[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 212 Received in Senate (RDS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 212


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 25, 2015

                                Received

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide for the assessment and 
management of the risk of algal toxins in 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Drinking Water Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO THE SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT.

    (a) Amendment.--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. ALGAL TOXIN 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 risks associated with algal toxins in drinking water 
        provided by public water systems. The strategic plan shall 
        include steps and timelines to--
                    ``(A) evaluate the risk to human health from 
                drinking water provided by public water systems 
                contaminated with algal toxins;
                    ``(B) establish, publish, and update a 
                comprehensive list of algal toxins which the 
                Administrator determines may have an adverse effect on 
                human health when present in drinking water provided by 
                public water systems, taking into account likely 
                exposure levels;
                    ``(C) summarize--
                            ``(i) the known adverse human health 
                        effects of algal toxins included on the list 
                        published under subparagraph (B) when present 
                        in drinking water provided by public water 
                        systems; and
                            ``(ii) factors that cause toxin-producing 
                        cyanobacteria and algae to proliferate and 
                        express toxins;
                    ``(D) with respect to algal toxins included on the 
                list published under subparagraph (B), determine 
                whether to--
                            ``(i) publish health advisories pursuant to 
                        section 1412(b)(1)(F) for such algal toxins in 
                        drinking water provided by public water 
                        systems;
                            ``(ii) establish guidance regarding 
                        feasible analytical methods to quantify the 
                        presence of algal toxins; and
                            ``(iii) establish guidance regarding the 
                        frequency of monitoring necessary to determine 
                        if such algal toxins are present in drinking 
                        water provided by public water systems;
                    ``(E) recommend feasible treatment options, 
                including procedures, equipment, and source water 
                protection practices, to mitigate any adverse public 
                health effects of algal toxins included on the list 
                published under subparagraph (B); 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 algal toxins included on the list 
                published under subparagraph (B).
            ``(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 algal 
        toxins, including--
                    ``(A) the human health effects of algal toxins 
                included on the list published under subsection 
                (a)(1)(B); and
                    ``(B) methods and means of testing and monitoring 
                for the presence of harmful algal toxins in 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 cyanobacteria or 
                        algal toxins; or
                            ``(ii) address public health concerns 
                        related to harmful algal blooms;
                    ``(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 cyanobacteria or algal 
                toxins; or
                    ``(B) addressed public health concerns related to 
                harmful algal blooms.
    ``(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).''.
    (b) Report to Congress.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall prepare and submit to Congress a report that includes--
            (1) an inventory of funds--
                    (A) expended by the United States, for each of 
                fiscal years 2010 through 2014, to examine or analyze 
                toxin-producing cyanobacteria and algae or address 
                public health concerns related to harmful algal blooms; 
                and
                    (B) that includes the specific purpose for which 
                the funds were made available, the law under which the 
                funds were authorized, and the Federal agency that 
                received or spent the funds; and
            (2) recommended steps to reduce any duplication, and 
        improve interagency coordination, of such expenditures.

            Passed the House of Representatives February 24, 2015.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.