[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3206 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3206

  To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to require a national primary 
               drinking water regulation for perchlorate.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 14, 2009

Ms. Speier (for herself, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Berman, Mr. 
Sherman, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Inslee, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, Mr. 
 Pallone, Mr. Nadler of New York, Mr. Honda, Mr. Hastings of Florida, 
     Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Weiner, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. George Miller of 
 California, Mr. McNerney, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Blumenauer, 
Mr. McDermott, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. DeGette, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. 
Grijalva, Ms. Matsui, and Mr. Miller of North Carolina) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to require a national primary 
               drinking water regulation 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 ``Safe Drinking Water for Healthy 
Communities Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Perchlorate is a chemical used as the primary 
        ingredient in solid propellant for rockets, missiles, and 
        fireworks.
            (2) Large-scale production of perchlorate-containing 
        chemicals in the United States began in the mid-1940s and large 
        volumes have been disposed of in various States since the 
        1950s.
            (3) Perchlorate is an oxidizing anion that originates as a 
        contaminant in ground and surface waters and is highly soluble 
        and exceedingly mobile in aqueous systems, persisting for many 
        decades under typical ground and surface water conditions.
            (4) The most prevalent sources of perchlorate contamination 
        in environmental media can be traced to the manufacture and 
        improper disposal of wastes from blasting agents and military 
        munitions and to a lesser extent fireworks.
            (5) Ninety percent of perchlorate in the United States is 
        produced for use by the Department of Defense and the National 
        Aeronautics and Space Administration.
            (6) According to the Government Accountability Office, in 
        May 2005, perchlorate contamination has been detected in water 
        and soil at almost 400 sites in the United States. The 
        Government Accountability Office concluded that because there 
        is no standardized approach for reporting perchlorate data 
        nationwide, a greater number of sites may exist.
            (7) According to the Government Accountability Office, in 
        May 2005, 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. The Government Accountability Office 
        reported that concentrations of perchlorate in drinking water 
        ranged from 4 parts per billion to more than 420 parts per 
        billion.
            (8) Environmental Protection Agency data likely 
        underestimates the total drinking water exposure, as 
        illustrated by the findings of the California Department of 
        Health Services that perchlorate has contaminated approximately 
        276 drinking water sources and 77 drinking water systems in the 
        State of California.
            (9) Food and Drug Administration scientists and other 
        scientific researchers have detected perchlorate in the United 
        States food supply, including but not limited to lettuce, milk, 
        cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, cantaloupe, wheat, and spinach, 
        and in human breast milk.
            (10) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has 
        concluded that perchlorate exposure appears to be widespread in 
        the United States populations.
            (11) The National Academy of Sciences released a report on 
        January 10, 2005, which recommended a perchlorate reference 
        dose of 0.0007 milligrams per kilogram per day.
            (12) In March 2006, the Children's Health Protection 
        Advisory Committee advised the Environmental Protection Agency 
        that the Agency's preliminary remediation goal (PRG) for 
        perchlorate is not protective of children's health, as it can 
        result in a nursing infant exposure that is 5 to 10 times 
        higher than the recommended dose (Rfd) of 24.5 parts per 
        billion.
            (13) Perchlorate inhibits the uptake of iodine by the 
        thyroid gland (which is necessary to produce important hormones 
        which help regulate normal human health and development), 
        presenting a risk to human health in vulnerable populations, 
        including pregnant women and children.
            (14) In October 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention found significant changes in the level of thyroid 
        hormones in humans exposed to perchlorate. For women with low 
        iodine levels, perchlorate exposure was associated with changes 
        in the production levels of hormones by the thyroid. About 36 
        percent of women in the United States have lower iodine levels.
            (15) Given the seriousness of the potential adverse effects 
        associated with perchlorate and the fact that children were at 
        risk, combined with the absence of a Federal drinking water 
        standard (MCL) for perchlorate, California proposed a drinking 
        water standard of 6 parts per billion, and Massachusetts 
        promulgated a drinking water standard of 2 parts per billion.
            (16) Other States, including Nevada, Texas, New York, and 
        Maryland, have issued some form of drinking water guidance for 
        perchlorate, including a drinking water action level, health-
        based guidance, and a health based advisory level at ranges 
        from 1 part per billion to 18 parts per billion.
            (17) Perchlorate has been detected in the soil, surface 
        waters, and groundwater at 55 Department of Defense facilities 
        across the country, with off-site migration occurring at some 
        facilities.
            (18) As of 2003, the Department of Defense policy on 
        perchlorate requires sampling only where a perchlorate release 
        due to Department activities is suspected and a complete human 
        exposure pathway is likely to exist.
            (19) According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the 
        Department of Defense is deferring all remedial action relating 
        to perchlorate contamination at or from its facilities until a 
        Federal perchlorate drinking water standard is adopted.
            (20) There are as many as 22 contaminants without Federal 
        drinking water standards for which the Environmental Protection 
        Agency has set site specific cleanup levels for the remediation 
        of groundwater, making the lack of response actions for 
        perchlorate contamination at Department of Defense Superfund 
        facilities a unique situation.
            (21) The Environmental Protection Agency has failed to take 
        enforcement action against the Department of Defense to cause 
        the Department to mitigate or remediate the perchlorate 
        contamination emanating from its Aberdeen Proving Ground 
        facility that has adversely impacted the drinking water supply 
        for the City of Aberdeen, Maryland.
            (22) Since 2002, the Department of Defense actively sought 
        to exempt the Department from State and Federal public health 
        and environmental laws which protect drinking water supplies 
        from chemical constituents of military munitions including 
        perchlorate.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING WATER REGULATION 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) Schedule and standard.--
                        Notwithstanding the deadlines set forth in 
                        paragraph (1), the Administrator shall 
                        promulgate a national primary drinking water 
                        regulation for perchlorate pursuant to this 
                        subsection, in accordance with the schedule 
                        established by this subparagraph.
                            ``(ii) Proposed regulations.--Not later 
                        than 12 months after the date of the enactment 
                        of this subparagraph, the Administrator shall 
                        publish in the Federal Register a proposed 
                        national primary drinking water regulation for 
                        perchlorate.
                            ``(iii) Final regulations.--Not later than 
                        18 months after the date of publication of the 
                        proposed national primary drinking water 
                        regulation required by clause (ii), after 
                        notice and opportunity for public comment, the 
                        Administrator shall promulgate a national 
                        primary drinking water regulation for 
                        perchlorate.''.
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