Section 1 Short title; table of contents; findings
Short title— This Act may be cited as the “Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 2017”.
Table of contents— The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Findings— The Congress finds the following:
The Safe Drinking Water Act has not been substantially amended in more than 20 years, during which time the challenges facing drinking water systems and customers have increased dramatically.
Climate change, aging infrastructure, lead contamination, and emerging contaminants threaten the public health and economic viability of cities and towns nationwide.
The drinking water standard-setting provisions put in place in 1996 have proven unworkable, preventing the Federal Government from regulating dangerous contaminants, including perchlorate, strontium, and volatile organic compounds.
Compliance and enforcement with existing drinking water standards has fallen far short of what is needed and expected.
Increased drinking water investment is needed to address a crisis in failing infrastructure.