[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 114 (Friday, July 14, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9974-S9977]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  COMPREHENSIVE REGULATORY REFORM ACT

  The Senate continued with the consideration of the bill.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending 
amendment be temporarily laid aside so we can present another 
amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                Amendment No. 1548 to Amendment No. 1487

(Purpose: To extend the terms of permits for grazing on National Forest 
      System lands to allow time for compliance with the National 
  Environmental Policy Act of 1969 in connection with permit renewals)

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk, for and on 
behalf of Senator Thomas of Wyoming, and ask for its immediate 
consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Utah [Mr. Hatch] for Mr. Thomas, proposes 
     an amendment numbered 1548 to amendment No. 1487.

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of 
the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC.   . RENEWAL OF PERMITS FOR GRAZING ON NATIONAL FOREST 
                   LANDS.

       Notwithstanding any other law, at the request of an 
     applicant for renewal of a permit that has expired before, 
     on, or after the date of enactment of this Act for grazing on 
     land located in a unit of the National Forest System for 
     which a land and resource management plan under section 6 of 
     the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 
     1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604) is in effect, if all action required 
     under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 with 
     respect to the land and resource management plan has been 
     taken, the Secretary of Agriculture shall reinstate, if 
     necessary, and extend the term of the permit until the date 
     on which the Secretary of Agriculture completes action on the 
     application, including action required under the National 
     Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
       (b) This section shall apply only to permits that were not 
     renewed solely because the action required under the National 
     Environmental Policy Act had not been completed.

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, it is my understanding that this amendment 
has been cleared by both sides. We are prepared to accept it and make 
it part of the Senate bill. I ask the distinguished Senator from 
Michigan if that is correct.
  Mr. LEVIN. The amendment is acceptable on this side, Mr. President.
  Mr. HATCH. I urge adoption of the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. If there is no further debate, the question is 
on agreeing to the amendment.
  So the amendment (No. 1548) was agreed to.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the 
amendment was agreed to.
  Mr. LEVIN. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I again ask unanimous consent that the 
pending business be temporarily set aside.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                Amendment No. 1549 to Amendment No. 1487

 (Purpose: To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to modify 
    the bottled drinking water standards provisions to require the 
   establishment of regulations relating to contaminants in bottled 
                            drinking water)

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I send another amendment to the desk and 
ask for its immediate consideration. I send this amendment for and on 
behalf of Senator Snowe, our Senator from Maine.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Utah [Mr. Hatch], for Ms. Snowe, for 
     herself, Mr. Kempthorne, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Leahy and Mr. 
     Lieberman, proposes an amendment numbered 1549 to amendment 
     No. 1487.

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of 
the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

       At the appropriate place in the substitute amendment insert 
     the following new section:

     SEC.  . BOTTLED WATER STANDARDS.

       Section 410 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 
     U.S.C. 349) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``Whenever'' and inserting ``(a) Except as 
     provided in subsection (b), whenever''; and
       (2) by adding at the end thereof the following new 
     subsection:
       ``(b)(1)(A) Not later than 180 days after the Administrator 
     of the Environmental Protection Agency promulgates a national 
     primary drinking water regulation for a contaminant under 
     section 1412 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
     300g-1), the Secretary, 

