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Sampling out: regulatory avoidance and the Total Coliform Rule.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Bennear, LS; Jessoe, KK; Olmstead, SM
Published in: Environmental science & technology
July 2009

This paper investigates strategic noncompliance with the Total Coliform Rule (TCR) under the U.S. Safe Drinking Water Act. The structure of the TCR provides incentives for some piped drinking water systems to avoid violations by taking additional water quality samples. We estimate the prevalence of this behavior and its potential impact on violations using monthly data for more than 500 Massachusetts water systems, 1993-2003. We find evidence that strategic oversampling is occurring. Water systems most likely to avoid violations by oversampling are most likely to oversample. A significant number of additional violations would have occurred if systems had adhered to legal sampling requirements, rather than oversampling. Our analysis of potential impacts of regulatory avoidance under the current rule suggests that alternative policies for monitoring bacteria in drinking water should be considered.

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Published In

Environmental science & technology

DOI

EISSN

1520-5851

ISSN

0013-936X

Publication Date

July 2009

Volume

43

Issue

14

Start / End Page

5176 / 5182

Related Subject Headings

  • Water Supply
  • Water Microbiology
  • Massachusetts
  • Humans
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Environmental Monitoring
  • Enterobacteriaceae
  • Data Collection
  • Bacteriological Techniques
 

Citation

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Bennear, L. S., Jessoe, K. K., & Olmstead, S. M. (2009). Sampling out: regulatory avoidance and the Total Coliform Rule. Environmental Science & Technology, 43(14), 5176–5182. https://doi.org/10.1021/es803115k
Bennear, Lori S., Katrina K. Jessoe, and Sheila M. Olmstead. “Sampling out: regulatory avoidance and the Total Coliform Rule.Environmental Science & Technology 43, no. 14 (July 2009): 5176–82. https://doi.org/10.1021/es803115k.
Bennear LS, Jessoe KK, Olmstead SM. Sampling out: regulatory avoidance and the Total Coliform Rule. Environmental science & technology. 2009 Jul;43(14):5176–82.
Bennear, Lori S., et al. “Sampling out: regulatory avoidance and the Total Coliform Rule.Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 43, no. 14, July 2009, pp. 5176–82. Epmc, doi:10.1021/es803115k.
Bennear LS, Jessoe KK, Olmstead SM. Sampling out: regulatory avoidance and the Total Coliform Rule. Environmental science & technology. 2009 Jul;43(14):5176–5182.
Journal cover image

Published In

Environmental science & technology

DOI

EISSN

1520-5851

ISSN

0013-936X

Publication Date

July 2009

Volume

43

Issue

14

Start / End Page

5176 / 5182

Related Subject Headings

  • Water Supply
  • Water Microbiology
  • Massachusetts
  • Humans
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Environmental Monitoring
  • Enterobacteriaceae
  • Data Collection
  • Bacteriological Techniques