Agenda for the 21st Annual EPA Drinking Water Workshop (2024)
EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) and Office of Water (OW), in partnership with the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA) are hosting the 21st Annual EPA Drinking Water Workshop on September 17-19, 2024 at the Graduate Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. This year, attendance is limited to EPA; ASDWA; and Tribal, state, and territory agencies (within the United States) responsible for public water systems. The agenda is Eastern Time (ET) and is subject to change.
Tuesday, September 17 | Wednesday, September 18 | Thursday, September 19
Monday, September 16
Early Check In
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Location: The Graduate, North Prefunction (second floor)
Check in early and meet some of the workshop organizers and other attendees.
Tuesday, September 17
Check in starts at 7:30 a.m.
Location: Graduate Cincinnati, North Prefunction (second floor)
Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3 | Session 4 | Session 5
Session 1: Opening Plenary
Speaker and moderator biographies
Welcome and Opening Remarks from Senior EPA Officials
- Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe
- Assistant Administrator for Research and Development Chris Frey
- Acting Assistant Administrator for Water Bruno Pigott
Networking Event and Agenda Review
Laura Boczek and Michelle Latham, EPA-ORD
Session 2: PFAS and Lead Regulations
Presentation summaries and speaker and moderator biographies
- PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation: Initial Monitoring Requirements and EPA-State Implementation Workgroup James Hogan, EPA-OW
- PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation Implementation in Kentucky Jackie Logsdon, Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet
- EPA Lead Reduction in Drinking Water Updates: Focus on the Lead and Copper Rule Kira Smith, EPA- OW
Session 3: Community Engagement and Risk Communications for PFAS and Lead
Presentation summaries and speaker and moderator biographies
- Communicating Risks and Engaging Communities on PFAS and Lead Alycia Overbo, Minnesota Department of Health
- Ohio’s Lead Strategy and Local Engagement Toolkit Justin Burke, Ohio EPA
- Communicating About Lead: Michigan's 1/5th Sampling, Lead/Galvanized Service Lines, and Public Advisories Jennifer Bolt, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy
- Using Research to Understand Your Audience Perceptions and Needs During a Water Emergency Lahne Mattas-Curry, EPA-ORD
Session 4: Regional Networking
2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Location: Graduate Cincinnati, First Floor Conference Center Meeting Rooms
This session will provide an opportunity for attendees to gather with others working within the same region. Building relationships between agencies and sharing ideas and concerns is an important component to ensuring equitable access to drinking water across the country. See the supplemental agenda material for a list of EPA regional facilitators.
| Room | Regions |
|---|---|
| Big Lub Room |
|
| WKRP Room |
|
| Rotunda (Central Break Area) |
|
Session 5: Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Technical Assistance for PFAS and Lead
Presentation summaries and speaker and moderator biographies
- Get the Lead Out Initiative Karen Swetland-Johnson and Alex Horansky, EPA-OW
- Technical Assistance Project on Lead Service Line Identification Colin White, EPA-ORD
- Technical Assistance Project on Emerging Contaminants Nicholas Dugan, EPA-ORD
5:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Location: Graduate Cincinnati, Cincinnatus Ballroom
Closing and Review for Wednesday
Wednesday, September 18
Check in starts at 7:30 a.m.
Location: Graduate Cincinnati, North Prefunction (second floor)
Session 6 | Session 7A | Session 7B | Session 8A | Session 8B | Session 9 | Session 10
Session 6: Breakout Group Roundtable Discussions
8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Location: Graduate Cincinnati, First Floor Conference Center Meeting Rooms
| Room | Group |
|---|---|
| Leonard Baehr Room |
Group A: Lead Service Line Identification and Replacement |
| Koufax Amphitheater | Group B: Lead Regulations and Implementation and Lead in Schools What are the main challenges and lessons learned from the LSLIR and implementation of lead regulations? How are lead issues in schools being handled? Facilitators: Kira Smith, EPA-OW; Stacy Jones, Indiana Department of Environmental Management; and Kevin Letterly, ASDWA |
| Joseph Strauss Room | Group C: PFAS Regulation Implementation What are the main challenges with implementation of the PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation? What are some successful implementation strategies? Facilitators: Alison Treglia and James Hogan, EPA-OW; and Jackie Logsdon, Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet |
| The Beast Amphitheater | Group D: PFAS Treatment Options and Residuals What are the main challenges with adopting PFAS treatment options and with how treatment residuals are managed and disposed of? What are some successful strategies? Facilitators: David Wahman, EPA-ORD; and Eugene Leung, California State Water Resources Control Board |
| WKRP Room | Group E: PFAS Monitoring and Analytics How are PFAS monitoring strategies going? What are some challenges with monitoring and/or analytical methods and what’s working well? Facilitators: Dan Hautman and Melissa Simic, EPA-OW; and Sara Konrad, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality |
