[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4717 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4717

 To allow small public water systems to request an exemption from the 
 requirements of any national primary drinking water regulation for a 
        naturally occurring contaminant, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 25, 2004

   Mr. Otter (for himself, Mr. Stenholm, Mr. Flake, Mr. Simpson, Mr. 
    Bereuter, Mr. Pearce, Mr. Cannon, Mr. Kolbe, and Mr. Doolittle) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To allow small public water systems to request an exemption from the 
 requirements of any national primary drinking water regulation for a 
        naturally occurring contaminant, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Small Community Options for 
Regulatory Equity Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. EXEMPTION FOR NONPROFIT SMALL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS RESPECTING 
              NATURALLY OCCURRING CONTAMINANTS.

    The Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.) is amended by 
inserting after section 1416 the following:

    ``exemption for nonprofit small public water systems respecting 
                    naturally occurring contaminants

    ``Sec. 1416A. (a) Exemption.--A State exercising primary 
enforcement responsibility for public water systems under section 1413 
(or the Administrator in any nonprimacy State) shall exempt any 
nonprofit small public water system that submits a request in 
accordance with subsection (b) from the requirements of any national 
primary drinking water regulation for a naturally occurring 
contaminant.
    ``(b) Request.--To seek an exemption under this section, a 
nonprofit small public water system--
            ``(1) shall submit a written request to the State 
        exercising primary enforcement responsibility with respect to 
        the system (or the Administrator in any nonprimacy State); and
            ``(2) shall include in such request a finding under 
        subsection (c).
    ``(c) Economic Feasibility.--
            ``(1) Finding.--To seek an exemption under this section, a 
        nonprofit small public water system must find that compliance 
        by the system with the national primary drinking water 
        regulation involved is not economically feasible.
            ``(2) No review.--A finding by a nonprofit small public 
        water system under this subsection shall not be subject to 
        judicial or administrative review.
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `naturally occurring contaminant' includes 
        arsenic, radon, radium, uranium, and any contaminant that is a 
        disinfection byproduct (including bromate, chlorite, haloacetic 
        acids, and total trihalomethanes).
            ``(2) The term `small public water system' means a public 
        water system serving 10,000 or fewer persons.''.
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