I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2919

To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize a national program

to reduce the threat to human health posed by exposure to contaminants

in the air indoors.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 6, 1993

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

Committee on Energy and Commerce

A BILL

To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize a

national program to reduce the threat to human health

posed by exposure to contaminants in the air indoors.

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 ‘‘Indoor Air Act of

5 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT.

7 The Public Health Service Act is amended by adding

8 the following new title at the end thereof:
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1 ‘‘TITLE XXVII—NATIONAL INDOOR AIR

2 STRATEGY

3 ‘‘SEC. 2701 STRATEGY.

4 ‘‘Not later than 2 years after the enactment of this

5 title, the Administrator shall, in coordination with other

6 appropriate agencies, promulgate a national strategy to

7 reduce human exposure to indoor air pollutants.

8 ‘‘SEC. 2702. GUIDELINES FOR IDENTIFYING AND PREVENT9 ING INDOOR AIR HAZARDS.

10 ‘‘(a) LIST.—(1) Not later than 2 years after the en11 actment of this title, the Administrator shall promulgate

12 a list of common indoor air hazards.

13 ‘‘(b) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 2 years after the

14 enactment of this title, the Administrator shall promulgate

15 guidelines for identifying, eliminating, and preventing

16 those indoor air hazards listed under subsection (a). Such

17 guidelines shall include guidelines for both the operation

18 and maintenance of existing buildings and the design and

19 construction of new buildings. Such guidelines may also

20 include guidelines for building renovation and sources of

21 indoor air pollution, and such other guidelines as nec22 essary to identify, eliminate, or prevent indoor air hazards

23 listed under subsection (a). Compliance with such guide24 lines shall be voluntary unless the Administrator deter25 mines otherwise.
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1 ‘‘(c) REVIEW AND REVISION.—The Administrator

2 shall periodically review and, as necessary, revise the list

3 of indoor air hazards and the guidelines. At a minimum,

4 one such review and revision shall be completed not later

5 than 4 years after the initial promulgation of the list and

6 guidelines.

7 ‘‘SEC. 2703. INDOOR AIR CONTRACTORS.

8 ‘‘(a) ACCREDITATION.—Not later than 2 years after

9 the enactment of this title, the Administrator shall estab10 lish a program to accredit persons to train individuals in

11 the identification, elimination, and prevention of indoor air

12 hazards. At a minimum, such program shall require ac13 credited persons to provide training on compliance with

14 the guidelines established under section 2702.

15 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION.—Not later than 2 years after

16 the enactment of this title, the Administrator shall estab17 lish a program to certify indoor air contractors. At a mini18 mum, no person may be certified as an indoor air contrac19 tor unless—

20 ‘‘(1) such person demonstrates an ability to

21 comply with the guidelines established under section

22 2702; and

23 ‘‘(2) all individuals engaged in indoor air haz24 ard identification, elimination, or prevention on be25 half of such person complete a course of training
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1 with an accredited training provider under sub2 section (a).

3 Persons certified under this subsection shall comply with

4 such guidelines when engaged in the identification, elimi5 nation, or prevention of listed indoor air hazards.

6 ‘‘(c) FEES.—The Administrator shall impose an an7 nual fee for the accreditation and certification of persons

8 under this section. The fee shall be established at such

9 level as is necessary to cover the costs of administering

10 the accreditation and certification programs under this

11 section. Such fees shall be structured such that a person’s

12 liability for such fees is reasonably based on the proportion

13 of the program’s operating costs that relate to such per14 son, and such person’s liability for such fees shall not be

15 based on the income of such person.

16 ‘‘(d) SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION.—The Adminis17 trator may suspend or revoke any accreditation or certifi18 cation issued under this section whenever the Adminis19 trator determines that the holder of the accreditation or

20 certification has violated any requirement of this section.

21 Any person whose accreditation or certification is denied,

22 suspended, or revoked by the Administrator shall be enti23 tled to an administrative hearing.
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1 ‘‘(e) PARTICIPATION.—Participation in the certifi2 cation program under this section shall be voluntary un3 less the Administrator determines otherwise.

4 ‘‘SEC. 2704. NATIONAL PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN.

