[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 13531-13532]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              PROTECTING OUR WATER FROM MICROCYSTIN TOXINS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 22, 2016

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a bill addressing 
the threat to human health posed by microcystin toxins. Two summers 
ago, a massive algal bloom exploded in

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western Lake Erie, generating microcystin, a bacterium causing liver 
damage, skin blemishes, and nausea. This public health threat 
necessitated the shutdown of the public water system for 3 days--
drastically disrupting the lives of over half a million Americans.
  As elected officials, our first priority must always be the safety 
and security of our constituents. This bill ensures that microcystin 
will no longer be a public health threat.
  It amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring the EPA to 
determine the maximum safe contaminant level and to promulgate a 
national primary drinking water regulation for microcystin toxin within 
2 years of its enactment.
  In realizing the threat posed by microcystin, the old adage ``Mother 
Nature Doesn't Lie'' is more meaningful than ever. I commend the EPA's 
work to date on generating a strategic plan for dealing with algal 
toxins and for publishing an interim standard for microcystin.
  The strategic plan and current health advisory the EPA released are a 
good start, but we need a finalized standard for microcystin which 
endangers the people of Toledo with our recurring algal bloom problem.
  In addition to the public health threat, this bacterium casts a huge 
economic shadow over our vital and beautiful coast. Toledo's Water 
Crisis cost the city government over $200,000 in cleanup costs alone, 
not counting untold millions in lost business and tax revenue.
  This concern is not isolated to Lake Erie. Millions of Americans 
across the country rely on drinking water similarly threatened by 
increasing levels of nutrient runoff, and the resulting toxic algal 
growth. A recent study from the USGS showed that algal toxins are 
present in over \1/3\ of all lakes nationwide. Additionally, the 
Environmental Protection Agency recognizes harmful algal blooms as a 
major environmental problem in all 50 states, with severe impacts on 
human health.
  No one should ever have to worry that the water coming from their tap 
is unclean and unsafe, no matter if you're in Toledo, Ohio, Flint, 
Michigan, or anywhere else in this country. This bill will make us all 
safer.

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