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Laws & RegulationsRegulatory InformationSafe Drinking Water ActLead & Copper RuleCompliance HelpCompliance Help
Open for Comment
The Final Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) Short-Term Revisions and Clarifications was promulgated on October 10, 2007. EPA has developed six draft documents to assists states and public water systems with implementation of the LCR revisions. These documents are available for review and comment.
Quick Information
- Lead and Copper Rule: A Quick Reference Guide (PDF 2 pp, 125 K) (About PDF)
EPA816-F-04-009 March 2004 - Lead and Copper Rule: A Quick Reference Guide for Schools and Child Care Facilities that Are Regulated Under the Safe Drinking Water Act (PDF 5 pp, 546 K) (About PDF)
EPA 816-F-05-030 October 2005
Technical Guidance
- Final Revised Guidance Manual for Selecting Lead and Copper Control Strategies
EPA 816-R-03-001 March 2003
This manual is intended to assist water systems and regulatory agencies with selecting and approving effective treatment strategies for controlling lead and copper in drinking water.- Guidance (PDF 54 pp, 664 K) (About PDF)
- Appendixes (PDF 38 pp, 985 K) (About PDF)
- M/DBP Simultaneous Compliance Manual
EPA-815-R-99-015, August 1999
Chapter 4 of this manual focuses on potential LCR issues that can arise when systems are making operation changes to comply with microbial and disinfection byproduct rules. - Simultaneous Compliance Guidance Manual for Stage 2 Rules (PDF 462 pp, 3 M) (About PDF)
EPA 815-R-07-017 May 2007
This draft manual discusses the issues that systems will face as they evaluate and implement changes necessary to comply with the Stage 2 DBPR and the LT2ESWTR, while still being required to comply with earlier rules such as the Total Coliform Rule and Lead and Copper Rule. Some of the changes that systems may make can have compliance or operational consequences if not properly designed, implemented, and monitored. This manual builds on a similar manual developed for the Stage 1 rules, incorporating new research and case studies, and is presented in a more user-friendly manner. EPA is developing this guidance manual to provide systems and states information on operational and capital changes and approaches to enable systems to evaluate different compliance strategies and technologies. - Effect of pH, DIC, Orthophosphate and Sulfate on Drinking Water Cuprosolvency
EPA 600-R-95-085, June 1995
Field data from various copper monitoring studies and Lead and Copper Rule compliance data are often inappropriate and misleading for reliably determining fundamental chemical relationships behind copper corrosion control. To address this deficiency, a comprehensive solubility model for copper in drinking water has been developed, that is qualitatively and quantitatively consistent with available data for copper dissolution and precipitation.
Regulatory Guidance
Although developed to support implementation of the 2000 revisions to the LCR, these guidance documents are still relevant for public water systems and states.
- Lead in Drinking Water Regulation: Public Education Guidance
EPA 816-R-02-010, June 2002
Files for Appendix D of the Public Education Guidance
Appendix D provides template mailers/brochures for Community Water Systems (CWS) and Non-transient Non-community Water Systems (NTNCWS) in PDF format. Systems have the option of writing in their system-specific information or Downloading these documents. We are offering several versions of these mailers/brochures because the Lead and Copper Rule - Minor Revisions (LCRMR) language can vary for water systems that do not have lead service lines and/or building permit records available (i.e., systems may be able to omit the public education language that pertains to these subjects).
| Version | Word Perfect | MS Word |
|---|---|---|
| For use by CWSs that have lead service lines (LSLs) and access to building permit records | Download (1.4 M) |
Download (586 K) |
| For use by CWSs that have LSLs but do not have building permit records available | Download (1.4 M) |
Download (581 K) |
| For use by CWSs that have no LSLs but have building permit records available | Download (1.4 M) |
Download (624 K) |
| For use by CWSs that have neither LSLs nor building permit records available | Download (1.4 M) |
Download (581 K) |
| For use by NTNCWSs or "special-case" CWSs that have LSLs | Download (1.4 M) |
Download (575 K) |
| For use by NTNCWSs or "special-case" CWSs that do not have LSLs | Download (1.4 M) |
Download (624 K) |
| Public Education Posters | ||
| For systems with lead service lines: | Download PDF File (1 pp, 61 K) (About PDF) |
|
| Download PageMaker File (277 K) |
||
| For systems that do not have lead service lines: | Download PDF File (1 pp, 62 K) (About PDF) |
|
| Download PageMaker File (259 K) |
||
- How to Determine Compliance with Optimal Water Quality Parameters as Revised by the Lead and Copper Rule Minor Revisions (PDF 43 ppm 333 K) (About PDF)
EPA 815-R-99-019, February 2001
This guidance describes how water systems and states determine compliance with optimal water quality parameters, as amended by the 2000 Revisions to the Rule. - Lead and Copper Rule: Summary of Revisions (PDF 94 pp, 333 K) (About PDF)
EPA 815-R-99-020 April 2000
This guidance summarizes changes that were made to the 1991 rule in 2000. - Monitoring Waivers Under the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions for Systems Serving 3,300 or Fewer People (PDF 32 pp, 130 K) (About PDF)
EPA 815-R-99-021, April 2000
This guidance provides information on the availability of monitoring waivers for water systems that serve 3,300 or fewer people if the system has very low lead and/or copper 90th percentile levels and meet certain plumbing material restrictions.
- Notification and Reporting Requirements for Partial Lead and Service Line Replacement under the Lead and Copper Rule (PDF 27 pp, 123 K) (About PDF)
EPA 815-R-99-022 April 2000
This guidance provides a comprehensive discussion of the LCR requirements related to lead service line replacement, as amended by the 2000 Revisions to the Rule. - Lead and Copper Monitoring and Reporting Guidance for Public Water Systems (PDF 105 pp, 1.9 M, (About PDF)
EPA-816-R-02-009, February 2002
This guidance provides a comprehensive discussion of the monitoring and monitoring-related reporting requirements of the LCR, as amended by the 2000 Revisions to the Rule.
State Implementation Guidance
- Memorandum: Management of Aerators during Collection of Tap Samples to Comply with the Lead and Copper Rule, October 20, 2006 PDF (4 pp, 151 K) (About PDF)
- Memorandum: Lead and Copper Rule - Clarification of Requirements for Collecting Samples and Calculating Compliance November 23, 2004 Memorandum PDF (7 pp, 882 K) (About PDF)
- Memorandum: Compliance Calculations Under the Lead and Copper Rule to Region 1 March 9, 2004 (PDF 2 pp, 43 K) about PDF) - Supersedes previous information.
- State Implementation Guidance
EPA 816-R-01-021 October 2001
Introduction - Rule Requirements - Violation Determination, SDWIS Reporting and SNC Definitions - State Primacy Revision Application for the LCRMR - Other Resources and Guidance- Guidance Document (PDF 128 pp, 265 K) (About PDF)
- Appendices
- A: The Lead and Copper Rule Revisions compared to the 1991 Rule (PDF pp, 378 K) (About PDF)
- B: Reporting Guidance (PDF 56 pp, 630 K) (About PDF)
- C:SDWIS Flow Charts (PDF 140 pp, 301 K) (About PDF)
- Appendixes D, E, and F (PDF 113 pp, 631 K) (About PDF)
- D: Implementation Agreement
- E: Sample Memorandum of Agreement
- F: Audit Principles
- Primacy Revision Crosswalk
Training Materials
- Slide show describing the 2000 revisions:
- Training Slide Show (PDF 265 pp, 593 K) (About PDF)
- PowerPoint File (1.7 M)