[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 376 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 376

  To establish a moratorium on the promulgation and implementation of 
certain drinking water regulations promulgated under the Safe Drinking 
  Water Act, to modify the definition of public water system, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 5, 1993

 Mr. Solomon introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish a moratorium on the promulgation and implementation of 
certain drinking water regulations promulgated under the Safe Drinking 
  Water Act, to modify the definition of public water system, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. MORATORIUM ON IMPLEMENTATION.

    (a) Definition.--As used in this section:
            (1) Act.--The term ``Act'' means title XIV of the Public 
        Health Service Act (commonly known as the Safe Drinking Water 
        Act; 42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.).
            (2) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
    (b) Moratorium.--Except as provided in subsection (d), the 
Administrator may not implement--
            (1) any national primary drinking water regulation 
        promulgated pursuant to section 1412 of the Act (42 U.S.C. 
        300g-1) after December 21, 1989; or
            (2) any similar rule or regulation,
until such time as the Administrator meets the applicable requirements 
of subsection (c) and authorizing legislation that extends the 
authorization with respect to the provisions of the Act is enacted.
    (c) Study and Report.--
            (1) Study.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this section, the Administrator shall conduct a 
        comprehensive study to review--
                    (A) each final regulation that has been promulgated 
                under the Act as of the date of the review, and 
                regulatory alternatives to the regulation that reflect 
                a range of levels of safety or direct health benefits 
                (or a combination of both);
                    (B) for each regulatory alternative described in 
                subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) any health effect the regulatory 
                        alternative would prevent; and
                            (ii) the system-level incremental cost of 
                        the alternative;
                    (C) in consultation with the Director of the 
                National Academy of Sciences, the list of contaminants 
                listed pursuant to section 1412 of the Act (42 U.S.C. 
                300g-1) for the purpose of considering revisions to the 
                list to take into account--
                            (i) whether the contaminant is known (or 
                        reasonably anticipated) to cause a significant 
                        adverse effect on human health;
                            (ii) if the contaminant is not known (or 
                        reasonably anticipated) to cause a significant 
                        adverse effect on human health, the risk or 
                        safety factors associated with the maximum 
                        contaminant level for the contaminant under 
                        section 1412 of the Act (including any safety 
                        factor associated with relative source 
                        contribution and assumptions concerning water 
                        consumption); and
                            (iii) whether the contaminant is known to 
                        be, or reasonably anticipated to occur, in 
                        public water systems located within each State 
                        and region covered by the Act;
                    (D) the compliance deadlines under the Act (to 
                determine whether any revision would be appropriate);
                    (E) each regulation and proposed regulation 
                described in subsection (b), for the purpose of 
                determining whether a regulation to apply exclusively 
                to small public water systems (as determined by the 
                Administrator) would be more appropriate to address the 
                needs of small communities (as determined by the 
                Administrator); and
                    (F) the funding needs of States and political 
                subdivisions of States to meet the requirements of the 
                Act, and recommended alternatives to ensure that States 
                and political subdivisions of States meet the funding 
                needs.
            (2) Report.--Upon completion of the study described in 
        paragraph (1), the Administrator shall submit to Congress a 
        written report that documents the findings of the study and 
        includes recommended legislative changes to the Act.
    (d) Issuance of Regulations.--If the Administrator, in consultation 
with the States, and after considering available resources for managing 
risks associated with drinking water, determines that the immediate 
implementation or promulgation of a national primary drinking water 
regulation under section 1412 of the Act (42 U.S.C. 300g-1), or similar 
rule or regulation, is justifiable in order to protect human health, 
the Administrator shall implement or promulgate the regulation without 
regard to subsection (b).

SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM.

    Section 1401(4) of title XIV of the Public Health Service Act 
(commonly known as the Safe Drinking Water Act) is amended by adding 
the following at the end thereof: ``Such term shall not include any 
system which (i) relies only on surface water supplies, (ii) serves 
only seasonal rental residences, and (iii) serves 100 or fewer 
individuals. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term 
`seasonal' refers to residences occupied less than 6 months during any 
calendar year.''.

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