[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 91 (Friday, July 1, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1432]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      THE INTRODUCTION OF THE LEAD-FREE DRINKING WATER ACT OF 2005

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 30, 2005

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, the bill introduced today has been summoned 
by the District's lead water crisis. The national attention our crisis 
generated for the likely presence of lead in the water supply drew many 
jurisdictions to do their own investigations uncovering similar 
problems. When Senator James Jeffords, Representative Henry Waxman, and 
I looked at the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act (SFDA) and the Lead and 
Copper Rule, it was clear that even the revision of the Rule in 1991 
did not meet standards that should have been adopted at that time. Our 
bill incorporates what we have learned from hearings on the D.C. water 
crisis this year and from the state of the current science. This bill 
would lay to rest well-placed anxiety about lead in the drinking water 
here and nationwide.
  The District of Columbia has provided us with a virtual case study in 
why the Act must be revised. Here are some of the most important 
provisions taken from the D.C. experience: (1) Valid Testing. This bill 
eliminates the giant loophole that allowed the D.C. Water and Sewer 
Authority (WASA) to continue testing once it exceeded the 15 parts per 
billion (ppb) action level, in order to dilute its findings, reduce the 
percentage of homes to less than 10 percent, and thus relieve WASA of 
the requirement to replace lead service lines. Instead, 10 percent of 
lead pipes must be replaced until all are eliminated. (2) Total Lead 
Service Line Replacement. Instead of replacing only publicly owned lead 
service lines, this bill requires total replacement, including the 
portion owned by the homeowner. Our hearings showed that partial 
replacement can actually increase the amount of lead in drinking water, 
because the new metal, such as brass or copper, can interact with the 
remaining lead pipe and accelerate: lead leaching into the drinking 
water. (3) Individual Notice From Detection to Correction. Instead of 
allowing public notices to be delayed or buried, using generic language 
deep in a brochure or water bill, as WASA did, our bill requires notice 
to all customers, individually within 30 days of lead exceedence, 
stating the scope of testing, results and corrective actions. (4) 
Alternative Water Supply. Where excessive lead is found, the bill 
requires that certified water filters be provided to each residence, 
school and day care facility, a measure that was delayed in the 
District despite the danger to pregnant women and children under six. 
(5) Testing Water Treatment Chemicals. The Army Corps of Engineers 
switched chemicals at the Washington Aqueduct from chlorine to 
chloramines without conducting a corrosion control test. The evidence 
is that the new chemical is the likely cause of the spike in lead 
levels here, but only now are phosphates being tested to counter lead 
corrosion in the water supply. This bill requires water systems to have 
corrosion control plans within one year of switching chemical treatment 
or a finding of excessive lead in the water. (6) Lead Free Plumbing. 
``Lead free'' in this bill is defined as 0.2 percent, the standard 
already used in Los Angeles, down from the current 8 percent. We heard 
testimony at our hearings that most brass and copper plumbing contains 
8 percent lead. (7) Lead Testing In Schools. This bill requires the 
repair or replacement of school water coolers found to have excessive 
lead. Annual testing of water coolers in schools is also required.

  The District of Columbia experience has opened the nation's eyes to 
lead in the water that millions of Americans may be drinking. Our bill 
will reduce the well-earned fears of residents here and across the 
country.

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