The primary agency in a state is designated by the Governor, and the primacy agency can be which entity?

• A. Governor, the State's EPA
• B. USEPA, Dept. of Natural Resources
• C. State Health Dpt., Dpt. of Natural Resources
• D. USEPA, the State's Public Health Dpt.

Answer: (A)

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act framework, the federal EPA grants the authority to enforce the drinking water program to a state agency, and the Governor designates which state agency will hold that primacy. In most states, that designated agency is the State’s Environmental Protection Agency (the state’s EPA), which then administers permits, inspections, and enforcement within the state. So the primacy agency can be the State’s EPA—the agency the Governor assigns to run the state’s drinking water program. The other options refer to the federal EPA or to departments that may not automatically hold primacy everywhere, whereas the typical arrangement described here is the state’s EPA handling the program.