WaterNews for January 17, 2002

WaterNews is a weekly on-line publication that announces publications, policies, and activities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water.

Inside this week's WaterNews:

1. Cryptosporidium Standards Strengthened for Small Drinking Water Systems
2. EPA Amends Regulations to Reduce Run-off from Abandoned Coal Mines
3. EPA Makes Final Decision on Dioxin in Sewage Sludge
4. EPA Office of Water Moves to New Location

1) Cryptosporidium Standards Strengthened for Small Drinking Water Systems

EPA has tightened drinking water requirements to protect an additional 18 million Americans served by 11,000 small drinking water systems from Cryptosporidium and other disease-causing microorganisms. For those smaller drinking water systems that serve fewer than 10,000 people, this final rule has the same protective requirements already in place for large systems. To provide maximum public health protection, the Agency is now requiring small systems to use the best available technology to further ensure the safety of the nation’s drinking water supply. This final rule requires 99 percent removal of Cryptosporidium through enhanced filtration. Cryptosporidium spores cannot be eliminated by commonly used disinfectants, such as chlorine, and must be captured through enhanced filtration techniques. Cryptosporidium, found in animal wastes, can cause intestinal problems and possibly death in some vulnerable populations. It has caused numerous episodes of sickness over the years, the largest reported in Milwaukee in l993 when over 400,000 residents became ill and 50 people died. Small systems have three years to come into compliance with the enhanced filtration requirements. Technical and financial assistance is available to the states and utilities. EPA estimates that the annual cost of the rule will be $39.5 million. The average annual household cost is estimated at $6.24. Ninety percent of households will experience costs of less than $15 a year. Additional information on the "Final Long Term 1 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule" is provided at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ under "What's New."

2) EPA Amends Regulations to Reduce Run-off from Abandoned Coal Mines

EPA is releasing new effluent guidelines to reclaim abandoned mine sites and to better protect environmental quality around mines in the western and Appalachian states. The guidelines for these sites will provide incentives to remine abandoned sites instead of mining new land. Encouraging remining can provide the benefits of improving water quality, removing hazardous conditions and utilizing remaining coal as a resource instead of mining new land. Under the new rules, remining operations will be required to implement strategies that control pollutant releases and ensure the pollutant discharges during remining activities are less than the pollutant levels released from the abandoned site prior to remining. Upon completion, the operators will reclaim the land to meet the same standards currently imposed on active mining areas. These amendments provide operators with greater certainty about environmental requirements for remining operations. The guidelines for western alkaline coal mines will allow miners to install control technologies better suited to reclaiming mining lands in arid and semi-arid regions of the country. In the arid and semi-arid western regions of the country natural vegetation cover is sparse and rainfall usually occurs with high intensity over a short period of time causing flash floods and sediment transport. To address these impacts, the new guidelines will require western coal mine operations to implement practices to mimic natural conditions that existed prior to mining activities. More information about coal remining is available at http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/guide/coal/ on the Internet.

3) EPA Makes Final Decision on Dioxin in Sewage Sludge

On December 21, 2001, EPA published its decision not to regulate dioxins in sewage sludge (biosolids) that is incinerated or placed in a surface disposal unit. EPA based its decision on an evaluation of the risk of exposure for people most likely to be exposed to dioxin from these sources. EPA concluded that existing regulations for incinerators, landfills, or containment ponds adequately protect human health and the environment by limiting exposure to pollutants, including dioxins. The Agency continues to discus the final schedule for issuing a separate decision for dioxin in sewage sludge that is land applied. For more information, visit http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/biosolids/ on the Internet.

4) EPA Office of Water Moves to New Location

EPA’s Office of Water has moved to its new location at 1201 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC, Room 3225. The new phone number is 202-564-5700. The mailing address is 1200 Pennsylvania, Ave., NW (Mail code 4101M), Washington, DC 20460.

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