[[Page S9975]]
     after public notice and comment, shall issue a regulation under this 
     subsection for that contaminant in bottled water or make a 
     finding that the regulation is not necessary to protect the 
     public health because the contaminant is contained in water 
     in public water systems (as defined under section 1401(4) of 
     such Act (42 U.S.C. 300F(4))) but not in water used for 
     bottled drinking water.
       ``(B) In the case of contaminants for which national 
     primary drinking water regulations were promulgated under 
     section 1412 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
     300g-1) before the date of enactment of the Comprehensive 
     Regulatory Reform Act of 1995, the Secretary shall issue the 
     regulation or publish the finding not later than 1 year after 
     such date of enactment.
       ``(2) The regulation shall include any monitoring 
     requirements that the Secretary determines appropriate for 
     bottled water.
       ``(3) The regulation shall require the following:
       ``(A) In the case of contaminants for which a maximum 
     contaminant level is established in a national primary 
     drinking water regulation under section 1412 of the Public 
     Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300g-1), the regulation under 
     this subsection shall establish a maximum contaminant level 
     for the contaminant in bottled water that is at least as 
     stringent as the maximum contaminant level provided in the 
     national primary drinking water regulation.
       ``(B) In the case of contaminants for which a treatment 
     technique is established in a national primary drinking water 
     regulation under section 1412 of the Public Health Service 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 300g-1), the regulation under this subsection 
     shall require that bottled water be subject to requirements 
     no less protective of the public health than those applicable 
     to water provided by public water systems using the treatment 
     technique required by the national primary drinking water 
     regulation.
       ``(4)(A) If the Secretary fails to establish a regulation 
     within the 180-day period described in paragraph (1)(A) of 
     the 1-year period described in paragraph (1)(B) (whichever is 
     applicable), the national primary drinking water regulation 
     described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of such paragraph (which 
     is applicable) shall be considered, as of the date on which 
     the Secretary is required to establish a regulation under 
     such paragraph, as the regulation applicable under this 
     subsection to bottled water.
       ``(B) Not later than 30 days after the end of the 180-day 
     period, or the 1-year period (whichever is applicable), 
     described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), the 
     Secretary shall, with respect to a national primary drinking 
     water regulation that is considered applicable to bottled 
     water as provided in subparagraph (A), publish a notice in 
     the Federal Register that--
       ``(i) sets forth the requirements of the national primary 
     drinking water regulation, including monitoring requirements, 
     which shall be applicable to bottled water; and
       ``(ii) provides that--
       ``(I) in the case of a national primary drinking water 
     regulation promulgated after the date of enactment of the 
     Comprehensive Regulatory Reform Act of 1995, the requirements 
     shall take effect on the date on which the national primary 
     drinking water regulation for the contaminant takes effect 
     under section 1412 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
     U.S.C. 300g-1); or
       ``(II) in the case of a national primary drinking water 
     regulation promulgated before the date of enactment of the 
     Comprehensive Regulatory Reform Act of 1995, the requirements 
     shall take effect on the date that is 18 months after such 
     date of the enactment.''.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I understand that both sides have agreed to 
accept this amendment. Therefore, I urge adoption of the amendment.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, the amendment is acceptable on this side. 
My understanding of the amendment, and I would like perhaps 
confirmation of this from my friend from Utah, is that this amendment 
gets into the problems that have been created for the bottled water 
industry by the delay in getting the rules which they are waiting for 
accepted and promulgated.
  If my understanding is correct, this is an instance where it is the 
business community that wants the rule. Sometimes we think it is the 
business community alone that is bothered by burdensome regulations. 
There have been too many instances where there have been burdensome 
regulations. There has also been many instances where there were 
critically necessary regulations, and the struggle we are going through 
is to try to come up with reform which will leave in place the 
essential process to protect our health and safety.
  But my understanding of this amendment is that in the case of the 
bottled water industry, we have an industry which has been waiting for 
regulation, asking for regulation in order to stop people from 
representing on bottled water that it, for instance, might be spring 
water if it is just tap water.
  We need, we are told by the bottled water industry, the agency to 
act, and the delay in this is actually hurting an industry.
  So this is an instance where it is the industry which is trying to 
get through a regulatory process, trying to get a rule which will both 
protect it from bottled water which is misrepresented as something 
other than it is not, and we also had the situation where this was 
caught up in a moratorium.
  One of the arguments against the moratorium is while it may sound 
good at first blush, the problem is we have a whole lot of businesses, 
as well as people, waiting for safety and environmental and health 
rules, that are awaiting the regulatory process to work.
  I have not had a chance to study this amendment, and I want to make 
sure my understanding is correct, but it is my understanding that the 
purpose of this amendment is an attempt to get the bottled water 
regulations finally adopted; is that correct?
  Mr. HATCH. As I understand it, the Senator has stated it correctly. 
This is the situation where regulation can be a very good thing if it 
is appropriately done. And, in many cases, it can be a very good thing. 
And so I commend the Senator from Maine for bringing it forth at this 
time. I believe the Senator is correct. I urge adoption of the 
amendment.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I want to first thank the majority leader 
and Senator Hatch for working with me and Senators Cohen, Kempthorne, 
Leahy, and Lieberman on this amendment. Throughout this process, they 
have clearly demonstrated their strong support for the bottled water 
industry and for bottled water consumers, and they deserve to be 
commended for their cooperation and good work.
  I also wanted to clarify a couple of points that were raised during 
the discussion on the amendment between Senator Hatch and Senator 
Levin. First, it is definitely correct that the amendment is supported 
by the bottled water industry. In fact, this legislation has been one 
of the bottled water industry's biggest priorities for the past couple 
of years.
  Second, Senator Levin referenced the FDA's standards for defining 
spring water. This amendment does not apply to the FDA's spring water 
definition rules. It applies only to public health standards for 
bottled water.
  In addition, I wanted to point out that the big issue here is more 
the discrepancy in timing between the EPA's and the FDA's issuance of 
rules for tap water and bottled water, respectively, than it is the 
bottled water industry's level of enthusiasm for Federal regulation. 
The bottled water industry does have an interest in the promulgation of 
reasonable regulations that provide additional assurances of the safety 
of its product, but the industry's biggest interest is in making sure 
that the FDA does not take too long in issuing its regulations for 
bottled water after the EPA promulgates regulations for tap water. And 
I will explain why in a moment.
  I also wanted to thank Senator Kempthorne, who chairs the 
Subcommittee on Drinking Water, Fisheries, and Wildlife, for his 
assistance in getting this amendment adopted. My motive in offering the 
amendment to the regulatory reform bill was to provide another option 
by which we can get the legislation enacted, giving it a better chance 
of ultimate success. But I think it is important to recognize that 
Senator Kempthorne has been working on this issue as part of the Safe 
Drinking Water Act reauthorization bill that he is now drafting, and 
that he will continue to do so as that bill moves through the 
Environment and Public Works Committee. I commend him for his efforts 
on this issue, and I look forward to working with him during the SDWA 
reauthorization process so that we can give this urgently needed 
legislation another opportunity for eventual adoption.
  Mr. President, my amendment, which is cosponsored by Senators Cohen, 
Kempthorne, Leahy, and Lieberman, is designed to make the regulatory 
process for
 bottled water more efficient and responsive, while expanding health 
protections for the consuming public.

