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Transmittal - 11/2/2022 ERIN MENDENHALL MAYOR LAURA BRIEFER, DIRECTOR DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES CITY COUNCIL TRANSMITTAL _______________________ Date Received: ___________ Lisa Shaffer, Chief Administrative Officer Date sent to Council: _______ __________________________________________________________________ TO: Salt Lake City Council DATE: November 2, 2022 Dan Dugan, Chair FROM: Laura Briefer, Director LJB Department of Public Utilities SUBJECT: Safe Drinking Water Act Lead and Copper Rule Changes STAFF CONTACTS: Laura Briefer, Director, SLCDPU 801.483.6741, laura.briefer@slcgov.com. Marian Rice, Deputy Director, SLCDPU 801.483.6765, marian.rice@slcgov.com. Teresa Gray, Water Quality & Treatment Administrator, SLCDPU 801.483.6744, teresa.gray@slcgov.com. Dustin White, Regulatory Program Manager, SLCDPU 801,483.6867, dustin.white@slcgov.com. DOCUMENT TYPE: Informational update on upcoming major changes to the Salt Lake City Lead and Copper Program for drinking water: The goal of this update is to provide information and receive feedback regarding the future implementation of significant changes to the federal and state Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Lead & Copper Rule, associated regulatory requirements, and the resulting changes to Salt Lake City’s Lead and Copper Program. There will be required changes to public engagement about lead in drinking water. RECOMMENDATION: None BUDGET IMPACT: Budget impact is being determined at this time. Implementation of the required regulatory changes will cause increased operational and capital costs for the City’s Water Utility. BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION: Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities (SLCDPU) is responsible for the provision of drinking water to more than 365,000 people within a 141 square mile water service area. This service area has been established by Salt Lake City Code 17.16.005 and includes all of Salt Lake City and portions of Mill Creek, Holladay, Cottonwood Heights, Murray, Midvale, and South Salt Lake Cities. SLCDPU is regulated under state and federal laws as a Public Water System, and under state laws as a Public Water Supplier. Under these regulatory paradigms, SLCDPU is responsible and accountable to provide drinking water that is safe for public consumption, pursuant to Utah Code Title 19 Chapter 4 (Utah Safe Drinking Lisa Shaffer (Nov 2, 2022 13:33 MDT)11/02/2022 11/02/2022 2 Water Act) and the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. SLCDPU is also required to manage Salt Lake City’s water resources pursuant to various sections of Title 73 (Water and Irrigation) of Utah Code, including administering Salt Lake City’s water rights. Finally, pursuant to Utah Code 10-8-15 (Powers and Duties of Municipalities, Waterworks – Construction – Extraterritorial jurisdiction), Salt Lake City has the authority to construct waterworks and protect water sources from pollution outside its municipal boundaries. Lead and copper in drinking water is a topic of important national, state, and local discussion. Lead is a naturally occurring soft metal used in a wide range of products and can be found throughout the environment and home. Possible sources of lead include flaking of lead-based paint, gasoline, consumer products, the soil, hobby materials such as solder, and plumbing. Lead and copper in drinking water are primarily caused by leaching (discharging) from plumbing materials containing lead or copper in home plumbing. Due to Salt Lake City’s long history of proactive source water protection and the resulting high-quality drinking water, lead has not been detected in the Salt Lake City’s water distribution system that feeds drinking water to homes. Furthermore, SLCDPU has removed all known lead lines from the City’s distribution system and has a long-standing policy to remove lead lines if they are encountered in the field. However, Salt Lake City does not control the materials used in household plumbing components and private water service lines. Safe Drinking Water Act - Lead and Copper Rule To control lead and copper in drinking water, in 1991 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR). Under the EPA LCR, Public Water Systems take part in annual to triennial (three-year) lead and copper sampling and analysis from high-risk homes. These high- risk homes are known to contain lead and/or copper pipes and lead solder, which is more likely to contribute to elevated lead levels. Due to the high quality of our water, SLCDPU is on the triennial schedule. Our 2021 results for lead and copper were well below action levels set forth by the EPA, very similar to our historical levels, and in line with those across the state. Revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule Salt Lake City is impacted by recent changes to the federal Lead and Copper Rule. On January 15, 2021, the EPA finalized the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions Act (LCRR) (86 FR 4198) under the SDWA (40 CFR Parts 141 & 142). The purpose of the rule revision is to protect children and communities from the risks of lead exposure by better protecting children at schools and childcare facilities, removing lead out of our nation’s drinking water, and empowering communities through information. This was the first major update to the Lead and Copper Rule in nearly 30 years. On June 16, 2021, to allow the EPA time to review the LCRR, the EPA published the agency's decision to delay the effective and compliance dates of the LCRR. Following the EPA’s review of the LCRR under Executive Order 13990, EPA concluded that there are significant opportunities to improve the LCRR to support the overarching goal of proactively removing lead service lines and more equitably protecting public health. On December 17, 2021, EPA announced the next steps to strengthen the regulatory framework on lead in drinking water (86 FR 71574). Following the agency’s review of the LCRR, EPA concluded that there are significant opportunities to improve the rule to support the overarching goal of proactively removing lead service lines and more equitably protecting public health. EPA announced that the LCRR will go into 3 effect to support near-term development of actions to reduce lead in drinking water. At the same time, EPA will develop the proposed Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) rulemaking to strengthen key elements of the rule. The agency anticipates finalizing the forthcoming LCRI prior to or by October 16, 2024, the initial compliance date in the LCRR. The focus areas of the Proposed LCRI Rulemaking include: • Replacing all Lead Service Lines. Replacing all lead service lines is an