[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 11, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 61269-61271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21857]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 141

[EPA-HQ-OW-2022-0801; FRL-10287-01-OW]


Notice of Public Meeting: Environmental Justice Considerations 
for the Development of the Proposed Lead and Copper Rule Improvements 
(LCRI)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting two 
identical

[[Page 61270]]

public meetings to discuss and solicit input on environmental justice 
considerations related to the development of the proposed Lead and 
Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) national primary drinking water 
regulation (NPDWR) under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). In the 
context of developing this proposed regulation, environmental justice 
considerations include the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of 
all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with 
respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of 
environmental laws, regulations, and policies with a particular focus 
on unique challenges faced by communities disproportionately burdened 
by environmental harms and risks. EPA is holding these meetings to 
share information and provide an opportunity for communities to offer 
input on environmental justice considerations for the development of 
the proposed LCRI. Information on how to register and request to speak 
during one of the meetings is detailed in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section of this announcement.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 15, 2022. The 
two identical public meetings will be held on October 25, 2022 (1 p.m. 
to 4 p.m., eastern time) and November 1, 2022 (5 p.m. to 8 p.m., 
eastern time). The public meetings will be held in an online-only 
format.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OW-2022-0801, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OW-2022-0801 for this action. Comments received may be 
posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov/, including any 
personal information provided. For detailed instructions on sending 
comments and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the 
``Public Participation'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section of this announcement.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zaineb Alattar, Standards and Risk 
Management Division, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, 
DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-9458; email address: 
[email protected]. For more information about the proposed LCRI NPDWR, 
visit: https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/lead-and-copper-rule-improvements.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Public Participation

    These online meetings will be open to the public and EPA encourages 
input and will provide opportunities for public engagement on 
environmental justice related to development of the proposed LCRI.

A. Written Comments

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No, EPA-HQ-OW-2022-
0801 at https://www.regulations.gov; see instructions identified in the 
ADDRESSES section of this announcement. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from the docket. EPA may publish any comment 
received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any 
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) 
or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 
Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a 
written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment 
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will 
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of 
the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing 
system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment 
policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general 
guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

B. Participation in Public Meeting

    Registration: Individuals planning to participate in either of the 
online public meetings must register at https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/lead-and-copper-rule-improvements no later 
than October 24, 2022, for the October 25, 2022, meeting and October 
31, 2022, for the November 1, 2022, meeting. Individuals are also 
invited to speak about environmental justice considerations for the 
proposed LCRI during the meetings. Those interested in speaking can 
sign-up to make brief verbal remarks as a part of their registration. 
EPA will do its best to include all those interested in attending and 
requesting verbal input but may have to limit attendance due to web 
conferencing size or limit verbal remarks due to meeting time 
limitations; therefore, EPA urges people to register early. Meeting 
information and web conferencing meeting details, including telephone 
call-in information, will be emailed to registered participants in 
advance of each of the meetings. If you have any questions about 
registering for the public meeting or need help joining, please email 
[email protected]. If you have additional questions or 
comments about the meeting, please email [email protected].
    Special Accommodations: For information on electronic access or 
accommodations for individuals with disabilities or other requested 
assistance (e.g., language translation), please contact Zaineb Alattar 
at (202) 564-9458 or by email at [email protected]. Please allow at least 
five business days prior to each of the meetings to give EPA time to 
process your request.

II. The Proposed LCRI National Primary Drinking Water Regulation

    Under SDWA, EPA sets public health goals and enforceable standards 
for drinking water quality. EPA initially addressed lead in drinking 
water through the original Lead and Copper Rule (LCR), an NPDWR 
promulgated in 1991 under SDWA. In January 2021, EPA issued the Lead 
and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) and subsequently reviewed those 
revisions to further evaluate the LCRR's protection of families and 
communities, particularly those that have been disproportionately 
impacted by lead in drinking water. In the LCRR Review, EPA identified 
the following priority areas for improvement: proactive and equitable 
lead service line replacement, strengthening compliance tap sampling to 
better identify communities most at risk of lead in drinking water and 
to compel lead reduction actions, and reducing the complexity of the 
regulation through improvement of the action and trigger level 
construct. On December 16, 2021, EPA announced it would propose a 
rulemaking (the LCRI) to address these improvements. For more 
information about the LCRR Review and the agency's decision to develop 
a proposed LCRI NPDWR, see ``Review of the National Primary Drinking 
Water Regulation: Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR)'' (86 FR 71574) 
(December 17, 2021). EPA intends to propose for public comment a new 
rule to revise the LCRR to advance the goals described above while 
balancing stakeholder interests and incorporating required economic, 
environmental justice, and other analyses. The agency intends to 
propose

[[Page 61271]]

the LCRI in 2023 and take final action by October 16, 2024.

Jennifer L. McLain,
Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water.
[FR Doc. 2022-21857 Filed 10-7-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


