[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 189 (Wednesday, November 29, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S17760-S17762]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT AMENDMENTS

  The Senate continued with the consideration of the bill.


                           Amendment No. 3073

  Mr. KEMPTHORNE. Mr. President, I send to the desk an amendment for 
immediate consideration on behalf of Senators Thomas and Simpson.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Idaho [Mr. Kempthorne], for Mr. Thomas, 
     for himself, and Mr. Simpson, proposes an amendment numbered 
     3073.

  Mr. KEMPTHORNE. 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:

       On page 7, line 23 after ``the State).'', add the 
     following: ``Provided further, in nonprimacy States, the 
     Governor shall determine which State agency will have the 
     authority to establish assistance priorities for financial 
     assistance provided with amounts deposited into the State 
     loan fund.''

  Mr. KEMPTHORNE. Mr. President, this amendment simply clarifies that 
for a State that does not have primacy to manage its drinking water 
program, the Governor, rather than a State agency, will have authority 
to establish priorities for the use of the State revolving loan fund. 
This is applicable to Wyoming, which does not have primacy.
  This amendment has been cleared by both sides of the aisle, and I ask 
for its adoption.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate on the amendment? If 
not, the question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  So the amendment (No. 3073) was agreed to.
  Mr. KEMPTHORNE. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which 
the amendment was agreed to.
  Mr. GREGG. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 3074

  Mr. KEMPTHORNE. Mr. President, I send to the desk an amendment on 
behalf of Senator Bond and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Idaho [Mr. Kempthorne], for Mr. Bond, 
     proposes an amendment numbered 3074.

  Mr. KEMPTHORNE. 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:


[[Page S 17761]]

       On page 111, line 22, insert: ``except that the 
     Administrator may provide for an extension of not more than 2 
     years if, after submission and review of appropriate, 
     adequate documentation from the State, the Administrator 
     determines that the extension is necessary and justified''.

  Mr. KEMPTHORNE. Mr. President, this amendment clarifies that the 
Administrator may grant up to a 2-year extension to a State that needs 
additional time to issue drinking water standards in compliance with 
this act. This authority is discretionary. States must show that the 
extension is necessary and justified.
  This amendment also has been cleared on both sides of the aisle. I 
ask for its adoption.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate on the amendment? If 
not, the question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  So the amendment (No. 3074) was agreed to.
  Mr. KEMPTHORNE. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which 
the amendment was agreed to, and I move to lay that motion on the 
table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 3075

(Purpose: To require that the needs of Native villages in the State of 
Alaska for drinking water treatment facilities be surveyed and assessed 
              as part of the State survey and assessment)

  Mr. KEMPTHORNE. Mr. President, I send to the desk on behalf of 
Senator Murkowski an amendment and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Idaho [Mr. Kemp- thorne], for Mr. 
     Murkowski, for himself, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Chafee, Mr. 
     Kempthorne, Mr. Baucus and Mr. Reid, proposes an amendment 
     numbered 3075.

  Mr. KEMPTHORNE. 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:

       On page 28, line 3, before the period, insert ``(including, 
     in the case of the State of Alaska, the needs of Native 
     villages (as defined in section 3(c) of the Alaska Native 
     Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(c)))''.

  Mr. KEMPTHORNE. Mr. President, this amendment simply clarifies that 
the needs of Native Alaska villages will be counted for purposes of 
determining the State of Alaska's share of the State revolving loan 
fund.
  This amendment also has been cleared on both sides of the aisle, and 
I ask for its adoption.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate? If not, the question 
is on agreeing to the amendment.
  So the amendment (No. 3075) was agreed to.
  Mr. KEMPTHORNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
amendment reflect that it is both Senator Murkowski and Senator Stevens 
as cosponsors.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. KEMPTHORNE. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which 
the amendment was agreed to, and I move to lay that motion on the 
table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. KEMPTHORNE. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                    Amendment No. 3074, As Modified

  Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that amendment No. 
3074, previously agreed to, be modified with the changes I have sent to 
the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 3074), as modified, is as follows:

       On page 112, line 2, before the first semicolon, insert the 
     following: ``except that the Administrator may provide for an 
     extension of not more than 2 years if, after submission and 
     review of appropriate, adequate documentation from the State, 
     the Administrator determines that the extension is necessary 
     and justified''.

  Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, the Senator from New York, Senator 
Moynihan, has long been a driving force in attempting to have the 
Environmental Protection Agency set its priorities based on good 
science. He is the author of a bill to accomplish this. That bill was 
the basis for section 28 in the legislation that we are considering 
today.
  Although we have agreed to drop section 28 from this bill, I want to 
assure the Senator from New York that we will continue to work with him 
and other interested Senators on this matter.
  Personally, I have agreed with Senator Moynihan that because he was 
generous enough and gracious enough to agree to the dropping of section 
28, that as chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee I 
will present to the committee section 28 as a freestanding bill. We 
have agreed we will have a hearing on this, and I will seek to have 
legislation approved by the committee as quickly as possible.
  In addition, Senator Johnston has some views on this matter, and we 
would invite him to testify at that hearing. My goal would be to hold a 
hearing in the next few weeks, and my hope is we could proceed to 
report a new freestanding bill shortly thereafter.
  Mr. President, earlier I presented an amendment on behalf of Senator 
Domenici in connection with providing assistance to those villages 
located on the United States-Mexican border known as colonias. I ask 
unanimous consent that Senators Kyl and Feinstein be added as original 
cosponsors to Senator Domenici's amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, in the 1994 elections, Americans demanded a 
smaller, smarter Federal Government and a more rational, cost-effective 
system of regulation. While Americans do not want to compromise on 
public health protection, they do want an assurance that the public 
health and environmental protection dollars are being spent wisely. 
That is why Federal and State Governments must prioritize and target 
scarce resources toward reducing health threats based on actual or 
likely risks. This concept makes sense and is supported by public 
health agencies as well as the scientific community.
  There are several environmental statutes that, although they were 
enacted with the best of intentions, have been unworkable in their 
implementation and enforcement--the Safe Drinking Water Act being one 
of them. No one disputes the importance of preserving this public 
health statue. However, there are reforms that need to be made. At the 
same time, this Congress is not here to gut any environmental laws, as 
some national environmental organizations would have the public 
believe--our goal is to make them work more effectively for the benefit 
of all our citizens.
  When we talk about the issue of unfunded Federal mandates, the Safe 
Drinking Water Act is regarded by many State and local governments as 
the king of unfunded mandates. It is particularly burdensome on 
economically distressed communities and those with a small or 
diminishing tax base.
  While the issue of Federal mandates is not new, the level of concern 
among municipal governments has risen dramatically in recent years, and 
with good reason. According to a report by the Congressional Budget 
Office, the number of Federal mandates is increasing while Federal aid 
to State and local governments for categories other than welfare has 
been falling on a per capita basis since 1978. Contributing to the 
mandate burden is the insufficient flexibility in Federal regulations.
  Last year's Safe Drinking Water bill represented a major improvement 
over existing law, especially through the elimination of the arbitrary 
requirement that EPA regulate 25 contaminants every 3 years. This 
year's proposed modifications, however, fine tune the statue's ability 
to achieve congressional objectives of providing more flexibility and 
authority to State and local governments, lessening the burden of 
Federal mandates and prioritizing resources according to risk--thereby 
achieving greater public health protection.
  I support the efforts of Senators Kempthorne and Chafee in reaching 
an agreement with other committee members on a Safe Drinking Water 
reform bill. I have been closely involved 

[[Page S 17762]]
in negotiating many of its provisions, including: a more reasonable 
radon standard that will save New England water suppliers and their 
ratepayers millions of dollars without compromising public health; and 
the authorization of five small system water technology centers at 
academic institutions around the country to assist in developing and 
testing affordable treatment technologies for small systems. One of 
these centers I hope will be established at the University of New 
Hampshire, which has extensive knowledge and experience in water 
technology.
  So today, Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate is giving 
approval of these much needed reforms to the Safe Drinking Water Act. 
This bill received the unanimous support of the Environment and Public 
Works Committee, of which I am a member, as well as the coalition 
representing State and municipal government and public water supply 
community. I now urge the House to act expeditiously on its 
reauthorization bill so that our communities can soon receive the 
regulatory relief and financial assistance they need.


                           Amendment No. 3076

  (Purpose: To strike the provisions with respect to comparative risk 
                              assessment)

  Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I just referred to the fact that we would 
be dropping section 28 from the bill in accordance with an agreement 
with Senator Moynihan and others.
  I now send to the desk an amendment to accomplish that, and I ask for 
its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Rhode Island [Mr. Chafee], for himself, 
     Mr. Kempthorne, Mr. Baucus, and Mr. Reid, proposes an 
     amendment numbered 3076.
       Beginning on page 179, line 16, strike section 28 of the 
     bill and renumber subsequent sections accordingly.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  The amendment (No. 3076) was agreed to.
  Mr. CHAFEE. I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. KEMPTHORNE. I move to lay it on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. CHAFEE. 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. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                      Unanimous-Consent Agreement

  Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there be 40 
minutes equally divided on the Boxer amendment, community right to 
know, and following the conclusion or yielding back of time, the Senate 
proceed to vote on or in relation to the Boxer amendment without any 
intervening action or amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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