I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1709 

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide for the assessment and 

management of the risks of drought to drinking water, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 26, 2015 

Mr. MCNERNEY (for himself, Ms. MATSUI, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. TONKO, and Mr. 

HONDA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide for the 

assessment and management of the risks of drought to 

drinking water, 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. AMENDMENT TO THE SAFE DRINKING WATER 

4 ACT RELATING TO RISKS OF DROUGHT TO 

5 DRINKING WATER. 

6 Part E of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 300j et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1459. DROUGHT RISK ASSESSMENT AND MANAGE2 MENT. 

3 ‘‘(a) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 

4 ‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

5 after the date of enactment of this section, the Ad6 ministrator shall develop and submit to Congress a 

7 strategic plan for assessing and managing the risks 

8 of drought to drinking water provided by public 

9 water systems. The strategic plan shall include steps 

10 and timelines to— 

11 ‘‘(A) evaluate the risks posed by drought 

12 to drinking water provided by public water sys13 tems; 

14 ‘‘(B) establish a comprehensive list of the 

15 effects of drought on drinking water provided 

16 by public water systems which the Adminis17 trator determines may have an adverse effect 

18 on human health; 

19 ‘‘(C) summarize— 

20 ‘‘(i) the known adverse human health 

21 effects resulting from the effects of 

22 drought on drinking water included on the 

23 list established under subparagraph (B); 

24 ‘‘(ii) factors that cause drought; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) factors that exacerbate the ef2 fects of drought on drinking water pro3 vided by public water systems; 

4 ‘‘(D) with respect to the effects of drought 

5 on drinking water included on the list estab6 lished under subparagraph (B), determine 

7 whether to— 

8 ‘‘(i) establish guidance regarding fea9 sible analytical methods to quantify such 

10 effects; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) establish guidance regarding the 

12 frequency of monitoring necessary to de13 tect such effects; 

14 ‘‘(E) recommend feasible treatment op15 tions, including procedures, equipment, and 

16 source water protection practices, to mitigate 

17 such effects; and 

18 ‘‘(F) enter into cooperative agreements 

19 with, and provide technical assistance to, af20 fected States and public water systems, as iden21 tified by the Administrator, for the purpose of 

22 managing risks associated with the effects of 

23 drought on drinking water. 


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1 ‘‘(2) UPDATES.—The Administrator shall, as 

2 appropriate, update and submit to Congress the 

3 strategic plan developed under paragraph (1). 

4 ‘‘(b) INFORMATION COORDINATION.—In carrying out 

5 this section the Administrator shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) identify gaps in the Agency’s under7 standing of the effects of drought on drinking water 

8 provided by public water systems, including— 

9 ‘‘(A) the human health effects of drought; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) methods and means of testing and 

12 monitoring for the effects of drought on source 

13 water of, or drinking water provided by, public 

14 water systems; 

15 ‘‘(2) as appropriate, consult with— 

16 ‘‘(A) other Federal agencies that— 

17 ‘‘(i) examine or analyze drought; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) address public health concerns 

19 related to drought; 

20 ‘‘(B) States; 

21 ‘‘(C) operators of public water systems; 

22 ‘‘(D) multinational agencies; 

23 ‘‘(E) foreign governments; 

24 ‘‘(F) research and academic institutions; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(G) companies that provide relevant 

2 drinking water treatment options; and 

3 ‘‘(3) assemble and publish information from 

4 each Federal agency that has— 

5 ‘‘(A) examined or analyzed drought; or 

6 ‘‘(B) addressed public health concerns re7 lated to drought. 

8 ‘‘(c) USE OF SCIENCE.—The Administrator shall 

9 carry out this section in accordance with the requirements 

10 described in section 1412(b)(3)(A), as applicable. 

11 ‘‘(d) FEASIBLE.—For purposes of this section, the 

12 term ‘feasible’ has the meaning given such term in section 

13 1412(b)(4)(D).’’. 

Æ 


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