                   monitored and       to include:.
                                   related            New list of 28 priority
                                   specifications.     contaminants, with 6 EPA-
                                                       developed and 4 consensus
                                                       organization developed
                                                       analytical methods, as well as
                                                       new monitoring dates of January
                                                       2013 through December 2015.
141.40(a)(4)(i)(B)..............  Sampling            Specifies that schedules must be
                                   requirements--fre   adjusted based on sample point
                                   quency.             availability. Clarifies that
                                                       sampling points within a system
                                                       may have different schedules.
                                                      Also, revises Table 2 of this      III.F.
                                                       section to include monitoring
                                                       requirements for microbiological
                                                       contaminants for ground water
                                                       systems at a frequency of two
                                                       times during a consecutive 12-
                                                       month period.
141.40(a)(4)(i)(C)..............  Location..........  Requires systems conducting        III.F.
                                                       Assessment Monitoring to collect
                                                       metal and chlorate samples at
                                                       distribution system maximum
                                                       residence time (DSMRT) sampling
                                                       locations. If these locations
                                                       are not defined, requires PWS to
                                                       collect samples at locations
                                                       that best represents the maximum
                                                       residence time in the
                                                       distribution system.
141.40(a)(5)(iii)...............  Minimum Reporting   Revises the definition of the MRL  III.C.
                                   Level (MRL)
                                   definition.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. What priority contaminants were selected for UCMR 3?

    EPA used a stepwise prioritization process to identify potential 
UCMR 3 contaminants. As a first step, the Agency reviewed the recently 
promulgated CCL 3 list and the ``pre-CCL'' contaminants considered in 
the development of CCL 3. Under the CCL 3 process, the Agency 
considered the best available data and information on health effects 
and occurrence to evaluate 7,500 unregulated contaminants. The final 
CCL 3 is comprised of 104 chemicals or chemical groups and 12 
microbiological contaminants that were selected through a data-driven 
process that considered adverse health effects (potency and severity) 
and occurrence (prevalence and magnitude). The list includes 
pesticides, biological toxins, disinfection byproducts, chemicals used 
in commerce, and waterborne pathogens (74 FR 51850, October 8, 2009 
(USEPA, 2009c)). EPA used CCL 3, along with additional sources of 
information about other emerging contaminants of potential concern, to 
establish an initial list of approximately 150 potential UCMR 3 
contaminants.
    The proposed contaminant list for UCMR 3 was further pared down as 
follows: (1) Contaminants with no currently available methods, or 
methods that would not be ready in time for UCMR 3 monitoring were 
eliminated; and, (2) those contaminants included in UCMR 1 or UCMR 2 
monitoring were also eliminated from inclusion. This narrowed list of 
fewer than 35 analytes was further considered by an EPA and State 
working group, and prioritized using health effects data and other 
critical endpoints, to arrive at a final proposed list of 30 analytes 
listed in Exhibit 3. Further information on this

[[Page 11718]]

prioritization process, and on the health effects and occurrence data 
EPA used to select the chemical analytes proposed for UCMR 3 are 
contained in ``Possible Contaminants for Inclusion on UCMR 3--
Information Compendium'' (USEPA, 2010d).
    EPA has not included hexavalent chromium (chromium-6) in the 
proposed list of chemicals for UCMR 3 monitoring; however, EPA is aware 
of potential concerns about chromium-6 occurrence in public water 
supplies. EPA thus requests comment on whether the Agency should 
include chromium-6 as one of the 30 contaminants for UCMR 3 Assessment 
Monitoring. EPA has recently issued voluntary guidance to water systems 
on monitoring for chromium-6, including recommendations regarding the 
use of a modified version of EPA Method 218.6 for the analysis of 
samples and a recommended reporting level of 0.06 ug/L (see http://water.epa.gov/drink/info/chromium/guidance.cfm). If EPA were to include 
chromium-6 in UCMR 3, the Agency would incorporate it into Assessment 
Monitoring. Under this approach, EPA would make chromium-6 monitoring 
mandatory for all large water systems and a subset of small systems; 
see also Section III.F.2 for further discussion of the Assessment 
Monitoring approach. EPA requests comments on what contaminant(s) 
should be removed from the list of 30 UCMR 3 contaminants if chromium-6 
were added, as well as comments regarding the recommended and 
alternative analytical method(s) and the appropriate reporting level. 
EPA also requests comments on whether total chromium should also be 
measured concurrent with chromium-6. Side-by-side measurements may 
provide valuable information on relative occurrence and the utility of 
total chromium monitoring as a surrogate for chromium-6.
    EPA compiled background information for each of the 28 chemicals 
being proposed for monitoring, including: Source and use; health 
effects; production and release; occurrence in water; and persistence 
and mobility (USEPA, 2010d). Health effects, occurrence in water, 
transmission and treatment information were considered for the two 
viruses. The primary source of this information is CCL 3 (74 FR 51850, 
October 8, 2009 (USEPA, 2009c)). Where newer or additional information 
was available and for those proposed UCMR 3 contaminants that were not 
part of CCL 3, references are provided separately. In addition, 
preliminary occurrence data are included that were collected as part of 
EPA's second Six-Year Review of NPDWRs (75 FR 15500, March 29, 2010 
(USEPA, 2010b)).

                 Exhibit 3--30 Proposed UCMR 3 Analytes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
             7 Hormones using EPA Method 539 (LC/MS/MS) \1\:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
17-[beta]-estradiol                  estrone
17-[alpha]-ethynylestradiol          testosterone
 (ethinyl estradiol)
estriol (16-[alpha]-hydroxy-17-      4-androstene-3,17-dione
 [beta]-estradiol)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
equilin                              ...................................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 9 Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) using EPA Method 524.3 (GC/MS) \2\:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1,2,3-trichloropropane               bromomethane (methyl bromide)
1,3-butadiene                        sec-butylbenzene
chloromethane (methyl chloride)      chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-22)
1,1-dichloroethane                   bromochloromethane (halon 1011)
n-propylbenzene                      ...................................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Synthetic Organic Compound using EPA Method 522 (GC/MS) \3\:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1,4-dioxane
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4 Metals using EPA Method 200.8 (IC/MS) \4\ or alternate SM \5\ or ASTM
                              Methods \6\:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
cobalt                               strontium
molybdenum                           vanadium
------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Oxyhalide Anion using EPA Method 300.1 (IC/Conductivity) \7\ or
                  alternate SM \8\ or ASTM Methods \9\:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
chlorate
------------------------------------------------------------------------
    6 Perfluorinated Chemicals using EPA Method 537 (LC/MS/MS) \10\:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS)     perfluorohexane sulfonic acid
                                      (PFHxS)
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)        perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA)
perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)        perfluorobutane sulfonic acid
                                      (PFBS)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
      2 Viruses (see Section III.B.7 for methods discussion): \11\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
enterovirus                          norovirus
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. EPA Method 539 (LC/MS/MS) (USEPA, 2010c)
2. EPA Method 524.3 (GC/MS) (USEPA, 2009a)
3. EPA Method 522 (GC/MS) (USEPA, 2008)
4. EPA Method 200.8 (ICP/MS) (USEPA, 1994)
5. SM 3125 (SM, 1997)
6. ASTM D5673-10 (ASTM, 2010)
7. EPA Method 300.1 (IC/Conductivity) (USEPA, 1997)
8. SM 4110D (SM, 1997)
9. ASTM D6581-08 (ASTM, 2008)

[[Page 11719]]

 
10. EPA Method 537 (LC/MS/MS) (USEPA, 2009b)
11. Monitoring also includes sampling for pathogen indicators such as
  total coliforms, E.coli, bacteriophage, Enterococci and aerobic
  spores. EPA would pay for all sampling and analysis costs associated
  with virus monitoring at these small systems.

1. Twenty-Eight Chemicals
    EPA proposes monitoring for 28 chemicals in UCMR 3. Details of the 
health effects and occurrence data EPA used to make these selections 
are contained in ``Possible Contaminants for Inclusion on UCMR 3--
Information Compendium'' (USEPA, 2010d), available at Docket ID No. OW-
2009-0090.
2. Two Viruses
a. Enterovirus and Norovirus
    EPA proposes to monitor for enterovirus and norovirus in UCMR 3. 
Both enterovirus and norovirus (a group of viruses in the Caliciviruses 
family) are listed on CCL3. They are proposed for UCMR 3 monitoring 
because very limited data are available (Francy et al., 2004) on their 
occurrence in undisinfected PWSs located in sensitive hydrogeological 
areas. Of particular concern are PWSs in areas with karst or fractured 
bedrock, as well as in non-community water systems. Recent data 
indicate that undisinfected ground water systems with low total 
coliform occurrence (and no Total Coliform Rule violations) had 
significant viral presence and disease manifestation (Borchardt, 2008). 
This draft study showed a statistically significant correlation between 
viral qPCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction) and self-reported 
acute gastrointestinal illness. This indicates that qPCR can be used as 
an indicator of relative vulnerability and potential disease incidence. 
Borchardt's work showed a viral occurrence of 9% for enterovirus and 4% 
for norovirus in CWSs, almost all of which were in aquifers not 
considered sensitive. EPA proposes to perform this monitoring as a Pre-
Screen Testing of targeted undisinfected ground water systems located 
in karst or fractured bedrock. The monitoring would include CWSs, as 
well as non-transient and transient non-community water systems. 
Monitoring would also include sampling for pathogen indicators such as 
total coliforms, E.coli, bacteriophage, Enterococci and aerobic spores.
    The objectives of this monitoring are to obtain information 
concerning the occurrence of enterovirus and norovirus for further 
evaluation, and to gain a better understanding of the co-occurrence of 
pathogen indicators and viruses.
    Enterovirus would be monitored using one method that has two 
detection assays. The first is a tissue culture assay also used in the 
Information Collection Rule survey conducted by EPA (USEPA, 1996), with 
one change; the 1 MDS filter would be replaced with the 
NanoCeram[supreg] filter, to significantly reduce sampling cost. The 
NanoCeram[supreg] filter has proven to be as effective as 1 MDS filter 
for the recovery of enteroviruses (Karim et al., 2009) and norovirus 
(Gibbons et al., 2010). The second assay is the qPCR, which detects the 
viral nucleic acid.
    Norovirus would only be monitored using qPCR, as there is no tissue 
culture method available. Both norovirus and enterovirus qPCR would be 
performed as per the protocol in Lambertini et al. (2008). The qPCR 
primers and probe for GI Norovirus would be as referenced in Jothikumar 
et al. (2005), while GII Norovirus primers and probe would be as 
referenced in Ando et al. (1995). Primers and probe referenced in De 
Leon et al. (1990) and Monpoeho et al. (2000) would be used for 
enterovirus qPCR.
    A technical presentation describing Borchardt's work, and 
supporting EPA's rationale for including these viruses in UCMR 3, is 
available through the docket. EPA welcomes comments on the Borchardt 
data and on the merits of the proposed UCMR 3 monitoring. EPA 
anticipates that a peer-reviewed journal article describing the 
Borchardt work will be published in advance of the publication of the 
UCMR 3 final rule, and is committed to conducting appropriate peer 
review of the UCMR 3 virus data before any final regulatory 
determination by the Agency.

C. How were minimum reporting levels determined?

    The quality of measurement definition is based on a standard tool 
of analytical chemistry, percent recovery of a known amount of analyte 
added to a reagent water sample (spiked blank). The lowest 
concentration minimum reporting level (LCMRL) is defined as the lowest 
spiking concentration at which recovery of between 50 and 150% is 
expected 99% of the time by a single analyst.
    The LCMRL is estimated using sophisticated statistical procedures 
that have been incorporated into an LCMRL calculator tool that is 
available on EPA's Web site (http://water.epa.gov/scitech/drinkingwater/labcert/analyticalmethods_ogwdw.cfm). The statistical 
tool estimates a probability distribution for spike recovery as a 
function of spiking concentration. This requires regression modeling 
that estimates expected value and expected variance for repeated 
measurements as functions of spiking concentration. Often this variance 
is an increasing function of spiking level. In this case, ordinary 
least squares regression is not appropriate to estimate the expected 
value function. Weighted least squares is used with weights 
proportional to the reciprocal of the expected variance, multiplied by 
a weight (Tukey's biweight) that gives robustness against outliers. The 
variance model is estimated using a Generalized Linear Model. To 
estimate these regressions, an experimental design with replicate 
spiking at multiple concentrations is required. If the LCMRL estimate 
is below the lowest non-blank spiking concentration or above the 
highest spiking concentration, another set of blanks must be spiked so 
that the LCMRL is bracketed by the lowest and highest spike 
concentrations when the LCMRL is re-estimated. The spiked 
concentrations must be contained within the instrument calibration 
curve that is routinely used for each analyte. The combined procedure 
provides a robust estimator of the LCMRL and a sophisticated and useful 
measure of method capability.
MRL
    In today's action, EPA is proposing revisions to the definition of 
the minimum reporting level (MRL). The proposed definition of the MRL 
reflects improvements in the statistical procedures for determining the 
LCMRL and MRL. These improvements were implemented by EPA to make the 
models more robust, i.e., so that the models can accommodate a wider 
range of observed LCMRL data sets. The MRL for an analyte measured by a 
specified analytical method is designed to be an estimate of an LCMRL 
that is achievable, with 95% confidence, by a capable analyst/
laboratory at least 75% of the time. Such a demonstration of ability to 
reliably make quality measurements at the MRL is intended to achieve 
high quality across the nation's laboratories.
    In UCMR 2, the MRL was established by EPA by adding the mean of the 
LCMRL determined according to the procedure detailed in ``Statistical 
Protocol for the Determination of The Single-Laboratory Lowest 
Concentration Minimum Reporting Level (LCMRL) and

[[Page 11720]]

Validation of the Minimum Reporting Level (MRL)'' (USEPA, 2004), 
(http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw/methods/pdfs/methods/methods_lcmrl.pdf) by 
the primary and secondary laboratories conducting the development and 
validation of the analytical method to three times the difference of 
the LCMRLs. If LCMRL data from three or more laboratories were 
available, the MRL was established by EPA by adding three times the 
standard deviation of the LCMRLs to the mean of the LCMRLs.
    In UCMR 3, EPA estimated the MRL for an analyte/method by obtaining 
data from several laboratories performing corresponding LCMRL studies. 
These data are used to construct an approximation to the distribution 
that would result from picking at random a laboratory/analyst 
proficient in performing the analytical method, and having them perform 
an LCMRL study and compute an LCMRL estimate. The strategy for 
computing the MRL is two-fold. First, for each LCMRL data set, a 
distribution for repeated LCMRL determinations by the same laboratory/
analyst is estimated by generating a large number of simulated values 
using a Bayesian bootstrap approach. Second, these values are combined 
to create an estimated overall distribution. If a result from one of 
the laboratories is significantly higher than that of other 
laboratories, this value would be down-weighted using a robust weight 
function. The resulting weighted values are used to construct a 
probability distribution from which the MRL is computed as the 95th 
percentile. EPA requests comments regarding the proposed definition of 
the MRL.

