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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced in an October 12th Federal Register notice the approval of alternative testing methods for use in:

• measuring the levels of contaminants in drinking water; and
• determining compliance with Safe Drinking Water Act (“SDWA”) National Primary Drinking Water regulations.

See 83 Fed. Reg. 51636.

The SDWA authorizes EPA to approve the use of alternative testing methods in certain circumstances.

EPA published a final rule in the October 12th Federal Register notice that approves 100 analytical methods for determining contaminant concentration in drinking water samples collected under the SDWA. The federal agency says that regulated entities required to sample and monitor may use either the testing methods that have already been established in existing SDWA National Primary Drinking Water regulations or the alternative testing methods approved in the October 12th Federal Register notice.

The new methods identified in the October 12th Federal Register notice are listed with other methods that have also been approved through previous expedited actions in 40 C.F.R. Part 141, Appendix A to subpart C and the EPA’s drinking water website at https://www.epa.gov/dwanalyticalmethods.

A copy of the Federal Register notice can be found here.