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Formal agreement with EPA

Washington has a formal agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (PDF 99 KB) for meeting the requirements of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), which was passed in 1974 and amended in 1986 and 1996. 

The SDWA includes water quality standards, sampling, treatment, and public notification requirements. The 1996 amendments added new requirements related to annual water quality reports, operator certification requirements, system capacity, and source water assessment and protection.

Generally, the SDWA applies to water systems with 15 or more connections, or those regularly serving 25 or more people daily, 60 or more days per year. Approximately 4,200 public water systems in Washington are subject to the SDWA.

Primacy

Through its agreement with EPA, the Office of Drinking Water has had full authority and responsibility for implementation of the SDWA in Washington since 1976.  This authority is called "primacy."  If the state did not administer the SDWA requirements, EPA would directly enforce the requirements in Washington.

As a condition of primacy, the state must adopt and administer state rules that are at least as stringent as the federal requirements. Under the primacy agreement, the state receives a grant to pay a portion of the cost of administering the SDWA.

State Statutory Authority

In addition to the federal SDWA laws, the authority for the activities of the Office of Drinking Water comes from several Washington State statutes:

• RCW 43.20.50 - SBOH authority to adopt rules protecting public water supplies
• RCW 43.70.250 - DOH authority to charge fees for services
• Chapter  43.70 RCW - Overall encompassing authority to protect public health and safety
• Chapter 70.119A RCW - Washington's Safe Drinking Water Act
• Chapter 70.119 RCW - Water Works Operator Certification
• Chapter 70.116 RCW - Public Water System Coordination Act
• Chapter 70.142 RCW - DOH authority to set standards for Organic chemicals
• RCW 19.27.097 - State building code

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Dept. of Health Office of Drinking Water 243 Israel Road S.E. 2nd floor Tumwater, WA 98501

Mail: P.O. Box 47822 Olympia, WA 98504-7822 (360) 236-3100

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Comments or questions regarding this Web site? Send mail to Judy J. Sides.

Last Update : 12/05/2005 10:52 AM