[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2086 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2086
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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 11, 2019
Ms. Duckworth (for herself and Mr. Whitehouse) 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 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 2019''.
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 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 2019; 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), 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 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 give the owner
of each residential and nonresidential facility at which
sampling data is collected the option to be identified only by
block number and street name.
``(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;
``(iv) require sampling at all drinking
water taps in all schools served by the public
water system; 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 on where the source of lead is for all
individual samples with a lead or copper concentration above
the action level--
``(A) to be completed by the public water system or
local health department within 10 business days of the
sample result; and
``(B) to include additional samples at additional
locations 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--
``(A) within 2 calendar days of detecting such an
exceedance that is specific to one or more facilities,
notify the persons at such facilities; and
``(B) within 10 calendar days of completion of
sampling for a monitoring period applicable under
section 141.86 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations
(or any successor regulation), make a report on any
exceedance detected pursuant to such sampling publicly
available.
``(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) lead service line replacement materials and
financial assistance forms; and
``(D) 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 2019
make publicly accessible 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) give the owners of such residential and
nonresidential facilities the option to be identified only by
block number and street name; 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 2019 make publicly accessible all legal documents
establishing the ownership of service lines at residential and
nonresidential facilities.
``(g) Service Line Replacement.--
``(1) In general.--Whenever a public water system replaces
a lead service line, the lead and copper rule shall--
``(A) require the system to replace the line from
the transmission line to where the line enters the
facility; and
``(B) prohibit partial replacement.
``(2) Prioritization.--The lead and copper rule shall
require any public water system engaged in replacing lead
service lines to prioritize such replacement at high-risk
buildings.
``(h) 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.
``(2) The term `lead service line' means a service line
that is not lead free (within the meaning of section 1417).
``(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) if the system does not maintain a publicly
accessible website, distributed by carrier route to the
persons served by the system.''.
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, 2022, the action
level for lead in drinking water is not more than 10
parts per billion; and
``(B) not later than December 31, 2028, the action
level for lead in drinking water is not more than 5
parts per billion.''.
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