D. How would laboratories conduct UCMR analyses?

    As proposed, all laboratories conducting analyses for UCMR 3 List 1 
contaminants would need to receive EPA approval to perform those 
analyses. Laboratories seeking approval would be required to provide 
EPA with data that demonstrate their successful completion of an 
initial demonstration of capability as outlined in each method, 
verification of successful performance at the MRLs as specified in 
today's action, and successful participation in an EPA Proficiency 
testing (PT) program for the analytes of interest. On-site audits of 
selected candidate laboratories may be conducted. Details of the EPA 
laboratory approval program are contained in the technical manual 
titled: ``UCMR 3 Laboratory Approval Requirements and Information 
Document'' (USEPA, 2010e). This document will be available on the 
electronic docket at: http://www.regulations.gov and will be provided 
to laboratories that register for the laboratory approval program. In 
addition, EPA may supply analytical reference standards of known 
concentrations for selected analytes to participating/approved 
laboratories, where such standards are not readily available through 
commercial sources.
Laboratory Approval Process for UCMR 3
    The proposed UCMR 3 laboratory approval program is the same as that 
employed in previous UCMR cycles. It is designed to assess and confirm 
the capability of laboratories to perform analyses using the methods 
listed in Sec.  141.40(a)(3), Table 1, of today's proposed rule. The 
UCMR 3 laboratory approval process is designed to assess whether 
laboratories meet the required equipment, laboratory performance, and 
data reporting criteria described in today's action. This evaluation 
program is voluntary in that it only applies to laboratories intending 
to analyze UCMR 3 samples. However, EPA would require systems to use 
UCMR 3 approved laboratories when conducting monitoring for those 
analytes listed in Table 1 of Sec.  141.40(a)(3) of this proposed rule. 
A list of laboratories approved for UCMR 3 would be posted to EPA's 
UCMR Web site: http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/ucmr/ucmr3/labs.cfm. Laboratories are encouraged to apply for UCMR 3 approvals as 
early as possible, as schedules for large PWS sampling would be 
completed soon after the final rule is promulgated. The steps for the 
laboratory approval process are listed in the following paragraphs, a 
through f.
    a. Request to Participate.
    To request participation in the UCMR 3 laboratory approval process, 
the laboratory must contact EPA. Laboratories must send this request 
to: UCMR 3 Laboratory Approval Coordinator, USEPA, Technical Support 
Center, 26 West Martin Luther King Drive (MS 140), Cincinnati, OH 
45268; or e-mail at: UCMR_Sampling_Coordinator@epa.gov. EPA plans to 
begin accepting requests for registration forms for the List 1 
(Assessment Monitoring) methods beginning March 3, 2011. EPA 
anticipates that the final opportunity for a laboratory to request the 
necessary registration forms would be 90 days after final rule 
publication, though laboratories are encouraged to apply as early as is 
practical after the publication of today's proposed rule.
    b. Registration.
    Each laboratory that wishes to participate in UCMR 3 monitoring 
would be required to complete a registration form. EPA expects this 
registration information to include: Laboratory name; mailing address; 
shipping address; contact name; phone number; fax number; e-mail 
address; and a list of the UCMR 3 methods for which the laboratory is 
seeking approval. The purpose of the registration step is to provide 
EPA with the necessary contact information, and ensure that each 
laboratory receives a customized application package of materials and 
instructions for the methods that it plans to use.
    c. Application Package.
    When EPA receives the registration information, a customized 
application package would be sent to the laboratory for completion. 
Information requested in the application would include the following: 
Initial demonstration of capability data, including precision, 
accuracy, and results of MRL studies, information regarding analytical 
equipment, proof of current drinking water laboratory certification, 
and example chromatograms for each method under review.
    The laboratory would be required to confirm that it will post UCMR 
3 monitoring results (on behalf of its PWS clients) to EPA's UCMR 
electronic data reporting system.
    d. EPA Review of Application Package.
    EPA would review the application package and, if necessary, request 
follow-up information. Satisfactory completion of this portion of the 
process would be required for the laboratory to participate in the UCMR 
3 Proficiency Testing (PT) program.
    e. Proficiency Testing.
    A PT sample is a synthetic sample containing a concentration of an 
analyte that is known to EPA, but unknown to the laboratory being 
tested. To complete the initial laboratory approval process, a 
laboratory would be expected to meet specific acceptance criteria for 
the analysis of a UCMR 3 PT sample(s) for each method for which the 
laboratory is seeking approval. EPA intends to offer up to four 
opportunities for a laboratory to successfully analyze the UCMR 3 PT 
samples. Up to three of these studies would be conducted prior to the 
publication of the final rule, but at least one study would be 
conducted after publication of the final rule. This would allow 
laboratories to complete their portion of the laboratory approval 
process prior to publication of the final rule, and therefore, receive 
their approval, immediately following the publication of the final 
rule, or to wait until the final rule is published before completing 
the required laboratory approval analyses. A laboratory only

[[Page 11721]]

needs to pass one of the PT studies for each analytical method for 
which they are requesting approval. Laboratories applying for UCMR 3 
approval, and laboratories conducting UCMR 3 analyses, may be subject 
to on-site laboratory audits. No PT studies would be conducted after 
the start of monitoring; however, laboratory audits would be ongoing 
throughout the entire monitoring period of 2013-2015. Initial 
laboratory approval would be contingent upon successful completion of a 
PT study. Continued laboratory approval is contingent upon successful 
completion of audits.
    f. Written EPA Approval.
    After steps ``a'' through ``e'' of the PT approval process have 
been successfully completed, EPA would send the laboratory a letter 
listing the methods for which approval is pending (if the PT study and 
laboratory evaluation is conducted prior to promulgation of the final 
rule) or approval is granted (after promulgation of the final rule). 
Laboratories receiving a pending approval may then be approved without 
further action, following promulgation of the final rule, or they may 
need to take additional action, contingent upon what changes are 
applied to the rule between this proposal and promulgation of the final 
rule.

E. What are the new applicability considerations?

    In section 141.40(a) of today's proposed rule changes, EPA is 
proposing a new applicability date for information in the SDWIS/Fed 
system inventory. As proposed, the determination of whether a PWS is 
required to monitor under UCMR 3 would be based on the type of system 
(e.g., community water system, non-transient non-community water 
system, etc.), and its retail population served, as indicated by SDWIS/
Fed on December 31, 2010.
    In addition, EPA is proposing two changes to the applicability of 
UCMR 3 to PWSs. First, EPA proposes that applicability be based on 
retail population served. Whereas under UCMR 1 and 2 systems that 
purchased all of their water were not required to monitor; these 
systems would now be subject to UCMR monitoring requirements. Second, 
under UCMR 1 and 2, transient systems were exempt from monitoring. 
EPA's proposed changes would include transient systems in the universe 
from which EPA may select small PWSs for List 3 monitoring. Such 
systems would only be included in UCMR 3 List 3 monitoring if they are 
notified by EPA that they have been selected, and this monitoring would 
be done by EPA or its contractor. All other applicability criteria for 
UCMR 3 remain the same as those under UCMR 2.
1. Applicability Based on Population Served
    Under UCMR 1, large PWSs were defined as those systems that served 
a population of more than 10,000 people and small PWSs were those that 
served 10,000 or fewer people. While this included the sum of the 
population served by the combined distribution system, this requirement 
was occasionally misunderstood. For UCMR 2, EPA clarified the 
population definition to include the sum of the retail population 
served directly by the PWS plus the population served by any 
consecutive system(s), receiving all or part of its finished water from 
that PWS. As established in the Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection 
Byproducts Rule (68 FR 49548, August 18, 2003 (USEPA, 2003)), EPA 
defines a ``consecutive system'' as a PWS that buys or otherwise 
receives some or all of its finished water from one or more wholesale 
system(s). Under the population definition of UCMR 2, systems that 
purchased all of their water from other systems were not required to 
monitor. EPA is proposing a change in the definition of system 
population to include only a system's retail population. UCMR 3 
requirements for systems would be based on their retail population 
served as reported to SDWIS/Fed as ``Population Served'' (i.e., 
wholesale or consecutive populations are not included).
    EPA is proposing that PWSs be required to monitor for UCMR 3 
contaminants, regardless of whether they purchase any or all of their 
water from another system. The population definitions used for the 
previous UCMRs created an inconsistency for PWSs purchasing their 
water. If a PWS purchased all of their water, they were not required to 
monitor at all, and systems that had no retail connections did have to 
monitor. If a PWS purchased some of their water, they were required to 
monitor from their own sources as well as their purchased source. The 
new proposed definition would eliminate this inconsistency. It would 
also eliminate the requirements for systems with no retail connections 
to monitor. EPA is aware that PWSs that purchase water evaluate their 
supply needs and associated costs, and may make adjustments during the 
UCMR monitoring period. They have been known to change wholesale 
suppliers or switch sources that they can directly access and treat for 
their retail customers. The dynamic nature of wholesale water supply is 
prompting EPA to propose and solicit stakeholder comment on 
establishing retail population as a clearer measure for determining 
applicability of the UCMR 3 requirements. Retail population is a 
consistent factor for applicability determination and evaluating the 
direct sources (all entry points including wholesale connections) would 
improve data quality by directly assessing the drinking water served to 
the respective retail population. It is also difficult to accurately 
determine the total population served by each source of water. For 
example, if PWS ``A'' buys all of its water from three different PWSs 
(``B, C, D''), it is unclear how to divide PWS A's retail population 
among the three PWSs to determine the wholesale populations for systems 
B, C, and D. Under the previous UCMR specifications, the total 
population of all systems was added together, which could lead to 
overestimating the population served by each source of water.
    Moreover, a system's population is used to determine exposure 
estimates. Because the retail population comprises all of the people 
exposed to water from a particular system, EPA would have a clearer 
understanding of the number of people exposed to a detected 
contaminant. The proposed change to the definition of population would 
allow EPA to better estimate the total population served by a water 
system and ensures that exposure calculations are more accurate.
    PWSs are required to report their retail population to the Safe 
Drinking Water Information System-Federal (SDWIS/Fed), so this 
population is readily accessible to EPA when determining which systems 
are required to monitor for the UCMR 3. Using a system's retail 
population would also make the list of PWSs subject to UCMR more stable 
over the UCMR 3 monitoring period, and eliminate another inconsistency 
in previous UCMRs. In past UCMRs, if a PWS began purchasing all of 
their water after the applicability date, the PWS would still have to 
monitor under UCMR. If, however, a system began using its own water 
sources after the UCMR applicability date, the system would not be 
required to begin monitoring under UCMR. Using a system's retail 
population to determine whether a system is subject to UCMR 
requirements would eliminate this disparity.
    Note that systems that purchase water with multiple connections 
from the same wholesaler would be permitted to propose one 
representative connection

[[Page 11722]]

from that wholesaler. PWSs would choose a sampling location from among 
the higher annual volume EPTDS connections. If the connection selected 
as the representative EPTDS was not available for sampling, an 
alternate representative connection would need to be sampled.
2. Applicability for Transient Systems
    Under UCMR 1 and 2, Section 141.40(a)(1), transient non-community 
water systems were specifically exempted from UCMR monitoring. EPA is 
proposing revisions that would allow for certain transient systems to 
be selected for Pre-Screen Testing for List 3 contaminants. Under UCMR 
3, EPA is proposing to conduct Pre-Screen Testing for enterovirus and 
norovirus and related pathogen indicators at targeted undisinfected 
ground water systems that serve 1,000 or fewer customers. EPA is 
proposing to include transient systems among the possible targeted 
systems--and to focus on viruses and not chemicals at those systems--
since viruses are acute pathogens and exposure through a one-time 
ingestion (e.g., at a transient system) is of potential health concern. 
EPA requests comments regarding the inclusion of transient systems in 
UCMR 3 Pre-Screen Testing.
    As proposed under 141.40(a)(1) and 141.40(a)(2)(ii)(C), if any 
system (including transient systems) is notified by EPA or their state 
that they have been selected for Pre-Screen Testing the system must 
permit EPA (at EPA's expense) to sample and analyze for List 3 
contaminants, and pathogen indicators, such as total coliform, E. coli, 
bacteriophage, Enterococci, and aerobic spores.

