[§340E-22]  Establishment of interim action levels.  (a)  The director, upon identifying a contaminant in a public water system that may present an unacceptable health risk to the public, shall establish as soon as practicable, interim action levels for those contaminants for which maximum contamination levels have not been established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.  The director may utilize federal drinking water guidelines as interim action levels when appropriate.

     (b)  The director shall establish an interim action level at a level below which risks have been determined by the director to be acceptable.  EPA risk assessment guidelines may be utilized to determine health risks from a chemical contaminant.  When establishing an interim action level the director shall also consider water treatment or alternate remedial actions.

     (c)  The director shall distribute to appropriate government and private institutions for review and comment a draft risk assessment document describing the technical and scientific methods and parameters utilized to determine an interim action level.  The director shall consider all comments received relating to the risk assessment and revise an interim action level if necessary.  The draft risk assessment and all comments received by the director shall be made available to the public for review.

     (d)  The director, upon designating an interim action level for a contaminant, shall take such actions necessary to protect the health of the public including, but not limited to:

     (1)  Issuing guidance as may be necessary to protect the health of persons (including travelers) who are or may be users of a contaminated water supply system.

     (2)  Notifying the public through the media of the establishment of an interim action level. [L 1987, c 297, pt of §2(2)]