[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3677 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3677
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to improve transparency under the
national primary drinking water regulations for lead and copper, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 10, 2019
Mr. Kildee introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to improve transparency under the
national primary drinking water regulations for lead and copper, 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 ``National Opportunity for Lead
Exposure Accountability and Deterrence Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING WATER REGULATIONS FOR LEAD AND
COPPER.
The Safe Drinking Water Act is amended by inserting after section
1417 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 300g-6) the following:
``SEC. 1417A. NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING WATER REGULATIONS FOR LEAD AND
COPPER.
``(a) Lead and Copper Rule.--
``(1) In general.--The national primary drinking water
regulations for lead and copper (in this section referred to as
the `lead and copper rule') shall include each of the
requirements described in this section.
``(2) Revision.--The Administrator shall revise the lead
and copper rule in accordance with this section--
``(A) not later than 9 months after the date of
enactment of the National Opportunity for Lead Exposure
Accountability and Deterrence Act of 2017; and
``(B) thereafter, in accordance with section
1412(b).
``(b) Sampling.--
``(1) Applicability.--This subsection applies with respect
to sampling by a public water system of lead or copper in
drinking water, irrespective of whether such sampling--
``(A) is required by the lead and copper rule; or
``(B) is voluntary sampling initiated by customers
of the public water system.
``(2) Reporting.--Subject to paragraph (3), not less than
once every 3 months, a public water system shall report the
results of sampling to the Administrator or the State
exercising primary enforcement responsibility, as applicable,
and shall include in such reporting--
``(A) the number of residential and nonresidential
facilities at which the sampling was conducted;
``(B) subject to paragraph (4), the address of such
residential and nonresidential facilities;
``(C) previous samples taken at such residential
and nonresidential facilities and the results of those
samples;
``(D) where such information exists, the material
composition of the service lines at such residential
and nonresidential facilities;
``(E) the dates on which the respective sampling
occurred;
``(F) the highest and median lead and copper levels
detected;
``(G) the 90th percentile lead and copper levels
(as such percentile is calculated under section 141.80
of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, and any
successor regulations) detected;
``(H) the number and value of all samples pursuant
to sampling described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of
paragraph (1) above the lead or copper action levels;
``(I) the disinfectants and corrosion inhibitors
being used and the target doses at the water treatment
plant;
``(J) any changes since the previous report under
this section in the type, method, or quantity of
treatments being used in the water sampled;
``(K) the history of violations, and fines
received, by the system;
``(L) the number of samples invalidated and the
reason for their invalidation; and
``(M) if sampling is conducted at residential
facilities other than those with lead service lines, an
explanation of why such sampling was conducted.
``(3) Public availability of reports.--A public water
system shall make publicly available any report that is
required by this section or by the lead and copper rule.
``(4) Privacy.--A public water system shall--
``(A) give the owner of each residential and
nonresidential facility at which sampling data is
collected, at the written request of such owner, the
option be identified only by block number and street
name, unless the facility includes a child care center;
and
``(B) keep each such request on file.
``(5) Sampling protocol; instructions.--The Administrator
shall--
``(A) develop a protocol for sampling for
compliance with the lead and copper rule;
``(B) in such protocol--
``(i) prohibit the use of techniques that
minimize the detection of lead or copper in
drinking water;
``(ii) require sampling under this section
to occur not less than once per year;
``(iii) include criteria for site selection
that prioritize testing at high-risk buildings
(as defined in subsection (g));
``(iv) require sampling in all schools and
child care centers served by the public water
system at all designated drinking water taps,
to be designated by the respective schools and
child care centers; and
``(v) require the sampling methodology to
be scientifically based; and
``(C) develop instructions for compliance with such
protocol for dissemination to public water systems and
customers thereof.
