US Codex
Bill
Notes

H.R. 4470 — what changed

Safe Drinking Water Act Improved Compliance Awareness Act

From Introduced in House to Engrossed in House. 2 sections amended between Introduced in House and Engrossed in House.

Sec. 2 Enforcement of drinking water regulations

Section 1414(c) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300g–3(c)) is amended—

(1)
in the header, by inserting “States, the Administrator, and” before “persons served”;
(2)
changed in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the following:(1)—
(A)
added in subparagraph (C), by striking “paragraph (2)(E)” and inserting “paragraph (2)(F)”; and
(B)
added by adding at the end the following:

added “(D) Notice of any exceedance at the 90th percentile of a lead action level in a regulation promulgated under section 1412.”

removed “(D) Notice of any exceedance of a lead action level or any other enforceable maximum level of lead in a regulation issued under section 1412, which shall protect the privacy of individual customer information.”

(3)
in paragraph (2)—
(A)
added in subparagraph (B), by striking “subparagraph (D)” and inserting “subparagraph (E)”;
(B)
renumbered was (5)(2) in subparagraph (C)—
(i)
added in the header, by striking “Violations” and inserting “Notice of violations”;
(ii)
added in the matter preceding clause (i)—
(I)
added by inserting “, and each exceedance described in paragraph (1)(D),” after “for each violation”; and
(II)
added by inserting “or exceedance” after “Each notice of violation”;
(iii)
added by inserting “or exceedance” after “the violation” each place it appears; and
(i)
removed in the header, by striking “Violations” and inserting “Notice of violations”; and
(iv)
renumbered was (5)(2)(3) in clause (iv)—
(I)
added in subclause (I), by striking “broadcast media” and inserting “media, including broadcast media,”;
(II)
added in subclause (II)—
(aa)
added by striking “in a newspaper of general circulation serving the area” and inserting “for circulation in the affected area, including in a newspaper of general circulation serving the area,”; and
(bb)
added by striking “or the date of publication of the next issue of the newspaper”; and
(I)
removed in subclause (I), by striking “broadcast”;
(II)
removed in subclause (II), by striking “in a newspaper of general circulation serving the area” and inserting “for circulation in the affected area”; and
(III)
renumbered was (5)(2)(3)(4) in subclause (III), by striking “in lieu of notification by means of broadcast media or newspaper”;
(C)
renumbered was (5)(3) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) and (E) as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respectively; and
(D)
renumbered was (5)(4) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:

added “(D) Notice by Administrator—If, after 24 hours after the Administrator’s notification under subsection (a)(1)(A), the State with primary enforcement responsibility or the owner or operator of the public water system has not issued a notice that is required under subparagraph (C) for an exceedance described in paragraph (1)(D), the Administrator shall issue such required notice pursuant to this paragraph.”

removed “(D) Notice by Administrator—If, after 24 hours after the Administrator’s notification under subsection (a)(1)(A), the State with primary enforcement responsibility or the owner or operator of the public water system, with regard to a notice required under subparagraph (C), has not issued a notice for a violation of a national primary drinking water regulation with significant potential to have serious adverse effects on human health as a result of acute exposure, the Administrator shall issue such required notice pursuant to this paragraph.”

(4)
changed in paragraph (4)(B)(ii), by striking “the terms” and inserting “the terms action level,”; and(3)(B)—
(A)
added by striking “subparagraph (A) and” and inserting “subparagraph (A),”; and
(B)
added by striking “subparagraph (C) or (D) of paragraph (2)” and inserting “subparagraph (C) or (E) of paragraph (2), and notices issued by the Administrator with respect to public water systems serving Indian Tribes under subparagraph (D) of such paragraph”;
(5)
added in paragraph (4)(B)—
(A)
added in clause (ii), by striking “the terms” and inserting “the terms action level,”; and
(B)
added in clause (iii), by striking “and (IV)” and inserting “(IV) the action level for the contaminant, and (V)”; and
(6)
renumbered was (7) by adding at the end the following:

“(5) Exceedance of safe lead level

“(A) Strategic plan—Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the Administrator shall, in collaboration with owners and operators of public water systems and States, establish a strategic plan for how the Administrator, a State with primary enforcement responsibility, and owners and operators of public water systems shall conduct targeted outreach, education, technical assistance, and risk communication to populations affected by lead in a public water system, including dissemination of information described in subparagraph (C).

“(B) EPA initiation of notice

added “(i) Forwarding of data by employee of EPA—If the Environmental Protection Agency develops or receives, from a source other than the State or the public water system, data, which meets the requirements of section 1412(b)(3)(A)(ii), indicating that the drinking water of a person served by a public water system contains a level of lead that exceeds a lead action level promulgated under section 1412, the Administrator shall require an appropriate employee of the Agency to forward such data to the owner or operator of the public water system and to the State in which the exceedance occurred within a time period established by the Administrator.

added “(ii) Dissemination of information by owner or operator—If an owner or operator of a public water system receives a notice under clause (i), the owner or operator, within a time period established by the Administrator, shall disseminate to affected persons the information described in subparagraph (C).

removed “(i) Forwarding of data by employee of EPA—If an employee of the Environmental Protection Agency develops or receives data, which meets the requirements of section 1412(b)(3)(A), indicating that the drinking water of a person served by a public water system contains a level of lead that exceeds a lead action level or other enforceable maximum level of lead in a regulation promulgated under section 1412, the employee shall forward such data to the owner or operator of the public water system in which the exceedance occurred.

removed “(ii) Dissemination of information by owner or operator—If an owner or operator of a public water system receives a notice under clause (i), the owner or operator, within a time period established by the Administrator, shall disseminate the information described in subparagraph (C).

