I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 376

To establish a moratorium on the promulgation and implementation of certain

drinking water regulations promulgated under the Safe Drinking Water

Act, to modify the definition of public water system, and for other

purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 5, 1993

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

Committee on Energy and Commerce

A BILL

To establish a moratorium on the promulgation and implementation of certain drinking water regulations promulgated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, to modify

the definition of public water system, and for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. MORATORIUM ON IMPLEMENTATION.

4 (a) DEFINITION.—As used in this section:

5 (1) ACT.—The term ‘‘Act’’ means title XIV of

6 the Public Health Service Act (commonly known as
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1 the Safe Drinking Water Act; 42 U.S.C. 300f et

2 seq.).

3 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis4 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ5 mental Protection Agency.

6 (b) MORATORIUM.—Except as provided in subsection

7 (d), the Administrator may not implement—

8 (1) any national primary drinking water regula9 tion promulgated pursuant to section 1412 of the

10 Act (42 U.S.C. 300g–1) after December 21, 1989;

11 or

12 (2) any similar rule or regulation,

13 until such time as the Administrator meets the applicable

14 requirements of subsection (c) and authorizing legislation

15 that extends the authorization with respect to the provi16 sions of the Act is enacted.

17 (c) STUDY AND REPORT.—

18 (1) STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the

19 date of enactment of this section, the Administrator

20 shall conduct a comprehensive study to review—

21 (A) each final regulation that has been

22 promulgated under the Act as of the date of the

23 review, and regulatory alternatives to the regu24 lation that reflect a range of levels of safety or
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1 direct health benefits (or a combination of

2 both);

3 (B) for each regulatory alternative de4 scribed in subparagraph (A)—

5 (i) any health effect the regulatory al6 ternative would prevent; and

7 (ii) the system-level incremental cost

8 of the alternative;

9 (C) in consultation with the Director of the

10 National Academy of Sciences, the list of con11 taminants listed pursuant to section 1412 of

12 the Act (42 U.S.C. 300g–1) for the purpose of

13 considering revisions to the list to take into ac14 count—

15 (i) whether the contaminant is known

16 (or reasonably anticipated) to cause a sig17 nificant adverse effect on human health;

18 (ii) if the contaminant is not known

19 (or reasonably anticipated) to cause a sig20 nificant adverse effect on human health,

21 the risk or safety factors associated with

22 the maximum contaminant level for the

23 contaminant under section 1412 of the Act

24 (including any safety factor associated with
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1 relative source contribution and assump2 tions concerning water consumption); and

3 (iii) whether the contaminant is

4 known to be, or reasonably anticipated to

5 occur, in public water systems located

6 within each State and region covered by

7 the Act;

8 (D) the compliance deadlines under the

9 Act (to determine whether any revision would

10 be appropriate);

11 (E) each regulation and proposed regula12 tion described in subsection (b), for the purpose

13 of determining whether a regulation to apply

14 exclusively to small public water systems (as de15 termined by the Administrator) would be more

16 appropriate to address the needs of small com17 munities (as determined by the Administrator);

18 and

19 (F) the funding needs of States and politi20 cal subdivisions of States to meet the require21 ments of the Act, and recommended alter22 natives to ensure that States and political sub23 divisions of States meet the funding needs.

24 (2) REPORT.—Upon completion of the study

25 described in paragraph (1), the Administrator shall
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1 submit to Congress a written report that documents

2 the findings of the study and includes recommended

3 legislative changes to the Act.

4 (d) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.—If the Adminis5 trator, in consultation with the States, and after consider6 ing available resources for managing risks associated with

7 drinking water, determines that the immediate implemen8 tation or promulgation of a national primary drinking

9 water regulation under section 1412 of the Act (42 U.S.C.

10 300g–1), or similar rule or regulation, is justifiable in

11 order to protect human health, the Administrator shall im12 plement or promulgate the regulation without regard to

13 subsection (b).

14 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM.

15 Section 1401(4) of title XIV of the Public Health

16 Service Act (commonly known as the Safe Drinking Water

17 Act) is amended by adding the following at the end there18 of: ‘‘Such term shall not include any system which (i) re19 lies only on surface water supplies, (ii) serves only sea20 sonal rental residences, and (iii) serves 100 or fewer indi21 viduals. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term

22 ‘seasonal’ refers to residences occupied less than 6 months

23 during any calendar year.’’.

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