``(c) Action Level Exceeded.--
``(1) Investigations.--The Administrator (or the State
exercising primary enforcement responsibility) shall require
on-site investigations to identify the source of lead in all
residential or nonresidential facilities with individual
samples with a lead or copper concentration above the action
level, which investigations shall--
``(A) subject to paragraph (3), be completed by the
public water system or local health department within
10 business days of the sample result; and
``(B) include additional samples at additional
locations outside of the facility sampled to identify
the potential scope of elevated lead or copper levels.
``(2) Notification.--Whenever a public water system detects
a lead or copper concentration level above the action level,
the system shall, within 2 calendar days of detecting such an
exceedance that is specific to one or more facilities, notify
the persons at such facilities.
``(3) No response from owner of facility.--The requirement
of paragraph (1)(A) to complete an investigation concerning a
facility is deemed to be satisfied if--
``(A) within the period of 10 business days
described in such paragraph, the public water system or
local health department makes at least 3 attempts to
contact the owners of the facility, including--
``(i) at least once in person;
``(ii) at least once by letter or email;
and
``(iii) at least once in person or by phone
call, letter, or email;
``(B) the public water system or local health
department maintains documentation of such attempts;
and
``(C) such owners fail to respond.
``(d) Public Education.--The lead and copper rule shall require
testing results--
``(1) to be in a standardized format;
``(2) to be posted on the website of the Administrator, the
State exercising primary enforcement responsibility, and the
public water system; and
``(3) to include--
``(A) the provisions of consumer confidence reports
under section 1414(c)(4) relating to lead and copper;
``(B) reports under subsection (b)(2) on the
results of sampling;
``(C) educational materials on lead service line
replacement and financial assistance, including forms
for applying for such financial assistance; and
``(D) instructions on how a consumer can request a
water test.
``(e) Service Line Inventory.--A public water system shall--
``(1) develop, maintain, and beginning not later than 3
years after the date of enactment of the National Opportunity
for Lead Exposure Accountability and Deterrence Act of 2017
make publicly available an inventory of the material
composition of the service lines at all residential and
nonresidential facilities, including--
``(A) online maps showing the locations of lead
service lines; and
``(B) where information is available, a history of
services performed on such lines, including partial
line replacement;
``(2)(A) give the owner of each residential and
nonresidential facility at which sampling data is collected, at
the written request of such owner, the option be identified
only by block number and street name, unless the facility
includes a child care center; and
``(B) keep each such request on file; and
``(3) in developing such inventory, take measures to
minimize any disturbance to service lines that might release
contaminants.
``(f) Service Line Ownership.--A public water system shall collect,
maintain, and beginning not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of the National Opportunity for Lead Exposure Accountability
and Deterrence Act of 2017 make publicly available all legal documents
establishing the ownership of service lines at residential and
nonresidential facilities.
``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `high-risk buildings' means--
``(A) residential and nonresidential facilities
with lead service lines--
``(i) that have galvanized pipes;
``(ii) that have low water use; or
``(iii) whose lead service lines are among
the longest served by the public water system;
and
``(B) residential facilities at which one or more
pregnant women or children reside or where in-home
childcare occurs.
``(2) The term `lead service line' means a pipe and its
fittings, which are not lead free (as defined under section
1417 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300g-6)), that
connect the drinking water main to the building inlet.
``(3) The term `publicly available' means that a report
is--
``(A) written in plain language that is culturally
and linguistically appropriate; and
``(B)(i) published on a publicly accessible website
of the public water system; or
``(ii) with respect to any person who is served by
the system and gives notice to the system of not having
access to a publicly available website, distributed by
carrier route.''.
SEC. 3. TO LOWER THE ACTION LEVEL FOR LEAD IN DRINKING WATER.
Section 1412(b) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300g-
1(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(16) Lead in drinking water.--The Administrator shall
revise the national primary drinking water regulation for lead
to ensure that--
``(A) not later than December 31, 2020, the action
level for lead in drinking water is not more than 10
parts per billion; and
``(B) not later than December 31, 2026, the action
level for lead in drinking water is not more than 5
parts per billion.''.
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