Document ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0692-1236
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Drinking Water; Preliminary Regulatory Determination on Perchlorate; Reopening of Public Comment Period
Posted Date: 2008-11-12T05:00Z

[Federal Register: November 12, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 219)]
[Notices]               
[Page 66895]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12no08-84]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0692; FRL-8740-1]
RIN 2040-ZA02

 
Drinking Water: Preliminary Regulatory Determination on 
Perchlorate

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Reopening of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: EPA announced on October 10, 2008, its preliminary regulatory 
determination that a national primary drinking water regulation for 
perchlorate would not present ``a meaningful opportunity for health 
risk reduction for persons served by public water systems.'' In 
response to requests from several stakeholders, this action reopens the 
public comment period for an additional 15 days.

DATES: EPA must receive your comments on or before November 28, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2008-0692, by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     Mail: Water Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Mailcode: 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery: Water Docket, EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC) 
EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. 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-HQ-OW-2008-
0692. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in 
the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
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 www.regulations.gov or e-mail. 
The 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 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Burneson, Office of Ground Water 
and Drinking Water, Standards and Risk Management Division, at (202) 
564-5250 or e-mail burneson.eric@epa.gov. For general information 
contact the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791 or e-
mail: hotline-sdwa@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Safe Drinking Water Act requires EPA to 
make determinations every five years of whether to regulate at least 
five contaminants on the Contaminant Candidate List (CCL). EPA included 
perchlorate on the first and second CCLs that were published in the 
Federal Register on March 2, 1998 (63 FR 10273) and February 24, 2005 
(70 FR 9071). Most recently, EPA presented final regulatory 
determinations regarding 11 contaminants on the second CCL in a notice 
published in the Federal Register on July 30, 2008. On October 10, 2008 
(73 FR 60262), EPA presented supporting rationale and requested public 
comment on its preliminary determination not to regulate perchlorate 
(please note that EPA has issued a new RIN number for this action which 
is 2040-AF02). EPA will make a final regulatory determination for 
perchlorate after considering comments and information provided in the 
comment period following this notice. The original comment deadline was 
November 10, 2008. Several stakeholders have requested a reopening to 
the comment period in order to evaluate EPA's findings, review the 
scientific literature and prepare comments. This action reopens the 
comment period for 15 days.

    Dated: November 6, 2008.
Benjamin H. Grumbles,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. E8-26945 Filed 11-10-08; 8:45 am]

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