Expedited Approval of Alternative Test Procedures for Contaminants
EPA is approving 99 alternative test procedures for contaminants listed in the drinking water regulations under the Safe Drinking Water Act. These procedures are as effective as the methods already established in the regulations for the same contaminants. Eighty-five of the methods are identical to previously-approved methods from earlier publications, and 14 represent new or modified methods. EPA is using the expedited method approval process, rather than using the notice-and-comment rulemaking process, so that these new, equally effective alternative methods will be available to stakeholders more quickly to test for contaminant concentrations in drinking water samples collected under the regulations. Approval time has been cut from several years to less than a year.
You can view or download the complete text of EPA's Federal Register final action notice published on June 3, 2008, at: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/methods/expedited.html. A listing of the methods approved using the expedited approval process can also be downloaded from this site or obtained from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).