40 CFR 141.130 – General requirements
(a) The requirements of this subpart L constitute national primary drinking water regulations.
(1) The regulations in this subpart establish criteria under which community water systems (CWSs) and nontransient, noncommunity water systems (NTNCWSs) which add a chemical disinfectant to the water in any part of the drinking water treatment process must modify their practices to meet MCLs and MRDLs in §§ 141.64 and 141.65, respectively, and must meet the treatment technique requirements for disinfection byproduct precursors in § 141.135.
(2) The regulations in this subpart establish criteria under which transient NCWSs that use chlorine dioxide as a disinfectant or oxidant must modify their practices to meet the MRDL for chlorine dioxide in § 141.65.
(3) EPA has established MCLs for TTHM and HAA5 and treatment technique requirements for disinfection byproduct precursors to limit the levels of known and unknown disinfection byproducts which may have adverse health effects. These disinfection byproducts may include chloroform; bromodichloromethane; dibromochloromethane; bromoform; dichloroacetic acid; and trichloroacetic acid.
(b) Compliance dates—(1) CWSs and NTNCWSs. Unless otherwise noted, systems must comply with the requirements of this subpart as follows. Subpart H systems serving 10,000 or more persons must comply with this subpart beginning January 1, 2002. Subpart H systems serving fewer than 10,000 persons and systems using only ground water not under the direct influence of surface water must comply with this subpart beginning January 1, 2004.
(2) Transient NCWSs. Subpart H systems serving 10,000 or more persons and using chlorine dioxide as a disinfectant or oxidant must comply with any requirements for chlorine dioxide in this subpart beginning January 1, 2002. Subpart H systems serving fewer than 10,000 persons and using chlorine dioxide as a disinfectant or oxidant and systems using only ground water not under the direct influence of surface water and using chlorine dioxide as a disinfectant or oxidant must comply with any requirements for chlorine dioxide in this subpart beginning January 1, 2004.
(c) Each CWS and NTNCWS regulated under paragraph (a) of this section must be operated by qualified personnel who meet the requirements specified by the State and are included in a State register of qualified operators.
(d) Control of disinfectant residuals. Notwithstanding the MRDLs in § 141.65, systems may increase residual disinfectant levels in the distribution system of chlorine or chloramines (but not chlorine dioxide) to a level and for a time necessary to protect public health, to address specific microbiological contamination problems caused by circumstances such as, but not limited to, distribution line breaks, storm run-off events, source water contamination events, or cross-connection events.