Who monitors the fluoride level on a schedule in designated locations in the distribution system?

• A. Local Health Department
• B. Environmental Protection Agency
• C. the Primacy Agency
• D. State Board

Answer: (C)

Fluoride monitoring on a set schedule in the distribution system is overseen by the Primacy Agency. This is the state (or tribal) authority that has been given the primary responsibility by the EPA to enforce drinking water regulations. The EPA establishes the federal rules, but the day-to-day enforcement, including scheduling and performing the distribution-system fluoride samples, is the job of the primacy agency—usually a state health or environmental department. Local health departments may support public health efforts, but they aren’t the primary enforcers of the monitoring schedule. The State Board might set policies, but the actual enforcement and sampling oversight come from the primacy agency.