F. UCMR 3 Sampling Design and Reporting Considerations

    As proposed, PWSs and EPA would conduct sampling and analysis for 
List 1 and List 3 contaminants at each PWS during a 12 month period 
within the 2013 to 2015 timeframe. Preparation would begin prior to 
2013 and would include coordination of laboratory approval, selection 
of representative samples of small systems, development of State 
Monitoring Plans, establishment of monitoring schedules, and 
notification of participating PWSs. As proposed, UCMR 3 would not 
include a Screening Survey for List 2 contaminants. Exhibit 4 
illustrates the major activities that would take place in preparation 
for and during implementation of UCMR 3.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP03MR11.007

    To minimize the impact of the rule on small systems (those serving 
10,000 or fewer people), EPA would pay for the sample kit preparation, 
sample shipping fees, and analysis costs for these systems. In 
addition, no small system would be required to monitor for both List 1 
and List 3 contaminants. Large systems (those serving more than 10,000 
people) would pay for the cost of shipping and laboratory testing.
1. UCMR 3 Reporting Considerations
    EPA is proposing a few notable changes to reporting requirements 
based on lessons learned from UCMR 1 and UCMR 2, as well as some 
necessary changes related to new UCMR 3 analytes.
    Demonstrating Representative Ground Water Sampling Locations: As 
established under UCMR 2, large systems that use ground water sources 
and have multiple EPTDSs can, with prior approval, conduct monitoring 
at representative entry point(s) rather than

[[Page 11723]]

at each EPTDS. To monitor at representative EPTDSs, large systems must 
meet the reporting criteria specified in Sec.  141.35(c)(3)(ii), and 
receive approval from EPA or the State. Today's proposed changes to the 
rule language clarify that when identifying a representative well, the 
well must be one of the higher annual volume producing and consistently 
active wells. In addition, should this location go off-line, an 
alternative location must be sampled.
    Reporting Schedule: As under previous UCMR cycles, large systems 
would be responsible for reviewing, approving, and submitting (i.e., 
``reporting'') monitoring results to EPA. To help ensure that 
monitoring and reporting is conducted as scheduled, EPA is proposing 
that systems must require their laboratories to post data to the EPA's 
electronic data reporting system--Safe Drinking Water Accession and 
Review System--within 60 days of sample collection; and that large 
systems must review, approve, and submit the data to the State and EPA 
within 30 days of when the laboratory posts the data. These time frames 
are specified in 141.35(c)(6)(ii) and 141.40(a)(5)(vi) and compare to 
120 days, and 60 days, (respectively) that were allowed under UCMR 1 
and 2. With the previous turn-around times, it was sometimes difficult 
to ensure compliance with established monitoring schedules; these new 
turnaround times would reduce the chance of scheduled monitoring being 
missed or delayed. If systems do not electronically approve the 
laboratory data within 30 days of the laboratory's posting to EPA's 
electronic reporting system, the data would be considered approved for 
EPA and State review. EPA and the State would conduct its quality 
control reviews of the data after the system reports the data. States 
would also be given at least 60 days for their quality control review. 
After the EPA and State quality control review, EPA would place the 
data in the NCOD at the time of the next database update, typically 
three to four times per year. EPA requests comment on these shortened 
reporting timeframes.
    Changes to Data Elements and their Reporting: EPA is proposing two 
changes to the data elements listed in Table 1 of 141.35(e). In 
addition, EPA is proposing a related change that would require systems 
to report all data elements with each sample.
     Adding zip code, optional zip code extension, and zip 
codes served to Data Element 4--Sampling Point Identification Code: 
This additional location information is being requested related to 
sampling points because current information identifying the location of 
sampling points is limited. Zip code of the sampling point would assist 
with future vulnerability assessments. Zip codes tying the populations 
served to each sampling point would assist with future occurrence and 
exposure analyses.
     Clarifying and updating the definition of Data Element 6--
Disinfectant Type: Under UCMR 2, Data Element 6 was established to 
provide information on ``Disinfectant Residual Type'' as it related to 
distribution system monitoring for nitrosamines (part of Screening 
Survey monitoring). EPA is proposing modification to the definition of 
this data element to account for changes to the analyte and monitoring 
specifications between UCMR 2 and UCMR 3. This revised definition lists 
additional disinfectant types to accommodate recent advances and 
changes to disinfectant technologies being used by water systems, and 
it provides that this data element be reported with all sample results.
     Reporting all data elements with each sample: Under UCMR 2 
Assessment Monitoring, systems were required to report data elements 1 
through 5 and 7 through 15. Data Element 6 (Disinfectant Residual Type) 
was only reported as required by systems subject to the List 2 
Screening Survey monitoring of nitrosamines in distribution systems. 
EPA is proposing revisions to UCMR that would require systems to report 
all data elements with each sample (including Data Element 6 
(Disinfectant Type)) since Assessment Monitoring within the 
distribution system is proposed and since the information on 
disinfectant type would be useful in the Agency's evaluation of results 
for chlorate and the metals on List 1--Assessment Monitoring and 
confirming no disinfection is applied at systems subject to List 3--
Pre-Screen Testing.
2. Assessment Monitoring
    As proposed, Assessment Monitoring for List 1 contaminants would be 
conducted from January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2015 by all large 
systems (those systems serving more than 10,000 people), and by a 
nationally representative sample of 800 small systems (those serving 
10,000 people or fewer). Other than these new monitoring dates, there 
are no other changes to the schedule and frequency of Assessment 
Monitoring between UCMR 2 and UCMR 3. Small systems would be selected 
using the same type of stratified, random selection process as used in 
previous UCMRs. Samples would be collected from the entry point to the 
distribution systems (EPTDSs). Large ground water systems with multiple 
EPTDSs would be permitted to sample at representative sampling 
locations for each ground water source if those sites have been 
approved by EPA or the State. In addition to EPTDS monitoring, the four 
metals--cobalt, molybdenum, vanadium, and strontium--as well as 
chlorate, would be sampled at one distribution system sampling point 
per treatment plant (i.e., at the distribution system maximum residence 
time (DSMRT)). If the system's treatment plant/water source is subject 
to sampling requirements under Sec.  141.132(b)(1) (the Stage 2 
Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule), samples for the metals 
and chlorate must be collected at the DSMRT sampling location(s) 
identified for that rule. If a treatment plant/water source is not 
subject to the sampling required in 40 CFR 141.132(b)(1), then the 
distribution system samples must be collected at a location that, in 
the judgment of the PWS, represents the maximum residence time in the 
distribution system.
    Chlorate is being monitored at both the EPTDS and the DSMRT to 
determine the magnitude of chorate increases in the distribution 
system. The metals are monitored at both locations to assess any 
potential contribution from the distribution system. EPA is requesting 
comment on DSMRT sampling for the metals and chlorate.
    As under previous UCMR cycles, samples at ground water locations 
would be collected twice during a designated consecutive 12-month 
period. Samples at locations that are fed in whole or part by a surface 
water or ground water under the direct influence of surface water 
(GWUDI) source would be collected quarterly during a designated 
consecutive 12-month period. Large system schedules (year and months of 
monitoring) would initially be determined by EPA in conjunction with 
the States (as described in section III.G. of today's action) and these 
systems would have an opportunity to modify this schedule. In today's 
proposed action, EPA has incorporated clarifying revisions in 
141.40(a)(4)(i)(B) to specify that large system monitoring schedules 
must be adjusted based on sample point availability. If it is not 
possible for a system to meet its specified sampling schedule (if, for 
instance, a particular sampling point is inactive during the scheduled 
sampling timeframe), the system must notify EPA to reschedule their 
sampling. As under previous UCMR cycles, the Agency would continue to 
schedule and coordinate

[[Page 11724]]

small system monitoring, working closely with partnering States. State 
monitoring plans would provide a venue for States to review and revise 
the initial sampling schedules that EPA proposes (see discussion of 
State monitoring plans in section III.G. of today's action: ``What is 
the States' Role in the UCMR Program?''). The 28 proposed List 1 
contaminants to be monitored under Assessment Monitoring are listed in 
Exhibit 3, in section III.B of today's action.
3. Pre-Screen Testing
    As proposed, sampling under the Pre-Screen Testing for List 3 
contaminants would be conducted from January 1, 2013 through December 
31, 2015 by a targeted sample of 800 PWSs serving 1,000 or fewer 
people. Sampling would occur twice during a designated consecutive 12-
month period at each PWS.
    EPA proposes to monitor for enterovirus and norovirus (as well as 
associated pathogen indicators) in UCMR 3. Both enterovirus and 
norovirus are listed on CCL3. EPA proposes to perform this monitoring 
under Pre-Screen Testing at 800 targeted undisinfected ground water 
wells from systems serving 1,000 or fewer customers that include CWSs, 
NTNCWSs and transient non-community water systems. This monitoring is 
proposed for systems that serve 1,000 or fewer customers because these 
smaller systems are the least likely to be disinfected, and therefore, 
would be most vulnerable to contamination with viruses. The wells would 
be selected from vulnerable areas such as karst or fractured bedrock. 
Monitoring would also include sampling for pathogen indicators such as 
total coliforms, E. coli, bacteriophage, Enterococci, and aerobic 
spores. The objectives of this monitoring are: (1) To obtain occurrence 
information to support regulatory determinations for enterovirus and 
norovirus; (2) to gain a better understanding of pathogen indicator and 
viral co-occurrence; and, (3) to gain more exposure/health risk 
information on viruses and indicators.
    A summary of the estimated number of systems to monitor under each 
UCMR 3 component is listed in Exhibit 5.

                             Exhibit 5--Systems To Participate in UCMR 3 Monitoring
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Assessment monitoring for
                                              28 List 1 chemicals     Pre-screen testing for two
  System size (number of people served)  ----------------------------    List 3 microbials \1\       Total \2\
                                                National sample
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  Small Systems
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
25-10,000...............................  800 randomly selected       800 selected undisinfected           1,600
                                           systems.                    ground water wells from
                                                                       systems serving 1,000 or
                                                                       fewer.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 Large Systems 3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10,001 and over.........................  All (4,200)...............  0.........................           4,200
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...............................  5,000.....................  800.......................           5,800
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Sampling for List 3 contaminants to be conducted at 800 undisinfected wells, located in karst or fractured
  bedrock, in systems serving 1,000 or fewer customers. Monitoring also includes sampling for pathogen
  indicators: Total coliforms, E. coli, bacteriophage, Enterococci and aerobic spores. EPA would pay for all
  sampling and analysis costs associated with virus and pathogen indicator monitoring at these small systems.
\2\ Total for small systems is additive because these systems would only be selected for one component of UCMR 3
  sampling. Number is approximate.
\3\ Large system counts are approximate.

G. What is the States' role in the UCMR program?

    Under UCMR 1 and UCMR 2, EPA described implementation and oversight 
activities that States could agree to through a Partnership Agreement 
(PA) process. Because the UCMR is a direct implementation rule, State 
participation is voluntary. Under UCMR 1, specific activities for 
individual States were identified in the rule language. Beginning with 
UCMR 2, specific activities for individual States are identified and 
established exclusively through the PAs, not through rule language. 
UCMR 3 would maintain this previously established process for UCMR 2.
    In compliance with SDWA section 1445(a)(2)(C)(i), the UCMR program 
provides a role for States in developing a representative monitoring 
plan for small systems. This is important because States/primacy 
agencies most often have the best information about PWSs in their 
State. Through PAs, States can help EPA implement the UCMR program and 
help ensure that the UCMR data used for future regulatory 
determinations are of the highest quality possible. EPA would continue 
to use the previously established PA structure during implementation of 
UCMR 3 to address the following: The process for review and revision of 
the state monitoring plans; replacing and updating system information; 
modifying timing for monitoring, review and approval of proposed 
representative EPTDS; notification and instructions for systems; and 
compliance assistance.
    As established under UCMR 1 and 2, state monitoring plans include 
tabular listings of the systems that EPA selected to conduct monitoring 
and the EPA proposed date on which they are to be sampled. Initial 
state monitoring plans also include instructions to States for revising 
and/or correcting the state monitoring plans, including modifications 
to sampling schedules for small systems. EPA incorporates revisions 
from States, and returns the final state monitoring plans to each 
State.

