The official announcement of the nine-month suspension was published yesterday in the Federal Register.
Environmentalists say mining interests pushed for delays.
EPA chief Christine Todd Whitman has said the delay was due only to the need for more scientific studies, and promised a rule sharply cutting levels of arsenic by early next year. The Natural Resources Defense Council said the administration's suspension of the arsenic rule is illegal because 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act required EPA to put a final rule in place by Jan. 1, a date that was pushed back to June 22 by congressional maneuvering during the appropriations process. The council said it believes the EPA should have lowered the standard for arsenic in drinking water to 3 parts per billion. The agency proposed a 5 parts per billion standard last June, but increased it to 10 parts per billion in response to industry pressure, they said. The nine month delay comes after the arsenic rule was already postponed 60 days from its original March 2001 effective date.