  Under current law, bottled water is considered a food product, and is 
therefore subject to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. My 
amendment requires the FDA, which has jurisdiction 

[[Page S9976]]
over bottled water, to publish final regulations for a contaminant in 
bottled water no more than 6 months after the EPA has issued 
regulations for that same contaminant in public drinking water or tap 
water.
  Unfortunately, the FDA has a history of long delays in issuing its 
regulations for bottled water after EPA publishes its standards for tap 
water. On December 1, 1994, FDA published a final rule for 35 
contaminants in bottled water. Nearly 4 years earlier, however, in 
January 1991, the EPA regulations for these contaminants had already 
been issued.
  In another case, it took the FDA 4 years to issue regulations for a 
series of volatile organic chemicals in bottled water after the EPA 
issued regulations for those chemicals in public drinking water in 
1989. And presently, final regulations for 23 new contaminants in 
bottled water are still pending at FDA, even though the EPA's version 
of the regulations went into effect in January 1994--a year and a half 
ago.
  While the FDA takes its time, bottled water producers and consumers 
are left in limbo. In the absence of Federal standards, the bottled 
water industry, which is composed of 430 bottling facilities in the 
United States, is vulnerable to charges that its product is unsafe. In 
fact, the Administrator of the EPA suggested publicly on two occasions 
that bottled water was not fully protected because the FDA had not 
issued certain regulations that had already been issued by the EPA for 
public drinking water.
  Of course, charges that bottled water is unsafe or unprotected 
couldn't be further from the truth. Bottled water is subject to strict 
industry safety standards and to various State rules. But the Federal 
standards do provide an important additional assurance for consumers 
nationwide. Without these standards, consumers may question whether 
bottled water is really a safe, natural, and healthy alternative to tap 
water, and sales in the industry could be unnecessarily dampened. Not 
only do consumers lose when the bureaucracy drags its feet, but an 
industry that employs thousands of Americans loses.
  My amendment will ensure a more expeditious response in the future. 
In addition to the 6-month deadline for new contaminants, the FDA will 
be given 1 year to issue final regulations for contaminants that the 
EPA already regulates, but that have not yet received new FDA standards 
for bottled water. If the FDA fails to meet either the 6-month or 1-
year deadlines, the existing EPA standard is automatically implemented 
for bottled water.
  In some cases, FDA may determine that a particular contaminant 
regulated by EPA does not occur in bottled water. My amendment would 
allow the FDA to simply publish such findings in the Federal Register 
before the deadline periods expire.
  The amendment also stipulates that in all cases, the FDA standards 
for bottled water must be at least as stringent as the EPA's standards 
for public drinking water. The bill does reserve the FDA's right to 
issue more stringent standards, however, adding an extra measure of 
public health protection, if necessary.
  It is my hope that this amendment will prompt the FDA to coordinate 
its regulatory activities for drinking water with the EPA from the 
beginning, before either agency issues a notice of proposed rulemaking. 
By coordinating in this process, the agencies could issue their 
regulations at roughly the same time. The amendment would therefore 
have the effect of improving the efficiency of the Federal regulatory 
process--something all of us agree is necessary--while enhancing health 
protections for consumers. It represents a clear win-win proposition 
for all of our constituents.
  The bottled water industry generates $2.7 billion in sales annually, 
and it serves millions of American consumers, with the potential to 
serve even more. Surely, these producers and consumers alike deserve 
the kind of consideration from
 their Government that my amendment guarantees. I am pleased to see 
that Senators on both sides of the aisle agree and support the 
amendment.

