[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6820 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6820

 To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 
 conduct a study of the presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care 
products in drinking water supplies in the United States, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 1, 2008

Mrs. McCarthy of New York (for herself, Ms. Baldwin, and Ms. Schwartz) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 
 conduct a study of the presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care 
products in drinking water supplies in the United States, 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 ``Water Assessment and Treatment 
Evaluation Research Study Act of 2008'' or the ``WATER Study Act of 
2008''.

SEC. 2. PRESENCE OF PHARMACEUTICALS AND PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS IN 
              DRINKING WATER SUPPLIES OF THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) Study.--The Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency, in consultation with appropriate government agencies (including 
the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the United 
States Geological Survey), shall conduct a study of the presence of 
pharmaceuticals and personal care products (in this section referred to 
as ``PPCPs'') in drinking water supplies in the United States.
    (b) Examination of Wastewater Effluent and Run-Off From 
Agricultural Operations.--In identifying sources of PPCPs under the 
study, the Administrator shall examine wastewater effluent and run-off 
from agricultural operations.
    (c) Reports.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator shall submit to Congress 
        an initial, interim, and final report on the results of the 
        study conducted under this section.
            (2) Initial report.--The initial report shall be submitted 
        not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act 
        and shall at a minimum--
                    (A) identify PPCPs that have been detected in the 
                drinking water supplies of the United States and the 
                levels at which such PPCPs have been detected;
                    (B) identify the sources of PPCPs in the drinking 
                waters of the United States; and
                    (C) identify and evaluate methods to regularly 
                monitor the levels of PPCPs in the drinking water of 
                the United States.
            (3) Interim report.--The interim report shall be submitted 
        not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act 
        and shall at a minimum--
                    (A) identify the effects of PPCPs in drinking water 
                supplies and other waters of the United States on human 
                health and aquatic life at the levels at which PPCPs 
                have been detected;
                    (B) identify methods and techniques to safely and 
                properly dispose of unused PPCPs;
                    (C) identify and evaluate methods to remove PPCPs 
                from the drinking water supplies of the United States;
                    (D) identify and evaluate ways to improve the 
                treatment of water discharged from wastewater treatment 
                plants, including the environmental and economic costs 
                of these methods.
            (4) Final report.--The final report shall be submitted not 
        later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act and 
        shall at a minimum--
                    (A) identify the effects of long-term exposure to 
                PPCPs;
                    (B) identify levels at which the PPCPs identified 
                in the initial report become harmful to humans;
                    (C) identify the effects on humans of interactions 
                between PPCPs identified in the initial report; and
                    (D) include all information required by the initial 
                report and interim report along with any updated 
                information that is available on those requirements.
            (5) Inclusion of available information.--If the 
        Administrator has information required for a report under 
        paragraph (3) or (4) at the time of submission of an earlier 
        report under this subsection, the Administrator shall include 
        the information in the earlier report.
    (d) Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products Defined.--In this 
section, the terms ``pharmaceuticals and personal care products'' and 
``PPCPs'' mean products used by individuals for personal health or 
cosmetic reasons, including soaps and shampoos, or used by agribusiness 
to enhance growth or health of livestock.
                                 <all>