I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3604

To amend title XIV of the Public Health Service Act (the ‘‘Safe Drinking

Water Act’’), and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 10, 1996

Mr. BLILEY (for himself, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr.

MOORHEAD, Mr. BRYANT of Texas, Mr. OXLEY, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. SCHAEFER, Mr. STUDDS, Mr. UPTON, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. FRANKS of Connecticut, Mrs. LINCOLN, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. CRAPO, Mr.

RUSH, Mr. DEAL of Georgia, Ms. FURSE, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. STUPAK,

Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. MANTON, Mr. GANSKE, Mr. RICHARDSON, Mr.

GORDON, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce

A BILL

To amend title XIV of the Public Health Service Act (the

‘‘Safe Drinking Water Act’’), 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. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

Sec. 2. References; effective date; disclaimer.
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TITLE I—PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS

Subtitle A—Promulgation of National Primary Drinking Water Regulations

Sec. 101. Selection of additional contaminants.

Sec. 102. Disinfectants and disinfection byproducts.

Sec. 103. Limited alternative to filtration.

Sec. 104. Standard-setting.

Sec. 105. Ground water disinfection.

Sec. 106. Effective date for regulations.

Sec. 107. Risk assessment, management, and communication.

Sec. 108. Radon, arsenic, and sulfate.

Sec. 109. Urgent threats to public health.

Sec. 110. Recycling of filter backwash.

Sec. 111. Treatment technologies for small systems.

Subtitle B—State Primary Enforcement Responsibility for Public Water

Systems

Sec. 121. State primacy.

Subtitle C—Notification and Enforcement

Sec. 131. Public notification.

Sec. 132. Enforcement.

Sec. 133. Judicial review.

Subtitle D—Exemptions and Variances

Sec. 141. Exemptions.

Sec. 142. Variances.

Subtitle E—Lead Plumbing and Pipes

Sec. 151. Lead plumbing and pipes.

Subtitle F—Capacity Development

Sec. 161. Capacity development.

TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO PART C

Sec. 201. Source water quality assessment.

Sec. 202. Federal facilities.

TITLE III—GENERAL PROVISIONS REGARDING SAFE DRINKING

WATER ACT

Sec. 301. Operator certification.

Sec. 302. Technical assistance.

Sec. 303. Public water system supervision program.

Sec. 304. Monitoring and information gathering.

Sec. 305. Occurrence data base.

Sec. 306. Citizens suits.

Sec. 307. Whistle blower.

Sec. 308. State revolving funds.

Sec. 309. Water conservation plan.

TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS

Sec. 401. Definitions.
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Sec. 402. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 403. New York City watershed protection program.

Sec. 404. Estrogenic substances screening program.

Sec. 405. Reports on programs administered directly by Environmental Protection Agency.

Sec. 406. Return flows.

Sec. 407. Emergency powers.

Sec. 408. Waterborne disease occurrence study.

Sec. 409. Drinking water studies.

Sec. 410. Bottled drinking water standards.

Sec. 411. Clerical amendments.

1 SEC. 2. REFERENCES; EFFECTIVE DATE; DISCLAIMER.

2 (a) REFERENCES TO SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT.—

3 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this

4 Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an

5 amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision,

6 the reference shall be considered to be made to that sec7 tion or other provision of title XIV of the Public Health

8 Service Act (commonly known as the Safe Drinking Water

9 Act, 42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.).

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as otherwise speci11 fied in this Act or in the amendments made by this Act,

12 this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take

13 effect on the date of enactment of this Act.

14 (c) DISCLAIMER.—Nothing in this Act or in any

15 amendments made by this Act to title XIV of the Public

16 Health Service Act (commonly known as the Safe Drink17 ing Water Act) or any other law shall be construed by

18 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agen19 cy or the courts as affecting, modifying, expanding, chang20 ing, or altering—
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1 (1) the provisions of the Federal Water Pollu2 tion Control Act;

3 (2) the duties and responsibilities of the Admin4 istrator under that Act; or

5 (3) the regulation or control of point or

6 nonpoint sources of pollution discharged into waters

7 covered by that Act.

8 The Administrator shall identify in the agency’s annual

9 budget all funding and full-time equivalents administering

10 such title XIV separately from funding and staffing for

11 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.

12 TITLE I—PUBLIC WATER

13 SYSTEMS

14 Subtitle A—Promulgation of Na15 tional Primary Drinking Water

16 Regulations

17 SEC. 101. SELECTION OF ADDITIONAL CONTAMINANTS.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1412(b)(3) (42 U.S.C.

