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<br />20 <br /> <br />Under the new Safe Drinking Water Act, EPA is required to <br />develop a revised drinking water standard for arsenic. The <br />standard may be considerably more stringent; however, <br />serious doubts have been raised about the accuracy and <br />applicability of the health effects infonnation that is being <br />used for the detennination of the revised standard. <br />Currently there are a number of national and regional data- <br />gathering projects being conducted as well as research on <br />epidemiological impacts, treatment technologies, health <br />effects. and analytical methods. Due to the potential impact <br />of arsenic on water utilities, research into the health effects <br />of arsenic in drinking water should be supported. <br /> <br />Finally, EPA should provide adequate tlexibility to public <br />water suppliers to use their financial and technical resources <br />to provide optimum public health protection, <br /> <br />Resolution No. 97-8 <br /> <br />RURAL COMMUNITY W A 1ER <br />AND SEWER SYSTEMS <br /> <br />Drinking water and sewer systems developed under USDA <br />programs shall be protected, Encroachment by other <br />systems into USDA grant or loan drinking water and sewer <br />systems shall not impair the ability of the system to deliver <br />water, provide service or pay financial obligations. <br /> <br />Position Statement <br />Rural Community Water and Sewer Systems <br />(Resolulion No. 97-8) <br /> <br />USDA drinking water and sewer programs provide drinking <br />water and sewer services to many rural residents. The <br />programs provide the ahility to develop systems and to <br />expand existing facilities. In the last 30 years, USDA <br />programs have helped fund approximately 17,000 water and <br />sewer projects serving more than 12.500 rural communities. <br /> <br />The programs have the lowest dcfault (less than 0.1 %) and <br />delinquency (less than 2%) rates of any other governmcnt <br />loan assistance programs. Repayment is structured <br /> <br />21 <br /> <br />according to the ability of the system (through rate paymem <br />by system heneficiaries) to charge for services. <br /> <br />Current federal Jaw protects USDA drinking water and <br />sewer programs from encroachment by other systems. This <br />protection insures that systems will conlinue to have the <br />ratepayer base necessary to make the payments. If federal <br />law protection of these systems is altered, impaired or <br />repealed the systems will not be able to repay loans. <br /> <br />1607 <br />