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am glad to be a cosponsor of Senator 
Snowe's amendment which is the exact language of S. 412 regarding 
bottled water quality standards. Like many other enterprises from heart 
surgery to hang-gliding, the bottled water industry needs nationwide 
regulations that ensure the quality of its product.
  The Food and Drug Administration [FDA] has been very slow in issuing 
regulations that guarantee a particular standard of quality. In fact, 
the FDA has lagged behind the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], 
sometimes by a matter of several years. The net result is that some 
water companies can legally distribute water that is less healthy than 
ordinary tap water. This is bad for consumers, bad for honest 
businesses, and underscores one of the reasons why our Nation is 
supportive of regulated standards.
  I am particularly interested in this amendment because of a Vermont 
business that has a clear interest in enforceable standards of quality. 
The Vermont Pure Springs Company of Randolph Center, VT, is one of the 
great success stories of Vermont's growing specialty food industry. 
Vermont Pure Springs produces, in my opinion, the best bottled water in 
the world--Vermont Pure Natural Spring Water. In fact, I invite each of 
my colleagues to stop by my office to taste this water--I keep about a 
dozen bottles of Vermont Pure water in my refrigerator.
  Each bottle of Vermont Pure Natural Spring Water contains water that 
is naturally filtered through Vermont mountain rock strata for at least 
12 to 20 years. Some of Vermont Pure Springs' competition comes from 
companies whose water is not only not as pure as Vermont Pure, but may 
in fact have pollutants that are illegal in tap water. Since its 
beginning in 1990, Vermont Pure Springs has been seeking the regulatory 
guidance in this amendment to ensure its water is known throughout the 
world and guaranteed by our Government as Vermont Pure.
  The provisions of this bill ensure that whenever the Environmental 
Protection Agency issues new standards for drinking water, the FDA will 
have 180 days to issue regulations that address the same contaminants 
to the minimum standard required by the EPA. If the FDA does not issue 
formal regulations, the EPA drinking water standards apply to bottled 
water. In the case of EPA standards that have already been established 
and the FDA has not yet acted, the FDA has 1 year to act before the EPA 
standards automatically apply. This bill allows the FDA to hold bottled 
water to a stricter standard, but ensures that bottled water will be 
held to a minimal standards.
  I appreciate the opportunity to consider this amendment today. I look 
forward to moving this particular legislation through Congress so that 
it may be signed by the President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate?
  The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  The amendment (No. 1549) was agreed to.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. LEVIN. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, it appears that we cannot get the Hutchison 
amendment completed and negotiated in a way that is satisfactory to 
both sides. It is my understanding that the distinguished Senator from 
Texas is prepared to go to a vote on the amendment. I hope the other 
side is prepared to do that.
  Mr. LEVIN. Well, we had a conversation where it was, I thought, 
indicated that we were trying to----
  Mr. HATCH. I talked to the Senator from Texas and she felt it was not 
getting done.
  Mr. LEVIN. We are awaiting their redraft of the amendment.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, we are making some progress. We would like 
to work through the afternoon. 

[[Page S9977]]

  I had a discussion with the distinguished Democratic leader about 
there being a number of votes on Monday. We may move the time for the 
cloture vote, depending on what I hear from the Democratic leader.
  I have also indicated that in addition to that cloture vote, if 
cloture fails, there will be another cloture vote on Tuesday.

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