19 300g–1(b)(3)) is amended to read as follows:

20 ‘‘(3) REGULATION OF UNREGULATED CONTAMI21 NANTS.—

22 ‘‘(A) LISTING OF CONTAMINANTS FOR CONSID23 ERATION.—(i) Not later than 18 months after the

24 date of the enactment of the Safe Drinking Water

25 Act Amendments of 1996 and every 5 years there-
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1 after, the Administrator, after consultation with the

2 scientific community, including the Science Advisory

3 Board, after notice and opportunity for public com4 ment, and after considering the occurrence data base

5 established under section 1445(g), shall publish a

6 list of contaminants which, at the time of publica7 tion, are not subject to any proposed or promulgated

8 national primary drinking water regulation, which

9 are known or anticipated to occur in public water

10 systems, and which may require regulation under

11 this title.

12 ‘‘(ii) The unregulated contaminants considered

13 under clause (i) shall include, but not be limited to,

14 substances referred to in section 101(14) of the

15 Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensa16 tion and Liability Act of 1980, and substances reg17 istered as pesticides under the Federal Insecticide,

18 Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.

19 ‘‘(iii) The Administrator’s decision whether or

20 not to select an unregulated contaminant for a list

21 under this subparagraph shall not be subject to judi22 cial review.

23 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION TO REGULATE.—(i) Not

24 later than 5 years after the date of the enactment

25 of the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of
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1 1996, and every 5 years thereafter, the Adminis2 trator shall, by rule, for not fewer than 5 contami3 nants included on the list published under subpara4 graph (A), make determinations of whether or not to

5 regulate such contaminants.

6 ‘‘(ii) A determination to regulate a contaminant

7 shall be based on findings that—

8 ‘‘(I) the contaminant is known to occur or

9 there is a substantial likelihood that the con10 taminant will occur in public water systems

11 with a frequency and at a level of public health

12 concern; and

13 ‘‘(II) regulation of such contaminant pre14 sents a meaningful opportunity for public

15 health risk reduction for persons served by pub16 lic water systems.

17 Such findings shall be based on the best available

18 public health information, including the occurrence

19 data base established under section 1445(g).

20 ‘‘(iii) The Administrator may make a deter21 mination to regulate a contaminant that does not

22 appear on a list under subparagraph (A) if the de23 termination to regulate is made pursuant to clause

24 (ii).
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1 ‘‘(iv) A determination under this subparagraph

2 not to regulate a contaminant shall be considered

3 final agency action and subject to judicial review.

4 ‘‘(C) PRIORITIES.—In selecting unregulated

5 contaminants for consideration under subparagraph

6 (B), the Administrator shall select contaminants

7 that present the greatest public health concern. The

8 Administrator, in making such selection, shall take

9 into consideration, among other factors of public

10 health concern, the effect of such contaminants upon

11 subgroups that comprise a meaningful portion of the

12 general population (such as infants, children, preg13 nant women, the elderly, individuals with a history

14 of serious illness, or other subpopulations) that are

15 identifiable as being at greater risk of adverse health

16 effects due to exposure to contaminants in drinking

17 water than the general population.

18 ‘‘(D) REGULATION.—For each contaminant

19 that the Administrator determines to regulate under

20 subparagraph (B), the Administrator shall promul21 gate, by rule, maximum contaminant level goals and

22 national primary drinking water regulations under

23 this subsection. The Administrator shall propose the

24 maximum contaminant level goal and national pri25 mary drinking water regulation not later than 24
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1 months after the determination to regulate under

2 subparagraph (B), and may publish such proposed

3 regulation concurrent with the determination to reg4 ulate. The Administrator shall promulgate a maxi5 mum contaminant level goal and national primary

6 drinking water regulation within 18 months after

7 the proposal thereof. The Administrator, by notice

8 in the Federal Register, may extend the deadline for

9 such promulgation for up to 9 months.

10 ‘‘(E) HEALTH ADVISORIES AND OTHER AC11 TIONS.—The Administrator may publish health

12 advisories (which are not regulations) or take other

13 appropriate actions for contaminants not subject to

14 any national primary drinking water regulation.’’.

15 (b) APPLICABILITY OF PRIOR REQUIREMENTS.—The

16 requirements of subparagraphs (C) and (D) of section

17 1412(b)(3) of title XIV of the Public Health Service Act

18 (commonly known as the Safe Drinking Water Act) as in

19 effect before the enactment of this Act, and any obligation

20 to promulgate regulations pursuant to such subpara21 graphs not promulgated as of the date of enactment of

22 this Act, are superseded by the amendments made by sub23 section (a) to such subparagraphs (C) and (D).
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1 SEC. 102. DISINFECTANTS AND DISINFECTION BYPROD2 UCTS.

