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UCMR Update Issue
5
| The Turkey, Stuffing, and "Humble" Pie Issue |
EPA 815-N-02-002c, December 2002
UMCR Update Issue Number 5 - This information sheet, The UCMR
Update, is the fifth to be issued by the Technical Support Center (TSC)
of the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water (OGWDW). Future issues
will be distributed as needed to maintain information flow related to the
Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation (UCMR for those of you who
may have forgotten).
Editor's Note: As you all know, the past month featured the Thanksgiving
holiday. Before we rush head on into the end-of-year holidays, EPA would
like to reflect on the holiday that just occurred. In addition to eating
turkey, watching football, and falling asleep on the couch, this holiday
is a time to give thanks for the people that have played important roles
in one's life. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, EPA would like to offer
thanks to all the water systems, laboratories, state employees, and contractors
who have played an integral role in the implementation of the UCMR. This
is truly a co-operative effort and a large undertaking that could not
be accomplished without the help of all the dedicated people out there.
EPA has enjoyed working with all of you thus far and hopes to continue
that excellent co-operation as we head into the homestretch of this UCMR
cycle. Again, thank you all. Now, the fun. This issue features information
on the following:
I. The Great Reminder Letter Misunderstanding
of 2002
During late September/early October, many PWSs received letters from EPA
reminding them of their Assessment Monitoring (List 1) requirements under
the UCMR. These letters were sent to all systems that did not appear to
have reported any data to the Safe Drinking Water Accession and Review System
(SDWARS), as of September 6. This letter seems to have inspired more anger,
fear, and confusion than any event since Orson Welles read War of the
Worlds over the radio. As in the Welles instance, the reality of this
situation was very much misinterpreted. This was only a REMINDER letter.
It was not a VIOLATION letter. No one has been fined and no one is
going to jail (except for maybe me if I don't pay that parking ticket).
It was meant to prevent any PWSs from being out of compliance at the end
of 2003 by reminding them that they had yet to submit any data to SDWARS.
EPA apologizes to anyone who misunderstood the intent of the letter. As
a rule, EPA would much rather help people be in compliance with regulations
than pursue them with fines and other punishments.
Now, I know some of you are out there may be saying "(Fill in a suitable
swear word here), I sent my sample to the lab and they've already posted
the results for me!"
While it may be true that your lab has posted your results, they
cannot officially report UCMR data, unless they are designated as
a PWS representative. EPA wants to remind you that the PWS must review and
approve data posted by a lab, unless written consent has been given
to the lab to officially act on behalf of the PWS and approve data. This
requires a PWS sponsor letter, signed by the PWS official representative,
specifying an individual lab by their Central Data Exchange (CDX) User I.D.
as the approving official for the PWS. EPA cannot use any data in SDWARS
until it has been approved by the PWS.
In closing then, EPA apologizes for any confusion and looks forward to continuing
the strong co-operative working relationship that has thus far been displayed
throughout this UCMR cycle.
II. Disappearing Data
Some PWSs have complained that their data have seemed to vanish, simply
disappearing from SDWARS faster than the retirement savings in my IRA.
Don't worry!
While not lost, the data can disappear from a PWS's view after a period
of time. This occurs when a state enters SDWARS and marks the data received.
I know that some PWSs have expressed concerns that when they go to look
for old data that they know had been posted and approved, it is no longer
visible. If you have record of previously approving results, you can rest
assured that the data have been stored in the database. You may wonder,
"Why was this system set up this way?" SDWARS was developed
as a temporary reporting system used to "access and review"
monitoring results, not to permanently store all the information. These
data will be stored as a separate, final database set and will be publicly
accessible through the Internet. In addition, concerns over the volume
of data some users would continually "view" when conducting
a search prompted EPA to establish this type of system. However, to document
your approval of these data, EPA recommends that you print your results,
using your browser print function, after you have designated them as "approved".
To do this, repeat the same search used to generate the data table that
included results with a status of "PWS Hold" which have just
been approved, and print that table. You will notice immediately after
you have approved data and repeat the search, you no longer have access
to the "Status" field, since they are now approved for final
submission to EPA and the State, but you can still view these results.
Print this and keep this with your official compliance records for UCMR.
Following EPA and State review, these results are posted publicly on the
Web at: www.epa.gov/safewater/data/ucmrgetdata.html.
Who you Gonna Call?
If there's something wrong…with CDX or SDWARS. Who ya gonna call?
Ghostbusters? Well, maybe that's not such a bad idea, with data
disappearing like Slimer through a wall. All SDWARS related questions
should be directed to the toll free SDWARS Help Desk (1-888-890-1995).
If the Help Desk is not able to address all your concerns, please contact
the Infrastructure Branch (IB), the group responsible for SDWARS oversight.
The contact person is Roger Howard at 202-564-9907.
III. Aeromonas Systems
The following section applies only to those systems
that have been selected to participate in Screening Survey List 2-Aeromonas
monitoring. The rest of you may skip to Section IV, unless you really
can't get enough of the Update. In that case, read on!
Aeromonas Rule(s)!!
The long awaited Aeromonas
Rule has been signed and published. It is now available and should
keep the appetite sated of those who waited in anticipation for a new
piece of environmental legislation to chew on. This news may elicit yawns
from some, but trust me, this is BIG! First of all, it means that EPA
Method 1605 has been officially approved for the measurement of Aeromonas.
It also kicks off the beginning of a final Aeromonas Proficiency
Test (PT)
study. As you may recall from the last issue, any laboratory that wants
to participate in the analysis of Aeromonas samples for the UCMR
must pass an EPA PT for Method 1605.
