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EPA Seeks Public Input on New York City Drinking Water Decision; Agency is Seeking Input from the Public as it Evaluates the Future of the City’s Ability to Avoid Filtering Cat/Del

Release Date: 05/18/2001
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(#01057) New York, New York – As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency evaluates whether New York City can continue to avoid filtering drinking water from its Catskill/Delaware water supply system, the Agency is seeking public comment. This input will assist EPA as it reviews the city’s current watershed protection programs and assesses whether these and future efforts will be effective enough to protect the health of the more than 9 million people that drink the water from the Catskill/Delaware system. EPA’s goal is to make this decision in April 2002. The federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requires that all drinking water taken from surface water sources, such as lakes, streams and reservoirs, be filtered to remove microbial contaminants. However, if the water supplier can demonstrate it meets strict water quality, operational and watershed control criteria, the SDWA allows EPA to grant a filtration waiver. In 1992, the city sought a waiver from the SDWA’s filtration requirement for the Catskill/Delaware portion of its system. EPA granted the waiver and issued a filtration avoidance determination (FAD) in 1993. The FAD, which requires the city to undertake numerous programs designed to protect the drinking water by controlling pollution before it reaches surface waters, has been periodically re-evaluated and updated by EPA. The FAD was last updated in April 1997, and additional requirements were included to protect the water. In May 2000, EPA completed a mid-course review of the city’s compliance with the requirements of the FAD and prepared a report identifying successes, corrections and improvements that must be made, and opportunities for enhancements. Overall, EPA found that New York City has made significant progress in protecting the Catskill/Delaware watershed, but it must step up its efforts to avoid being required to filter its water in the long-term. EPA will use the mid-course review and will consider the steps that city has taken since in its current re-evaluation of the success of the entire 1997 FAD to determine if the city can continue to  protect the water without filtration and, if so, to determine what, if any, other requirements the FAD should contain. As part of the current process, EPA will hold a series of information sessions to seek input from the public and stakeholders as it reviews the city’s current watershed protection program and prepares to make its next filtration decision. In addition, EPA welcomes input via mail and e-mail through July 31, 2001. Email comments to Jeff Gratz. The meetings will be held : Wednesday, June 13, 2001 -- 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm County Office Building 111 Main Street Delhi, NY 13753 607-746-2603 Thursday, June 14, 2001 -- 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm Onteoro Jr/Sr High School State Route 28 Boiceville, NY 12412 845-657-2373 Monday, June 18, 2001 -- 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm Mount Kisco Library 100 E. Main Street Mount Kisco, NY 10549 914-666-8041 Wednesday, June 27, 2001 -- 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 290 Broadway - 27th Floor, Room D New York, NY 10007 212-637-4026 For more information about the May 2000 mid-course review and the programs in place to protect New York City’s drinking water visit New York City Watershed page.   EPA’s draft determination, which will likely be released this winter, will be subject to a formal public comment period before being finalized in the spring.