IV. Cost of This Proposed Action

    In today's action, EPA proposes a new set of contaminants for 
monitoring in the third five-year UCMR monitoring cycle. In addition, 
UCMR 3 incorporates modifications to improve the rule design. UCMR 3 
Assessment Monitoring (for List 1 contaminants) would be conducted from 
January 2013 through December 2015 by 800 systems serving 10,000 or 
fewer people, and by all systems serving more than 10,000 people. Eight 
hundred small systems would be randomly selected for List 1 monitoring. 
The Pre-Screen Testing for List 3 contaminants would also be conducted 
from January 2013 through December 2015 in 800 undisinfected ground 
water wells from systems serving 1,000 or fewer persons. It is assumed 
for this cost estimation that one-third of systems would monitor

[[Page 11725]]

during each of the three monitoring years.
    Labor costs pertain to systems, States, and EPA. They include 
activities such as reading the regulation, notifying systems selected 
to participate, sample collection, data review, reporting, and 
recordkeeping. Non-labor costs would be incurred primarily by EPA and 
by large PWSs. They include the cost of shipping samples to 
laboratories for testing and the cost of the actual laboratory 
analyses.
    In today's action, EPA proposes six EPA developed analytical 
methods and four equivalent consensus organization developed methods to 
monitor for 28 new UCMR 3 chemical contaminants. While the preamble to 
this proposed rule also describes the analytical methods that would be 
used for the proposed virus monitoring, the proposal does not address 
these methods. Laboratory approval for virus monitoring is not expected 
to be necessary since all of the analyses for the two viruses are 
expected to be conducted in laboratories under EPA contract and at 
EPA's expense. However, estimated system and EPA costs are based on the 
analytical costs for all UCMR 3 methods. With the exception of Methods 
200.8 and 300.1, these methods are comparatively new and would not 
coincide with other compliance monitoring (i.e., no cost savings for 
coincident monitoring can be realized). Laboratory analysis and 
shipping of samples account for approximately 86% of the total national 
cost for UCMR 3 implementation. These costs are calculated as follows: 
The number of systems, multiplied by the number of sampling locations, 
multiplied by the sampling frequency, multiplied by the unit cost of 
laboratory analysis. Under UCMR 3, for List 1 Assessment Monitoring, 
surface water (and GWUDI) sampling points would be monitored four times 
during the applicable year of monitoring, and ground water sample 
points would be monitored twice during the applicable year of 
monitoring. Systems would monitor for the four metals--cobalt, 
molybdenum, vanadium, and strontium--as well as chlorate, at their 
EPTDS sampling locations and at one distribution system sampling point 
per treatment plant (i.e., at the DSMRT). Pre-Screen Testing systems 
would monitor two times during the three-year monitoring period (2013 
through 2015) at their EPTDS. EPA estimates of laboratory fees are 
based on consultations with national drinking water laboratories and a 
review of the costs of analytical methods similar to those proposed in 
today's action. The cost of the Assessment Monitoring analysis for the 
UCMR 3 chemicals is estimated at $1,320 per sample set (at the EPTDS); 
the cost of the Pre-Screen analyses for viruses and related pathogen 
indicators (i.e., total coliform, E. coli, bacteriophage, Enterococci, 
and aerobic spores) is estimated at $1,650 per sample set. Shipping 
estimates are added to the calculated costs to derive the total direct 
analytical non-labor costs. Estimated shipping costs were based on the 
average cost of shipping a 25-pound package.
    In preparing the UCMR 3 information collection request (ICR), EPA 
relied on standard assumptions and data sources used in the preparation 
of other drinking water program ICRs. These include the PWS inventory, 
number of sampling points per system, and labor rates. EPA expects that 
States would incur only labor costs associated with voluntary 
assistance with UCMR 3 implementation. State costs were estimated using 
the relevant modules of the State Resource Model that was developed by 
the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA) in 
conjunction with EPA (ASDWA, 2003) to help States forecast resource 
needs. Model estimates were adjusted to account for actual levels of 
State participation under UCMR 2. Because State participation would be 
voluntary, level of effort would vary across States and depend on their 
individual agreements with EPA.
    Over the UCMR implementation period of 2012-2016, EPA estimates 
that nationwide, the average annual cost of UCMR 3 is approximately 
$14.9 million. These total estimated annual costs (labor and non-labor) 
are incurred as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   Average annual cost
                   Respondent                    (all respondents (2012-
                                                           16))
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Small Systems (25-10,000), including labor                      $0.049 m
 only, non-labor costs paid for by EPA.........
Large Systems (10,001-100,000), including labor                   8.75 m
 and non-labor costs...........................
Very Large Systems (100,001 and greater),                          2.1 m
 including labor and non-labor costs...........
States, including labor costs related to                          0.75 m
 implementation coordination...................
EPA, including labor for implementation, non-                      3.3 m
 labor for small system testing................
                                                ------------------------
    Average Annual National Total..............                 14.949 m
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Additional details regarding EPA's cost assumptions and estimates 
can be found in the ICR Number 2192.04 amendment prepared for this 
proposed rule (Office of Management and Budget (OMB) number 2040--NEW), 
which presents estimated cost and burden for the 2012-2014 period. 
Estimates of costs over the entire third five-year UCMR cycle of 2012-
2016 are attached as an appendix to the ICR. Copies of the ICR and its 
amendment may be obtained from the EPA public docket for this proposed 
rule, which includes this ICR, under Docket ID Number OW-2004-0001.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review

    Under Executive Order (EO) 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), 
this action is a ``significant regulatory action.'' Accordingly, EPA 
submitted this action to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review under EO 12866 and any changes made in response to OMB 
recommendations have been documented in the docket for this action.
    In addition, EPA prepared an analysis of the potential costs 
associated with this action. This analysis is briefly summarized in 
section IV of the preamble of this proposed rule.

B. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The information collection requirements in this proposed rule have 
been submitted for approval to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. The 
Information Collection Request (ICR) document prepared by EPA has been 
assigned EPA ICR number 2192.04.
    The information to be collected under today's proposed rule 
fulfills the statutory requirements of section 1445(a)(2) of SDWA, as 
amended in 1996. The data to be collected would

[[Page 11726]]

describe the source of the water, location, and test results for 
samples taken from PWSs. The concentrations of any identified UCMR 
contaminants would be evaluated regarding health effects and would be 
considered for future regulation accordingly. Reporting is mandatory. 
The data are not subject to confidentiality protection.
    The annual burden and cost estimates described in this section are 
for the implementation assumptions described in section IV. Cost and 
Benefits of the Rule, in today's proposed action. Respondents to the 
UCMR 3 would include 1,600 small water systems (800 for Assessment 
Monitoring, and 800 wells for Pre-Screen Testing), the 4,191 large 
PWSs, and the 56 States and Primacy agencies (5,047 total respondents). 
The frequency of response varies across respondents and years. System 
costs (particularly laboratory analytical costs) vary depending on the 
number of sampling locations. For cost estimations, it is assumed that 
systems would conduct sampling evenly across January 2013 through 
December 2015 (i.e., one-third of systems in each of the 3 consecutive 
12-month periods). Because the applicable ICR period is 2012-2014, 
there is one year of monitoring activity (i.e., January through 
December of 2015) that is not captured in the ICR estimates.
    Small systems (those serving 10,000 or fewer) that are selected for 
UCMR 3 monitoring would sample an average of 1.5 times per system 
(i.e., number of responses per system) across the three-year ICR period 
of 2012-2014. The average burden per response for small systems is 
estimated to be 3.0 hours. Large systems (those serving 10,001 to 
100,000 people) and very large systems (those serving more than 100,000 
people) would sample and report an average of 2.7 and 3.7 times per 
system, respectively, across the three-year ICR period of 2012-2014. 
The average burden per response for large and very large systems is 
estimated to be 6.1 and 6.3 hours, respectively. States are assumed to 
have an average of 1.0 response per year, related to coordination with 
EPA and systems, with an average burden per response of 184 hours. In 
aggregate, during the ICR period of 2012-2014, the average response 
(e.g., responses from systems and States) is associated with a burden 
of 8.3 hours, with a labor plus non-labor cost of $2,714 per response.
    The annual average per respondent burden hours and costs for the 
ICR period of 2012-2014 are: small systems--1.5 hour burden at $34 for 
labor; large systems--5.5 hours at $170 for labor, and $2,381 for 
analytical costs; very large systems--7.7 hours at $295 for labor, and 
$5,460 for analytical costs; and States--233.4 hours at $13,992 for 
labor. Annual average burden and cost per respondent (including both 
systems and States) is estimated to be 8.3 hours, with a labor plus 
non-labor cost of $1,985 per respondent (note that small systems do not 
pay for testing costs, and thus only incur labor costs). Burden is 
defined at 5 CFR 1320.3(b).
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's 
regulations in 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9.
    To comment on the Agency's need for this information, the accuracy 
of the provided burden estimates, and any suggested methods for 
minimizing respondent burden, EPA has established a public docket for 
this rule, which includes this ICR, under Docket ID number EPA-HQ-OW-
2009-0090. Submit any comments related to the ICR to EPA and OMB. See 
ADDRESSES section at the beginning of this notice for where to submit 
comments to EPA. Send comments to OMB at the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street, 
NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention: Desk Office for EPA. Since OMB is 
required to make a decision concerning the ICR between 30 and 60 days 
after March 3, 2011, a comment to OMB is best assured of having its 
full effect if OMB receives it by April 4, 2011. The final rule will 
respond to any OMB or public comments on the information collection 
requirements contained in this proposal.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) generally requires an agency 
to prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to 
notice and comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative 
Procedure Act or any other statute unless the agency certifies that the 
rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities. Small entities include small businesses, 
small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions.
    The RFA provides default definitions for each type of small entity. 
Small entities are defined as: (1) A small business as defined by the 
Small Business Administration's (SBA) regulations at 13 CFR 121.201; 
(2) a small governmental jurisdiction that is a government of a city, 
county, town, school district or special district with a population of 
less than 50,000; and (3) a small organization that is any ``not-for-
profit enterprise which is independently owned and operated and is not 
dominant in its field.'' However, the RFA also authorizes an agency to 
use alternative definitions for each category of small entity, ``which 
are appropriate to the activities of the agency'' after proposing the 
alternative definition(s) in the Federal Register and taking comment (5 
U.S.C. 601(3)-(5)). In addition, to establish an alternative small 
business definition, agencies must consult with SBA's Chief Counsel for 
Advocacy.
    For purposes of assessing the impacts of today's proposed rule on 
small entities, EPA considered small entities to be PWSs serving 10,000 
or fewer people, because this is the system size specified in SDWA as 
requiring special consideration with respect to small system 
flexibility. As required by the RFA, EPA proposed using this 
alternative definition in the Federal Register, (63 FR 7606, February 
13, 1998 (USEPA, 1998a)), requested public comment, consulted with the 
SBA, and finalized the alternative definition in the Consumer 
Confidence Reports rulemaking, (63 FR 44512, August 19, 1998 (USEPA, 
1998b)). As stated in that Final Rule, the alternative definition would 
be applied to future drinking water regulations, including this 
regulation.
    After considering the economic impacts of today's proposed rule on 
small entities, I certify that this action will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The small 
entities directly regulated by this proposed rule are PWSs serving 
10,000 or fewer people. EPA has determined that the small entities 
subject to the requirements of this proposed rule are a subset of the 
small PWSs (those serving 10,000 or fewer people). The Agency has 
determined that 1,600 small PWSs (across Assessment Monitoring and Pre-
Screen Testing), or approximately 3% of small systems, would experience 
an impact of less than 0.4% of revenues; the remainder of small systems 
would not be impacted.
    Although this proposed rule will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities, EPA nonetheless has 
tried to reduce the impact of this rule on small entities. To ensure 
that this proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact on 
a substantial number of small entities, EPA will assume all costs for 
analyses of the samples and for shipping the samples from these systems 
to the laboratories contracted by EPA to analyze UCMR 3 samples. EPA 
has set

[[Page 11727]]

aside $2.0 million each year from the State Revolving Fund (SRF) with 
its authority to use SRF monies for the purposes of implementing this 
provision of SDWA. Thus, the costs to these small systems will be 
limited to the labor hours associated with collecting a sample and 
preparing it for shipping.
    The Agency continues to be interested in the potential impacts of 
the proposed rule on small entities and welcomes comments on issues 
related to such impacts.
    The evaluation of the overall impact on small systems, summarized 
in the preceding discussion, is further described as follows. EPA 
analyzed the impacts for privately-owned and publicly-owned water 
systems separately, due to the different economic characteristics of 
these ownership types, such as different rate structures and profit 
goals. However, for both publicly- and privately-owned systems, EPA 
used the ``revenue test,'' which compares annual system costs 
attributed to the rule to the system's annual revenues. Median revenue 
data from the not yet published 2006 Community Water System Survey were 
used for public and private water systems. EPA assumes that the 
distribution of the sample of participating small systems will reflect 
the proportions of publicly- and privately-owned systems in the 
national inventory. The estimated distribution of the representative 
sample, categorized by ownership type, source water, and system size, 
is presented in Exhibit 6.

               Exhibit 6--Number of Publicly- and Privately-Owned Small Systems Subject to UCMR 3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         System size (number of people served)             Publicly-owned    Privately-owned         Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  Ground Water
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
500 and under..........................................                126                378                504
501 to 3,300...........................................                477                182                659
3,301 to 10,000........................................                207                 48                255
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------
    Subtotal GW........................................                810                608              1,418
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Surface Water (and GWUDI)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
500 and under..........................................                  2                  3                  5
501 to 3,300...........................................                 35                 13                 48
3,301 to 10,000........................................                100                 29                129
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------
    Subtotal SW........................................                137                 45                182
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------
        Total of Small Water Systems...................                947                653              1,600
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The basis for the UCMR 3 RFA certification for this proposed rule 
is as follows: for the 1,600 small water systems that would be 
affected, the average annual costs for complying with this rule 
represent less than 0.4% of system revenues (the highest estimated 
percentage is for ground water systems serving 500 or fewer people, at 
0.38% of its median revenue). Exhibit 7 presents the yearly costs to 
small systems, and to EPA for the small system sampling program, along 
with an illustration of system participation for each year of the UCMR 
3 program.

                                                         Exhibit 7--EPA and Systems Costs for Implementation of UCMR 3 at Small Systems
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Cost description                 2012                      2013                                2014                                2015                      2016            Total
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 Costs to EPA for Small System Program (including Assessment Monitoring, and Pre-Screen Testing)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  $0  $3,943,827........................  $3,943,827........................  $3,943,827........................              $0     $11,831,481
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Costs to Small Systems (including Assessment Monitoring, and Pre-Screen Testing):
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  $0  $81,707...........................  $81,707...........................  $81,707...........................              $0        $245,121
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                        Total Costs to EPA and Small Systems for UCMR 2:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  $0  $4,025,533........................  $4,025,533........................  $4,025,533........................              $0     $12,076,599
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            System Monitoring Activity Timeline: \1\
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assessment Monitoring...............  ..............  1/3 PWSs Sample...................  1/3 PWSs Sample...................  1/3 PWSs Sample...................  ..............             800
Pre-Screen Testing..................  ..............  1/3 PWSs Sample...................  1/3 PWSs Sample...................  1/3 PWSs Sample...................  ..............             800
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 \1\ Total number of systems is 1,600. No small system conducts more than one type of monitoring study.