| Corn Hole Room | Group F: Community Engagement and Risk and Crisis Communication What approaches are needed to facilitate the development of communication tools and messaging for PFAS and lead and what approaches have been successful? Facilitators: Lahne Mattas-Curry and Michelle Latham, EPA-ORD; and Alycia Overbo, Minnesota Department of Health |
Session 7A: Lead Service Line Identification and Replacement
Presentation summaries and speaker and moderator biographies
10:30-11:00: New and Emerging Technologies Jennifer Murray, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
11:00-11:30: Machine Learning Tools Brian Dyson and Caleb Buahin, EPA-ORD
11:30-12:00: Water Sampling Christina Devine, EPA-ORD
Session 7B: PFAS Treatment
Presentation summaries and speaker and moderator biographies
10:30-11:00: PFAS Treatment Requirements in New Jersey Cory Stevenson, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
11:00-11:30: EPA’s Open Source Treatment Performance Modeling Tools for PFAS Treatment Jonathan Burkhardt, EPA-ORD
11:30-12:00: PFAS Breakthrough and NOM Effects from Pilot-Scale AEX Columns Samantha Smith, EPA-ORD
Session 8A: Lead Chemistry and Corrosion Control
Presentation summaries and speaker and moderator biographies
1:30 -2:00: Lead Chemistry 101 Simoni Triantafyllidou, EPA-ORD
2:00-2:30: Lead Pipe Scale and Particles Mike DeSantis, EPA-ORD
2:30-3:00: Corrosion Control Methods and Approach Jennifer Tully, EPA-ORD
Session 8B: PFAS Occurrence and Analytics
Presentation summaries and speaker and moderator biographies
1:30-2:00: EPA Drinking Water PFAS Analytical Methods and the PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation Will Adams, EPA-OW
2:00-2:30: Implementing a Proactive PFAS Program Using Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities Grant Funding Sara Konrad, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
2:30-3:00: Broad-Spectrum PFAS Study to Characterize the Class of PFAS in California Erica Kalve, California State Water Resources Control Board
Session 9: Topical Deep Dive and Posters
3:15 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Location: Graduate Cincinnati, First Floor Conference Center Meeting Rooms
This session will provide attendees an opportunity to have conversations with experts and officials from EPA, ASDWA, and other agencies about current regulatory information, treatment technologies, research, technical assistance activities, communications, and other topics. See the supplemental agenda material for the list of topic experts and officials and the list of posters with locations.
| Room | Topic |
|---|---|
| Joseph Strauss Room |
|
| WKRP Room |
|
| Leonard Baehr Room |
|
| Corn Hole Room |
|
Session 10: Wrap-Up Plenary
- Remarks and highlights
- Group Q&A and discussion
- Closing and review for Thursday
Thursday, September 19
Check in and transition between 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Check in and transition to EPA’s Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center (AWBERC). See print version of agenda for details.
Session 11A: PFAS Interactive Training and Tours
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location: EPA’s Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center
This interactive training session will include presentations and discussions on PFAS topics and a tour of the PFAS laboratory spaces at EPA’s research facility where research is being done on effective PFAS removal technologies and PFAS analytical testing approaches. Participants will learn about the following topics:
- PFAS analytical methods.
- Monitoring and reporting requirements of the PFAS regulation.
- How to use initial PFAS monitoring results for determining monitoring frequency and compliance determination for both individual MCLs and the Hazard Index.
- Implementing PFAS treatment, where necessary.
- Available technical-assistance and funding resources.
Classroom Instructors: Thomas Speth, Jonathan Burkhardt, and Levi Haupert, EPA-ORD; and Ashley Greene, James Hogan, Alex Lan, and Alison Treglia, EPA-OW
Lab Tour Instructors: David Wahman, Tae Lee, Nick Dugan, and Samantha Smith, EPA-ORD; and George Gates, Brooke Gray, Esther Hughes, and Sophia Pedigo, EPA-ORD-National Student Services Contractors
11B: Lead Interactive Training Tours
During this interactive training session, participants will tour EPA’s research facility and observe the laboratory spaces and instruments utilized by the Agency’s Office of Research and Development to study lead in drinking water issues. Participants will be mainly on their feet and will learn about the following topics:
- Pipe scale analysis, corrosion control, and simultaneous compliance issues.
- Service line material identification methods, such as scratch test, magnet test, and handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF).
- Demonstration of different plumbing materials.
- Identifying drinking water filtration systems that are certified for lead removal.
- Demonstrations of EPA’s pipe volume estimator tool, and how the utility of a pipe rig pilot system can be used to study changes within the distribution system.
(Pre-workshop corrosion refresher: 2021 EPA Corrosion Training)
Lab Tour Instructors: Colin White, Jennifer Tully, Mike Desantis, Christina Devine, Christy Muhlen, Michelle Latham, and Simoni Triantafyllidou, EPA-ORD