important public health goal. EPA intends to propose requirements that, along with other actions, would replace all lead service lines as quickly as feasible. EPA’s proposal will fully consider the agency’s statutory authority and required analyses, including an economic analysis. • Compliance Tap Sampling. EPA intends to assess data to consider opportunities to strengthen compliance with tap sampling requirements. Robust tap sampling methods are essential to identifying locations with elevated lead, whether the source of the lead is a lead service line or leaded plumbing materials within a residence. • Action and Trigger Levels. For the proposed rule, the agency plans to explore options to reduce the complexity and confusion associated with these levels with a focus on reducing health risks in more communities. The agency will also evaluate whether the trigger level requirements of the LCRR are still necessary with a proactive lead service line replacement and more protective action level. • Prioritizing Historically Underserved Communities. EPA intends to explore how to replace lead service lines in a manner that prioritizes underserved communities. EPA will evaluate options to prioritize the removal of lead service lines in communities disproportionately impacted by lead in drinking water. The goal of these potential lead service line replacement regulatory improvements—coupled with non-regulatory actions—is to more equitable protect public health. Salt Lake City’s Lead and Copper Program Due to LCRR, SLCDPU added to the existing City Lead and Copper Program, which focuses on protection of public health and meeting new requirements. The Lead and Copper Program oversees the implementation and compliance of the LCR and updates of LCRR and LCRI, including: • Develop a Lead Service Line Inventory o Through document review, identify service line pipe material and categorize at a minimum as lead, non-lead, lead status unknown, galvanized requiring replacement. (Due October 16, 2024) o Inventory must include both public and private sides of the service line, and be publicly available. o Will seek funding from the state Division of Drinking Water (DDW) to support the development of service line inventory and replacement plans. DDW will issue the application next month (November 2022). • Lead Service Line Replacement o Submit a Lead Service Line Replacement Plan to the state Division of Drinking Water (DDW). (Due October 16, 2024, subject to change pending LCRI) o Replacement rate requirements dependent on compliance tap sampling results. (To begin July 2, 2026, Subject to change pending LCRI)  If the Action Level is exceeded, then a 3% replacement rate will be required of all known lead service lines, which includes all unknown service lines.  If the trigger level is exceeded, then a rate determined by the state of Utah, 4 Division of Drinking Water will be required.  If below the Action Level and Trigger Level, then the replacement rate will be determined by the City. o SLCDPU estimates a 15-to-20-year replacement plan to replace all lead service lines. Based on initial estimates, including all known lead service lines and all unknown service lines, which could potentially be lead, costs could be upwards of $188 million to replace all lead service lines and complete the project. Cost estimates will be refined as the Lead Service Line Inventory is developed. o A full lead service line replacement includes both private and public sides of the service line. Nearly all service lines are divided in ownership, typically at the meter, between DPU and the property owner. SLCDPU must include in the replacement plan how to address and support private service line replacement options, particularly for disadvantaged communities who may not be able to replace them on their own. • Lead and Copper Sampling of Homes with known Lead Plumbing o Submit a sampling plan to DDW. (Due October 16, 2024, subject to change pending LCRI) o Sampling of homes known to have lead plumbing. (Starts summer 2025, subject to change pending LCRI) • Monitoring in Schools and Childcare Facilities o Utah House Bill 021 (HB21) requires schools to perform lead testing, while childcare facilities may voluntarily perform lead testing. As HB21 does not require childcare facilities to test, SLCDPU maintains this requirement. o Submit a sampling plan to DDW. (Due October 16, 2024, subject to change pending LCRI) o Sampling of childcare facilities. (Starts 2025, subject to change pending LCRI) • Corrosion Control Treatment o Dependent on results of Lead and Copper Sampling of homes in 2025. • Public Education and Outreach o Public education and outreach are ongoing since the initial 1991 Lead and Copper Rule and continue to be expanded to reach communities. o The revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule will necessitate more public engagement. SLCDPU will work with a public engagement consulting firm to further our public engagement strategy for the Lead and Copper Program. o LCR revisions include time-sensitive notifications for service line material, sampling results, lead service line replacements and/or disturbances, and filter distributions. o LCR revisions require the lead service line inventory to be publicly available. PUBLIC PROCESS Since the 1991 Lead and Copper Rule, SLCDPU has performed public engagement regarding lead and copper, especially through triennial sampling and publication of the annual Water Quality Consumer Confidence Report, which is sent to all homes within the SLCDPU service area. Engagement continues to expand through outreach, public events, webpage development, door hangers, and more. All engagement material is in English, Spanish, and translatable. 5 The next step for the public process is to contract with a public engagement firm to develop a comprehensive public involvement and education strategy to address all aspects of the revisions to the LCR. The strategy will cover the SLCDPU service area but will especially focus on communities defined as disadvantaged per the EPA and hard to reach communities. Meetings and Formal Engagement to Date • January 27, 2022: LCRR and Lead & Copper Program Overview– Public Utilities Advisory Committee • February 15, 2022: Poster and Informational Table – State Capital “Maps on the Hill” • August 2, 2022: Poster and Informational Table – West Pointe Night Out • September 10, 2022: Poster and Informational Table – Avenues Street Fair • September 24, 2022: Poster and Informational Table – Groove in the Gove • October 20, 2022: LCRR/LCRI and Lead & Copper Program Overview – Utah Water Quality Alliance • October 28, 2022: Poster and Informational Table – Halloween FunFest EXHIBITS: Lead & Copper Program information is located at www.slc.gov/utilities/leadandcopper.