Announcement of Stakeholder Meeting To Address Environmental

[Matthew DiMatteo <md@cleanstart.com>]

I thought some users of this group may want to participate in the 
following event:

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>ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

>

>[FRL-5973-8]

>

>Announcement of Stakeholder Meeting To Address Environmental 

>Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations in Regard To 

>Implementing the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996

>

>AGENCY: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

>

>ACTION: Notice of stakeholders meeting.

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>

>SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be holding 

>a simultaneous, one day public meeting via videoconference call in 

>eleven cities on March 12, 1998. The purposes of this meeting are to 

>identify issues and solicit input from stakeholders and the public at 

>large on environmental justice related considerations of several 

>proposed drinking water regulations. This meeting is being held as part 

>of the Agency's effort to comply with Executive Order 12898. President 

>Clinton signed Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to Address 

>Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income 

>Populations, on February 11, 1994. The Executive Order increased Agency 

>responsibilities such that, to the greatest extent practicable and 

>permitted by law, each Federal Agency must make achieving environmental 

>justice part of its mission by identifying and addressing 

>disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental 

>effects of its programs, policies, and activities on minority 

>populations and low-income populations in the United States and its 

>territories. In order to fulfill its responsibilities to Executive 

>Order 12898, EPA would like to have a dialogue with stakeholders and 

>the public on the various components of pending drinking water 

>regulations, including treatment; costs; benefits; data quality; health 

>effects; the regulatory process; and impacts to sensitive 

>subpopulations, minority populations, and low-income populations. EPA 

>is seeking input from national, state, Tribal, municipal, and 

>individual stakeholders. This meeting is a

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>continuation of stakeholder meetings that started in 1995 to obtain 

>input on the Agency's Drinking Water Program. These meetings were 

>initiated as part of the Drinking Water Program Redirection efforts to 

>help refocus EPA's drinking water priorities and to support strong, 

>flexible partnerships among EPA, States, Tribes, local governments, and 

>the public. At the upcoming meeting, EPA is specifically seeking input 

>from stakeholders focused on issues related to environmental justice. 

>EPA encourages the full participation of all stakeholders throughout 

>this process.

>

>DATES: This stakeholder meeting will be held on Thursday, March 12, 

>1998 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST. It will be held simultaneously 

>in eleven cities across the United States via videoconference call.

>

>    Registration: To register for the meeting, please contact the name 

>next to the city in which you plan to attend the meeting. Those 

>registered for the meeting by Wednesday, March 4, 1998 will receive an 

>agenda, logistics sheet, and background materials for the different 

>regulations prior to the meeting. The following information contains 

>the meeting location and contact name and phone number for registration 

>in each city.

>

>EPA Region 1, One Congress St., 10th Floor, Boston, MA 02203-0001: 

>Rhona Julien, 617/565-9454.

>EPA Region 2, 290 Broadway, 26th Floor, New York, NY, 10007: Wanda 

>Ayala, 212/637-3660.

>OSWERNJ, Edison Division of Science and Assessment, 2890 Woodbridge 

>Ave., Edison, NJ 08837: Wanda Ayala, 212/637-3660.

>EPA Region 3, 841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107: Reggie 

>Harris, 215/566-2988. (Philadelphia will be on conference call only)

>EPA Region 4, 100 Alabama St., SW, Atlanta, GA 30303: Natalie 

>Ellington, 404/562-9453.

>EPA Region 5, 77 West Jackson, Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604-3507: Karla 

>Johnson, 312/886-5993.

>EPA Region 6, First Interstate Bank at Fountain Place, 1445 Ross Ave., 

>12th Floor, Suite 1200, Dallas, TX 75202-2733: Shirley Augurson, 214/

>665-7401.

>EPA Region 7, 726 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, KS 66101: Althea Moses, 

>913/551-7649.

>EPA Region 8, 999 18th St., Suite 500, Denver, CO 80202-2405: Nancy 

>Reish, 303/312-6040.

>EPA Region 9, 75 Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105: Loretta 

>Vanegas, 415/744-1946.

>EPA Headquarters, Auditorium, 401 M St., SW, Washington, DC 20460: Safe 

>Drinking Water Hotline, 1-800-426-4791.

>

>SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

>

>A. Background

>

>    Under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments of 1996, EPA 

>must develop regulations for several contaminants and develop 

>regulatory tools for more thorough analyses. The 1996 SDWA amendments 

>require that new regulations be developed so as to ensure that they 

>represent a meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction. Also 

>required is a detailed analysis of the relationship to: health impacts, 

>including those to sensitive subgroups; impacts of other contaminants; 

>treatment objectives; incremental impacts above a baseline that 

>considers current regulations; uncertainty; and affordability. EPA must 

>also consider the impact on the technical, financial, and managerial 

>capacity of water systems. In so doing, EPA must also use the best 

>available, peer reviewed science and methods. After first defining a 

>maximum contaminant level (MCL), or treatment technique standard based 

>on affordable technology, EPA must determine whether the costs of that 

>standard would be justified by the benefits. If not, EPA may adjust an 

>MCL to a level that maximizes health risk reduction benefits at a cost 

>that is justified by the benefits. The authority to adjust the MCL has 

>limits that also require evaluation. The SDWA also requires that 

>comprehensive, informative, and understandable information be provided 

>to the public.

>

>    The upcoming meeting deals specifically with EPA's efforts to 

>develop new regulations for specific drinking water contaminants and 

>the processes involved in developing them. EPA is to propose a Maximum 

>Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) and National Primary Drinking Water 

>Standards (NPDWSs) for radon by August 1999, and propose a NPDWS for 

>arsenic by January 2000. EPA will revise and strengthen the 1989 

>Surface Water Treatment Rule and is required to have the Interim 

>Enhanced Surface Water Treatment and Stage 1 Disinfection Byproducts 

>Rules (DBPR) finalized by November 1998, and the Ground Water 

>Disinfection Rule (GWDR) proposed by March 1999. EPA must also issue 

>regulations to address filter backwash recycling and a Long Term 

>Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule. These rules are to control 

>microbial pathogens, disinfectants and disinfection byproducts (DBPs) 

>in drinking water. Regulatory impact analysis (cost-benefit analysis) 

>is also addressed in SDWA and will be discussed at the meeting.

>

>B. Request for Stakeholder Involvement

>

>    EPA has announced this public meeting to hear the views of 

>stakeholders on EPA's plans for proposed regulations for radon, ground 

>water disinfection, surface water treatment, arsenic, and approaches 

>for enacting regulatory cost and benefit analysis.

>

>    Dated: February 20, 1998.

>Elizabeth R. Fellows,

>Acting Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, 

>Environmental Protection Agency.

>[FR Doc. 98-5557 Filed 3-3-98; 8:45 am]

>BILLING CODE 6560-50-F

>

>

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Matthew M. DiMatteo

Clean-Start Properties Unlimited

Business Development Representative

email: md@cleanstart.com

phone: (401) 728-6860

fax:   (401) 727-1849

URL:  www.cleanstart.com

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