3 Section 1412(b)(3) (42 U.S.C. 300g–1(b)(3)) is

4 amended by adding at the end the following subparagraph:

5 ‘‘(F) DISINFECTANTS AND DISINFECTION BY6 PRODUCTS.—

7 ‘‘(i) INFORMATION COLLECTION RULE.—

8 Not later than December 31, 1996, the Admin9 istrator shall, after notice and opportunity for

10 public comment, promulgate an information col11 lection rule to obtain information that will fa12 cilitate further revisions to the national primary

13 drinking water regulation for disinfectants and

14 disinfection byproducts, including information

15 on microbial contaminants such as

16 cryptosporidium. The Administrator may extend

17 the December 31, 1996, deadline under this

18 clause for up to 180 days if the Administrator

19 determines that progress toward approval of an

20 appropriate analytical method to screen for

21 cryptosporidium is sufficiently advanced and

22 approval is likely to be completed within the ad23 ditional time period.

24 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL DEADLINES.—The time

25 intervals between promulgation of a final infor26 mation collection rule, an Interim Enhanced
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1 Surface Water Treatment Rule, a Final En2 hanced Surface Water Treatment Rule, a Stage

3 I Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts

4 Rule, and a Stage II Disinfectants and Dis5 infection Byproducts Rule shall be in accord6 ance with the schedule published in volume 59,

7 Federal Register, page 6361 (February 10,

8 1994), in table III.13 of the proposed Informa9 tion Collection Rule. If a delay occurs with re10 spect to the promulgation of any rule in the

11 timetable established by this subparagraph, all

12 subsequent rules shall be completed as expedi13 tiously as practicable but no later than a re14 vised date that reflects the interval or intervals

15 for the rules in the timetable.’’.

16 SEC. 103. LIMITED ALTERNATIVE TO FILTRATION.

17 Section 1412(b)(7)(C) (42 U.S.C. 300g–1(b)(7)(C))

18 is amended by adding at the end the following clause:

19 ‘‘(v) As an additional alternative to the regulations

20 promulgated pursuant to clauses (i) and (iii), including the

21 criteria for avoiding filtration contained in 40 CFR

22 141.71, a State exercising primary enforcement respon23 sibility for public water systems may establish, on a case24 by-case basis and after notice and an opportunity of at

25 least 90 days for public comment, alternatives to filtration
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1 requirements in effect on the date of enactment of this

2 clause, in the case of systems having uninhabited, undevel3 oped watersheds in consolidated ownership, and having

4 control over access to, and activities in, those watersheds

5 if (taking into consideration the effects of wildlife in such

6 watersheds) the State determines (and the Administrator

7 concurs) that the public health will be fully protected by

8 such alternatives consistent with the requirements of this

9 title. The authority of a State to establish alternatives

10 under this clause shall expire 3 years after the enactment

11 of the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996.’’.

12 SEC. 104. STANDARD-SETTING.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1412(b) (42 U.S.C.

14 300g–1(b)) is amended as follows:

15 (1) In paragraph (4)—

16 (A) by striking ‘‘(4) Each’’ and inserting

17 the following:

18 ‘‘(4) GOALS AND STANDARDS.—

19 ‘‘(A) MAXIMUM CONTAMINANT LEVEL

20 GOALS.—Each’’;

21 (B) in the last sentence—

22 (i) by striking ‘‘Each national’’ and

23 inserting the following:
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1 ‘‘(B) MAXIMUM CONTAMINANT LEVELS.—

2 Except as provided in paragraphs (5) and (6),

3 each national’’; and

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘maximum level’’ and

5 inserting ‘‘maximum contaminant level’’;

6 and

7 (C) by adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION.—At the time the

9 Administrator proposes a national primary

10 drinking water regulation under this paragraph,

11 the Administrator shall publish a determination

12 as to whether the benefits of the maximum con13 taminant level justify, or do not justify, the

14 costs based on the analysis conducted under

15 paragraph (12)(C).’’.

16 (2) By striking ‘‘(5) For the’’ and inserting the

17 following:

18 ‘‘(D) DEFINITION OF FEASIBLE.—For

19 the’’.

20 (3) In the second sentence of paragraph (4)(D)

21 (as so designated), by striking ‘‘paragraph (4)’’ and

22 inserting ‘‘this paragraph’’.

23 (4) By striking ‘‘(6) Each national’’ and insert24 ing the following:

25 ‘‘(E) FEASIBLE TECHNOLOGIES.—
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1 ‘‘(i) Each national’’.

2 (5) In paragraph (4)(E)(i) (as so designated),

3 by striking ‘‘this paragraph’’ and inserting ‘‘this

4 subsection’’.

