Regulating the Quality of Water
by J. David Aiken
Environmental Law Specialist
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
The Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 (SDWA) regulates the quality of water coming out of the tap. It requires public water suppliers (i.e. communities) to test water periodically and to supply water meeting U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) drinking water standards/maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) to customers.
When communities violate an MCL, they must either obtain a new clean water source (i.e. drill a new well) or remove contaminants through advanced water treatment. The community must also provide bottled drinking water to susceptible population (e.g. nursing mothers or the elderly). The SDWA is administered in Nebraska by the Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services.
Nitrate contamination (principally from fertilizer) has been the biggest SDWA challenge facing Nebraska communities.
The SDWA also includes (1) the wellhead protection area program, under which the land around public water wellfields may be subject to local zoning regulations to prevent wellfield contamination; (2) the underground injection control program, under which injection wells (e.g. oil and gas wells, waste disposal wells, etc.) are regulated; and (3) the sole source aquifer program, under which EPA can designate an aquifer as a sole source aquifer and regulate federal activities harming the aquifer.
When EPA establishes a new MCL, EPA must also establish a water treatment practice that will allow large and small communities to achieve the drinking water standard in a cost-effective way. Historically EPA has considered communities of 50,000 as small communities, and most EPA treatment technologies have proven to be unaffordable for communities of 1,000 or less (which would be most Nebraska communities). Consequently the SDWA was amended in 1996 to make it more small community friendly.
In establishing water treatment standards it must include affordable treatment standards for three categories of small communities: those with populations of 3,301-10,000; 501-3,300; and 26-500. Treatment technologies may include approved point of use treatment systems, (i.e. in-home water treatment equipment). In addition, the public health benefits of meeting new MCLs must justify their compliance costs. Finally, it is easier for smaller communities with populations of 26-3,300 (and in some cases communities up to 10,000) to receive variances and exemptions.
While the SDWA attempts to strike an appropriate balance between public health protection and compliance costs, many Nebraskans believe it still has a ways to go. Nebraska representatives in Congress have been in the forefront in adopting the 1996 SDWA amendments. Expect Nebraska members of Congress to continue to lead in further reforming the SDWA to make it a more cost-effective program for protecting public health.
