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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 300g-7. Monitoring of contaminants
(a) Interim monitoring relief authority
(1) In general
A State exercising primary enforcement responsibility for
public water systems may modify the monitoring requirements for
any regulated or unregulated contaminants for which monitoring is
required other than microbial contaminants (or indicators
thereof), disinfectants and disinfection byproducts or corrosion
byproducts for an interim period to provide that any public water
system serving 10,000 persons or fewer shall not be required to
conduct additional quarterly monitoring during an interim relief
period for such contaminants if -
(A) monitoring, conducted at the beginning of the period for
the contaminant concerned and certified to the State by the
public water system, fails to detect the presence of the
contaminant in the ground or surface water supplying the public
water system; and
(B) the State, considering the hydrogeology of the area and
other relevant factors, determines in writing that the
contaminant is unlikely to be detected by further monitoring
during such period.
(2) Termination; timing of monitoring
The interim relief period referred to in paragraph (1) shall
terminate when permanent monitoring relief is adopted and
approved for such State, or at the end of 36 months after August
6, 1996, whichever comes first. In order to serve as a basis for
interim relief, the monitoring conducted at the beginning of the
period must occur at the time determined by the State to be the
time of the public water system's greatest vulnerability to the
contaminant concerned in the relevant ground or surface water,
taking into account in the case of pesticides the time of
application of the pesticide for the source water area and the
travel time for the pesticide to reach such waters and taking
into account, in the case of other contaminants, seasonality of
precipitation and contaminant travel time.
(b) Permanent monitoring relief authority
(1) In general
Each State exercising primary enforcement responsibility for
public water systems under this subchapter and having an approved
source water assessment program may adopt, in accordance with
guidance published by the Administrator, tailored alternative
monitoring requirements for public water systems in such State
(as an alternative to the monitoring requirements for chemical
contaminants set forth in the applicable national primary
drinking water regulations) where the State concludes that (based
on data available at the time of adoption concerning
susceptibility, use, occurrence, or wellhead protection, or from
the State's drinking water source water assessment program) such
alternative monitoring would provide assurance that it complies
with the Administrator's guidelines. The State program must be
adequate to assure compliance with, and enforcement of,
applicable national primary drinking water regulations.
Alternative monitoring shall not apply to regulated
microbiological contaminants (or indicators thereof),
disinfectants and disinfection byproducts, or corrosion
byproducts. The preceding sentence is not intended to limit other
authority of the Administrator under other provisions of this
subchapter to grant monitoring flexibility.
(2) Guidelines
(A) In general
The Administrator shall issue, after notice and comment and
at the same time as guidelines are issued for source water
assessment under section 300j-13 of this title, guidelines for
States to follow in proposing alternative monitoring
requirements under paragraph (1) for chemical contaminants. The
Administrator shall publish such guidelines in the Federal
Register. The guidelines shall assure that the public health
will be protected from drinking water contamination. The
guidelines shall require that a State alternative monitoring
program apply on a contaminant-by-contaminant basis and that,
to be eligible for such alternative monitoring program, a
public water system must show the State that the contaminant is
not present in the drinking water supply or, if present, it is
reliably and consistently below the maximum contaminant level.
(B) Definition
For purposes of subparagraph (A), the phrase "reliably and
consistently below the maximum contaminant level" means that,
although contaminants have been detected in a water supply, the
State has sufficient knowledge of the contamination source and
extent of contamination to predict that the maximum contaminant
level will not be exceeded. In determining that a contaminant
is reliably and consistently below the maximum contaminant
level, States shall consider the quality and completeness of
data, the length of time covered and the volatility or
stability of monitoring results during that time, and the
proximity of such results to the maximum contaminant level.
Wide variations in the analytical results, or analytical
results close to the maximum contaminant level, shall not be
considered to be reliably and consistently below the maximum
contaminant level.
(3) Effect of detection of contaminants
The guidelines issued by the Administrator under paragraph (2)
shall require that if, after the monitoring program is in effect
and operating, a contaminant covered by the alternative
monitoring program is detected at levels at or above the maximum
contaminant level or is no longer reliably or consistently below
the maximum contaminant level, the public water system must
either -
(A) demonstrate that the contamination source has been
removed or that other action has been taken to eliminate the
contamination problem; or
(B) test for the detected contaminant pursuant to the
applicable national primary drinking water regulation.
(4) States not exercising primary enforcement responsibility
The Governor of any State not exercising primary enforcement
responsibility under section 300g-2 of this title on August 6,
1996, may submit to the Administrator a request that the
Administrator modify the monitoring requirements established by
the Administrator and applicable to public water systems in that
State. After consultation with the Governor, the Administrator
shall modify the requirements for public water systems in that
State if the request of the Governor is in accordance with each
of the requirements of this subsection that apply to alternative
monitoring requirements established by States that have primary
enforcement responsibility. A decision by the Administrator to
approve a request under this clause shall be for a period of 3
years and may subsequently be extended for periods of 5 years.
(c) Treatment as NPDWR
All monitoring relief granted by a State to a public water system
for a regulated contaminant under subsection (a) or (b) of this
section shall be treated as part of the national primary drinking
water regulation for that contaminant.
(d) Other monitoring relief
Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the
authority of the States under applicable national primary drinking
water regulations to alter monitoring requirements through waivers
or other existing authorities. The Administrator shall periodically
review and, as appropriate, revise such authorities.
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