The U.S. EPA has announced its intention to increase oversight of state drinking water programs in light of the crisis occurring in Flint, Michigan. Federal officials will meet with and work with each state agency to improve their implementation of the EPA’s existing rules aimed at controlling lead and copper in drinking water. Drinking water standards are set by the federal government pursuant to the authority of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA); however, authority to implement the terms of the SDWA has been largely delegated to individual states. The U.S. EPA has set a new priority on assisting states… Read more
Tag: Drinking Water
New E. Coli Drinking Water Standard Proposed by EPA
Posted by Jessica Lee Reece (jreece@sgrlaw.com) The U.S. EPA has announced that it will switch its indicator standard for fecal contamination of public water systems from fecal coliform to e. coli. In a proposed rule entitled the “National Primary Drinking Water Regulations: Revisions to the Total Coliform Rule,” EPA proposes to establish a maximum contaminant level of zero e. coli bacteria in drinking water. EPA states that e. coli is a “more restricted group of coliform bacteria that almost always originate in the human or animal gut” and therefore is a better indicator of fecal contamination than fecal coliform. Drinking… Read more