[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2080 Reported in Senate (RS)]






                                                      Calendar No. 1075
110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2080

                          [Report No. 110-497]

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to ensure that sewage 
 treatment plants monitor for and report discharges of raw sewage, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 20, 2007

Mr. Lautenberg (for himself, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Whitehouse, 
 and Mrs. Clinton) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 
     and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

           September 24 (legislative day, September 17), 2008

               Reported by Mrs. Boxer, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to ensure that sewage 
 treatment plants monitor for and report discharges of raw sewage, and 
                          for other purposes.

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

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Sewage Overflow Right-to-
Know Act''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Congress finds that--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
        estimate that there are 7,100,000 cases of mild to moderate, 
        and 560,000 cases of moderate to severe, infectious waterborne 
        disease in the United States each year;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) inadequately-treated sewage contains bacteria, 
        viruses, parasites, and worms that make individuals 
        ill;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) individuals who ingest or inhale inadequately-
        treated sewage can contract gastroenteritis, hepatitis, 
        giardiasis, cryptosporidiosis, dysentery, and other 
        gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) the Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency has estimated that between 1,800,000 and 
        3,500,000 individuals in the United States become ill every 
        year just from swimming in water contaminated by sanitary sewer 
        overflows;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) many sewer systems do not routinely monitor to 
        detect sewer overflows;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) public health authorities are not routinely 
        notified of sewer overflows that threaten public 
        health;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) better monitoring, reporting, and public 
        notification of sewer overflows could prevent millions of 
        individuals in the United States from becoming ill each 
        year;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) sewage treatment operators perform an 
        important job that--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) helps protect the public; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) is critical in achieving the goals of 
                the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 
                et seq.);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (9) the wastewater systems of the United States 
        are aging and require significant investment in traditional and 
        green infrastructure to prevent the occurrence of sewer 
        overflows; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (10) public notification of sewer overflows that 
        threaten public health will--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) protect the public; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) increase recognition and support for 
                needed investment in infrastructure to address 
                contaminated stormwater and sewer overflows.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
U.S.C. 1362) is amended by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(25) Sanitary sewer overflow.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) In general.--The term `sanitary 
                sewer overflow' means an overflow, spill, release, or 
                diversion of wastewater from a sanitary sewer 
                system.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Inclusions.--The term `sanitary 
                sewer overflow' includes--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) an overflow or release of 
                        wastewater that reaches waters of the United 
                        States;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) an overflow or release of 
                        wastewater that does not reach waters of the 
                        United States; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) a wastewater backup into a 
                        building that is caused by a blockage or flow 
                        conditions in a sanitary sewer other than a 
                        building lateral.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) Exclusions.--The term `sanitary 
                sewer overflow' does not include--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) a combined sewer overflow or 
                        other discharge from the combined portions of a 
                        combined sewer system; or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) a wastewater backup into a 
                        building caused by a blockage or other 
                        malfunction of a building lateral that is 
                        privately owned.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(26) Combined sewer overflow.--The term 
        `combined sewer overflow' means an overflow, spill, release, or 
        diversion of wastewater from a combined sanitary system at a 
        point prior to the publicly owned treatment works treatment 
        plant.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(27) Sewer overflow.--The term `sewer overflow' 
        means a sanitary sewer overflow or a combined sewer 
        overflow.''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. MONITORING, REPORTING, AND PUBLIC NOTIFICATION OF 
              SEWER OVERFLOWS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
U.S.C. 1342) is amended by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(r) Sewer Overflow Notifications.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) General requirements.--Not later than 1 year 
        after the date of enactment of this subsection, the owner or 
        operator of a publicly owned treatment works (as defined in 
        section 403.3 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (as in 
        effect on March 1, 2007)) under a permit issued under this 
        section shall--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) institute and use a methodology, 
                technology, or management program that will alert the 
                owner or operator to the occurrence of a sewer overflow 
                in a timely manner;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) notify the public of a sewer 
                overflow in any area in which the overflow has the 
                potential to affect human health;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) notify the public as soon as 
                practicable, but not later than 24 hours, after the 
                time at which the owner or operator becomes aware of 
                the overflow;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) immediately notify public health 
                authorities and other affected entities, such as public 
                water systems, of any sewer overflow that may 
                imminently and substantially endanger human 
                health;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(E) provide to the Administrator (or the 
                State, in the case of a State that has a permit program 
                approved under this section) an oral or electronic 
                report as soon as practicable, but not later than 24 
                hours, after the time at which the owner or operator 
                becomes aware of the overflow;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(F) provide to the Administrator or the 
                State, as the case may be, not later than 5 days after 
                the time at which the owner or operator becomes aware 
                of the overflow a written report describing--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) the magnitude, duration, and 
                        suspected cause of the overflow;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) the steps taken or planned 
                        to reduce, eliminate, and prevent recurrence of 
                        the overflow; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) the steps taken or planned 
                        to mitigate the impact of the 
                        overflow;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(G) report all sewer overflows to waters 
                of the United States on the monthly discharge 
                monitoring report of the owner or operator to the 
                Administrator or the State, as the case may be; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(H) report to the Administrator or the 
                State, as the case may be, the total number of sewer 
                overflows (including sewer overflows that do not reach 
                any waters of the United States) in a calendar year, 
                including a detailed description of--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) the quantity of wastewater 
                        that was released per incident;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) the duration of each sewer 
                        overflow;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) the location of the 
                        overflow and any potentially affected receiving 
                        water;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iv) the responses taken to 
                        clean up the overflow; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(v) the actions taken to 
                        mitigate impacts and avoid further sewer 
                        overflows at the site.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Report to epa.--If a State receives a report 
        under paragraph (1)(H), the State shall report to the 
        Administrator annually, in summary, the details of reported 
        sewer overflows that occurred in the State.''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 603(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 
(33 U.S.C. 1383(c)) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) by striking ``and'' the first place it 
        appears; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by inserting after ``320 of this Act'' the 
        following: ``, and (4) for the implementation of requirements 
        to monitor, report, and notify the public of sewer overflows 
        under section 402(r)''.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-
Know Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 
1362) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(26) Treatment works.--The term `treatment works' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 212.''.

