CLEAR Act

Summary: Copper and Lead Evaluation and Reporting Act of 2016 or the CLEAR Act This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate new lead and copper regulations that would set a health-based, household action level for lead and copper that triggers: (1) a consumer notification of drinking water contamination; (2) a report to the appropriate public health agency; and (3) an examination by the public water system of service line material and, if applicable, the removal of lead portions of the service line.  That action level must be based on the amount of lead that would result in a blood lead level greater than five micrograms per deciliter in an average, healthy infant who consumes infant formula made with water. The regulations must also:  provide outreach about the health risk and protection available to consumers with known or suspected lead service lines, institutions and facilities that serve other vulnerable populations, and the caregivers and health care providers of those consumers or populations; require reporting by public water systems for each monitoring period to the populations they serve on information concerning lead and copper levels; require public water systems to provide a public statement of lead service line ownership where a community has such lines;   modify monitoring requirements to provide for voluntary, consumer-requested tap samples for lead; and  provide for utilizing the results of those samples. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Copper and Lead Evaluation and 
Reporting Act of 2016'' or the ``CLEAR Act''.

SEC. 2. LEAD AND COPPER IN DRINKING WATER.

    (a) Regulations Required.--Section 1412(b) of the Safe Drinking 
Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300g-1(b)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (14) and (15) as paragraphs 
        (15) and (16), respectively;
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (13) the following:
            ``(14) Lead and copper in drinking water.--Not later than 
        180 days after the date of enactment of the CLEAR Act, the 
        Administrator shall promulgate lead and copper regulations 
        that--
                    ``(A) based on the amount of lead that would result 
                in a blood lead level greater than 5 micrograms per 
                deciliter in an average, healthy infant who consumes 
                infant formula made with water, establish a health-
                based household action level for lead and copper that 
                triggers--
                            ``(i) not later than 28 days after the date 
                        on which the household action level is reached, 
                        plain-language consumer notification that is 
                        culturally and linguistically appropriate;
                            ``(ii) a report to the appropriate public 
                        health agency; and
                            ``(iii) an examination by the public water 
                        system of service line material and, if 
                        applicable, the initiation of the removal by 
                        the public water system of any lead portion of 
                        the service line;
                    ``(B) provide for frequent and culturally and 
                linguistically appropriate multi-media outreach in 
                plain language about the health risk and protection 
                available to--
                            ``(i) consumers with known or suspected 
                        full or partial lead service lines;
                            ``(ii) public and private institutions and 
                        facilities that serve individuals of any other 
                        vulnerable population, including--
                                    ``(I) children;
                                    ``(II) pregnant women; and
                                    ``(III) an immunocompromised 
                                population, such as--
                                            ``(aa) individuals living 
                                        with auto immune deficiency 
                                        syndrome or human 
                                        immunodeficiency virus; and
                                            ``(bb) the elderly; and
                            ``(iii) caregivers and healthcare providers 
                        for any individual described in clause (i) or 
                        (ii);
                    ``(C) require, for each monitoring period, each 
                public water system to publish on a publicly accessible 
                website of the public water system, or distribute by 
                carrier route presort if the public water system does 
                not maintain a publicly accessible website, or 
                distribute door-to-door if a substantial portion of the 
                population served by the public water system does not 
                have access to the Internet or is elderly--
                            ``(i) the number of households served by 
                        the public water system that have a household 
                        action level that is greater than the household 
                        action level established by the Administrator 
                        under subparagraph (A);
                            ``(ii) all levels of lead and copper found 
                        in each monitoring period; and
                            ``(iii) the most recent 90th percentile 
                        levels for lead and copper, as compared to the 
                        system action levels for lead and copper;
                    ``(D) in the case of a community that has a lead 
                service line, require the public water system to 
                provide a public statement of lead service line 
                ownership that includes the legal basis of that 
                determination of ownership; and
                    ``(E) modify lead monitoring requirements to 
                provide for--
                            ``(i) voluntary consumer-requested tap 
                        sampling for lead; and
                            ``(ii) the use of any result of a tap 
                        sample described in clause (i)--
                                    ``(I) to inform--
                                            ``(aa) consumer action to 
                                        reduce the risk of lead in the 
                                        home of the consumer; and
                                            ``(bb) in the case of a tap 
                                        sample that is higher than the 
                                        household action level 
                                        established in subparagraph 
                                        (A), the consumer and the 
                                        appropriate public health 
                                        agency; and
                                    ``(II) to assess--
                                            ``(aa) if the tap sample 
                                        meets the site selection 
                                        criteria described in the 
                                        regulations issued by the 
                                        Administrator for the control 
                                        of lead and copper, the 
                                        effectiveness of corrosion 
                                        control treatment; or
                                            ``(bb) any other potential 
                                        cause of an elevated lead 
                                        level.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 1415(e) of the Safe Drinking 
Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300g-4(e)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``1412(b)(15)'' and 
        inserting ``1412(b)(16)''; and
            (2) in paragraph (7)(A)--
                    (A) in clause (ii), by striking ``1412(b)(15)'' and 
                inserting ``1412(b)(16)''; and
                    (B) in clause (iii), by striking ``1412(b)(15)(A)'' 
                and inserting ``1412(b)(16)(A)''.