[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3280 Introduced in House (IH)]

  2d Session
                                H. R. 3280

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to guarantee the public's right to 
            know about contaminants in their drinking water.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 18, 1996

  Mr. Waxman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to guarantee the public's right to 
            know about contaminants in their drinking water.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Water Quality Public Right-To-Know 
Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. CONSUMER CONFIDENCE REPORTS.

    Section 1414(c) of title XIV of the Public Health Service Act (the 
``Safe Drinking Water Act'') (42 U.S.C. 300g-3(c)) is amended by 
inserting ``(1)'' after ``(c)'', by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 
(2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B) respectively, by redesignating 
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraphs (1) and (2) as clauses (i) and 
(ii) respectively, by striking ``this subsection'' the first 2 places 
it appears and inserting ``this paragraph'' and by adding the following 
new paragraph at the end thereof:
    ``(2) Consumer Confidence Reports by Community Water Systems.--
            ``(A) Annual reports to consumers.--The Administrator shall 
        issue regulations within 3 years after the date of the 
        enactment of this paragraph to require each community water 
        system to issue a report at least once annually to its 
        consumers on the level of contaminants in the drinking water 
        purveyed by that system (hereinafter in this paragraph referred 
        to as a `consumer confidence report').
            ``(B) Contents of report.--The consumer confidence reports 
        under this paragraph shall include, but not be limited to, each 
        of the following:
                    ``(i) Information on the source, content, and 
                quality of the water purveyed.
                    ``(ii) A plainly worded explanation of the health 
                implications of contaminants present at levels that 
                exceed maximum contaminant level goals or health 
                advisories.
                    ``(iii) Information on compliance with national 
                primary drinking water regulations.
                    ``(iv) Information on priority unregulated 
                contaminants to the extent that testing methods and 
                health effects information are available (including 
                levels of cryptosporidium, arsenic, and radon where 
                States determine they may be found).
            ``(C) Coverage.--The Governor of a State may determine not 
        to apply subparagraph (A) to community water systems within the 
        State serving fewer than 3,300 persons or other systems, 
        provided that such systems inform their customers that they 
        will not be complying with subparagraph (A) and will make 
        information available upon request to the public regarding 
        their water quality.
            ``(D) Alternative form and content.--A State exercising 
        primary enforcement responsibility may establish alternative 
        requirements with respect to the form and content of consumer 
        confidence reports under this paragraph.''.
                                 <all>