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Summary:
In 1996, Congress directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to propose a new standard for arsenic in drinking water by January 1, 2000, and to issue a final standard by January 1, 2001. Congress also directed EPA, with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), to study arsenicÕs health effects to reduce the uncertainty in assessing health risks associated with exposure to low levels of arsenic. EPA issued the current standard of 50 parts per billion (ppb) in 1975. In 1999, the NAS concluded that the standard did not achieve EPAÕs goals for public health protection and recommended that it be tightened as soon as possible. On June 22, 2000, EPA proposed a revised standard of 5 ppb and projected that compliance could be costly for small communities. A question of ongoing scientific debate concerned whether significant adverse health effects occur from ingesting arsenic at very low levels. Because EPA proposed the rule nearly 6 months late, some stakeholders expressed concern that the Agency would not have time to evaluate public comments and complete analyses before issuing a final rule. On January 22, the final rule, which set the standard at 10 ppb, was published in the Federal Register with a general effective date of March 23, 2001; public water systems were given until 2006 to meet the new standard. On May 22, EPA extended a previous 60-day delay of the ruleÕs effective date to February 22, 2002 in order to reassess risk and cost issues associated with the new rule. The 2006 compliance date for water systems remains unchanged. In response to EPAÕs action, the House and Senate each approved arsenic amendments to their FY2002 appropriations bills for EPA (H.R. 2620). This report reviews EPAÕs efforts to develop a new arsenic rule and summarizes key provisions and subsequent events.
