Where can I find the law passed in 1996 of the U.S. government
regulation and standards on stainless steel pipe used for carrying
drinking water?

Hi bluesago -

I'm listing below the Arizona Safe Drinking Water law from 1996 as
well as some sources for national standards on stainless steel pipes.

Notice of Final Rulemaking: ... Safe Drinking Water 
http://www.adeq.state.az.us/lead/osc/download/1998/sdw.pdf
This is the Arizona law passed in 1996 that discusses stainless steel
pipes.  Basically this law says that stainless steel pipes are not
subject to NSF 61 (see below).

National Sanitation Foundation Standards
http://www.nsf.org/Standards/
It looks like the main standard for pipes that contact drinking water
is the National Sanitation Foundation Standard #61.  They have it for
sale for $500 from their website in both print and PDF formats.  I
would think that you'd get not only the 2002 version but all revisions
of the standard.  You might be able to get this standard for less
money if you are near a library that specializes in engineering,
particularly hydrological engineering, and that provides standards
through one of the databases like IHS.

American National Standards Institute Online Store
http://webstore.ansi.org/ansidocstore
ANSI has a large number of standards available (again for a fee, but
much lower than the NSF) that have to do with drinking water and
stainless steel pipes.  You can search for either "drinking water" or
"stainless steel pipes" to see the results.  Several of these look
relevant to your need.  Unfortunately there's not much information
available on each standard other than the title and document number.

In addition, you might try the EPA's safe drinking water website
(listed in the comments) for more information on federal regulations. 
I'm sure there's something in the 1996 amendments.  However, since
they are amendments they make little sense outside the context of the
law as a whole.

librariankt

Hi bluesago,

I haven't (so far) been able to find this law/regulation, but I
thought you might be interested in the 1996 Amendments to the Safe
Drinking Water Act (online at
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/sdwa/text.html).  It looks like Arizona
passed a law in 1996 that regulated stainless steel water pipes, and
there are some ANSI standards from that year that might also be
relevant.  If any of these are what you're looking for, please let me
know and I will pursue them.

librariankt

The Arizona law would be fine.  But it'll be great if you can find any
national standard on stainless steel water pipes.

Thanks a lot!!!

Hi,

The Safe Drinking Water Act and Copper Alloys
http://brassbar.copper.org/alloy360/safe-water-act.html

I find references to eliminating lead, but the only stainless steel
reference seems to be the Arizona law. I'll take another look, but it
seems that copper and plastic are as acceptable.

Checked the Federal Register and was directed to the EPA site that
librariankt-ga found - http://www.epa.gov/safewater/sdwa/sdwa.html

There is a toll free number for the Safe Drinking Water Hotline:
1-800-426-4791
They're closed today for the Federal Holiday, but you might want to
give them a call tomorrow and see if they can help with Federal
Standards and stainless steel pipes.

bcguide-ga