5 (6) By inserting after paragraph (4) (as so

6 amended) the following:

7 ‘‘(5) ADDITIONAL HEALTH RISK CONSIDER8 ATIONS.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para10 graph (4), the Administrator may establish a

11 maximum contaminant level for a contaminant

12 at a level other than the feasible level, if the

13 technology, treatment techniques, and other

14 means used to determine the feasible level

15 would result in an increase in the health risk

16 from drinking water by—

17 ‘‘(i) increasing the concentration of

18 other contaminants in drinking water; or

19 ‘‘(ii) interfering with the efficacy of

20 drinking water treatment techniques or

21 processes that are used to comply with

22 other national primary drinking water reg23 ulations.

24 ‘‘(B) ESTABLISHMENT OF LEVEL.—If the

25 Administrator establishes a maximum contami-
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1 nant level or levels or requires the use of treat2 ment techniques for any contaminant or con3 taminants pursuant to the authority of this

4 paragraph—

5 ‘‘(i) the level or levels or treatment

6 techniques shall minimize the overall risk

7 of adverse health effects by balancing the

8 risk from the contaminant and the risk

9 from other contaminants the concentra10 tions of which may be affected by the use

11 of a treatment technique or process that

12 would be employed to attain the maximum

13 contaminant level or levels; and

14 ‘‘(ii) the combination of technology,

15 treatment techniques, or other means re16 quired to meet the level or levels shall not

17 be more stringent than is feasible (as de18 fined in paragraph (4)(D)).

19 ‘‘(6) ADDITIONAL HEALTH RISK REDUCTION

20 AND COST CONSIDERATIONS.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para22 graph (4), if the Administrator determines

23 based on an analysis conducted under para24 graph (12)(C) that the benefits of a maximum

25 contaminant level promulgated in accordance
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1 with paragraph (4) would not justify the costs

2 of complying with the level, the Administrator

3 may, after notice and opportunity for public

4 comment, promulgate a maximum contaminant

5 level for the contaminant that maximizes health

6 risk reduction benefits at a cost that is justified

7 by the benefits.

8 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The Administrator

9 shall not use the authority of this paragraph to

10 promulgate a maximum contaminant level for a

11 contaminant, if the benefits of compliance with

12 a national primary drinking water regulation

13 for the contaminant that would be promulgated

14 in accordance with paragraph (4) experienced

15 by—

16 ‘‘(i) persons served by large public

17 water systems; and

18 ‘‘(ii) persons served by such other sys19 tems as are unlikely, based on information

20 provided by the States, to receive a vari21 ance under section 1415(e) (relating to

22 small system assistance program);

23 would justify the costs to the systems of com24 plying with the regulation. This subparagraph

25 shall not apply if the contaminant is found al-
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1 most exclusively in small systems (as defined in

2 section 1415(e), relating to small system assist3 ance program).

4 ‘‘(C) DISINFECTANTS AND DISINFECTION

5 BYPRODUCTS.—The Administrator may not use

6 the authority of this paragraph to establish a

7 maximum contaminant level in a Stage I or

8 Stage II national primary drinking water regu9 lation for contaminants that are disinfectants

10 or disinfection byproducts (as described in para11 graph (3)(F)), or to establish a maximum con12 taminant level or treatment technique require13 ment for the control of cryptosporidium. The

14 authority of this paragraph may be used to es15 tablish regulations for the use of disinfection by

16 systems relying on ground water sources as re17 quired by paragraph (8).

18 ‘‘(D) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—A determination

19 by the Administrator that the benefits of a

20 maximum contaminant level or treatment re21 quirement justify or do not justify the costs of

22 complying with the level shall be reviewed by

23 the court pursuant to section 1448 only as part

24 of a review of a final national primary drinking

25 water regulation that has been promulgated
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1 based on the determination and shall not be set

2 aside by the court under that section unless the

3 court finds that the determination is arbitrary

4 and capricious.’’.

5 (b) DISINFECTANTS AND DISINFECTION BYPROD6 UCTS.—The Administrator of the Environmental Protec7 tion Agency may use the authority of section 1412(b)(5)

8 of the Public Health Service Act (as amended by sub9 section (a)) to promulgate the Stage I and Stage II rules

10 for disinfectants and disinfection byproducts as proposed

11 in volume 59, Federal Register, page 38668 (July 29,

12 1994). The considerations used in the development of the

13 July 29, 1994, proposed national primary drinking water

14 regulation on Disinfection and Disinfection Byproducts

15 shall be treated as consistent with such section 1412(b)(5)

16 for purposes of such Stage I and Stage II rules.