    System costs are attributed to the labor required for reading about 
their requirements, monitoring, reporting, and record keeping. The 
estimated average annual burden across the five-year UCMR 3 
implementation period of 2012-2016 is estimated to be 1.3 hours at $31 
per small system. Average annual cost, in all cases, is less than 0.4% 
of

[[Page 11728]]

system revenues. As required by the SDWA, the Agency specifically 
structured the rule to avoid significantly affecting small entities by 
assuming all costs for laboratory analyses, shipping, and quality 
control for small entities. As a result, EPA incurs the entirety of the 
non-labor costs associated with UCMR 3 small system monitoring, or 98% 
of total small system testing costs. Exhibits 8 and 9 present the 
estimated economic impacts in the form of a revenue test for publicly- 
and privately-owned systems.

              Exhibit 8--UCMR 3 Relative Cost Analysis for Small Publicly-Owned Systems (2012-2016)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          Average annual     Average annual
   System size (number of people      Annual number of   hours per system   cost per system    Revenue test \1\
              served)                 systems impacted     (2012-2016)        (2012-2016)          (percent)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              Ground Water Systems
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
500 and under......................                 25                1.1             $22.63               0.07
501 to 3,300.......................                 96                1.2              26.84               0.02
3,301 to 10,000....................                 41                1.7              43.71               0.01
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Surface Water (and GWUDI) Systems
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
500 and under......................                  1                1.8              38.06               0.07
501 to 3,300.......................                  7                1.9              41.99               0.02
3,301 to 10,000....................                 20                2.0              51.02               0.005
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 \1\ The Revenue Test was used to evaluate the economic impact of an information collection on small government
  entities (e.g., publicly-owned systems); costs are presented as a percentage of median annual revenue in each
  size category.

             Exhibit 9--UCMR 3 Relative Cost Analysis for Small Privately-Owned Systems (2012-2016)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          Average annual     Average annual
   System size (number of people      Annual number of   hours per system   cost per system    Revenue test \1\
              served)                 systems impacted     (2012-2016)        (2012-2016)          (percent)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              Ground Water Systems
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
500 and under......................                 76                1.1             $22.63               0.38
501 to 3,300.......................                 36                1.2              26.84               0.02
3,301 to 10,000....................                 10                1.7              43.71               0.004
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Surface Water (and GWUDI) Systems
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
500 and under......................                  1                1.8              38.06               0.11
501 to 3,300.......................                  3                1.9              41.99               0.02
3,301 to 10,000....................                  6                2.0              51.02               0.005
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 \1\ The ``Revenue Test'' was used to evaluate the economic impact of an information collection on small private
  entities (e.g., privately-owned systems); costs are presented as a percentage of median annual revenue in each
  size category.

    The Agency continues to be interested in the potential impacts of 
the proposed rule on small entities and welcomes comments on issues 
related to such impacts.

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    This rule does not contain a Federal mandate that may result in 
expenditures of $100 million or more for State, local, and Tribal 
governments, in the aggregate, or the private sector in any one year. 
Total annual costs of today's proposed rule (across the implementation 
period of 2012-2016), for State, local, and Tribal governments and the 
private sector, are estimated to be $14.9 million, of which EPA would 
pay $3.3 million, or approximately 22%. Thus, this rule is not subject 
to the requirements of sections 202 or 205 of UMRA.
    This rule is also not subject to the requirements of section 203 of 
UMRA because it contains no regulatory requirements that might 
significantly or uniquely affect small governments. The Agency expects 
to pay for the reasonable costs of sample analysis for the small PWSs 
required to monitor for unregulated contaminants under this proposed 
rule, including those owned and operated by small governments. The only 
costs that small systems would incur are those attributed to collecting 
the UCMR samples and packing them for shipping to the laboratory (EPA 
would pay for shipping). These costs are minimal. They are not 
significant or unique. Thus, today's rule is not subject to the 
requirements of UMRA section 203.

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism

    This proposed rule does not have Federalism implications. It will 
not have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship 
between the national government and the States, or on the distribution 
of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government, 
as specified in Executive Order 13132. The cost to State and local 
governments is minimal, and the rule does not preempt State law. Thus, 
Executive Order 13132 does not apply to this action.
    In the spirit of Executive Order 13132, and consistent with EPA 
policy to promote communications between EPA and State and local 
governments, EPA specifically solicits comment on the proposed rule 
from State and local officials.

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian 
Tribal Governments

    Subject to the Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 
2000) EPA may not issue a regulation that has Tribal implications, that 
imposes substantial direct compliance costs, and that is not required 
by statute, unless the Federal government provides the

[[Page 11729]]

funds necessary to pay the direct compliance costs incurred by Tribal 
governments, or EPA consults with Tribal officials early in the process 
of developing the proposed regulation and develops a Tribal summary 
impact statement.
    EPA has concluded that this action will have Tribal implications. 
However, it will neither impose substantial direct compliance costs on 
Tribal governments, nor preempt Tribal law. As described previously, 
this proposed rule requires monitoring by all large systems (i.e., 
those serving more than 10,000 people); 17 Tribal water systems have 
been identified as large systems based on information in the SDWIS/Fed 
water system inventory. EPA estimates the average annual cost to each 
of these large systems, over the five-year rule period, to be less than 
$2,381. This cost is based on a labor component (associated with the 
collection of samples) and a non-labor component (associated with 
shipping and laboratory fees) and represents less than 0.126% of 
average revenue/sales for large systems. UCMR also requires monitoring 
by a nationally representative sample of small systems (i.e., those 
serving 10,000 or fewer people). EPA estimates that approximately one 
percent of small Tribal systems will be selected as a nationally 
representative sample for Assessment Monitoring. EPA estimates the 
average annual cost over the five-year rule period to be $34. Such cost 
is based on the labor associated with collecting a sample and preparing 
it for shipping and represents less than 0.4% of average revenue/sales 
for small systems. All other small-system expenses (associated with 
shipping and laboratory fees) are paid by EPA.
    EPA consulted with Tribal officials early in the process of 
developing the UCMR program to permit them to have meaningful and 
timely input into its development. In developing the original UCMR 
rule, EPA held stakeholder meetings and prepared background information 
for stakeholder review. EPA sent requests for review of stakeholder 
documents to nearly 400 Tribes, Tribal organizations, and small systems 
organizations to obtain their input. Representatives from the Indian 
Health Service (IHS) Sanitary Deficiency System and Tribes were 
consulted regarding decisions on rule design, the design for the 
statistical selection of small systems, and potential costs. Tribes 
raised issues concerning the selection of the nationally representative 
sample of small systems, particularly the manner in which Tribal 
systems would be considered under the sample selection process. EPA 
developed the sample frame for Tribal systems and Alaska Native water 
systems in response to those concerns. EPA worked with the Tribes, 
Alaska Natives, the IHS, and the States to determine how to classify 
each Tribal system for consideration in the statistically-based 
selection of the nationally representative sample of small systems. As 
a result of those discussions, small PWSs located in Indian country in 
each of the EPA Regions containing Indian country were evaluated as 
part of a Tribal category that receives selection consideration 
comparable to that of small systems outside of Indian country. Thus, 
Tribal systems have the same probability of being selected as other 
water systems in the stratified selection process that weighs systems 
by water source and size class by population served. Today's proposed 
rule, addressing the third UCMR period, maintains the basic program 
design of UCMR 1 and 2, and continues to build upon the structure of 
this cyclical program. As part of the development of this proposed 
rule, EPA held a public stakeholder meeting on April 7, 2010. This 
meeting was announced to the public in a Federal Register notice dated 
February 23, 2010 (75 FR 8063 (USEPA, 2010a)). Prior to the meeting, 
background materials and rule development information were sent to 
specific stakeholders, including representatives from the Indian Health 
Service and the Native American Water Association.
    EPA specifically solicits additional comment on this proposed 
action from tribal officials.

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental 
Health and Safety Risks

    This action is not subject to EO 13045 because it does not 
establish an environmental standard intended to mitigate health or 
safety risks and it is not an economically significant regulation 
pursuant to EO 12866.

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use

    This action is not a ``significant energy action'' as defined in 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355 (May 22, 2001)), because it is not 
likely to have a significant adverse effect on the supply, 
distribution, or use of energy. None of the proposed UCMR requirements 
involve actions that use a measurable amount of energy.

I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act

    Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act of 1995 (``NTTAA''), Public Law 104-113 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) 
directs EPA to use voluntary consensus standards in its regulatory 
activities unless to do so would be inconsistent with applicable law or 
otherwise impractical. Voluntary consensus standards are technical 
standards (e.g., materials specifications, test methods, sampling 
procedures, and business practices) that are developed or adopted by 
voluntary consensus standards bodies. NTTAA directs EPA to provide 
Congress, through OMB, explanations when the Agency decides not to use 
available and applicable voluntary consensus standards.
    This proposed rulemaking involves technical standards. EPA proposes 
to use the methods developed by the Agency for the analysis of UCMR 3 
contaminants. The Agency conducted a search of potentially applicable 
voluntary consensus standards and identified three major voluntary 
consensus method organizations whose methods might be acceptable for 
determinations under Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring. These 
organizations are Standard Methods, Association of Analytical 
Communities International, and American Society for Testing and 
Materials. For the majority of the parameters included in this proposed 
action, EPA was unable to identify methods from voluntary consensus 
method organizations that were applicable to the monitoring required. 
However, EPA identified acceptable consensus method organization 
standards for the analysis of vanadium, molybdenum, cobalt, strontium 
and chlorate. Therefore, EPA is proposing analytical methods published 
by EPA, Standard Methods, and American Society for Testing and 
Materials for these analytes.
    EPA welcomes comments on this aspect of the proposed rulemaking 
and, specifically, invites the public to identify potentially-
applicable voluntary consensus standards and to explain why such 
standards should be used in this regulation.

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations

    Executive Order (EO) 12898 (59 FR 7629 (Feb. 16, 1994)) establishes 
Federal executive policy on environmental justice. Its main provision 
directs Federal agencies, to the greatest extent

[[Page 11730]]

practicable and permitted by law, to make environmental justice part of 
their mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, 
disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental 
effects of their programs, policies, and activities on minority 
populations and low-income populations in the United States.
    EPA has determined that this proposed rule will not have 
disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental 
effects on minority or low-income populations because it increases the 
level of environmental protection for all affected populations without 
having any disproportionately high and adverse human health or 
environmental effects on any population, including any minority or low-
income population. By seeking to identify unregulated contaminants that 
may pose health risks via drinking water from all PWSs, UCMR furthers 
the protection of public health for all citizens, including minority 
and low-income populations using public water supplies. UCMR uses a 
statistically-derived set of systems for the nationally representative 
sample that is population-weighted within each system size and source 
water category so that any PWS within a category has an equivalent 
likelihood of selection. Additionally, EPA is proposing to require 
additional reporting elements that include U.S. Postal Service Zip 
Codes for both the finished water entry point(s) and the PWS's service 
area. EPA is soliciting comment on additional actions the Agency could 
take to further address environmental justice within the UCMR program. 
EPA requests stakeholder input on additional reporting elements to 
consider to support the Agency's assessment of the monitoring results. 
EPA also requests comments regarding sampling and/or modeling 
approaches, and the feasibility and utility of applying these 
approaches, to determine disproportionate impacts on drinking water 
quality at PWSs serving minority and low-income populations.

VI. Public Involvement in Regulation Development

    EPA's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water has developed a 
process for stakeholder involvement in its regulatory activities for 
the purpose of providing early input to regulation development. When 
designing and developing the UCMR program, in the late 1990s, EPA held 
meetings for developing the CCL, establishing the information 
requirements of the NCOD, and selecting priority contaminants for 
monitoring. During the initial development of the UCMR program, 
stakeholders, including PWSs, States, industry, and other organizations 
attended meetings to discuss the UCMR. Seventeen other meetings were 
held specifically concerning UCMR development. For a description of 
public involvement activities related to the first UCMR (UCMR 1), 
please see the discussion in the September 17, 1999 UCMR Final Rule 
Federal Register at 64 FR 50556 (USEPA, 1999).
    Specific to the development of UCMR 3, a stakeholder meeting was 
held on April 7, 2010, in Washington, DC. There were 22 attendees, 
representing State agencies, laboratories, PWSs, environmental groups, 
and drinking water associations. The topics of presentations and 
discussions included: Status of UCMR 2; rationale for developing a new 
list of potential contaminants; analytical methods that could be used 
in measuring these contaminants; sampling design; procedure for 
determining LCMRLs; laboratory approval; and other potential revisions 
based on lessons learned during implementation of UCMR 1 and UCMR 2 
(see USEPA, 2010f for presentation materials, and 2010g for meeting 
notes).
    EPA has established a public docket for this rule, under Docket ID 
No. OW-2009-0090. EPA is soliciting comments on this proposed 
regulation. Please see the summary section at the beginning of this 
notice for instructions on submitting comments.