SEC. 3. MONITORING, REPORTING, AND PUBLIC NOTIFICATION OF SEWER 
              OVERFLOWS.

    Section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 
1342) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(s) Sewer Overflow Monitoring, Reporting, and Notifications.--
            ``(1) General requirements.--After the last day of the 180-
        day period beginning on the date on which regulations are 
        issued under paragraph (4), a permit issued, renewed, or 
        modified under this section by the Administrator or the State, 
        as the case may be, for a publicly owned treatment works shall 
        require, at a minimum, beginning on the date of the issuance, 
        modification, or renewal, that the owner or operator of the 
        treatment works--
                    ``(A) institute and utilize a feasible methodology, 
                technology, or management program for monitoring sewer 
                overflows to alert the owner or operator to the 
                occurrence of a sewer overflow in a timely manner;
                    ``(B) in the case of a sewer overflow that has the 
                potential to affect human health, notify the public of 
                the overflow as soon as practicable but not later than 
                24 hours after the time the owner or operator knows of 
                the overflow;
                    ``(C) in the case of a sewer overflow that may 
                imminently and substantially endanger human health, 
                notify public health authorities and other affected 
                entities, such as public water systems, of the overflow 
                immediately after the owner or operator knows of the 
                overflow;
                    ``(D) report each sewer overflow on its discharge 
                monitoring report to the Administrator or the State, as 
                the case may be, by describing--
                            ``(i) the magnitude, duration, and 
                        suspected cause of the overflow;
                            ``(ii) the steps taken or planned to 
                        reduce, eliminate, or prevent recurrence of the 
                        overflow; and
                            ``(iii) the steps taken or planned to 
                        mitigate the impact of the overflow; and
                    ``(E) annually report to the Administrator or the 
                State, as the case may be, the total number of sewer 
                overflows in a calendar year, including--
                            ``(i) the details of how much wastewater 
                        was released per incident;
                            ``(ii) the duration of each sewer overflow;
                            ``(iii) the location of the overflow and 
                        any potentially affected receiving waters;
                            ``(iv) the responses taken to clean up the 
                        overflow; and
                            ``(v) the actions taken to mitigate impacts 
                        and avoid further sewer overflows at the site.
            ``(2) Exceptions.--
                    ``(A) Notification requirements.--The notification 
                requirements of paragraphs (1)(B) and (1)(C) shall not 
                apply a sewer overflow that is a wastewater backup into 
                a single-family residence.
                    ``(B) Reporting requirements.--The reporting 
                requirements of paragraphs (1)(D) and (1)(E) shall not 
                apply to a sewer overflow that is a release of 
                wastewater that occurs in the course of maintenance of 
                the treatment works, is managed consistently with the 
                treatment works' best management practices, and is 
                intended to prevent sewer overflows.
            ``(3) Report to epa.--Each State shall provide to the 
        Administrator annually a summary of sewer overflows that 
        occurred in the State.
            ``(4) Rulemaking by epa.--Not later than one year after the 
        date of enactment of this subsection, the Administrator, after 
        providing notice and an opportunity for public comment, shall 
        issue regulations to implement this subsection, including 
        regulations to--
                    ``(A) establish a set of criteria to guide the 
                owner or operator of a publicly owned treatment works 
                in--
                            ``(i) assessing whether a sewer overflow 
                        has the potential to affect human health or may 
                        imminently and substantially endanger human 
                        health; and
                            ``(ii) developing communication measures 
                        that are sufficient to give notice under 
                        paragraphs (1)(B) and (1)(C); and
                    ``(B) define the terms `feasible' and `timely' as 
                such terms apply to paragraph (1)(A), including site 
                specific conditions.
            ``(5) Approval of state notification programs.--
                    ``(A) Requests for approval.--
                            ``(i) In general.--After the date of 
                        issuance of regulations under paragraph (4), a 
                        State may submit to the Administrator evidence 
                        that the State has in place a legally 
                        enforceable notification program that is 
                        substantially equivalent to the requirements of 
                        paragraphs (1)(B) and (1)(C).
                            ``(ii) Program review and authorization.--
                        If the evidence submitted by a State under 
                        clause (i) shows the notification program of 
                        the State to be substantially equivalent to the 
                        requirements of paragraphs (1)(B) and (1)(C), 
                        the Administrator shall authorize the State to 
                        carry out such program instead of the 
                        requirements of paragraphs (1)(B) and (1)(C).
