EPA: Utilities should divulge tap water contents
February 11, 1998
Web posted at: 2:00 p.m. EST (1900 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
on Wednesday proposed rules -- expected to become final later
this year -- that would require water utilities to list
chemicals and potential contaminants in local tap water.
All but the smallest of the nation's 56,000 municipal, state
and regional water utilities would provide annual reports on
what the water contains and whether it meets federal health
standards.
"The new information will provide consumers with a snapshot
of the current state of their local drinking water supply,"
EPA Administrator Carol Browner said at a news conference.
The EPA initiative apparently faces little opposition from
drinking-water providers. Alan Roberson, spokesman for the
American Water Works Association, said member utilities were
"generally supportive" of the EPA proposals.
AWWA supported the Safe Drinking Water Act, the 1997
legislation that asked the EPA to establish new right-to-know
rules for drinking water.
Roberson said the cost to utilities of providing the
additional information would be minimal.
The proposals face a 45-day comment period. Final
regulations are expected in August and would take effect in
late 1998 or early 1999. The agency said consumers probably
would not receive the detailed information in their water
bills until later in 1999.
The annual reports would be included with water bills, except
in cases of systems serving fewer than 10,000 customers. In
those cases the information could be posted at a central
location or put into local newspapers.