Guidelines for Public Water Systems in Submitting Public Comments on Regulatory Proposals

Submitting comments on proposed regulations can help the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish inclusive rules that consider the perspective of your public water system. Just one effectively written and well supported comment can create a much bigger impact than hundreds of poorly written arguments.

Your best opportunity to submit a comment for a drinking water or wastewater regulation is offered after the Agency releases a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to the Federal Register. A copy of the proposed rule and supporting documents will be available on the EPA’s electronic public docket system, Regulations.gov, where the public can also submit comment. To comment on a rule with Regulations.gov you should know the Docket number, title of the regulation, or some title keywords. Once you search for the regulation, select ‘comment now’ or ‘Open Docket Folder’ under the correct rule. The docket folder includes information about the proposed regulation, its supporting documents, and other public comments.

An effective comment will be written concisely with clear, professional language and sound reasoning. You will want to provide examples that support your stance citing data driven evidence, publications, case studies, or technical resources when possible. Explain the impact of the proposed regulation from the perspective of your water industry experience. If the impact includes a cost analysis, make sure to include how those costs were calculated. A well written argument for or against the regulation will consider both sides of story. When you oppose a particular regulatory action, suggest potential alternatives. Comments that address particular wording or actions within the regulation should cite their exact page number, column, and paragraph from the register document. 

When submitting the comment, you can choose to attach supporting files, however be sure to read through the restrictions associated with attachments. Finally, remember that anyone can view your comment. Once the public comment period has ended, your decisive utility perspective will inform the revision considerations to the final rule.