Authority Over Water: Jurisdiction and Regulations

Jurisdiction

Drinking water is within the responsibilities of the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This agency creates regulations establishing standards for safe drinking water. Other federal agencies that may conduct studies or otherwise influence these standards through research or discussion include the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

States also establish some standards where there are no federal standards established, or can establish stricter standards than the federal standards if they wish. At a state level, responsibility for ensuring that drinking water meets all standards lies both with the state Department of the Environment (states have different names for their particular version of this agency) and with the state Department or Board of Health. The specific breakdown of responsibilities varies from state to state.

Regulations

Regulations exists for many aspects of water systems, from how connections are established to how rate structures must work to how often water quality tests must be conducted and what should be tested for.

In Rhode Island, HEALTH enforces the majority of these regulations. There is a long list of regulated contaminants for which water suppliers must test. Some contaminants must be tested for on a regular basis. This time frame could be weekly, or up to every 5 years. Other contaminants are tested for when a new well is drilled and for a prescribed period of time afterwards. If the contaminant is not found, the frequency of testing for that contaminant can decrease. There is also a list of unregulated contaminants (the group to which MTBE belongs), which have advisory levels set but are not regulated under legislation (2).

Example: Rhode Island
In Rhode Island, the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and the Department of Health (HEALTH) share responsibility for water, along with the state Water Resources Board (WRB).
WRB: water allocation
DEM: pollution, cleanup
HEALTH: compliance with water quality standards

Example: MTBE in Rhode Island
MTBE, as an unregulated contaminant, needs to be tested for when a well is first drilled. After this first test, tests are performed quarterly (or every 3 months) for a year. If no MTBE is found, no tests need to be performed for several more years after this. The advisory limit for MTBE in drinking water in Rhode Island is 40 ppb.

What is MTBE, anyway?