The US EPA’s Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water released a memo (see below) on November 3 to address specific concerns regarding optimal corrosion control treatment implementations by large water utilities brought to light as a consequence of the Flint Water Crisis.
The memo states that a situation like Flint “rarely arises and the language of the LCR does not specifically discuss those circumstances.” Moreover, “it appears that there are differing possible interpretations of the LCR with respect to how the rule’s optimal corrosion control treatment procedures apply to this situation, which may have led to some uncertainty with respect to the Flint water system.”
The MDEQ released a statement stating:
Wurfel said in an email to The Flint Journal-MLive that the DEQ “welcomes this announcement from EPA, and we’ve already signaled to them that they can count on our full cooperation and transparency.”
“We’ve appreciated the federal government’s support on the situation in Flint –including its announcement last week that the Lead and Copper rule speaks ambiguously on the corrosion control issue,” Wurfel’s statement says.
Source: The Flint Journal
Lead and Copper Rule Requirements for Optimal Corrosion Control Treatment for Large Drinking Water Systems