VII. References

Ando, T., S.S. Monroe, J.R. Gentsch, Q. Jin, D.C. Lewis, and R.I. 
Glass. 1995. Detection and differentiation of antigenically distinct 
small round-structured viruses (Norwalk-like viruses) by reverse 
transcription-PCR and southern hybridization. Journal of Clinical 
Microbiology. 33(1):64-71.
Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA). 2003. 
Public Health Protection Threatened by Inadequate Resources for 
State Drinking Water Programs--An Analysis of State Drinking Water 
Programs Resources, Needs, and Barriers. April 2003.
ASTM D5673-10. 2010. Standard Test Method for Elements in Water by 
Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry. Available for purchase 
on the Internet at http://www.astm.org/Standards/D5673.htm.
ASTM D6581-08. 2008. Standard Test Methods for Bromate, Bromide, 
Chlorate, and Chlorite in Drinking Water by Suppressed Ion 
Chromatography. Available for purchase on the Internet at http://www.astm.org/Standards/D6581.htm.
Borchardt, M.A. 2008. Wisconsin Water And Health Trial for Enteric 
Risks (WAHTER Study)--Part 1: Risk of Illness from Municipal 
Groundwater Consumption. EPA Office of Water Symposium on 
Groundwater-Borne Infectious Disease, Etiologic Agents and 
Indicators, Washington, DC, December 2-4, 2008.
De Leon, R., C. Shieh, R.S. Baric, and M.D. Sobsey. 1990. Detection 
of enteroviruses and hepatitis A virus in environmental samples by 
gene probes and polymerase chain reaction. P. 833-835. In Advances 
of Water Analysis and Treatment Proceedings 1989. Water Quality 
Technology Conference, American Water Works Association, Denver, CO. 
American Water Works Association, San Diego, CA.
Francy, D.S., R.N. Bushon, J. Stopar, E.J. Luzano, and G.S. Fout. 
2004. Environmental Factors and Chemical and Microbiological Water-
Quality Constituents Related to the Presence of Enteric Viruses in 
Ground Water From Small Public Water Supplies in Southeastern 
Michigan. US Geological Survey Science Investigations Report 2004-
5219.
Gibbons, C.D., R.A. Rodriguez., L. Tallon, M.D. Sobsey. 2010. 
Evaluation of positively charged alumina nanofibre cartridge filters 
for the primary concentration of noroviruses, adenoviruses and male-
specific coliphages from seawater. Journal of Applied Microbiology. 
109(2):635-641.
Jothikumar, N., J.A. Lowther, K. Henshilwood, D.N. Lees, V.R. Hill, 
and J. Vinje[acute]. 2005. Rapid and sensitive detection of 
noroviruses by using TaqMan-based one-step reverse transcription-PCR 
assays and application to naturally contaminated shellfish samples. 
Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 71(4):1870-1875.
Karim, M.R., E.R. Rhodes, N. Brinkman, L. Wymer, and G.S. Fout. 
2009. New electropositive filter for concentrating enteroviruses and 
noroviruses from large volumes of water. Applied and Environmental 
Microbiology. 75(8):2393-2399.
Lambertini, E., S.K. Spencer, P.D. Bertz, F.J. Loge, B.A. Kieke, and 
M.A. Borchardt. 2008. Concentration of enteroviruses, adenoviruses, 
and noroviruses from drinking water by use of glass wool filters. 
Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 74(10):2990-2996.
Monpoeho, S., A. Deh[eacute]e, B. Mignotte, L. Schwartzbrod, V. 
Marechal, J.C. Nicolas, S. Billaudel, and V. Ferr[eacute]. 2000. 
Quantification of enterovirus RNA in sludge samples by single tube 
real-time RT-PCR. BioTechniques. 29:88-95.
SM 3125. 1997. Metals by Inductively Coupled Plasma/Mass 
Spectrometry. Available for purchase on the Internet at http://www.standardmethods.org/store/ProductView.cfm?ProductID=211.
SM 4110D. 2000. Determination of Anions by Ion Chromatography, Part 
D, IC determination of oxyhalides and bromide. Available for 
purchase on the Internet at http://www.standardmethods.org/store/ProductView.cfm?ProductID=31.
USEPA. 1994. Method 200.8--Determination of Trace Elements in Waters 
and Wastes

[[Page 11731]]

by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry. Revision 5.4. 
Available on the Internet at https://www.nemi.gov/.
USEPA. 1996. Information Collection Rule Microbial Laboratory 
Manual. Office of Research and Development. April 1996. EPA/600/R-
95/178. Available on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/microbes/online.html#icr.
USEPA. 1997. Method 300.1--Determination of Inorganic Anions in 
Drinking Water by Ion Chromatography. Revision 1.0. Available on the 
Internet at http://water.epa.gov/scitech/drinkingwater/labcert/analyticalmethods_ogwdw.cfm.
USEPA. 1998a. 40 CFR Parts 141 and 142 National Primary Drinking 
Water Regulations: Consumer Confidence; Proposed Rule. Federal 
Register. Vol. 63, No. 30, p. 7606, February 13, 1998.
USEPA. 1998b. 40 CFR Parts 141 and 142 National Primary Drinking 
Water Regulation: Consumer Confidence Reports; Final Rule. Federal 
Register. Vol. 63, No. 160, p. 44512, August 19, 1998.
USEPA. 1999. Revisions to the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring 
Regulation for Public Water Systems; Final Rule. Federal Register. 
Vol. 64, No. 180, p. 50556, September 17, 1999.
USEPA. 2001. Statistical Design and Sample Selection for the 
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation (1999). EPA 815-R-01-
004. August 2001.
USEPA. 2003. National Primary Drinking Water Regulations: Stage 2 
Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule; National Primary and 
Secondary Drinking Water Regulations: Approval of Analytical Methods 
for Chemical Contaminants. Federal Register. Vol. 68, No. 159, p. 
49547, August 18, 2003.
USEPA. 2004. Statistical Protocol for the Determination of the 
Single-Laboratory Lowest Concentration Minimum Reporting Level 
(LCMRL) and Validation of Laboratory Performance at or Below the 
Minimum Reporting Level (MRL). EPA 815-R-05-006. November 2004.
USEPA. 2007. Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation (UCMR) 
for Public Water Systems Revisions. Federal Register. Vol. 72, No. 
2, p. 367, January 4, 2007.
USEPA. 2008. Method 522--Determination of 1,4-Dioxane in Drinking 
Water by Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) and Gas Chromatography/Mass 
Spectrometry (GC/MS) with Selected Ion Monitoring (SIM). EPA/600/R-
08/101. Version 1.0, September 2008. Available on the Internet at 
http://www.epa.gov/nerlcwww/ordmeth.htm.
USEPA. 2009a. Method 524.3--Measurement of Purgeable Organic 
Compounds in Water by Capillary Column Gas Chromatography/Mass 
Spectrometry. EPA/815/B-09/009. Version 1.0, June 2009. Available on 
the Internet at http://water.epa.gov/scitech/drinkingwater/labcert/analyticalmethods_ogwdw.cfm.
USEPA. 2009b. Method 537--Determination of Selected Perfluorinated 
Alkyl Acids in Drinking Water by Solid Phase Extraction and Liquid 
Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). EPA/600/R-08/
092. Version 1.1, September 2009. Available on the Internet at 
http://www.epa.gov/nerlcwww/ordmeth.htm.
USEPA. 2009c. Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List 3-Final. 
Federal Register. Vol. 74, No. 194, p. 51850, October 8, 2009.
USEPA. 2010a. Stakeholder Meeting Regarding Revisions to the 
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation. Federal Register. 
Vol. 75, No. 35, p. 8063, February 23, 2010.
USEPA. 2010b. National Primary Drinking Water Regulations; 
Announcement of the Results of EPA's Review of Existing Drinking 
Water Standards and Request for Public Comment and/or Information on 
Related Issues; Notice. Federal Register. Vol. 75, No. 59, p. 15500, 
March 29, 2010.
USEPA. 2010c. Method 539--Determination of Hormones in Drinking 
Water by Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) and Liquid Chromatography 
Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). 
Available on the Internet at http://water.epa.gov/scitech/drinkingwater/labcert/analyticalmethods_ogwdw.cfm.
USEPA. 2010d. Possible Contaminants for Inclusion on UCMR 3--
Information Compendium. EPA 815-B-10-002.
USEPA. 2010e. UCMR 3 Laboratory Approval Requirements and 
Information Document. Draft in process.
USEPA. 2010f. Stakeholder Meeting Regarding Revisions to the 
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation--Presentation 
Materials. April 7, 2010.
USEPA. 2010g. Stakeholder Meeting Regarding Revisions to the 
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation--Meeting Notes. April 
2010.

List of Subjects

40 CFR Part 141

    Environmental protection, Chemicals, Indians--lands, 
Intergovernmental relations, Radiation protection, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Water supply.

40 CFR Part 142

    Environmental protection, Administrative practices and procedures, 
Chemicals, Indian lands, Radiation protection, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Water supply.

    Dated: February 17, 2011.
Lisa P. Jackson,
Administrator.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, Title 40, chapter 1 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations is proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 141--NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING WATER REGULATIONS

    1. The authority citation for part 141 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 300f, 300g-1, 300g-2, 300g-3, 300g-4, 300g-
5, 300g-6, 300j-4, 300j-9, and 300j-11.

Subpart C--Monitoring and Analytical Requirements

    2. Section 141.23 is amended in the table to paragraph (k)(1) by 
revising entries 18, 19, and 20; and by removing footnote 23.
    The revisions read as follows:

Sec.  141.23  Inorganic chemical sampling and analytical requirements.

* * * * *
    (k) Inorganic analysis:
* * * * *

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                       SM \4\ (18th,     SM \4\ (20th
          Contaminant             Methodology \13\     EPA Method        ASTM \3\        19th ed.)           ed.)        SM Online \22\       Other
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                                      * * * * * * *
18. Nitrate....................  Ion                      \6\ 300.0     D4327-97, 03           4110 B           4110 B        4110 B-00       \8\ B-1011
                                  Chromatography.        \19\ 300.1
                                 Automated Cadmium        \6\ 353.2       D3867-90 A        4500-NO3F       4500-NO3-F     4500-NO3F-00
                                  Reduction.
                                 Ion Selective                                              4500-NO3D       4500-NO3-D     4500-NO3D-00          \7\ 601
                                  Electrode.
                                 Manual Cadmium     ...............       D3867-90 B        4500-NO3E       4500-NO3-E     4500-NO3E-00
                                  Reduction.
                                 Capillary Ion      ...............        D6508-00.
                                  Electrophoresis.
19. Nitrite....................  Ion                      \6\ 300.0     D4327-97, 03           4110 B           4110 B        4110 B-00       \8\ B-1011
                                  Chromatography.        \19\ 300.1
                                 Automated Cadmium        \6\ 353.2       D3867-90 A        4500-NO3F       4500-NO3-F     4500-NO3F-00
                                  Reduction.
                                 Manual Cadmium     ...............       D3867-90 B        4500-NO3E       4500-NO3-E     4500-NO3E-00
                                  Reduction.
                                 Spectrophotometri  ...............  ...............       4500-NO2-B       4500-NO2-B    4500-NO2-B-00
                                  c.
                                 Capillary Ion      ...............         D6508-00
                                  Electrophoresis.
20. Ortho-phosphate............  Colorimetric,            \6\ 365.1  ...............         4500-P F         4500-P F
                                  Automated,
                                  Ascorbic Acid.

[[Page 11732]]

 
                                 Colorimetric,      ...............        D515-88 A         4500-P E         4500-P E
                                  ascorbic acid,
                                  single reagent.
                                 Colorimetric                                                                                              \5\ I-1601-85
                                  Phosphomolybdate
                                  ;
                                 Automated-                                                                                                \5\ I-2601-90
                                  segmented flow;.
                                 Automated                                                                                                 \5\ I-2598-85
                                  Discrete.
                                 Ion                      \6\ 300.0     D4327-97, 03           4110 B           4110 B        4110 B-00
                                  Chromatography.        \19\ 300.1
                                 Capillary Ion      ...............         D6508-00
                                  Electrophoresis.
 
                                                                      * * * * * * *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *
    \3\Annual Book of ASTM Standards, 1994, 1996, 1999, or 2003, 
Vols. 11.01 and 11.02, ASTM International; any year containing the 
cited version of the method may be used. The previous versions of 
D1688-95A, D1688-95C (copper), D3559-95D (lead), D1293-95 (pH), 
D1125-91A (conductivity) and D859-94 (silica) are also approved. 
These previous versions D1688-90A, C; D3559-90D, D1293-84, D1125-91A 
and D859-88, respectively are located in the Annual Book of ASTM 
Standards, 1994, Vol. 11.01. Copies may be obtained from ASTM 
International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428.
    \4\ Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and 
Wastewater, 18th edition (1992), 19th edition (1995) or 20th edition 
(1998). American Public Health Association, 800 I Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20001-3710. The cited methods published in any of 
these three editions may be used, except that the versions of 3111 
B, 3111 D, 3113 B and 3114 B in the 20th edition may not be used.
    \5\ Method I-2601-90, Methods for Analysis by the U.S. 
Geological Survey National Water Quality Laboratory--Determination 
of Inorganic and Organic Constituents in Water and Fluvial Sediment, 
Open File Report 93-125, 1993; For Methods I-1030-85; I-1601-85; I-
1700-85; I-2598-85; I-2700-85; and I-3300-85. See Techniques of 
Water Resources Investigation of the U.S. Geological Survey, Book 5, 
Chapter A-1, 3rd edition, 1989; Available from Information Services, 
U.S. Geological Survey, Federal Center, Box 25286, Denver, CO 80225-
0425.
    \6\ ``Methods for the Determination of Inorganic Substances in 
Environmental Samples,'' EPA/600/R-93/100, August 1993. Available at 
NTIS, PB94-120821.
    \7\ The procedure shall be done in accordance with the Technical 
Bulletin 601 ``Standard Method of Test for Nitrate in Drinking 
Water,'' July 1994, PN 221890-001, Analytical Technology, Inc. 
Copies may be obtained from ATI Orion, 529 Main Street, Boston, MA 
02129.
    \8\ Method B-1011. ``Waters Test Method for Determination of 
Nitrite/Nitrate in Water Using Single Column Ion Chromatography,'' 
August, 1987. Copies may be obtained from Waters Corporation, 
Technical Services Division, 34 Maple Street, Milford, MA 01757, 
Telephone: 508/482-2963, Fax: 508/482-4056.
* * * * *
    \13\ Because MDLs reported in EPA Methods 200.7 and 200.9 were 
determined using a 2x preconcentration step during sample digestion, 
MDLs determined when samples are analyzed by direct analysis (i.e., 
no sample digestion) will be higher. For direct analysis of cadmium 
and arsenic by Method 200.7, and arsenic by Method 3120 B, sample 
preconcentration using pneumatic nebulization may be required to 
achieve lower detection limits. Preconcentration may also be 
required for direct analysis of antimony, lead, and thallium by 
Method 200.9; antimony and lead by Method 3113 B; and lead by Method 
D3559-90D, unless multiple in-furnace depositions are made.
* * * * *
    \19\ ``Methods for the Determination of Organic and Inorganic 
Compounds in Drinking Water,'' Vol. 1, EPA 815-R-00-014, August 
2000. Available at NTIS, PB2000-106981.
* * * * *
    \22\ Standard Methods Online are available at http://www.standardmethods.org. The year in which each method was approved 
by the Standard Methods Committee is designated by the last two 
digits in the method number. The methods listed are the only online 
versions that may be used.

