Question:
EPA and the states have made progress in meeting the initial requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996

In detail?

Answer: To accomplish our objectives, we interviewed officials in EPA's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, Office of Research and Development, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, and Office of General Counsel and obtained and reviewed related legislation and program regulations, guidance, and reports. We also interviewed drinking water officials in EPA's Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco regional offices and interviewed state program managers in six states within these regions--Arizona, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Nevada. Criteria for selecting these states included diversity in geographical location, size, and the extent of the progress they had made in implementing the new requirements of the 1996 amendments. In addition, we interviewed officials of the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, the American Water Works Association, the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, the National Rural Water Association, the National Association of Towns and Townships, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. We conducted our review from March 1998 through January 1999 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.