Remember, only large PWSs selected for Aeromonas monitoring are
required to establish analytical contract support for this monitoring
from an EPA approved Aeromonas laboratory. If your system is depending
on a regularly contracted laboratory to pass this last PT, please be aware
that approximately 50% of labs have failed on their first attempt to pass
a PT study. As there will be no further PT's administered after December
2002 we suggest that you have a backup plan in the event that the lab
that you intend to contract with does not pass. A list of laboratories
that have already been approved for Aeromonas testing under the
UCMR is available on the Approved
Labs page.
Aeromonas Reporting Approach
Large Systems
On November 1, EPA sent out data collection sheets to all large PWSs that
are required to sample for Aeromonas. These arrived in the form
of e-mails to those systems for which EPA has an e-mail address, and by
U.S. mail to those systems that have not established an e-mail address
with EPA. Please note that you WILL NOT be reporting Aeromonas
results electronically via SDWARS. The system was not designed to handle
Aeromonas data. Besides, we didn't want to infect SDWARS with "bugs"
anyway.
The e-mail (and U.S. mail for that matter) that PWSs received should contain
9 attachments: An Aeromonas reporting standard operating procedure
(SOP), a reporting Technical Assistance (TA), an Aeromonas
Fact Sheet, and six Microsoft Excel™ spreadsheets corresponding
to each month in which the PWS is scheduled to sample. Please make sure
that you received the correct data reporting sheets for your PWS. If you
have not responded to EPA that you have received the e-mail, please do
so as we are tracking the responses to make sure that all sheets were
received.
Now for a few notes on how this system is going to work. First of all,
in the month prior to your scheduled sampling month, you should receive
an e-mail (or letter) reminding you that you are approaching your month
to sample for Aeromonas. It will also contain the data collection
sheet for that month (in case you lost it, your computer crashed, a dog
ate it, or you used it to line the bottom of the bird cage). You will
then sample at the three locations that you designated as the midpoint,
lowest disinfectant residual, and maximum residence time points in your
distribution system. Please note that all water quality parameter measurements
(temperature, pH, free chlorine and total chlorine) must be made in
the field, with the single exception of turbidity. Turbidity can be
measured in the field or in the lab, within 48 hours of collection. All
measurements must be taken by using approved methods as per the SOP and
TA sheet. You will then fill out the relevant portion of the spreadsheet.
The samples will then be sent to an EPA-approved Aeromonas lab
along with the data collection sheet. The samples must remain cold (1°
C to 10° C) and need to be sent overnight to the laboratory. Any collected
sample must be processed using EPA Method 1605 within 30 hours of the
collection time. The lab will test the samples for Aeromonas, fill
out the relevant portion of the data sheet, and send it back to the PWS
for review, approval and final submission to EPA. The next sampling month,
you should receive another e-mail (or letter) and the process will repeat
itself.
Any system that is currently receiving regular mail notices and would
like to receive e-mail notices can contact Cory Wagner at 513-569-7932.
Small Systems
It's a slightly different ball game for you guys. EPA has contracted with
the Great Lakes Environmental Center (GLEC) to assist you with the Aeromonas
sampling efforts. EPA has also contracted labs that will be performing the
analysis for you and reporting the results to EPA.
In December 2002, a step-by-step video of the sampling process will be sent
to small PWSs. (I'll bet you can't wait to throw some popcorn in the microwave
for that one! What's better than chestnuts roasting on the open fire, Jack
Frost nipping at your nose, and a good old-fashioned sampling video?) Then,
in the first month in which you are to sample, you will receive a kit from
GLEC with instructions to assist you. This will include sample bottles,
U-TEK™ freeze packs and a comprehensive water quality monitoring tool
kit (including a nifty hand-held colorimeter to measure free and total chlorine,
a pH probe, and a thermometer), a cooler to transport the packs and samples,
completed FedEx airbills to the laboratory and sampling instructions. The
cooler and water quality parameter kit are yours for the duration of the
Aeromonas sampling. Please don't lose it or break them. At the end
of the sampling period, EPA will be asking for you to return the cooler
and kit. (The video is yours to keep in the event that you become nostalgic
for the old UCMR Cycle 1 days. Good times, good times.)
The video and instructions will help you to sample and collect the water
quality parameters. Should you still have concerns, GLEC can provide on-site
support for the first sample month to assist you. This on-site support is
a one-time deal though. The next sample month, you will receive a sample
kit only, and be expected to proceed from there. Piece of cake!
States, Regions, and Laboratories Participating in
Aeromonas Monitoring
The participating states, EPA regional offices, and Aeromonas laboratories
should also have received an e-mail or a letter containing the SOP, the
TA, and a sample data collection sheet that represents what the water
systems received. This was done to assist those states that are sampling
for their affected water systems and to keep all parties in the loop.
Any assistance you can provide the water systems, especially the small
systems, will be much appreciated.
IV. Important Dates
January 1, 2003:
- Beginning of the final year of Assessment Monitoring under the current
UCMR cycle.
- First sample month for Option 1 Large and Small Aeromonas systems.
Feburary 1, 2003:
- First sample month for Option 2 Large and Small Aeromonas systems.
March 1, 2003:
- First sample month for Option 3 Large and Small Aeromonas systems.
V. Contact Information:
A general reminder to laboratories and PWSs: when contacting EPA about
UCMR issues, please use your USEPA Lab ID number or PWSID number, respectively.
General UCMR questions may be directed to the Drinking
Water Hotline at:
1-800-426-4791
Questions regarding registration for or use of the SDWARS/UCMR
reporting
system may be directed to the SDWARS Help Desk at:
1-888-890-1995
Correspondence with TSC may be directed to:
UCMR Coordinator
Technical Support Center (MS-140)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
26 W. Martin Luther King Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45268
Fax: 513-569-7191
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