Public Drinking Water

Regulation Authority:

R.I. Gen. Laws § Chapter 46-13

Advance Notice Details:

PLEASE NOTE: This Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is being reposted with an updated location for the Community Review Meeting on 2/5/2025. The meeting will now be held in Conference Room 2B at One Capitol Hill in Providence at the same time (9:00 AM) as previously posted. All of the following information is the same as was previously posted on 1/15/2025. 

In accordance with R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-35-2.5 and R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-13-18, advance notice is hereby given that the Rhode Island Department of Health (“RIDOH”) plans to propose amendments to the Rhode Island Public Drinking Water regulations (216-RICR-50-05-1) (the “PDW Regulations”) to adopt the requirements of two federal National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (“NPDWRs”) promulgated in 2024 by the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (“SDWA”):

1. The “PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation,” published as a Final Rule on April 26, 2024 (and a corrected version of the Final Rule published on June 11, 2024) (the “PFAS NPDWR”); and 
2. The revisions to the NPDWR for Consumer Confidence Reports (the “Revised CCR NPDWR”), published as a Final Rule on May 24, 2024. 

Provided below is a summary of the two NPDWRs, in addition to links to the NPDWR Final Rules and EPA webpages with additional information and resources about the Final Rules.

By way of background, RIDOH is the state primacy agency responsible for enforcing the federal NPDWRs. In accordance with SDWA and 40 CFR Part 142, RIDOH must adopt state regulations that are at least as stringent as the NPDWRs in order to attain and maintain primacy. Pursuant to federal regulations, and with limited exceptions, primacy agencies have two years after promulgation of any new or revised NPDWR to adopt the NPDWR requirements at the state level and seek approval from EPA. 

RIDOH is in the process of developing amendments to the PDW Regulations consistent with the NPDWRs. Through this advance notice process, RIDOH hopes to engage with the regulated community to inform them of the impending regulatory changes and seeks public comment on whether Rhode Island should be more stringent than the NPDWRs in any way. RIDOH is holding two community review meetings, one for each NPDWR. The meetings will be held in a hybrid format—in person and virtually via Teams. The link to access the Teams meeting is directly below. The location of the in-person meeting and other meeting details is in the “Public Hearing” section of this notice.

• The meeting on February 5, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. will be focused on the PFAS NPDWR. The Teams link for this meeting can be found here
• The meeting on February 10, 2025 at 9:30 a.m. will be focused on the Revised CCR NPDWR. The Teams link for this meeting can be found here.

Please note that these meetings, while open to the public, are not public hearings as indicated further in this notice and as contemplated by the statute governing the hearing process for regular proposed rulemakings (R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-­35-­2.8). This notice, including the public hearing sections and references, derives from a template notice used for regular proposed rulemakings, subject to the notice and hearing requirements of R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 42­-35-­2.7 and -­2.8. These community review meetings are informal meetings intended to solicit comments and recommendations from the public in advance of formally proposing rule amendments.

Brief Summary of the NPDWRs:

The PFAS NPDWR sets individual maximum contaminant levels (“MCLs”) for five per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) in drinking water, and a hazard index MCL for PFAS mixtures containing at least two or more of PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA, and PFBS. The NPDWR also sets health-based, non-enforceable maximum contaminant level goals (“MCLGs”) for these PFAS. The MCLs and MCLGs are as follows: 

• PFOA – Final MCLG: Zero / Final MCL: 4.0 parts per trillion (ppt) (also expressed as ng/L)
• PFOS – Final MCLG: Zero / Final MCL: 4.0 ppt
• PFHxS – Final MCLG: 10 ppt / Final MCL: 10 ppt
• FPNA – Final MCLG: 10 ppt / Final MCL: 10 ppt
• HFPO-DA (commonly known as GenX Chemicals) – Final MCLG: 10 ppt / Final MCL: 10 ppt
• Mixtures containing two or more of PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA, and PFBS – Final MCLG: 1 (unitless) Hazard Index / Final MCL: 1 (unitless) Hazard Index 

The Revised CCR NPDWR includes changes to make annual drinking water quality reports more understandable and accessible to the public. These reports are an important tool that certain drinking water systems are required to use to     inform residents about water quality, violations, and any contaminants that have been found in the water. Starting in 2027, the final rule requires that these reports are easier to read and support access to translations in appropriate languages while enhancing information about lead in drinking water. The final rule also streamlines the delivery of reports by encouraging electronic methods. Water systems are currently required to provide annual drinking water reports to customers each year, and with this rule systems serving over 10,000 customers will be required to distribute reports twice per year. 

Links to EPA’s Final Rules as published in the Federal Register:

• PFAS NPDWR (89 Fed. Reg. 32532)
• PFAS NPDWR, Correction (89 Fed. Reg. 49101)
• Revised CCR NPDWR (89 Fed. Reg. 45980)

Links to EPA webpages providing additional information about the two NPDWRs:

• PFAS NPDWR 
• Revised CCR NPDWR