[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 47 (Monday, April 4, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E623]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           END UNNECESSARY COSTS CAUSED BY REPORT MAILING ACT

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                          HON. C.W. BILL YOUNG

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 4, 2011

  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, every year federal law requires 
community water systems to spend thousands of dollars mailing a 
Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) few people actually read. Last week, 
thanks to the Mayors' Council of Pinellas County, Florida and several 
of my constituents, I introduced H.R. 1340, the End Unnecessary Costs 
Caused by Report Mailing Act, which would end the mailing requirement, 
saving our local communities money in this tough economic climate.
  During the last reauthorization of the Safe Drinking Water Act, a 
provision was included requiring each water system to annually produce 
a CCR, which contains information on the source and quality of water 
within a water system. This report is important so that consumers are 
routinely informed about the safety of their water. Every year 
approximately 53,000 water systems are required to produce a CCR. 
However, while the report itself contains important information that 
should be available, federal law also requires all water systems mail 
the report to every household.
  Water systems in my district have received numerous complaints since 
the requirement was implemented, including that mailing these reports 
is a waste of money and that it would be more effective to have a 
simple statement on their bill that their water is certified safe. 
While the costs of printing and mailing these reports vary depending on 
the number of customers in the system, in 2009, printing and mailing 
the CCR cost one water system in my district $30,565 and another 
$6,785.
  My legislation would not stop the production of the CCR, it would 
simply target the costly mailing requirement. Instead of having to mail 
the report to every customer, water systems that tested safe for the 
past year could choose to notify their customers of that fact on their 
monthly bill, while making the full CCR available on their website or 
by mail upon request. Water systems where the water tested unsafe would 
still have to mail the CCR to their customers.
  Mr. Speaker, at a time when local government budgets are already 
strained, it is unnecessary to require that our local water systems 
mail the report to every household when advancements in technology have 
provided alternative formats to distribute this information. H.R. 1340 
seeks to remove this burdensome regulation and I urge my colleagues to 
support this measure.

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