17 (c) REVIEW OF STANDARDS.—Section 1412(b)(9)

18 (42 U.S.C. 300g–1(b)) is amended to read as follows:

19 ‘‘(9) REVIEW AND REVISION.—The Adminis20 trator shall, not less often than every 6 years, review

21 and revise, as appropriate, each national primary

22 drinking water regulation promulgated under this

23 title. Any revision of a national primary drinking

24 water regulation shall be promulgated in accordance

25 with this section, except that each revision shall
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1 maintain, or provide for greater, protection of the

2 health of persons.’’.

3 SEC. 105. GROUND WATER DISINFECTION.

4 Section 1412(b)(8) (42 U.S.C. 300g–1(b)(8)) is

5 amended by striking the first sentence and inserting the

6 following: ‘‘At any time after the end of the 3-year period

7 that begins on the date of enactment of the Safe Drinking

8 Water Act Amendments of 1996, but not later than the

9 date on which the Administrator promulgates a Stage II

10 rulemaking for disinfectants and disinfection byproducts

11 (as described in paragraph (3)(F)(ii)), the Administrator

12 shall also promulgate national primary drinking water reg13 ulations requiring disinfection as a treatment technique

14 for all public water systems, including surface water sys15 tems and, as necessary, ground water systems. After con16 sultation with the States, the Administrator shall (as part

17 of the regulations) promulgate criteria that the Adminis18 trator, or a State that has primary enforcement respon19 sibility under section 1413, shall apply to determine

20 whether disinfection shall be required as a treatment tech21 nique for any public water system served by ground water.

22 A State that has primary enforcement authority shall de23 velop a plan through which ground water disinfection de24 terminations are made. The plan shall be based on the
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1 Administrator’s criteria and shall be submitted to the Ad2 ministrator for approval.’’.

3 SEC. 106. EFFECTIVE DATE FOR REGULATIONS.

4 Section 1412(b)(10) (42 U.S.C. 300g–1(b)(10)) is

5 amended to read as follows:

6 ‘‘(10) EFFECTIVE DATE.—A national primary

7 drinking water regulation promulgated under this

8 section (and any amendment thereto) shall take ef9 fect on the date that is 3 years after the date on

10 which the regulation is promulgated unless the Ad11 ministrator determines that an earlier date is prac12 ticable, except that the Administrator, or a State (in

13 the case of an individual system), may allow up to

14 2 additional years to comply with a maximum con15 taminant level or treatment technique if the Admin16 istrator or State (in the case of an individual sys17 tem) determines that additional time is necessary for

18 capital improvements.’’.

19 SEC. 107. RISK ASSESSMENT, MANAGEMENT, AND COMMU20 NICATION.

21 Section 1412(b) (42 U.S.C. 300g–1(b)) is amended

22 by inserting after paragraph (11) the following:

23 ‘‘(12) RISK ASSESSMENT, MANAGEMENT AND

24 COMMUNICATION.—
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1 ‘‘(A) USE OF SCIENCE IN DECISIONMAK2 ING.—In carrying out this section, and, to the

3 degree that an Agency action is based on

4 science in carrying out this title, the Adminis5 trator shall use—

6 ‘‘(i) the best available, peer-reviewed

7 science and supporting studies conducted

8 in accordance with sound and objective sci9 entific practices; and

10 ‘‘(ii) data collected by accepted meth11 ods or best available methods (if the reli12 ability of the method and the nature of the

13 decision justifies use of the data).

14 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—In carrying

15 out this section, the Administrator shall ensure

16 that the presentation of information on public

17 health effects is comprehensive, informative and

18 understandable. The Administrator shall, in a

19 document made available to the public in sup20 port of a regulation promulgated under this sec21 tion, specify, to the extent practicable—

22 ‘‘(i) each population addressed by any

23 estimate of public health effects;

24 ‘‘(ii) the expected risk or central esti25 mate of risk for the specific populations;
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1 ‘‘(iii) each appropriate upper-bound or

2 lower-bound estimate of risk;

3 ‘‘(iv) each significant uncertainty

4 identified in the process of the assessment

5 of public health effects and studies that

6 would assist in resolving the uncertainty;

7 and

8 ‘‘(v) peer-reviewed studies known to

9 the Administrator that support, are di10 rectly relevant to, or fail to support any es11 timate of public health effects and the

12 methodology used to reconcile inconsist13 encies in the scientific data.

14 ‘‘(C) HEALTH RISK REDUCTION AND COST

15 ANALYSIS.—

16 ‘‘(i) MAXIMUM CONTAMINANT LEV17 ELS.—When proposing any national pri18 mary drinking water regulation that in19 cludes a maximum contaminant level, the

20 Administrator shall, with respect to a max21 imum contaminant level that is being con22 sidered in accordance with paragraph (4)

23 and each alternative maximum contami24 nant level that is being considered pursu25 ant to paragraph (5) or (6)(A), publish,
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1 seek public comment on, and use for the

2 purposes of paragraphs (4), (5), and (6)

3 an analysis of—

4 ‘‘(I) Quantifiable and nonquan5 tifiable health risk reduction benefits

6 for which there is a factual basis in

7 the rulemaking record to conclude

8 that such benefits are likely to occur

9 as the result of treatment to comply

10 with each level.

