EPA Releases Draft Stage 2 DBP Implementation Guidance
On June 23, EPA announced on its Web site the release of a draft guidance that will help regional offices and states with implementation of the Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts rule's (Stage 2 DBP) provisions.
Along with a summary of the rule, this document contains guidance for preparing state primary enforcement authority (primacy) revision applications, rule fact sheets, a quick reference guide and flowcharts illustrating rule requirements.
The Stage 2 DBP rule builds upon earlier rules that addressed disinfection byproducts to improve drinking water quality and provide additional public health protection from disinfection byproducts (see http://www.epa.gov/safewater/stage2/index.html for more information). This rule is part of a series of rules, the "Microbial-Disinfectants/Disinfection Byproducts Cluster" (MDBP Cluster), which is intended to improve control of microbial pathogens while minimizing public health risks of disinfectants and disinfection byproducts (DBPs). The Stage 2 DBP builds upon the Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts rule (Stage 1 DBP) by addressing the health risks of DBPs in community water systems (CWSs) and nontransient noncommunity water systems (NTNCWSs) that add a primary or residual disinfectant other than ultraviolet light (UV) or deliver water that has been treated with a primary or residual disinfectant other than UV.
According to the guidance, EPA is developing five technical guidance manuals to support the Stage 2 DBP. These manuals will aid EPA, state agencies and affected public water systems in implementing this rule and will help ensure that the implementation among these groups is consistent.
The agency also stated that presentations for use in Stage 2 DBP workshops will be available in PowerPoint format on EPA's Web site: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/disinfection/stage2/index.html.
The draft guidance can be accessed at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/disinfection/stage2/pdfs/guide_stage2_implementationmanual_draft.pdf.