    3. Section 141.35 is amended as follows:
    a. In paragraph (a) by revising the third sentence,
    b. By revising paragraph (b) introductory text,
    c. In paragraph (b)(1) by revising the third sentence,
    d. In paragraph (b)(2) by revising the second sentence,
    e. In paragraph (c)(1) by removing ``April 4, 2007'' and adding in 
its place, ``[DATE 90 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE FINAL 
RULE],''
    f. In paragraph (c)(2) by removing ``August 2, 2007'' and adding in 
its place, ``[DATE 240 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE FINAL 
RULE],''
    g. In paragraph (c)(2) by revising the last sentence,
    h. In paragraph (c)(3)(i) by removing ``May 4, 2007'' and adding in 
its place, ``[DATE 120 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE FINAL 
RULE],''
    i. In paragraph (c)(3)(ii) by adding a new second and third 
sentence,
    j. In paragraph (c)(4) by removing ``June 4, 2007'' and adding in 
its place, ``[DATE 150 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE FINAL 
RULE],''
    k. In paragraph (c)(5)(i) by removing the two instances of the date 
``August 2, 2007'' and add in their place, ``[DATE 240 DAYS AFTER DATE 
OF PUBLICATION OF THE FINAL RULE],''
    l. By revising paragraph (c)(6) introductory text,
    m. By revising paragraph (c)(6)(ii),
    n. By revising paragraph (d)(2), and
    o. In the table to paragraph (e) by revising entries 4 and 6.
    The revisions and additions read as follows:

Sec.  141.35  Reporting for unregulated contaminant monitoring results.

    (a) * * * For the purposes of this section, PWS ``population 
served'' is the retail population served directly by the PWS as 
reported to the Federal Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS/
Fed).* * *
    (b) Reporting by all systems. You must meet the reporting 
requirements of this paragraph if you meet the applicability criteria 
in Sec.  141.40(a)(1) and (2).
* * * * *
    (1) * * * Information that must be submitted using EPA's electronic 
data reporting system must be submitted through: http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/ucmr/ucmr3/reporting.cfm. * * *
    (2) * * * If you have received a letter from EPA concerning your 
required monitoring and your system does not meet the applicability 
criteria for UCMR established in Sec.  141.40(a)(1) or (2), or if a 
change occurs at your system that may affect your requirements under 
UCMR as defined in Sec.  141.40(a)(3) through (5), you must fax, mail, 
or e-mail a letter to EPA, as specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this 
section. * * *
* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (2) * * * If this information changes, you must report updates, 
including new sources and sampling locations which are put in use 
before or during the PWS' UCMR sampling period, to EPA's electronic 
data reporting system within 30 days of the change.
* * * * *
    (3) * * *

[[Page 11733]]

    (ii) * * * The proposed representative well must be one of the 
higher annual volume producing and more consistently active wells in 
the representative array. If that representative well is not in use at 
the scheduled sampling time, an alternative representative well must be 
sampled. * * *
* * * * *
    (6) Reporting monitoring results. For each sample, you must report 
all data elements specified in Table 1 of paragraph (e) of this 
section, using EPA's electronic data reporting system. You also must 
report any changes, relative to what is currently posted, made to data 
elements 1 through 6 to EPA, in writing, explaining the nature and 
purpose of the proposed change, as specified in paragraph (b)(1) of 
this section.
* * * * *
    (ii) Reporting schedule. You must ensure that your laboratory posts 
the data to EPA's electronic data reporting system within 60 days from 
the sample collection date (sample collection must occur as specified 
in Sec.  141.40(a)(4)). You have 30 days from when the laboratory posts 
the data in EPA's electronic data reporting system to review, approve, 
and submit the data to the State and EPA, at the Web address specified 
in paragraph (b)(1) of this section. If you do not electronically 
approve and submit the laboratory data to EPA within 30 days of the 
laboratory's posting to EPA's electronic reporting system, the data 
will be considered approved by you and available for State and EPA 
review.
* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (2) Reporting sampling information. You must record all data 
elements listed in Table 1 of paragraph (e) of this section on each 
sample form and sample bottle provided to you by the UCMR Sampling 
Coordinator. You must send this information as specified in the 
instructions of your sampling kit, which will include the due date and 
return address. You must report any changes made in data elements 1 
through 6 by mailing or e-mailing an explanation of the nature and 
purpose of the proposed change to EPA, as specified in paragraph (b)(1) 
of this section.
    (e) * * *

                       Table 1--Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Reporting Requirements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Data element                                              Definition
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
4. (a) Sampling Point Identification Code,    (a) An identification code established by the State, or at the
 (b) Sampling Point Zip Code, (c) Optional     State's discretion, by the PWS, that uniquely identifies each
 Zip Code Extension, and (d) Zip Codes         sampling point. Each sampling code must be unique within each
 Served.                                       applicable facility, for each applicable sampling location (i.e.,
                                               entry point to the distribution system or distribution system
                                               sample at maximum residence time). The same identification code
                                               must be used to represent the sampling location for all current
                                               and future UCMR monitoring.
                                              (b) The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) ZIP code in which the sampling
                                               point is located, with format: ZZZZZ.
                                              (c) The optional Zip Code Extension in which the sampling point is
                                               located, with format: EEEE.
                                              (d) Zip codes of all areas supplied with water from this sampling
                                               point, with format: ZZZZZ.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
6. Disinfectant Type........................  The disinfectant in use at the time of UCMR monitoring. To be
                                               reported by systems for each sampling point, with possible values
                                               including:
                                                 CLG = gaseous chlorine.
                                                 CLS = Sodium hypochlorite solution.
                                                 CLP = Potassium hypochlorite solution.
                                                 CAG = chloramine (gaseous chlorine).
                                                 CAS = chloramine (sodium hypochlorite solution).
                                                 CAP = chloramine (potassium hypochlorite solution).
                                                 CLD = chlorine dioxide.
                                                 GOS = Hypochlorite generated off site.
                                                 GIH = Hypochlorite generated at DW facility.
                                                 OTH = all other types of disinfectant (e.g. ozone).
                                                 NOD = no disinfectant used.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subpart E--Special Regulations, Including Monitoring Regulations 
and Prohibition on Lead Use

    4. Section 141.40 is amended as follows:
    a. By revising paragraph (a) introductory text,
    b. By revising paragraph (a)(1),
    c. By revising paragraph (a)(2)(i) introductory text,
    d. By revising paragraph (a)(2)(ii) introductory text,
    e. By revising paragraph (a)(2)(ii)(C),
    f. By revising paragraph (a)(3),
    g. In paragraph (a)(4)(i) introductory text by removing ``August 2, 
2007'' and adding in its place, ``[DATE 240 DAYS AFTER DATE OF 
PUBLICATION OF THE FINAL RULE],''
    h. By revising paragraph (a)(4)(i)(B),
    i. By revising paragraph (a)(4)(i)(C),
    j. In paragraph (a)(4)(i)(D) by removing the last sentence,
    k. By revising paragraph (a)(4)(ii)(G),
    l. In paragraph (a)(5)(ii) by removing ``April 4, 2007'' and adding 
in its place, ``[DATE 90 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE FINAL 
RULE]'' and by revising the last sentence,
    m. By revising paragraph (a)(5)(iii) introductory text,
    n. By revising paragraph (a)(5)(iii)(A)(1),
    o. By revising paragraph (a)(5)(iv), and
    p. By revising paragraph (a)(5)(vi).
    The revisions read as follows:

Sec.  141.40  Monitoring requirements for unregulated contaminants.

    (a) General applicability. This section specifies the monitoring 
and quality control requirements that must be followed if you own or 
operate a public water system (PWS) that is subject to the Unregulated 
Contaminant Monitoring

[[Page 11734]]

Regulation (UCMR), as specified in paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) of this 
section. In addition, this section specifies the UCMR requirements for 
State and Tribal participation. For the purposes of this section, PWS 
``population served,'' ``State,'' '' PWS Official,'' ``PWS Technical 
Contact,'' and ``finished water'' apply as defined in Sec.  141.35(a). 
The determination of whether a PWS is required to monitor under this 
rule is based on the type of system (e.g., community water system, non-
transient non-community water system, etc.), and its retail population, 
as indicated by SDWIS/Fed on December 31, 2010.
    (1) Applicability to transient non-community systems. If you own or 
operate a transient non-community water system, you will have to 
monitor for the contaminants specified on List 3 of Table 1, in 
paragraph (a)(3) of this section if you are notified by your State or 
EPA.
    (2) * * *
    (i) Large systems. If you own or operate a retail PWS (other than a 
transient non-community system) that serves more than 10,000 people, 
you must monitor according to the specifications in this paragraph 
(a)(2)(i). If you believe that your applicability status is different 
than EPA has specified in the notification letter that you received, or 
if you are subject to UCMR requirements and you have not been notified 
by either EPA or your State, you must report to EPA, as specified in 
Sec.  141.35(b)(2) or (c)(4).
* * * * *
    (ii) Small systems. Small PWSs, as defined in this paragraph, will 
not be selected to monitor for any more than one of the three 
monitoring lists provided in Table 1, UCMR Contaminant List, in 
paragraph (a)(3) of this section. EPA will provide sample containers, 
provide pre-paid air bills for shipping the sampling materials, conduct 
the laboratory analysis, and report and review monitoring results for 
all small systems selected to conduct monitoring under paragraphs 
(a)(2)(ii)(A) through (C) of this section. If you own or operate a PWS 
that serves 10,000 or fewer people you must monitor as follows:
* * * * *
    (C) Pre-Screen Testing. You must allow EPA or its representative to 
collect samples to support monitoring for the unregulated contaminants 
on List 3 of Table 1, in paragraph (a)(3) of this section, if you are 
notified by your State or EPA that you are part of the State Monitoring 
plan for Pre-Screen Testing. In addition, you must permit the 
collection of samples as necessary for EPA to perform analysis for 
total coliform, E. coli, bacteriophage, Enterococci, and aerobic 
spores.
    (3) Analytes to be monitored. Lists 1, 2, and 3 of unregulated 
contaminants are provided in the following table:

                                                             Table 1--UCMR Contaminant List
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   2--CAS
        1--Contaminant            Registry     3--Analytical methods     4--Minimum reporting     5--Sampling location        6--Period during which
                                    No.                 \a\                   level \b\                   \c\               monitoring to be completed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  List 1: Assessment Monitoring--Chemical Contaminants
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                        Hormones
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17-[beta]-estradiol...........      50-28-2  EPA 539 \d\.............  0.0004 [mu]g/L.........  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
17-[alpha]-ethynylestradiol...      57-63-6  EPA 539 \d\.............  0.0009 [mu]g/L.........  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
estriol.......................      50-27-1  EPA 539 \d\.............  0.0008 [mu]g/L.........  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
equilin.......................     474-86-2  EPA 539 \d\.............  0.004 [mu]g/L..........  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
estrone.......................      53-16-7  EPA 539 \d\.............  0.002 [mu]g/L..........  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
testosterone..................      58-22-0  EPA 539 \d\.............  0.0001 [mu]g/L.........  EPDTS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
4-androstene-3,17-dione.......      63-05-8  EPA 539 \d\.............  0.0003 [mu]g/L.........  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Volatile Organic Compounds
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1,2,3-trichloropropane........      96-18-4  EPA 524.3 \e\...........  0.03 [mu]g/L...........  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
1,3-butadiene.................     106-99-0  EPA 524.3 \e\...........  0.1 [mu]g/L............  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
chloromethane.................      74-87-3  EPA 524.3 \e\...........  0.2 [mu]g/L............  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
1,1-dichloroethane............      75-34-3  EPA 524.3 \e\...........  0.03 [mu]g/L...........  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
n-propylbenzene...............     103-65-1  EPA 524.3 \e\...........  0.03 [mu]g/L...........  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
bromomethane..................      74-83-9  EPA 524.3 \e\...........  0.2 [mu]g/L............  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
sec-butylbenzene..............     135-98-8  EPA 524.3 \e\...........  0.04 [mu]g/L...........  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-        75-45-6  EPA 524.3 \e\...........  0.08 [mu]g/L...........  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
 22).
bromochloromethane (halon           74-97-5  EPA 524.3 \e\...........  0.06 [mu]g/L...........  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
 1011).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Synthetic Organic Compound
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1,4-dioxane...................     123-91-1  EPA 522 \f\.............  0.07 [mu]g/L...........  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                         Metals
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
vanadium......................    7440-62-2  EPA 200.8...............  0.2 [mu]g/L............  EPTDS and DSMRT........  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
                                             ASTM....................
                                             D5673-10................
                                             SM 3125 \g\.............
molybdenum....................    7439-98-7  EPA 200.8...............  1. [mu]g/L.............  EPTDS and DSMRT........  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
                                             ASTM....................
                                             D5673-10................
                                             SM 3125 \g\.............
cobalt........................    7440-48-4  EPA 200.8...............  1. [mu]g/L.............  EPTDS and DSMRT........  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
                                             ASTM....................
                                             D5673-10................
                                             SM 3125 \g\.............