11 ‘‘(II) Quantifiable and nonquan12 tifiable health risk reduction benefits

13 for which there is a factual basis in

14 the rulemaking record to conclude

15 that such benefits are likely to occur

16 from reductions in co-occurring con17 taminants that may be attributed

18 solely to compliance with the maxi19 mum contaminant level, excluding

20 benefits resulting from compliance

21 with other proposed or promulgated

22 regulations.

23 ‘‘(III) Quantifiable and nonquan24 tifiable costs for which there is a fac25 tual basis in the rulemaking record to
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1 conclude that such costs are likely to

2 occur solely as a result of compliance

3 with the maximum contaminant level,

4 including monitoring, treatment, and

5 other costs and excluding costs result6 ing from compliance with other pro7 posed or promulgated regulations.

8 ‘‘(IV) The incremental costs and

9 benefits associated with each alter10 native maximum contaminant level

11 considered.

12 ‘‘(V) The effects of the contami13 nant on the general population and on

14 groups within the general population

15 such as infants, children, pregnant

16 women, the elderly, individuals with a

17 history of serious illness, or other sub18 populations that are identified as like19 ly to be at greater risk of adverse

20 health effects due to exposure to con21 taminants in drinking water than the

22 general population.

23 ‘‘(VI) Any increased health risk

24 that may occur as the result of com-
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1 pliance, including risks associated

2 with co-occurring contaminants.

3 ‘‘(VII) Other relevant factors, in4 cluding the quality and extent of the

5 information, the uncertainties in the

6 analysis supporting subclauses (I)

7 through (VI), and factors with respect

8 to the degree and nature of the risk.

9 ‘‘(ii) TREATMENT TECHNIQUES.—

10 When proposing a national primary drink11 ing water regulation that includes a treat12 ment technique in accordance with para13 graph (7)(A), the Administrator shall pub14 lish and seek public comment on an analy15 sis of the health risk reduction benefits

16 and costs likely to be experienced as the

17 result of compliance with the treatment

18 technique and alternative treatment tech19 niques that are being considered, taking

20 into account, as appropriate, the factors

21 described in clause (i).

22 ‘‘(iii) APPROACHES TO MEASURE AND

23 VALUE BENEFITS.—The Administrator

24 may identify valid approaches for the

25 measurement and valuation of benefits
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1 under this subparagraph, including ap2 proaches to identify consumer willingness

3 to pay for reductions in health risks from

4 drinking water contaminants.

5 ‘‘(iv) AUTHORIZATION.—There are

6 authorized to be appropriated to the Ad7 ministrator, acting through the Office of

8 Ground Water and Drinking Water, to

9 conduct studies, assessments, and analyses

10 in support of regulations or the develop11 ment of methods, $35,000,000 for each of

12 fiscal years 1996 through 2003.’’.

13 SEC. 108. RADON, ARSENIC, AND SULFATE.

14 Section 1412(b) is amended by inserting after para15 graph (12) the following:

16 ‘‘(13) CERTAIN CONTAMINANTS.—

17 ‘‘(A) RADON.—Any proposal published by

18 the Administrator before the enactment of the

19 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996

20 to establish a national primary drinking water

21 standard for radon shall be withdrawn by the

22 Administrator. Notwithstanding any provision

23 of any law enacted prior to the enactment of

24 the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of

25 1996, within 3 years of such date of enactment,
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1 the Administrator shall propose and promulgate

2 a national primary drinking water regulation

3 for radon under this section, as amended by the

4 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996.

5 In undertaking any risk analysis and benefit

6 cost analysis in connection with the promulga7 tion of such standard, the Administrator shall

8 take into account the costs and benefits of con9 trol programs for radon from other sources.

10 ‘‘(B) ARSENIC.—(i) Notwithstanding the

11 deadlines set forth in paragraph (1), the Ad12 ministrator shall promulgate a national primary

13 drinking water regulation for arsenic pursuant

14 to this subsection, in accordance with the sched15 ule established by this paragraph.