                            ``(iii) Factors for determining substantial 
                        equivalency.--In carrying out a review of a 
                        State notification program under clause (ii), 
                        the Administrator shall take into account the 
                        scope of sewer overflows for which notification 
                        is required, the length of time during which 
                        notification must be made, the scope of persons 
                        who must be notified of sewer overflows, the 
                        scope of enforcement activities ensuring that 
                        notifications of sewer overflows are made, and 
                        such other factors as the Administrator 
                        considers appropriate.
                    ``(B) Review period.--If a State submits evidence 
                with respect to a notification program under 
                subparagraph (A)(i) on or before the last day of the 
                30-day period beginning on the date of issuance of 
                regulations under paragraph (4), the requirements of 
                paragraphs (1)(B) and (1)(C) shall not begin to apply 
                to a publicly owned treatment works located in the 
                State until the date on which the Administrator 
                completes a review of the notification program under 
                subparagraph (A)(ii).
                    ``(C) Withdrawal of authorization.--If the 
                Administrator, after conducting a public hearing, 
                determines that a State is not administering and 
                enforcing a State notification program authorized under 
                subparagraph (A)(ii) in accordance with the 
                requirements of this paragraph, the Administrator shall 
                so notify the State and, if appropriate corrective 
                action is not taken within a reasonable time, not to 
                exceed 90 days, the Administrator shall withdraw 
                authorization of such program and enforce the 
                requirements of paragraphs (1)(B) and (1)(C) with 
                respect to the State.
            ``(6) Special rules concerning application of notification 
        requirements.--After the last day of the 30-day period 
        beginning on the date of issuance of regulations under 
        paragraph (4), the requirements of paragraphs (1)(B) and (1)(C) 
        shall--
                    ``(A) apply to the owner or operator of a publicly 
                owned treatment works and be subject to enforcement 
                under section 309, and
                    ``(B) supersede any notification requirements 
                contained in a permit issued under this section for the 
                treatment works to the extent that the notification 
                requirements are less stringent than the notification 
                requirements of paragraphs (1)(B) and (1)(C),
        until such date as a permit is issued, renewed, or modified 
        under this section for the treatment works in accordance with 
        paragraph (1).
            ``(7) Definitions.--In this subsection, the following 
        definitions apply:
                    ``(A) Sanitary sewer overflow.--The term `sanitary 
                sewer overflow' means an overflow, spill, release, or 
                diversion of wastewater from a sanitary sewer system. 
                Such term does not include municipal combined sewer 
                overflows or other discharges from a municipal combined 
                storm and sanitary sewer system and does not include 
                wastewater backups into buildings caused by a blockage 
                or other malfunction of a building lateral that is 
                privately owned. Such term includes overflows or 
                releases of wastewater that reach waters of the United 
                States, overflows or releases of wastewater in the 
                United States that do not reach waters of the United 
                States, and wastewater backups into buildings that are 
                caused by blockages or flow conditions in a sanitary 
                sewer other than a building lateral.
                    ``(B) Sewer overflow.--The term `sewer overflow' 
                means a sanitary sewer overflow or a municipal combined 
                sewer overflow.
                    ``(C) Single-family residence.--The term `single-
                family residence' means an individual dwelling unit, 
                including an apartment, condominium, house, or 
                dormitory. Such term does not include the common areas 
                of a multi-dwelling structure.''.

SEC. 4. ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Purpose of State Revolving Fund.--Section 601(a) of the Federal 
Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1381(a)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' the first place it appears; and
            (2) by inserting after ``section 320'' the following: ``, 
        and (4) for the implementation of requirements to monitor for 
        sewer overflows under section 402''.
    (b) Water Pollution Control Revolving Loan Funds.--Section 603(c) 
of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1383(c)) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' the first place it appears; and
            (2) by inserting after ``section 320 of this Act'' the 
        following: ``, and (4) for the implementation of requirements 
        to monitor for sewer overflows under section 402''.
                                                      Calendar No. 1075

110th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 2080

                          [Report No. 110-497]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to ensure that sewage 
 treatment plants monitor for and report discharges of raw sewage, and 
                          for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

           September 24 (legislative day, September 17), 2008

                       Reported with an amendment