[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 650 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 650

To amend title XIV of the Public Health Service Act (the Safe Drinking 
     Water Act) to clarify that review by the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency under section 1424(e) is mandatory, to 
improve interagency coordination in the protection of sole or principal 
        drinking water source aquifers, and for other purposes.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 27, 1993

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title XIV of the Public Health Service Act (the Safe Drinking 
     Water Act) to clarify that review by the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency under section 1424(e) is mandatory, to 
improve interagency coordination in the protection of sole or principal 
        drinking water source aquifers, 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. PROTECTION OF SOLE AND PRINCIPAL DRINKING WATER SOURCE 
              AQUIFERS.

    Section 1424(e) of title XIV of the Public Health Services Act (the 
Safe Drinking Water Act) is amended by deleting everything after the 
first sentence of that paragraph and inserting the following in lieu 
thereof:
    ``After the publication of such notice, the Administrator shall 
review all projects referred to him by any Federal department, agency, 
or instrumentality under paragraph (3) of this section, or referred to 
him by petition or any other manner under this section, to determine if 
they may contaminate any sole or principal drinking water source 
aquifer through a recharge zone so as to create a significant hazard to 
public health. If the Administrator determines that a project may 
contaminate such aquifer in such a manner, no commitment for Federal 
financial assistance (through grant, contract, loan guarantee, or 
otherwise) may be entered into for that project or for any portion of 
that project. Federal financial assistance may, if authorized under 
another provision of law, be entered into to plan or design the project 
to assure that it will not so contaminate the aquifer.''.
    Section 1424(e) of title XIV of the Public Health Services Act (the 
Safe Drinking Water Act) is further amended by inserting ``(1)'' after 
``(e)'' and by adding the following at the end thereof:
    ``(2) The Administrator shall, not less frequently than annually, 
notify the office of each department, agency, and instrumentality of 
the United States designated under paragraph (3) of the requirements 
set forth in paragraph (1). Such notice shall include a description of 
each area identified under paragraph (1), together with a map of the 
aquifer and a description and map of the recharge zone for such 
aquifer.
    ``(3) Not later than 60 days after the enactment of this paragraph, 
each department, agency, and instrumentality of the United States 
subject to the requirements of paragraph (1) shall designate an 
official within such department, agency, or instrumentality to be 
primarily responsible for compliance with paragraph (1) and for 
coordinating such compliance with the Administrator. Not later than 180 
days after the enactment of this paragraph, each such department, 
agency and instrumentality shall by rule or order establish procedures 
for assuring timely compliance by that department, agency, or 
instrumentality with the requirements of paragraph (1). The rule or 
order required under this paragraph shall include provisions assuring 
that department, agency or instrumentality will forward to the 
Administrator, in a timely manner, a description of each project which 
may be subject to paragraph (1), an assessment of whether or not the 
project poses a risk to the sole source aquifer concern, and 
documentation supporting such assessment. For purposes of this 
paragraph, the term `timely' means at least 60 days before any 
commitment of financial assistance is provided.''.

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