16 ‘‘(ii) Not later than 180 days after the

17 date of enactment of this paragraph, the Ad18 ministrator shall develop a comprehensive plan

19 for study in support of drinking water rule20 making to reduce the uncertainty in assessing

21 health risks associated with exposure to low lev22 els of arsenic. In conducting such study, the

23 Administrator shall consult with the National

24 Academy of Sciences, other Federal agencies,

25 and interested public and private entities.
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1 ‘‘(iii) In carrying out the study plan, the

2 Administrator may enter into cooperative agree3 ments with other Federal agencies, State and

4 local governments, and other interested public

5 and private entities.

6 ‘‘(iv) PROPOSED REGULATION.—The Ad7 ministrator shall propose a national primary

8 drinking water regulation for arsenic not later

9 than January 1, 2000.

10 ‘‘(v) FINAL REGULATION.—Not later than

11 January 1, 2001, after notice and opportunity

12 for public comment, the Administrator shall

13 promulgate a national primary drinking water

14 regulation for arsenic.

15 ‘‘(C) SULFATE.—

16 ‘‘(i) ADDITIONAL STUDY.—Prior to

17 promulgating a national primary drinking

18 water regulation for sulfate, the Adminis19 trator and the Director of the Centers for

20 Disease Control and Prevention shall joint21 ly conduct an additional study to establish

22 a reliable dose-response relationship for the

23 adverse human health effects that may re24 sult from exposure to sulfate in drinking

25 water, including the health effects that
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1 may be experienced by groups within the

2 general population (including infants and

3 travelers) that are potentially at greater

4 risk of adverse health effects as the result

5 of such exposure. The study shall be con6 ducted in consultation with interested

7 States, shall be based on the best available,

8 peer-reviewed science and supporting stud9 ies conducted in accordance with sound

10 and objective scientific practices.

11 ‘‘(ii) PROPOSED AND FINAL RULE.—

12 Notwithstanding the deadlines set forth in

13 paragraph (1), the Administrator may,

14 pursuant to the authorities of this sub15 section and after notice and opportunity

16 for public comment, promulgate a final na17 tional primary drinking water regulation

18 for sulfate. Any such regulation shall in19 clude requirements for public notification

20 and options for the provision of alternative

21 water supplies to populations at risk as a

22 means of complying with the regulation in

23 lieu of a best available treatment tech24 nology or other means.’’.
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1 SEC. 109. URGENT THREATS TO PUBLIC HEALTH.

2 Section 1412(b) is amended by inserting the following

3 after paragraph (13):

4 ‘‘(14) URGENT THREATS TO PUBLIC

5 HEALTH.—The Administrator may promulgate an

6 interim national primary drinking water regulation

7 for a contaminant without making a determination

8 for the contaminant under paragraph (4)(C) or com9 pleting the analysis under paragraph (12)(C) to ad10 dress an urgent threat to public health as deter11 mined by the Administrator after consultation with

12 and written response to any comments provided by

13 the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting

14 through the director of the Centers for Disease Con15 trol and Prevention or the director of the National

16 Institutes of Health. A determination for any con17 taminant in accordance with paragraph (4)(C) sub18 ject to an interim regulation under this subpara19 graph shall be issued, and a completed analysis

20 meeting the requirements of paragraph (12)(C) shall

21 be published, not later than 3 years after the date

22 on which the regulation is promulgated and the reg23 ulation shall be repromulgated, or revised if appro24 priate, not later than 5 years after that date.’’.
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1 SEC. 110. RECYCLING OF FILTER BACKWASH.

2 Section 1412(b) is amended by adding the following

3 new paragraph after paragraph (14):

4 ‘‘(15) RECYCLING OF FILTER BACKWASH.—

5 The Administrator shall promulgate a regulation to

6 govern the recycling of filter backwash water within

7 the treatment process of a public water system. The

8 Administrator shall promulgate such regulation not

9 later than 4 years after the date of the enactment

10 of the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of

11 1996 unless such recycling has been addressed by

12 the Administrator’s ‘enhanced surface water treat13 ment rule’ prior to such date.’’.

14 SEC. 111. TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES FOR SMALL SYS15 TEMS.

16 (a) LIST OF TECHNOLOGIES FOR SMALL SYSTEMS.—

17 Section 1412(b)(4)(E) (42 U.S.C. 300g–1(b)(4)(E)), is

18 amended by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(ii) The Administrator shall include

20 in the list any technology, treatment tech21 nique, or other means that is affordable for

22 small public water systems serving—

23 ‘‘(I) a population of 10,000 or

24 fewer but more than 3,300;

25 ‘‘(II) a population of 3,300 or

26 fewer but more than 500; and
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1 ‘‘(III) a population of 500 or

2 fewer but more than 25;

3 and that achieves compliance with the

4 maximum contaminant level or treatment

5 technique, including packaged or modular

6 systems and point-of-entry or point-of-use

7 treatment units. Point-of-entry and point8 of-use treatment units shall be owned, con9 trolled and maintained by the public water

10 system or by a person under contract with

11 the public water system to ensure proper

12 operation and maintenance and compliance

13 with the maximum contaminant level or

14 treatment technique and equipped with

15 mechanical warnings to ensure that cus16 tomers are automatically notified of oper17 ational problems. If the American National

18 Standards Institute has issued product

19 standards applicable to a specific type of

20 point-of-entry or point-of-use treatment

21 unit, individual units of that type shall not

22 be accepted for compliance with a maxi23 mum contaminant level or treatment tech24 nique requirement unless they are inde-
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1 pendently certified in accordance with such

2 standards.

