A Public ELPAR Webinar
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is a complex statute, regulating over 150,000 public water systems throughout the United States. Many of these public water systems are small, with limited funding and staffing, and may face barriers complying with the statute.
In their thought-provoking article, The Cleanest Water and the Dumbest Kids: Do Small Water Systems Comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act?, Professor James Salzman and Ana MacKay Peltzer urge that “more serious consideration” of SDWA noncompliance is needed, particularly for small systems. Their conclusions are based on a comprehensive review of published research on persistent patterns of noncompliance; the need for further understanding of the key factors driving noncompliance; the failure of state and local strategies, such as funding, variances, consolidation, and privatization, to solve the problem; and new standards for "forever chemicals" that will “intensify” burdens on small systems.
Join us on February 2 for a discussion on the article. Originally published in the Stanford Environmental Law Journal, the article was selected for inclusion in the 2026 Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review (ELPAR), which is published annually in ELI's Environmental Law Reporter in collaboration with Vanderbilt University Law School. ELPAR identifies some of the year’s best academic articles that present creative and feasible legal and policy solutions to pressing environmental problems.
Panelists:
Linda Breggin, Senior Attorney; Director, Center for State and Local Governance, Environmental Law Institute
Rena Childers, J.D. Candidate, Vanderbilt University Law School
Ana Mackay Peltzer, J.D. Candidate, University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
G. Tracy Mehan, III, Executive Director, Government Affairs, American Water Works Association (AWWA), Commenter
James Salzman, Donald Bren Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law, joint appointment with the University of California, Los Angeles Law School and the Bren School of Environmental Science Management, University of California, Santa Barbara
Michael Vandenbergh, David Daniels Allen Distinguished Chair in Law; Co-Director, Energy, Environment and Land Use Program, Vanderbilt University Law School
Victoria V. Vargas, J.D. Candidate, Vanderbilt University Law School
Materials:
Materials will be posted as they are received.
ELI Members will have access to a recording of this session (usually posted to this page within 3-5 business days). If you are not an ELI member but would like to have access to archived sessions like this one, please see the many benefits of membership and how to join.