[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1709 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1709

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide for the assessment and 
  management of the risks of drought to drinking water, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 26, 2015

 Mr. McNerney (for himself, Ms. Matsui, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Tonko, and Mr. 
    Honda) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide for the assessment and 
  management of the risks of drought to drinking water, 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. AMENDMENT TO THE SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT RELATING TO RISKS 
              OF DROUGHT TO DRINKING WATER.

    Part E of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 1459. DROUGHT RISK ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT.

    ``(a) Strategic Plan.--
            ``(1) Development.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
        of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall develop 
        and submit to Congress a strategic plan for assessing and 
        managing the risks of drought to drinking water provided by 
        public water systems. The strategic plan shall include steps 
        and timelines to--
                    ``(A) evaluate the risks posed by drought to 
                drinking water provided by public water systems;
                    ``(B) establish a comprehensive list of the effects 
                of drought on drinking water provided by public water 
                systems which the Administrator determines may have an 
                adverse effect on human health;
                    ``(C) summarize--
                            ``(i) the known adverse human health 
                        effects resulting from the effects of drought 
                        on drinking water included on the list 
                        established under subparagraph (B);
                            ``(ii) factors that cause drought; and
                            ``(iii) factors that exacerbate the effects 
                        of drought on drinking water provided by public 
                        water systems;
                    ``(D) with respect to the effects of drought on 
                drinking water included on the list established under 
                subparagraph (B), determine whether to--
                            ``(i) establish guidance regarding feasible 
                        analytical methods to quantify such effects; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) establish guidance regarding the 
                        frequency of monitoring necessary to detect 
                        such effects;
                    ``(E) recommend feasible treatment options, 
                including procedures, equipment, and source water 
                protection practices, to mitigate such effects; and
                    ``(F) enter into cooperative agreements with, and 
                provide technical assistance to, affected States and 
                public water systems, as identified by the 
                Administrator, for the purpose of managing risks 
                associated with the effects of drought on drinking 
                water.
            ``(2) Updates.--The Administrator shall, as appropriate, 
        update and submit to Congress the strategic plan developed 
        under paragraph (1).
    ``(b) Information Coordination.--In carrying out this section the 
Administrator shall--
            ``(1) identify gaps in the Agency's understanding of the 
        effects of drought on drinking water provided by public water 
        systems, including--
                    ``(A) the human health effects of drought; and
                    ``(B) methods and means of testing and monitoring 
                for the effects of drought on source water of, or 
                drinking water provided by, public water systems;
            ``(2) as appropriate, consult with--
                    ``(A) other Federal agencies that--
                            ``(i) examine or analyze drought; or
                            ``(ii) address public health concerns 
                        related to drought;
                    ``(B) States;
                    ``(C) operators of public water systems;
                    ``(D) multinational agencies;
                    ``(E) foreign governments;
                    ``(F) research and academic institutions; and
                    ``(G) companies that provide relevant drinking 
                water treatment options; and
            ``(3) assemble and publish information from each Federal 
        agency that has--
                    ``(A) examined or analyzed drought; or
                    ``(B) addressed public health concerns related to 
                drought.
    ``(c) Use of Science.--The Administrator shall carry out this 
section in accordance with the requirements described in section 
1412(b)(3)(A), as applicable.
    ``(d) Feasible.--For purposes of this section, the term `feasible' 
has the meaning given such term in section 1412(b)(4)(D).''.
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