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104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3429

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide for annual consumer

confidence reports regarding contaminants in drinking water.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 9, 1996

Mr. SAXTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Commerce

A BILL

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide for annual

consumer confidence reports regarding contaminants in

drinking water.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Water Quality Public

5 Right-To-Know Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. CONSUMER CONFIDENCE REPORTS.

7 Section 1414(c) of title XIV of the Public Health

8 Service Act (the ‘‘Safe Drinking Water Act’’) (42 U.S.C.

9 300g–3(c)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(c)’’, by

10 redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as subparagraphs
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1 (A) and (B), respectively, by redesignating subparagraphs

2 (A) and (B) of paragraphs (1) and (2) as clauses (i) and

3 (ii), respectively, by striking ‘‘this subsection’’ the first 2

4 places it appears and inserting ‘‘this paragraph’’ and by

5 adding the following new paragraph at the end thereof:

6 ‘‘(2) CONSUMER CONFIDENCE REPORTS BY

7 COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEMS.—

8 ‘‘(A) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONSUMERS.—

9 The Administrator shall issue regulations with10 in 18 months after the date of the enactment

11 of this paragraph to require each community

12 water system to—

13 ‘‘(i) publish annually in one or more

14 local newspapers serving the area in which

15 customers of the system are located, and

16 ‘‘(ii) mail to each customer of the sys17 tem at least once annually

18 a report on the level of contaminants in the

19 drinking water purveyed by that system (here20 inafter in this paragraph referred to as a

21 ‘consumer confidence report’).

22 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The

23 consumer confidence reports required under

24 this paragraph shall include, but not be limited

25 to, each of the following—
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1 ‘‘(i) Information on the source, con2 tent, and quality of the water purveyed.

3 ‘‘(ii) A plainly worded explanation of

4 the health implications of contaminants

5 which are present at levels that exceed the

6 maximum contaminant level goals or

7 health advisories.

8 ‘‘(iii) Information on compliance with

9 national primary drinking water regula10 tions.

11 ‘‘(v) Information on priority unregu12 lated contaminants to the extent that test13 ing methods and health effects information

14 are available (including levels of

15 cryptosporidium and radon where States

16 determine they may be found).

17 ‘‘(vi) For each contaminant present in

18 the drinking water supplied by the system,

19 a statement of the maximum contaminant

20 level that has been established under this

21 Act for that contaminant.

22 ‘‘(C) COVERAGE.—The local government

23 for a political subdivision in which customers of

24 a public water system are located may deter25 mine not to apply the mailing requirement of
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1 subparagraph (A)(ii) to a community water sys2 tem serving fewer than 3,300 persons within

3 such political subdivision if such system—

4 ‘‘(i) informs its customers that the

5 system will not be complying with subpara6 graph (A)(ii),

7 ‘‘(ii) makes information available

8 upon request to the public regarding the

9 quality of the water supplied by such sys10 tem, and

11 ‘‘(iii) publishes the public notice re12 quired by subparagraph (A)(i) annually in

13 one or more local newspapers sold in such

14 political subdivision.

15 ‘‘(D) ALTERNATIVE FORM AND CON16 TENT.—A State exercising primary enforcement

17 responsibility may establish alternative require18 ments with respect to the form and content of

19 consumer confidence reports under this para20 graph.’’.

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