Health Risk Limits Rules for Groundwater
Rulemaking and Guidance History
History of Rulemaking on Groundwater Contaminants
The 1989 Groundwater Protection Act mandates MDH to promulgate Health Risk Limits (HRLs) for contaminants found in Minnesota groundwater. MDH has amended HRLs and methods though rulemaking on several occasions since 1993. Listed below are links to summaries that describe the scope of each HRL-related rule revision since 1993.
In 2008/2009, MDH made significant revisions to methods used to develop guidance for groundwater contaminants. These new methods were promulgated in 2009. The 2008/2009 Statement of Need and Reasonableness (SONAR) (PDF: 1.05MB/196 pages) for the 2009 HRL rules provides a thorough description of the scientific methods and principles used to develop HRLs. For definitions of terms, see the 2008/2009 HRL SONAR Glossary (PDF: 61KB/9 pages).
MDH plans to conduct rulemaking on a biannual basis to regularly promulgate newly developed or updated water guidance.