WaterNews for October 21, 1999
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:
- EPA Proposes New Standards To Protect Public Health From
Radon In Drinking Water And Indoor Air
- Most Americans Receive Their First Local Drinking Water
Reports
- House Hears Testimony on EPA's Drinking Water Research
Program
- Comment Period on Proposed TMDL Rules and Guidance Extended
- 60 Day Comment Period Begins on Hypoxia Integrated Assessment
1. EPA Proposes New Standards To Protect Public Health
From Radon In
Drinking Water And Indoor Air
On October 19, EPA proposed new public health standards to protect the
public from exposure to radon in drinking water. The proposal provides
states with flexibility in how to limit the public's exposure to radon by
allowing states to focus their efforts on the greatest public health risks
from radon-those in indoor air-while also reducing the risks from radon
in
drinking water. To view the proposed drinking water rule for radon, visit
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/radon/proposal.html
on the Internet.
2. Most Americans Receive Their First Local Drinking Water
Reports
As of October 19, most Americans should have received their first
annual drinking water quality report from their local supplier, providing
them with information on the safety and quality of their local drinking
water. A right-to-know provision of the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act
Amendments, the nation's 55,000 drinking water suppliers must now
deliver the informative reports to their customers annually. Called
Consumer Confidence Reports, these annual reports will provide
consumers, for the first time, with information about what is in their local
drinking water, where it comes from, and what they can do to help
protect it.
Visit EPA's local drinking water website at
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo.htm
on the Internet which links to
over 300 reports serving nearly 100 million people.
3. House Hears Testimony on EPA's Drinking Water Research
Program
Dr. Noreen Noonan, EPA Assistant Administrator for Research and
Development and Cynthia Dougherty, Director of EPA's Office of Ground
Water and Drinking Water jointly testified before the House Subcommittee
on Health and Environment of the Committee on Commerce on EPA's
drinking water research program. They provided an update on the
status of EPA's research program to support the implementation of the
Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996. They also discussed the
activities that have been initiated in recent months to assess future
drinking water research needs and resource requirements, to improve
internal tracking mechanisms, and to further strengthen our interactions
with stakeholders.
To read the testimony, visit
http://www.epa.gov/ocirpage/testimony/102099nncd.htm
on the Internet.
4. Comment Period on Proposed TMDL Rules and Guidance
Extended
The comment period on the proposed Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)
regulations and guidance will be extended an additional 30 days to
January 20, 2000. EPA will be holding two additional public meetings on
the proposal in New England and Seattle. For more information on the
proposed TMDL rules and guidance, and details regarding the public
meetings, visit the TMDL Proposed Rules web page at
http://www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl/proprule.html
on the Internet.
5. 60 Day Comment Period Begins on Hypoxia Integrated
Assessment
EPA and NOAA are requesting public comments on an integrated
assessment of the causes and consequences of hypoxia in the Gulf of
Mexico. The Integrated Assessment was prepared by the Gulf of
Mexico Hypoxia Working Group under the auspices of the National
Science and Technology Council's Committee on Environment and Natural
Resources. The Integrated Assessment, as well as the six underlying
scientific reports, can be found at http://www.epa.gov/msbasin/
on the
Internet.
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TRY OUR OTHER WEBSITES: Learn more about contaminated sediments
on EPA's contaminated sediments website at
http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/cs/aboutcs/
on the Internet.
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