I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1747 

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to require a national primary drinking 

water regulation for perchlorate. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 28, 2007 

Ms. SOLIS (for herself, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, 

Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. 

WEINER, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. WYNN, Ms. 

DEGETTE, and Ms. SCHAKOWSKY) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to require a national 

primary drinking water regulation for perchlorate. 

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 ‘‘Safe Drinking Water 

5 for Healthy Communities Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Perchlorate is a chemical used as the pri2 mary ingredient in solid propellant for rockets, mis3 siles, and fireworks. 

4 (2) Large-scale production of perchlorate-con5 taining chemicals in the United States began in the 

6 mid-1940s and large volumes have been disposed of 

7 in various States since the 1950s. 

8 (3) Perchlorate is an oxidizing anion that origi9 nates as a contaminant in ground and surface wa10 ters and is highly soluble and exceedingly mobile in 

11 aqueous systems, persisting for many decades under 

12 typical ground and surface water conditions. 

13 (4) The most prevalent sources of perchlorate 

14 contamination in environmental media can be traced 

15 to the manufacture and improper disposal of wastes 

16 from blasting agents and military munitions and to 

17 a lesser extent fireworks. 

18 (5) Ninety percent of perchlorate in the United 

19 States is produced for use by the Department of De20 fense and the National Aeronautics and Space Ad21 ministration. 

22 (6) According to the Government Accountability 

23 Office, in May 2005, perchlorate contamination has 

24 been detected in water and soil at almost 400 sites 

25 in the United States. The Government AccountVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:49 Apr 09, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1747.IH H1747

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1 ability Office concluded that because there is no 

2 standardized approach for reporting perchlorate data 

3 nationwide, a greater number of sites may exist. 

4 (7) According to the Government Accountability 

5 Office, in May 2005, limited Environmental Protec6 tion Agency data show that perchlorate has been 

7 found in 35 States and the District of Columbia and 

8 is known to have contaminated 153 public water sys9 tems in 26 States. The Government Accountability 

10 Office reported that concentrations of perchlorate in 

11 drinking water ranged from 4 parts per billion to 

12 more than 420 parts per billion. 

13 (8) Environmental Protection Agency data like14 ly underestimates the total drinking water exposure, 

15 as illustrated by the findings of the California De16 partment of Health Services that perchlorate has 

17 contaminated approximately 276 drinking water 

18 sources and 77 drinking water systems in the State 

19 of California. 

20 (9) Food and Drug Administration scientists 

21 and other scientific researchers have detected per22 chlorate in the United States food supply, including 

23 but not limited to lettuce, milk, cucumbers, toma24 toes, carrots, cantaloupe, wheat, and spinach, and in 

25 human breast milk. 


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1 (10) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre2 vention has concluded that perchlorate exposure ap3 pears to be widespread in the United States popu4 lations. 

5 (11) The National Academy of Sciences re6 leased a report on January 10, 2005, which rec7 ommended a perchlorate reference dose of 0.0007 

8 milligrams per kilogram per day. 

9 (12) The Environmental Protection Agency has 

10 not established a health advisory or national primary 

11 drinking water regulation for perchlorate, but in 

12 2005, established a ‘‘drinking water equivalent level’’ 

13 of 24.5 parts per billion for perchlorate. A drinking 

14 water level assumes the only exposure pathway is 

15 through drinking water and does not account for 

16 other non-drinking water exposure pathways, such 

17 as food and breast milk. 

18 (13) On January 22, 2003, the Environmental 

19 Protection Agency issued interim assessment guid20 ance for perchlorate applicable to all Office of Solid 

21 Waste and Emergency Response programs, recom22 mending the use of the provisional cleanup levels for 

23 perchlorate in groundwater ranging from 4 to 18 

24 parts per billion with the added suggestion to care25 fully consider the lower end of the provisional range. 


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1 (14) On January 26, 2006, the Environmental 

2 Protection Agency issued Office of Solid Waste and 

3 Emergency Response guidance increasing the Envi4 ronmental Protection Agency’s provisional cleanup 

5 levels for perchlorate in groundwater to 24.5 parts 

6 per billion. 

7 (15) In March 2006, the Children’s Health Pro8 tection Advisory Committee advised the Environ9 mental Protection Agency that the Agency’s prelimi10 nary remediation goal (PRG) for perchlorate is not 

11 protective of children’s health, as it can result in a 

12 nursing infant exposure that is 5 to 10 times higher 

13 than the recommended dose (Rfd) of 24.5 parts per 

14 billion. 