[[Page 11735]]

 
strontium.....................    7440-24-6  EPA 200.8...............  0.3 [mu]g/L............  EPTDS and DSMRT........  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
                                             ASTM....................
                                             D5673-10................
                                             SM 3125 \g\.............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Oxyhalide Anion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chlorate......................   14866-68-3  EPA 300.1...............  20 [mu]g/L.............  EPTDS and DSMRT........  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
                                             ASTM D..................
                                             6581-08.................
                                             SM 4110D \h\............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Perfluorinated Compounds
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
perfluorooctane sulfonic acid     1763-23-1  EPA 537 \i\.............  0.04 [mu]g/L...........  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
 (PFOS).
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).     335-67-1  EPA 537 \i\.............  0.02 [mu]g/L...........  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA).     375-95-1  EPA 537 \i\.............  0.02 [mu]g/L...........  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
perfluorohexane sulfonic acid      355-46-4  EPA 537 \i\.............  0.03 [mu]g/L...........  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
 (PFHxS).
perfluoroheptanoic acid            375-85-9  EPA 537 \i\.............  0.01 [mu]g/L...........  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
 (PFHpA).
perfluorobutanesulfonic acid       375-73-5  EPA 537 \i\.............  0.09 [mu]g/L...........  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
 (PFBS).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                List 2: Screening Survey
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reserved......................     Reserved  Reserved................  Reserved...............  Reserved...............  Reserved.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                List 3: Pre-Screen Testing--Microbiological Contaminants
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
enteroviruses.................          N/A  N/A.....................  N/A....................  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
noroviruses...................          N/A  N/A.....................  N/A....................  EPTDS..................  1/1/2013-12/31/2015.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Column headings are:
    1--Contaminant: the name of the contaminant to be analyzed.
    2--CAS (Chemical Abstract Service) Registry Number or 
Identification Number: a unique number identifying the chemical 
contaminants.
    3--Analytical Methods: method numbers identifying the methods that 
must be used to test the contaminants. For List 3, analysis will only 
be performed by laboratories under contract to EPA.
    4--Minimum Reporting Level: the value and unit of measure at or 
above which the concentration of the contaminant must be measured using 
the approved analytical methods. For List 3, minimum reporting level is 
based on volume of water filtered and PCR amplification level.
    5--Sampling Location: the locations within a PWS at which samples 
must be collected.
    6--Period During Which Monitoring to be Completed: the time period 
during which the sampling and testing are to occur for the indicated 
contaminant.

    \a\ The analytical procedures shall be performed in accordance 
with the documents associated with each method (per the following 
footnotes). The incorporation by reference of the following 
documents listed in footnotes d-i was approved by the Director of 
the Federal Register in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR 
part 51. Information on how to obtain these documents can be 
provided by the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791. 
Documents may be inspected at EPA's Drinking Water Docket, 1301 
Constitution Avenue, NW., EPA West, Room 3334, Washington, DC 20460, 
Telephone: (202) 566-2426; or at the National Archives and Records 
Administration (NARA). For information on availability of this 
material at NARA, call 202-741-6030, or go to: http://www.archives.gov/Federal-register/cfr/index.html. The version of the 
EPA methods which you must follow for this Regulation are listed in 
footnotes d through i as follows:
    \b\ The minimum reporting level (MRL) is the minimum 
concentration of each analyte that must be reported to EPA.
    \c\ Sampling must occur at entry points to the distribution 
system (EPTDSs) after treatment is applied that represent each non-
emergency water source in routine use over the 12-month period of 
monitoring. Systems that purchase water with multiple connections 
from the same wholesaler may propose one representative connection 
from that wholesaler. This representative EPTDS sampling location 
must be one of the higher annual volume connections. If the 
connection selected as the representative EPTDS is not available for 
sampling, an alternate representative connection must be sampled. 
See 40 CFR 141.35(c)(3) for an explanation of the requirements 
related to use of representative ground water EPTDSs. Sampling for 
metals and chlorate at disinfection byproduct distribution system 
maximum residence time (DSMRT) sampling locations as defined in 40 
CFR 141.132(b)(1)(i). If a treatment plant/water source is not 
subject to the sampling required in 40 CFR 141.132(b)(1), then the 
distribution system samples for metals must be collected at a 
location that the system determines represents the maximum residence 
time in the distribution system.
    \d\ EPA Method 539 ``Determination of Hormones in Drinking Water 
Using Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry,'' is available 
at http://water.epa.gov/scitech/drinkingwater/labcert/analyticalmethods_ogwdw.cfm.
    \e\ EPA Method 524.3 ``Measurement of Purgeable Organic 
Compounds in Water by Capillary Column Gas Chromatography/Mass 
Spectrometry,'' Version 1.0, June 2009 is available at http://water.epa.gov/scitech/drinkingwater/labcert/analyticalmethods_ogwdw.cfm.
    \f\ EPA Method 522 ``Determination of 1,4-Dioxane in Drinking 
Water by Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) and Gas Chromatography/Mass 
Spectrometry (GC/MS) with Selective Ion Monitoring (SIM),'' Version 
1.0, September 2008 is available at http://www.epa.gov/nerlcwww/ordmeth.htm.
    \g\ EPA Method 200.8 ``Determination of Trace Elements in Waters 
and Wastes by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry,'' 
Version 5.4, 1994 is available at http://www.NEMI.gov.
    ASTM D5673-10. Standard Test Method for Elements in Water by 
Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry. Available for purchase 
on the Internet at http://www.astm.org/Standards/D5673.htm.
    SM 3125. Metals by Inductively Coupled Plasma/Mass Spectrometry 
(1997). Available

[[Page 11736]]

for purchase on the Internet at http://www.standardmethods.org/store/ProductView.cfm?ProductID=211.
    \h\ EPA Method 300.1 ``Determination of Inorganic Anions in 
Drinking Water by Ion Chromatography,'' Revision 1.0, 1997 is 
available at http://water.epa.gov/scitech/drinkingwater/labcert/analyticalmethods_ogwdw.cfm.
    ASTM D6581-08. Standard Test Methods for Bromate, Bromide, 
Chlorate, and Chlorite in Drinking Water by Suppressed Ion 
Chromatography. Available for purchase on the Internet at http://www.astm.org/Standards/D6581.htm.
    SM 4110D. Determination of Anions by Ion Chromatography, Part D, 
Ion Chromatography Determination of Oxyhalides and Bromide. 
Available for purchase on the Internet at http://www.standardmethods.org/store/ProductView.cfm?ProductID=31.
    \i\ EPA Method 537 ``Determination of Selected Perfluorinated 
Alkyl Acids in Drinking Water by Solid Phase Extraction and Liquid 
Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry,'' Version 1.1, September 
2009 is available at http://www.epa.gov/nerlcwww/ordmeth.htm.
* * * * *
    (4) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (B) Frequency. You must collect the samples within the time frame 
and according to the frequency specified by contaminant type and water 
source type for each sampling location, as specified in Table 2, in 
this paragraph. For the second or subsequent round of sampling, if a 
sample location is non-operational for more than one month before and 
one month after the scheduled sampling month (i.e., it is not possible 
for you to sample within the window specified in Table 2, in this 
paragraph), you must notify EPA as specified in Sec.  141.35(c)(5) to 
reschedule your sampling.

                       Table 2--Monitoring Frequency by Contaminant and Water Source Types
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Contaminant type                Water source type              Time frame               Frequency
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chemical..........................  Surface water or ground      12 months..............  You must monitor for 4
                                     water under the direct                                consecutive quarters.
                                     influence of surface water                            Sample events must
                                     (GWUDI) (includes all                                 occur 3 months apart.
                                     sampling locations for
                                     which some or all of the
                                     water comes from a surface
                                     water or GWUDI source at
                                     any time during the 12
                                     month monitoring period).
                                    Ground water...............  12 months..............  You must monitor twice
                                                                                           in a consecutive 12-
                                                                                           month period. Sample
                                                                                           events must occur 5-7
                                                                                           months apart.
Microbiological...................  Ground water...............  12 months..............  You must monitor twice
                                                                                           in a consecutive 12-
                                                                                           month period. Sample
                                                                                           events must occur 5-7
                                                                                           months apart.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     (C) Location. You must collect samples for each List 1 Assessment 
Monitoring contaminant, and, if applicable, for each List 2 Screening 
Survey, or List 3 Pre-Screen Testing contaminant, as specified in Table 
1, in paragraph (a)(3) of this section. Samples must be collected at 
each sample point that is specified in column 5 and footnote c of Table 
1, in paragraph (a)(3) of this section. If you are a ground water 
system with multiple EPTDSs, and you request and receive approval from 
EPA or the State for sampling at representative EPTDS(s), as specified 
in Sec.  141.35(c)(3), you must collect your samples from the approved 
representative sampling location(s). Systems conducting Assessment 
Monitoring must also sample for metals and chlorate at the disinfection 
byproduct distribution system maximum residence time (DSMRT) sampling 
location(s) if they are subject to sampling requirements in Sec.  
141.132(b)(1). If a treatment plant/water source is not subject to the 
sampling required in 40 CFR 141.132(b)(1), then the distribution system 
samples must be collected at a location that the system determines 
represents the maximum residence time in the distribution system.
    (ii) * * *
* * * * *
    (G) Sampling forms. You must completely fill out each of the 
sampling forms and bottles sent to you by the UCMR Sampling 
Coordinator, including data elements listed in Sec.  141.35(e) for each 
sample, as specified in Sec.  141.35(d)(2). You must sign and date the 
sampling forms.
* * * * *
    (5) * * *
* * * * *
    (ii) * * * Correspondence must be addressed to: UCMR Laboratory 
Approval Coordinator, USEPA, Technical Support Center, 26 West Martin 
Luther King Drive, (MS 140), Cincinnati, OH 45268; or e-mailed to EPA 
at: UCMR--Sampling --Coordinator@epa,gov.
    (iii) Minimum Reporting Level. The MRL is an estimate of the 
quantitation limit that, with 95% confidence, is achievable by a 
capable analyst/laboratory at least 75% of the time. Assuming good 
instrumentation and experienced analysts, with 95% confidence, an MRL 
is achievable by 75% of laboratories nationwide.
    (A) * * *
    (1) All laboratories performing analysis under UCMR must 
demonstrate that they are capable of meeting data quality objectives 
(DQOs) at or below the MRL listed in Table 1, column 4, in paragraph 
(a)(3) of this section.
* * * * *
    (iv) Laboratory fortified sample matrix and laboratory fortified 
sample matrix duplicate. You must ensure that your laboratory prepares 
and analyzes the Laboratory Fortified Sample Matrix (LFSM) sample for 
accuracy and Laboratory Fortified Sample Matrix Duplicate (LFSMD) 
samples for precision to determine method accuracy and precision for 
all contaminants in Table 1, in paragraph (a)(3) of this section. LFSM/
LFSMD samples must be prepared using a sample collected and analyzed in 
accordance with UCMR requirements and analyzed at a frequency of 5% (or 
1 LFSM/LFSMD set per every 20 samples) or with each sample batch, 
whichever is more frequent. In addition, the LFSM/LFSMD fortification 
concentrations must be alternated between a low-level fortification and 
mid-level fortification approximately 50% of the time. (For example: a 
set of 40 samples will require preparation and analysis of 2 LFSM/LFSMD 
paired samples. The first LFSM/LFSMD paired sample set must be 
fortified at either the low-level or mid-level, and the second LFSM/
LFSMD paired sample set must be fortified with the other standard, 
either the low-level or mid-level, whichever

[[Page 11737]]

was not used for the initial LFSM/LFSMD paired sample set.) The low-
level LFSM/LFSMD fortification concentration must be within 50% of the MRL for each contaminant (e.g., for an MRL of 1 [mu]g/
L the acceptable fortification levels must be between 0.5 [mu]g/L and 
1.5 [mu]g/L). The mid-level LFSM/LFSMD fortification concentration must 
be within 20% of the mid-level calibration standard for 
each contaminant, and should represent, where possible and where the 
laboratory has data from previously analyzed samples, an approximate 
average concentration observed in previous analyses of that analyte. 
There are no UCMR contaminant recovery acceptance criteria specified 
for LFSM/LFSMD analyses. All LFSM/LFSMD data are to be reported.
* * * * *
    (vi) Reporting. You must require your laboratory to submit these 
data electronically to the State and EPA using EPA's electronic data 
reporting system, accessible at (http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/ucmr/ucmr3/reporting.cfm), within 60 days from the 
sample collection date. You then have 30 days from when the laboratory 
posts the data to review, approve and submit the data to the State and 
EPA, via EPA's electronic data reporting system. If you do not 
electronically approve and submit the laboratory data to EPA within 30 
days of the laboratories posting to EPA's electronic reporting system, 
the data will be considered approved and available for State and EPA 
review.
* * * * *

PART 142--NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING WATER REGULATIONS 
IMPLEMENTATION

    5. The authority citation for part 142 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 300f, 300g-1, 300g-2, 300g-3, 300g-4, 
300g-5, 300g-6, 300j-4, 300j-9, and 300j-11.

Subpart B--Primary Enforcement Responsibility

    6. Section 142.16 is amended as follows:
    a. In paragraph (j) introductory text by removing ``Sec.  141.40''.
    b. In paragraph (j)(1) by revising the first sentence.

Sec.  142.16  Special primacy requirements.

* * * * *
    (j) * * *
    (1) If a State chooses to issue waivers from the monitoring 
requirements in Sec. Sec.  141.23 and 141.24, the State shall describe 
the procedures and criteria which it will use to review waiver 
applications and issue wavier determinations. * * *
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2011-4641 Filed 3-2-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P