EPA has issued a final list of contaminants that it will consider in setting priorities under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The contaminants are not subject to regulation, but are known or anticipated to occur in public water systems.
The list is divided among contaminants which are identified as priorities for drinking water research, those which need additional occurrence data, and contaminants which are priorities for consideration for the development of future drinking water regulations and guidance. The CCL includes 50 chemical and 10 microbiological contaminants/contaminant groups.
The microbial list includes Acanthamoeba (guidance expected for contact lens wearers); Adenoviruses; Aeromonas hydrophila; Caliciviruses; Coxsackieviruses; Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), other freshwater algae, and their toxins; Echoviruses; Helicobacter pylori; Microsporidia (Enterocytozoon & Septata); and Mycobacterium avium intracellulare (MAC).
Some of the chemical contaminants include manganese, sulfate, sodium, methyl-t-butyl ether (MTBE); Methyl bromide; aluminum, boron, and diazinon.
The list will be used over the next few years to determine research, health advisory and regulatory priorities. EPA currently regulates 83 contaminants in drinking water. It was published in the Federal Register on March 2 and is available by contacting EPAs Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
Town Faces Fines For CWA Violations
The Borough of Pottstown will have to pay a $16,500 penalty and complete a $58,000 study of the Schuylkill River watershed as part of a consent decree that settles a federal Clean Water Act lawsuit, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Town Faces Fines For CWA Violations
The lawsuit alleged that the Montgomery County, Pa., plant discharged excess levels of total suspended solids, five-day measure of carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand, alkaline wastewater, dissolved oxygen, zinc and phenol, and also violated the reporting requirements of its permit from 1988-1993. Pottstowns water monitoring reports show that the plant has complied with its permit discharge limits since May 1995.
Town Faces Fines For CWA Violations
In addition to the civil penalty, Pottstown has agreed to carry out a two-year watershed assessment program, which will include water quality monitoring of the plants water discharge; the Schuylkill River, upstream and downstream of the plant; and Manatawney Creek. As part of the study, Pottstown will test for 21 pollutants, including ammonia, nitrogen, phosphorous, fecal coliform, and heavy metals.
EPA Announces Charles River Cleanup
EPA has announced an ambitious pollution prevention assistance effort and an enforcement sweep of potential pollution sources to the Charles River in Massachusetts in a continuing effort to meet the goal of a fishable, swimmable lower Charles River by Earth Day, 2005.
EPA Announces Charles River Cleanup
The first stage of the pollution prevention effort targets the nearly 1,000 auto service and repair facilities in the ten communities bordering the lower Charles. EPA will provide assistance to help these facilities improve their hazardous waste management practices and to reduce their use of solvents and other chemicals.
EPA Announces Charles River Cleanup
The first stage of the enforcement sweep begins May 1. EPA has assembled a team of engineers, scientists and lawyers who have targeted nearly 200 facilities for compliance inspections. The enforcement effort also includes a citizen hotline for quick response action on spills.
EPA Announces Charles River Cleanup
A second target audience for the pollution prevention effort is public works directors and others grappling with storm water management at large sites such as construction sites, salvage yards, power plants, and marinas.