“(iii) Consultation

added “(I) Deadline—With respect to an exceedance at the 90th percentile of a lead action level in a regulation promulgated under section 1412, if the owner or operator of the public water system does not disseminate, in the time period established by the Administrator, the information described in subparagraph (C), as required under clause (ii), not later than 24 hours after becoming aware of such failure to disseminate, the Administrator shall consult, within a period not to exceed 24 hours, with the applicable Governor to develop a plan, in accordance with the strategic plan, to disseminate such information to affected persons within 24 hours of the end of such consultation period.

removed “(I) Deadline—Not later than 24 hours after becoming aware that an owner or operator of a public water system has not disseminated the information described in subparagraph (C) in the time period established by the Administrator as required under clause (ii), the Administrator shall consult, for a period not to exceed 24 hours, with the applicable Governor to develop a plan, in accordance with the strategic plan, to make such information available to affected persons within 24 hours of the end of such consultation period.

“(II) Delegation—The Administrator may only delegate the duty to consult under this clause to an employee of the Environmental Protection Agency who is working in the Office of Water, at the headquarters of the Agency, at the time of such delegation.

added “(iv) Dissemination by Administrator—The Administrator shall, as soon as reasonably possible, disseminate to affected persons the information described subparagraph (C) if—

removed “(iv) Dissemination by Administrator—The Administrator shall disseminate the information described subparagraph (C) if—

“(I) the Administrator and the applicable Governor do not agree on a plan described in clause (iii)(I) during the consultation period under such clause; or

“(II) the applicable Governor does not disseminate the information within 24 hours of the end of such consultation period.

added “(C) Information required—Information required to be disseminated under this paragraph shall include a clear explanation of the exceedance of a lead action level, its potential adverse effects on human health, the steps that the owner or operator of the public water system is taking to correct the exceedance, and the necessity of seeking alternative water supplies until the exceedance is corrected.

added “(6) Privacy—Any notice under this subsection to the public or an affected person shall protect the privacy of individual customer information.”

removed “(C) Information required—Information required to be disclosed under this paragraph shall include a clear explanation of the exceedance of a lead action level or other enforceable maximum level of lead in a regulation promulgated under section 1412, its potential adverse effects on human health, the steps that the owner or operator of the public water system is taking to correct the exceedance, and whether it is advisable for persons served by the public water system to seek alternative water supplies.”

Sec. 3 Prohibition on use of lead pipes, solder, and flux

Section 1417 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300g–6) is amended—

(1)
by amending subsection (a)(2)(A) to read as follows:

“(A) In general

“(i) Identification and notice—Each owner or operator of a public water system shall identify and provide notice to persons who may be affected by—

“(I) lead contamination of their drinking water where such contamination results from—

“(aa) the lead content in the construction materials of the public water distribution system; or

“(bb) corrosivity of the water supply sufficient to cause leaching of lead; or

changed “(II) an exceedance, in their drinking water, exceedance at the 90th percentile of a lead action level or any other enforceable maximum level of lead in a regulation issued promulgated under section 1412.

“(ii) Manner and form—Notice under this paragraph shall be provided in such manner and form as may be reasonably required by the Administrator. Notwithstanding clause (i)(II), notice under this paragraph shall be provided notwithstanding the absence of a violation of any national drinking water standard.”

(2)
in subsection (b)(2)—
(A)
by striking “The requirements” and inserting the following:

“(A) In general—The requirements”

(B)
changed by adding at the end the following: “Enforcement of these such requirements shall be carried out by a State with primary enforcement responsibility or the Administrator, as appropriate.

changed “(B) Notification by Administrator—In the case of a violation an exceedance described in subsection (a)(2)(A)(i)(II), if the public water system or the State in which the public water system is located does not notify the public of the violation persons who may be affected by such exceedance in accordance with subsection (a)(2), the Administrator shall notify the public such persons of such violation exceedance in accordance with subsection (a)(2), including notification of the relevant concentrations of lead. Such notice shall protect the privacy of individual customer information.”

(3)
by adding at the end the following:

“(f) Public education

“(1) In general—The Administrator shall make information available to the public regarding lead in drinking water, including information regarding—

“(A) risks associated with lead in drinking water;

“(B) the likelihood that drinking water in a residence may contain lead;

changed “(C) steps States, public water utilities, systems, and consumers can take to reduce the risks of lead; and

“(D) the availability of additional resources that consumers can use to minimize lead exposure, including information on how to sample for lead in drinking water.

“(2) Vulnerable populations—In making information available to the public under this subsection, the Administrator shall carry out targeted outreach strategies that focus on educating groups within the general population that may be at greater risk than the general population of adverse health effects from exposure to lead in drinking water.”