Stage 2 Microbial and Disinfection Byproducts Federal Advisory Committee Agreement in Principle

The purpose of today's notice is to make available to the public recommendations to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency contained in the Stage 2 Microbial and Disinfection Byproducts (M-DBP) Federal Advisory Committee Agreement in Principle (Agreement) that was signed in September 2000. The Stage 2 M-DBP rules are a set of interrelated drinking water regulations which address risks from microbial pathogens and disinfection byproducts (DBPs). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) convened the Stage 2 M-DBP Federal Advisory Committee (Committee) to collect, share, and analyze information that has become available since promulgation of the Stage 1 M-DBP rules in December 1998. The purpose of the Committee was to evaluate whether and to what degree USEPA should establish revised or additional DBP and microbial standards to protect public health. The Committee consisted of organizational members representing USEPA, public interest groups, State and local public health and regulatory agencies, local elected officials, Indian tribes, drinking water suppliers, and chemical and equipment manufacturers. Recommendations from the Committee are contained in the Agreement in Principle which is provided below. This Agreement is the result of a tremendous collaborative effort and USEPA would like to express its appreciation to all members of the Committee, as well as to members of the Technical Workgroup (TWG) which supported the Committee.