On June 11, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler signed the proposed rule - Clean Water Act (CWA) Methods Update Rule for Analysis of Effluent (SAN 6653).
The proposed rule would approve additional analytical methods (i.e., test procedures) for measuring pollutants in wastewater. Regulated and regulatory entities use these methods to determine compliance with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits or other Clean Water Act monitoring requirements.
Often, these entities have a choice in deciding which approved method they will use to measure a pollutant. EPA periodically updates the list of approved methods to reflect advancements in technology, refine quality assurance and quality control requirements, or provide entities more choices of approved compliance monitoring methods.
EPA is proposing specific changes to analytic methods for measuring pollutants in wastewater, including:
- Revising EPA methods.
- Allowing new or revised methods published by voluntary consensus standard bodies, such as ASTM International and the Standard Methods Committee.
- Allowing new or updated methods developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
- Allowing methods reviewed under the Alternate Test Procedures (ATP) program.
- Making minor changes to quality assurance and quality control within individual methods.
A prepublication version of the 2019 proposed Methods Update Rule is now published on EPA’s website.
Once the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, EPA will accept public comments on this proposed rule for 60 days.
