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RCED-96-12R 1 (1995-11-21)

handle is hein.gao/gaobackzw0001 and id is 1 raw text is: I5E'7L 7 N ) United States (3 O General Accounting Office Washington, D.C. 20548 Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division B-265757 November 21, 1995 The Honorable William F. Clinger, Jr. Chairman, Committee on Government Reform and Oversight House of Representatives Dear Mr. Chairman: The Safe Drinking Water Act was enacted in 1974 to safeguard the nation's drinking water supplies and protect public health. Under the act, public water systems are required to test their water periodically to determine whether it meets the standards established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). When these water quality standards are exceeded, water systems must take measures to correct the problem, which could include installing treatment facilities or processes or taking other actions, such as drilling a new well. In recent years, the number and complexity of drinking water regulations have increased considerably as a result of the 1986 amendments to the act. According to EPA's estimates, the annual cost to the nation's water systems of complying with these regulations will reach $1.4 billion in 1995. Given these significant costs, there is increasing interest in finding ways to make the drinking water program more cost-effective and reduce the water systems' compliance costs. This report responds to your request for information on whether EPA, the states, and the public water systems have been able to use the flexibility available within the Safe Drinking Water Act to reduce compliance costs. Specifically, we are providing information on (1) the opportunities provided in the act and in EPA's implementing regulations to reduce compliance costs; (2) the extent to which the states and water systems are using the available flexibility and some of the barriers that prevent greater use; and (3) what the states, the water supply industry, and EPA suggest could be done to increase the flexibility of the existing program and hold down costs while still providing safe drinking water. GAO/RCED-96-12R, Flexibility in the Safe Drinking Water Act

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