[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 24 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 24

 To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to require a health advisory and 
             monitoring of drinking water for perchlorate.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 4, 2007

Mrs. Boxer (for herself, Mrs. Feinstein, and Mr. Lautenberg) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                    on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to require a health advisory and 
             monitoring of drinking water for perchlorate.

    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 ``Perchlorate Monitoring and Right-to-
Know Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) perchlorate--
                    (A) is a chemical used as the primary ingredient of 
                solid rocket propellant; and
                    (B) is also used in fireworks, road flares, and 
                other applications.
            (2) waste from the manufacture and improper disposal of 
        chemicals containing perchlorate is increasingly being 
        discovered in soil and water;
            (3) according to the Government Accountability Office, 
        perchlorate contamination has been detected in water and soil 
        at almost 400 sites in the United States, with concentration 
        levels ranging from 4 parts per billion to millions of parts 
        per billion;
            (4) the Government Accountability Office has determined 
        that the Environmental Protection Agency does not centrally 
        track or monitor perchlorate detections or the status of 
        perchlorate cleanup, so a greater number of contaminated sites 
        may already exist;
            (5) according to the Government Accountability Office, 
        limited Environmental Protection Agency data show that 
        perchlorate has been found in 35 States and the District of 
        Columbia and is known to have contaminated 153 public water 
        systems in 26 States;
            (6) those data are likely underestimates of total drinking 
        water exposure, as illustrated by the finding of the California 
        Department of Health Services that perchlorate contamination 
        sites have affected approximately 276 drinking water sources 
        and 77 drinking water systems in the State of California alone;
            (7) Food and Drug Administration scientists and other 
        scientific researchers have detected perchlorate in the United 
        States food supply, including in lettuce, milk, cucumbers, 
        tomatoes, carrots, cantaloupe, wheat, and spinach, and in human 
        breast milk;
            (8)(A) perchlorate can harm human health, especially in 
        pregnant women and children, by interfering with uptake of 
        iodide by the thyroid gland, which is necessary to produce 
        important hormones that help control human health and 
        development;
            (B) in adults, the thyroid helps to regulate metabolism;
            (C) in children, the thyroid helps to ensure proper mental 
        and physical development; and
            (D) impairment of thyroid function in expectant mothers or 
        infants may result in effects including delayed development and 
        decreased learning capability;
            (9)(A) in October 2006, researchers from the Centers for 
        Disease Control and Prevention published the largest, most 
        comprehensive study to date on the effects of low levels of 
        perchlorate exposure in women, finding that--
                    (i) significant changes existed in thyroid hormones 
                in women with low iodine levels who were exposed to 
                perchlorate; and
                    (ii) even low-level perchlorate exposure may affect 
                the production of hormones by the thyroid in iodine-
                deficient women; and
            (B) in the United States, about 36 percent of women have 
        iodine levels equivalent to or below the levels of the women in 
        the study described in subparagraph (A);
            (10) the Environmental Protection Agency has not 
        established a health advisory or national primary drinking 
        water regulation for perchlorate, but instead established a 
        ``Drinking Water Equivalent Level'' of 24.5 parts per billion 
        for perchlorate, which--
                    (A) does not take into consideration all routes of 
                exposure to perchlorate;
                    (B) has been criticized by experts as failing to 
                sufficiently consider the body weight, unique exposure, 
                and vulnerabilities of certain pregnant women and 
                fetuses, infants, and children; and
                    (C) is based primarily on a small study and does 
                not take into account new, larger studies of the 
                Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or other 
                data indicating potential effects at lower perchlorate 
                levels than previously found;
            (11) on August 22, 2005 (70 Fed. Reg. 49094), the 
        Administrator proposed to extend the requirement that 
        perchlorate be monitored in drinking water under the final rule 
        entitled ``Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation (UCMR) 
        for Public Water Systems Revisions'' promulgated pursuant to 
        section 1445(a)(2) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 
        300j-4(a)(2)); and
            (12) on December 20, 2006, the Administrator signed a final 
        rule removing perchlorate from the list of contaminants for 
        which monitoring is required under the final rule entitled 
        ``Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation (UCMR) for 
        Public Water Systems Revisions'' (72 Fed. Reg. 368 (January 4, 
        2007)).
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to require the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency--
            (1) to establish, not later than 90 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, a health advisory that--
                    (A) is fully protective of, and considers, the body 
                weight and exposure patterns of pregnant women, 
                fetuses, newborns, and children;
                    (B) provides an adequate margin of safety; and
                    (C) takes into account all routes of exposure to 
                perchlorate;
            (2) to promulgate, not later than 120 days after the date 
        of enactment of this Act, a final regulation requiring 
        monitoring for perchlorate in drinking water; and
            (3) to ensure the right of the public to know about 
        perchlorate in drinking water by requiring that consumer 
        confidence reports disclose the presence and potential health 
        effects of perchlorate in drinking water.

SEC. 3. MONITORING AND HEALTH ADVISORY FOR PERCHLORATE.

    Section 1412(b)(12) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300g-
1(b)(12)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) Perchlorate.--
                            ``(i) Health advisory.--Not later than 90 
                        days after the date of enactment of this 
                        subparagraph, the Administrator shall publish a 
                        health advisory for perchlorate that fully 
                        protects, with an adequate margin of safety, 
                        the health of vulnerable persons (including 
                        pregnant women, fetuses, newborns, and 
                        children), considering body weight and exposure 
                        patterns and all routes of exposure.
                            ``(ii) Monitoring regulations.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--The 
                                Administrator shall propose (not later 
                                than 60 days after the date of 
                                enactment of this subparagraph) and 
                                promulgate (not later than 120 days 
                                after the date of enactment of this 
                                subparagraph) a final regulation 
                                requiring--
                                            ``(aa) each public water 
                                        system serving more than 10,000 
                                        individuals to monitor for 
                                        perchlorate beginning not later 
                                        than October 31, 2007; and
                                            ``(bb) the collection of a 
                                        representative sample of public 
                                        water systems serving 10,000 
                                        individuals or fewer to monitor 
                                        for perchlorate in accordance 
                                        with section 1445(a)(2).
                                    ``(II) Duration.--The regulation 
                                shall be in effect unless and until 
                                monitoring for perchlorate is required 
                                under a national primary drinking water 
                                regulation for perchlorate.
                            ``(iii) Consumer confidence reports.--Each 
                        consumer confidence report issued under section 
                        1414(c)(4) shall disclose the presence of any 
                        perchlorate in drinking water, and the 
                        potential health risks of exposure to 
                        perchlorate in drinking water, consistent with 
                        guidance issued by the Administrator.''.
                                 <all>