# 2026-06662: EPA Unveils Draft List of 75 Potential Drinking Water Contaminants Nationwide 2026-06662, Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List 6-Draft, is a Federal Register proposed rule from Environmental Protection Agency published 2026-04-06, effective Comments must be received on or before June 5, 2026.; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-06-11). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-06662 - As of: 2026-06-11 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Document number: 2026-06662 - Title: Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List 6-Draft - Type: Proposed Rule - Agencies: Environmental Protection Agency - Citation: 91 FR 17186 - Published: 2026-04-06 - Effective: Comments must be received on or before June 5, 2026. - Comments close: not stated - Significant: no - Touches household money: yes - Regulation identifier numbers: none - Last updated: 2026-06-11 ## In one line EPA Unveils Draft List of 75 Potential Drinking Water Contaminants Nationwide ## Summary The EPA just shared a draft list of 75 chemicals, 4 groups of substances, and 9 microbes that might show up in our drinking water and could need new safety rules. This affects everyone who drinks public water, and the EPA wants your thoughts by June 5, 2026, before making final decisions. While no new costs are set yet, future rules could impact water providers and communities. ## Abstract The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is publishing a draft list of contaminants that are currently not subject to any proposed or promulgated national primary drinking water regulations for public review and comment. These contaminants are known or anticipated to occur in public water systems and may require regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in the future. The draft list provided in this document is the sixth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) published by the Agency since the SDWA amendments of 1996. The draft Sixth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 6 or the list) includes 75 chemicals, 4 chemical groups (disinfection byproducts (DBPs), microplastics, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and pharmaceuticals) and 9 microbes. The EPA seeks public comment on the draft CCL 6 and the process used to develop the draft CCL 6. The EPA will consider all information and comments received in response to this notice of availability for determining the final CCL 6. ## Effects PRIA read - Draft CCL 6: 88 contaminants listed: benefit, medium. The EPA published a draft Contaminant Candidate List 6 (CCL 6) that includes 75 individual chemicals, 4 chemical groups, and 9 microbes — 88 contaminants in total. These are known or anticipated to occur in public water systems and could be prioritized for future action under the Safe Drinking Wate… - No immediate rules for water systems: benefit, low. The draft CCL 6 and the final CCL 6, when published, will not impose any requirements on regulated entities (public water systems). The document is a prioritization and research planning step, not a regulation. - Final CCL guides future regulation of 5+ contaminants: benefit, high. The EPA will use the final CCL 6 to prioritize research and data collection and, in a future separate action, will make regulatory determinations on whether to regulate at least five contaminants from the CCL with National Primary Drinking Water Regulations under SDWA section 1412(b)(1)(B)(ii). - CCL links to UCMR monitoring (up to 30): cost, medium. The CCL informs future Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rules (UCMR). SDWA section 1445(a)(2) requires EPA to issue a UCMR every five years with a list of no more than 30 unregulated contaminants for public water systems to monitor. - Disinfection byproducts listed as a group: benefit, low. EPA proposes listing disinfection byproducts (DBPs) as one of four chemical groups on the draft CCL 6. The DBP group includes 27 unregulated DBPs — 23 carried from CCL 5 plus 4 additional DBPs (bromochloroacetonitrile, chloral hydrate, chloronitramide anion, and trichloroacetonitrile). - Microplastics listed; major data gaps noted: benefit, medium. EPA proposes listing microplastics as a chemical group on the draft CCL 6 and identifies significant data gaps that require research: (1) a health-based definition (characteristics like size, polymer, shape), (2) validated detection technology, (3) understanding microplastics in mixtures, and (4) s… - PFAS listed as a broad chemical group: benefit, high. EPA proposes listing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as a group on the draft CCL 6, using the same structural definition applied in CCL 5 and excluding PFAS that are subject to national drinking water regulations at the time of final CCL 6. The structural definition includes three specif… - Pharmaceuticals grouped; benchmarks used: benefit, medium. EPA proposes listing pharmaceuticals as a chemical group on the draft CCL 6 and used Human Health Benchmarks for Pharmaceuticals (HHB-Rx) to inform screening. For CCL 6 purposes, 'pharmaceuticals' are considered any substances defined as a 'drug' under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (1938… ## Related documents - [2026-19071](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-19071): Partial Repeal of the Carbon Pollution Standards for Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Generating Units, 2026-09-17 - [2026-19072](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-19072): Rescission of the Greenhouse Gas Findings for Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plants and Repeal of Regulations for Power Plant Greenhouse Gas Emiss…, 2026-09-17 - [2026-18317](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-18317): Updated Definition of “Waters of the United States”, 2026-09-09 - [2026-14112](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-14112): Amendments and Nonconformance Penalties for Model Year 2027 and Later Heavy-Duty Highway Engines and Amendments to Inducement Provisions fo…, 2026-07-14 - [2026-13667](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-13667): Minor New Source Review Program Air Permitting Public Participation Requirements for State Implementation Plans, 2026-07-07 - [2026-13263](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-13263): Revisions To Establish the Sixth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 6) for Public Water Systems, 2026-07-01 ## Sources - [2026-06662 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/06/2026-06662/drinking-water-contaminant-candidate-list-6-draft) - [2026-06662 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-04-06/pdf/2026-06662.pdf) ## Related - [Previous: 2026-06646, Reducing Bureaucracy and Burden for Children, Youth, and Family Programs](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-06646) - [Next: 2026-06665, Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Listing of Substitutes Under the Significant…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-06665) - [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-06662 (as of 2026-06-11).