15 (16) Perchlorate inhibits the uptake of iodine 

16 by the thyroid gland (which is necessary to produce 

17 important hormones which help regulate normal 

18 human health and development), presenting a risk to 

19 human health in vulnerable populations, including 

20 pregnant women and children. 

21 (17) In October 2006, the Centers for Disease 

22 Control and Prevention found significant changes in 

23 the level of thyroid hormones in humans exposed to 

24 perchlorate. For women with low iodine levels, per25 chlorate exposure was associated with changes in the 


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1 production levels of hormones by the thyroid. About 

2 36 percent of women in the United States have 

3 lower iodine levels. 

4 (18) Given the seriousness of the potential ad5 verse effects associated with perchlorate and the fact 

6 that children were at risk, combined with the ab7 sence of a Federal drinking water standard (MCL) 

8 for perchlorate, California proposed a drinking water 

9 standard of 6 parts per billion, and Massachusetts 

10 promulgated a drinking water standard of 2 parts 

11 per billion. 

12 (19) Other States, including Nevada, Texas, 

13 New York, and Maryland, have issued some form of 

14 drinking water guidance for perchlorate, including a 

15 drinking water action level, health-based guidance, 

16 and a health based advisory level at ranges from 1 

17 part per billion to 18 parts per billion. 

18 (20) Perchlorate has been detected in the soil, 

19 surface waters, and groundwater at 55 Department 

20 of Defense facilities across the country, with off-site 

21 migration occurring at some facilities. 

22 (21) As of 2003, the Department of Defense 

23 policy on perchlorate requires sampling only where a 

24 perchlorate release due to Department activities is 


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1 suspected and a complete human exposure pathway 

2 is likely to exist. 

3 (22) According to the Environmental Protection 

4 Agency, the Department of Defense is deferring all 

5 remedial action relating to perchlorate contamina6 tion at or from its facilities until a Federal per7 chlorate drinking water standard is adopted. 

8 (23) The Environmental Protection Agency has 

9 historically failed to exercise its enforcement author10 ity under the Comprehensive Environmental Re11 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) 

12 to compel the Department of Defense to undertake 

13 remedial actions to address perchlorate contamina14 tion at Department facilities that are listed on the 

15 Superfund National Priorities List. 

16 (24) There are as many as 22 contaminants 

17 without Federal drinking water standards for which 

18 the Environmental Protection Agency has set site 

19 specific cleanup levels for the remediation of ground20 water, making the lack of response actions for per21 chlorate contamination at Department of Defense 

22 Superfund facilities a unique situation. 

23 (25) The Environmental Protection Agency has 

24 failed to take enforcement action against the De25 partment of Defense to cause the Department to 


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1 mitigate or remediate the perchlorate contamination 

2 emanating from its Aberdeen Proving Ground facil3 ity that has adversely impacted the drinking water 

4 supply for the City of Aberdeen, Maryland. 

5 (26) Since 2002, the Department of Defense 

6 actively sought to exempt the Department from 

7 State and Federal public health and environmental 

8 laws which protect drinking water supplies from 

9 chemical constituents of military munitions including 

10 perchlorate. 

11 SEC. 3. NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING WATER REGULA12 TION FOR PERCHLORATE. 

13 Section 1412(b)(12) of the Safe Drinking Water Act 

14 (42 U.S.C. 300g–1(b)(12)) is amended by adding at the 

15 end the following: 

16 ‘‘(C) PERCHLORATE.— 

17 ‘‘(i) SCHEDULE AND STANDARD.— 

18 Notwithstanding the deadlines set forth in 

19 paragraph (1), the Administrator shall 

20 promulgate a national primary drinking 

21 water regulation for perchlorate pursuant 

22 to this subsection, in accordance with the 

23 schedule established by this subparagraph. 

24 ‘‘(ii) PROPOSED REGULATIONS.—Not 

25 later than 12 months after the date of the 


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1 enactment of this subparagraph, the Ad2 ministrator shall publish in the Federal 

3 Register a proposed national primary 

4 drinking water regulation for perchlorate. 

5 ‘‘(iii) FINAL REGULATIONS.—Not 

6 later than 18 months after the date of 

7 publication of the proposed national pri8 mary drinking water regulation required by 

9 clause (ii), after notice and opportunity for 

10 public comment, the Administrator shall 

11 promulgate a national primary drinking 

12 water regulation for perchlorate.’’. 

Æ 


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