Implementing the Third Cycle of the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR3)
Oral Presentation
Prepared by D. Hautman
USEPA/OW/OGWDW/TSC, 26 W. Martin Luther King Dr., MS-140, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45268, United States
Contact Information: [email protected]; 513-569-7274
ABSTRACT
The 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) require that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) establish criteria for a program to monitor unregulated contaminants and publish a list of up to 30 contaminants to be monitored every five years. On May 2, 2012, EPA published the third Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR3), listing monitoring and reporting requirements for 28 chemical contaminants and two viruses. UCMR3 provides EPA and other interested parties with scientifically valid data on the occurrence of these contaminants in drinking water, the population potentially exposed and the levels of that exposure. These data are one of the primary sources of occurrence and exposure information the agency uses to develop regulatory decisions for these contaminants. The UCMR3 monitoring period began January 2013 and continues until December 2015. EPA maintains direct regulatory implementation responsibilities for UCMR3 with significant assistance from partnering states. This presentation provides an update on UCMR3 implementation activities, reviews the comprehensive laboratory approval and oversight program, highlights established QA/QC protocols for data review, and discusses successes and challenges as the program passes the mid-point of the monitoring period.
Oral Presentation
Prepared by D. Hautman
USEPA/OW/OGWDW/TSC, 26 W. Martin Luther King Dr., MS-140, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45268, United States
Contact Information: [email protected]; 513-569-7274
ABSTRACT
The 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) require that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) establish criteria for a program to monitor unregulated contaminants and publish a list of up to 30 contaminants to be monitored every five years. On May 2, 2012, EPA published the third Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR3), listing monitoring and reporting requirements for 28 chemical contaminants and two viruses. UCMR3 provides EPA and other interested parties with scientifically valid data on the occurrence of these contaminants in drinking water, the population potentially exposed and the levels of that exposure. These data are one of the primary sources of occurrence and exposure information the agency uses to develop regulatory decisions for these contaminants. The UCMR3 monitoring period began January 2013 and continues until December 2015. EPA maintains direct regulatory implementation responsibilities for UCMR3 with significant assistance from partnering states. This presentation provides an update on UCMR3 implementation activities, reviews the comprehensive laboratory approval and oversight program, highlights established QA/QC protocols for data review, and discusses successes and challenges as the program passes the mid-point of the monitoring period.
