The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR) in March 2021. On December 20, 2021, EPA posted a pre-publication version of the final UCMR5. Copy is here (ucmr5-finalrule-prepublication).
UCMR5 includes 29 PFAS and lithium. UCMR5 monitoring will be conducted between 2023 and 2025 and will be as follows:
- One year of quarterly monitoring for surface water.
- Two samples (5 to 7 months apart) in a 12 month period for groundwater systems
As described in the final UCMR5, participation in the monitoring is based on population served.
EPA’s UCMR5 Press Release:
EPA plans to hold webinars on the UCMR5 in 2022. Dates and times have not yet been posted.
From EPA’s announcement: “The purpose of the meetings are to discuss key aspects of the UCMR 5 final rule, including a general introduction to the UCMR program, the PWSs subject to UCMR 5 monitoring and the monitoring requirements, ground water representative monitoring plans, the contaminants to be monitored, laboratory approval and analytical methods, reviewing the functions of the Safe Drinking Water Accession and Review System (SDWARS), and best practices for sample collection. EPA anticipates hosting meetings focused on implementation planning in spring 2022, and meetings focused on SDWARS and sample-collection in fall 2022.”