5 ‘‘(a) NATIONAL CAMPAIGN.—Not later than 2 years

6 after the enactment of this title, the Administrator shall,

7 in coordination with other appropriate agencies, establish

8 a national campaign to increase public awareness concern9 ing the health risks of, and to encourage action to reduce

10 exposure to, indoor air pollutants. As part of such cam11 paign, the Administrator shall, at a minimum—

12 ‘‘(1) publish and disseminate the health

13 advisories required under subsection (b),

14 ‘‘(2) publish and disseminate the technology

15 bulletins required under subsection (c),

16 ‘‘(3) publish and disseminate the list of indoor

17 air hazards and the guidelines promulgated under

18 section 2702,

19 ‘‘(4) promulgate and disseminate lists of train20 ing providers accredited and contractors certified

21 under section 2703, and

22 ‘‘(5) establish an information clearinghouse in

23 accordance with subsection (d).

24 ‘‘(b) INDOOR AIR POLLUTANT HEALTH

25 ADVISORIES.—The Administrator shall publish advisory
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1 materials addressing the health effects of indoor air pollut2 ants that are likely to occur indoors at concentrations

3 which may reasonably be anticipated to adversely affect

4 human health. Such advisory materials shall, at a mini5 mum—

6 ‘‘(1) describe the adverse human health effects

7 of exposure to various concentrations of the indoor

8 air pollutant, including the risk to subpopulations

9 which may have higher exposure levels than the av10 erage person or be especially sensitive to exposure to

11 the indoor air pollutant;

12 ‘‘(2) characterize the likely sources of exposure

13 to the indoor air pollutant; and

14 ‘‘(3) establish levels of the indoor air pollutant

15 at which action should be taken to reduce exposure.

16 The Administrator shall publish not less than 12

17 advisories within 2 years after the date of the enactment

18 of this title.

19 ‘‘(c) TECHNOLOGY BULLETINS.—The Administrator,

20 shall publish technology bulletins providing an assessment

21 of the effectiveness, feasibility, and cost of methods for

22 measurement and reduction of exposure to indoor air pol23 lutants. At a minimum, the Administrator shall publish

24 a technology bulletin for an indoor air pollutant concur-
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1 rently with the publication of a health advisory for that

2 pollutant.

3 ‘‘(d) INDOOR AIR QUALITY INFORMATION CLEARING4 HOUSE.—The Administrator shall establish a national in5 door air quality clearinghouse to be used to disseminate

6 indoor air quality information, including the information

7 referred to in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection

8 (a). The clearinghouse shall operate a toll-free telephone

9 hotline on indoor air quality to provide the public such

10 information.

11 ‘‘SEC. 2705. FEDERAL FACILITIES.

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the

13 enactment of this title, the Administrator shall, in coordi14 nation with other appropriate agencies, establish a pro15 gram to identify, eliminate, and prevent indoor air hazards

16 in Federal facilities.

17 ‘‘(b) OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE.—The program

18 under subsection (a) shall require the head of each Fed19 eral agency responsible for operation and maintenance of

20 a Federal facility to operate and maintain facilities oper21 ated by the agency in compliance with the guidelines es22 tablished under section 2702.

23 ‘‘(c) NEW FACILITIES.—The program under sub24 section (a) shall require the head of each Federal agency

25 responsible for the design and construction of a new Fed-
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1 eral facility to design and construct the facility in compli2 ance with the guidelines established under section 2702.

3 ‘‘SEC. 2706. HEALTHY BUILDINGS PROGRAM.

4 ‘‘The Administrator shall develop a voluntary, incen5 tive-based program to provide Federal recognition to

6 buildings that are designed and constructed and operated

7 and maintained in a manner that prevents indoor air

8 hazards.

9 ‘‘SEC. 2707. STATE AND LOCAL INDOOR AIR GRANTS.

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may provide

11 grants to States and to local governments to develop and

12 implement programs to measure and reduce indoor air pol13 lutants, consistent with the national strategy promulgated

14 under section 2701.

15 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL SHARE OF FUNDING.—The Federal

16 share of grants under this section shall not exceed 75 per17 cent of the costs incurred in developing and implementing

18 such programs.

19 ‘‘SEC. 2708. INDOOR AIR STUDIES.

20 ‘‘The Administrator, in coordination with other ap21 propriate Federal agencies, may conduct, or provide finan22 cial or other assistance to, studies concerning indoor air

23 quality, including the following:
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1 ‘‘(1) Human exposure to indoor air pollutants,

2 including baseline levels of exposure in various types

3 of buildings.

4 ‘‘(2) The sources of indoor air pollutants.

5 ‘‘(3) The effects on human health of indoor air

6 pollutants, including additive, cumulative, and syner7 gistic effects on the general population and popu8 lations particularly sensitive to indoor air pollutants.

9 ‘‘(4) Methods for measuring, reducing, and pre10 venting exposure to indoor air pollutants.

11 ‘‘SEC. 2709. RELATION TO OTHER LAW.

