American Water Works Association v. EPA

40 F.3d 1266 (D.C. Cir. 1994)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

The Safe Drinking Water Act requires D to promulgate drinking water regulations designed to prevent contamination of public water systems. Less than one percent of all public water systems draw source water containing any lead. Most lead enters a public water system through corrosion of service lines and plumbing materials containing lead, such as brass faucets and lead solder connecting copper pipes, that are privately owned and thus beyond D's regulatory reach under the Act. The degree to which plumbing materials leach lead varies greatly with such factors as the age of the material, the temperature of the water, the presence of other chemicals in the water, and the length of time the water is in contact with the leaded material. Samples drawn consecutively from a single source can vary significantly. Recognizing the peculiar difficulty of establishing an MCL (maximum contaminant level) for lead in public water systems, D proposed regulations that distinguish between control of lead in source water and control of lead due to corrosion. For source water, D proposed an MCL measured at the point where the water enters the distribution system. D proposed to require a treatment technique supplemented with a program of public education to be tailored specifically by each public water system in such a way as to minimize lead contamination in drinking water without increasing the level of any other contaminant to the point where it violates the NPDWR (national primary drinking water regulation) for that substance. In the final rule, D abandoned its two-part monitoring and treatment proposal in favor of a rule under which all large water systems must institute corrosion control treatment, while smaller systems must do so only if representative sampling indicates that lead in the water exceeds a designated 'action level.' The final rule requires each public water system to replace each year at least 77 of the lead service lines it controls that when tested exceed a designated action level. Ps raise four challenges. We review these challenges under Chevron.