12 ‘‘(a) STATE AND LOCAL AUTHORITY.—Nothing in

13 this title shall preempt any Federal, State, or local law

14 or rule of law which is more protective of human health

15 than this title.

16 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL AUTHORITY.—In taking action under

17 other authority that may affect indoor air quality the Ad18 ministrator shall, to the extent permitted by such other

19 authority, exercise such authority in a manner that im20 proves indoor air quality and implements the national

21 strategy promulgated under section 2701.

22 ‘‘SEC. 2710. REPORTS.

23 ‘‘Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact24 ment of this title and every 2 years thereafter, the Admin25 istrator shall submit to the Congress a report on the ac-
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1 tivities carried out by the Administrator pursuant to this

2 title.

3 ‘‘SEC. 2711. ENFORCEMENT.

4 ‘‘(a) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Any person who violates

5 any requirement in effect under this title, including any

6 requirement of any regulation, order, accreditation, or cer7 tification issued under this title, shall be in violation of

8 this title and shall be liable to the United States for a

9 civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $10,000 for each

10 day of violation. The amounts specified in the preceding

11 sentence shall be adjusted annually for each calendar year

12 after the calendar year 1993 to account for inflation or

13 deflation.

14 ‘‘(b) CIVIL ACTIONS.—The Administrator may com15 mence a civil action to enjoin any violation of this title

16 or to assess and recover any civil penalty under subsection

17 (a) of this section. Any action under this subsection may

18 be brought in the district court of the United States for

19 the district in which the violation is alleged to have oc20 curred or in which the defendant resides or has its prin21 cipal place of business, and the court shall have jurisdic22 tion to issue injunctive relief and to assess a civil penalty.

23 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATIVE ORDERS.—The Administrator

24 may issue an order to any person requiring such person

25 to comply with any requirement of this title and the Ad-
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1 ministrator may, after notice and opportunity for hearing

2 on the record in accordance with section 554 and 556 of

3 title 5, United States Code, issue an order assessing a civil

4 penalty for violation of this title.

5 ‘‘SEC. 2712. CITIZEN SUITS.

6 ‘‘Any person may commence a civil action on such

7 person’s own behalf against—

8 ‘‘(1) any person (including (a) the United

9 States, and (b) any other governmental instrumen10 tality or agency to the extent permitted by the Elev11 enth Amendment to the Constitution) who is alleged

12 to have violated or to be in violation of any require13 ment in effect under this title, or

14 ‘‘(2) the Administrator or the head of any other

15 Federal agency where there is an alleged failure of

16 the Administrator or such other agency head to per17 form any act or duty under this title which is not

18 discretionary.

19 The district courts shall have jurisdiction, without regard

20 to the amount in controversy, to enforce such requirement,

21 to order the Administrator or such other agency head to

22 perform such act or duty, to apply any appropriate civil

23 penalties, and to award costs of litigation (including rea24 sonable attorney and expert witness fees) to the party
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1 commencing the action whenever the court determines

2 such award is appropriate.

3 ‘‘SEC. 2713. DEFINITIONS.

4 ‘‘For the purposes of this title:

5 ‘‘(1) The term ‘Administrator’ means the Ad6 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

7 ‘‘(2) The term ‘indoor air hazard’ means a level

8 of indoor air pollutants, or a condition that may re9 sult in a level of indoor air pollutants, that may be

10 reasonably anticipated to adversely affect human

11 health. Such conditions may include inadequate ven12 tilation, intake of contaminated ambient air, micro13 bial contamination, and indoor chemical sources.

14 ‘‘(3) The term ‘indoor air pollutant’ means any

15 substance or biological organism which is emitted

16 into or otherwise enters air other than ambient air.

17 ‘‘(4) The term ‘Federal agency’ means any de18 partment, agency, or other instrumentality of the ex19 ecutive, legislative or judicial branches of the Fed20 eral Government, including any independent agency

21 or establishment of the Federal Government or gov22 ernment corporation.

23 ‘‘(5) The term ‘Federal facility’ means any

24 building or portion of a building owned or operated

25 by a Federal agency.
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1 ‘‘(6) The term ‘person’ includes an individual,

2 a corporation, partnership, association, State, mu3 nicipality, political subdivision of a State, and any

4 agency, department, or instrumentality of the execu5 tive, legislative or judicial branch of the Government

6 of the United States or of any State and any officer,

7 agent or employee thereof.

8 ‘‘(7) The term ‘State’ includes the District of

9 Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam,

10 American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the

11 Northern Maraiana Islands.

12 ‘‘SEC. 2714. AUTHORIZATIONS.

13 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

14 as may be necessary to carry out this title.’’.

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