3 ‘‘(iii) Except as provided in clause (v),

4 Not later than 2 years after the date of the

5 enactment of this clause and after con6 sultation with the States, the Adminis7 trator shall issue a list of technologies that

8 achieve compliance with the maximum con9 taminant level or treatment technique for

10 each category of public water systems de11 scribed in subclause (I), (II), and (III) of

12 clause (ii) for each national primary drink13 ing water regulation promulgated prior to

14 the date of the enactment of this para15 graph.

16 ‘‘(iv) The Administrator may, at any

17 time after a national primary drinking

18 water regulation has been promulgated,

19 supplement the list of technologies describ20 ing additional or new or innovative treat21 ment technologies that meet the require22 ments of this paragraph for categories of

23 small public water systems described in

24 subclauses (I), (II) and (III) of clause (ii)

25 that are subject to the regulation.
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1 ‘‘(v) Within one year after the enact2 ment of this clause, the Administrator

3 shall list technologies that meet the surface

4 water treatment rules for each category of

5 public water systems described in sub6 clauses (I), (II), and (III) of clause (ii).’’.

7 (b) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION ON SMALL SYS8 TEM TECHNOLOGIES.—Section 1445 (42 U.S.C. 0j–4) is

9 amended by adding after subsection (g):

10 ‘‘(h) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION ON SMALL SYS11 TEM TECHNOLOGIES.—For purposes of sections

12 1412(b)(4)(E) and 1415(e) (relating to small system as13 sistance program), the Administrator may request infor14 mation on the characteristics of commercially available

15 treatment systems and technologies, including the effec16 tiveness and performance of the systems and technologies

17 under various operating conditions. The Administrator

18 may specify the form, content, and submission date of in19 formation to be submitted by manufacturers, States, and

20 other interested persons for the purpose of considering the

21 systems and technologies in the development of regula22 tions or guidance under sections 1412(b)(4)(E) and

23 1415(e).’’.
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1 Subtitle B—State Primary Enforce2 ment Responsibility for Public

3 Water Systems

4 SEC. 121. STATE PRIMACY.

5 (a) STATE PRIMARY ENFORCEMENT RESPONSIBIL6 ITY.—Section 1413 (42 U.S.C. 300g–2) is amended as fol7 lows:

8 (1) In subsection (a), by amending paragraph

9 (1) to read as follows:

10 ‘‘(1) has adopted drinking water regulations

11 that are no less stringent than the national primary

12 drinking water regulations promulgated by the Ad13 ministrator under subsections (a) and (b) of section

14 1412 not later than 2 years after the date on which

15 the regulations are promulgated by the Adminis16 trator, except that the Administrator may provide

17 for an extension of not more than 2 years if, after

18 submission and review of appropriate, adequate doc19 umentation from the State, the Administrator deter20 mines that the extension is necessary and justified;’’.

21 (2) By adding at the end the following sub22 section:

23 ‘‘(c) INTERIM PRIMARY ENFORCEMENT AUTHOR24 ITY.—A State that has primary enforcement authority

25 under this section with respect to each existing national
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1 primary drinking water regulation shall be considered to

2 have primary enforcement authority with respect to each

3 new or revised national primary drinking water regulation

4 during the period beginning on the effective date of a reg5 ulation adopted and submitted by the State with respect

6 to the new or revised national primary drinking water reg7 ulation in accordance with subsection (b)(1) and ending

8 at such time as the Administrator makes a determination

9 under subsection (b)(2)(B) with respect to the regula10 tion.’’.

11 (b) EMERGENCY PLANS.—Section 1413(a)(5) is

12 amended by inserting after ‘‘emergency circumstances’’

13 the following: ‘‘including earthquakes, floods, hurricanes,

14 and other natural disasters, as appropriate’’.

15 Subtitle C—Notification and

16 Enforcement

17 SEC. 131. PUBLIC NOTIFICATION.

18 Section 1414(c) (42 U.S.C. 300g–3(c)) is amended

19 to read as follows:

20 ‘‘(c) NOTICE TO PERSONS SERVED.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each owner or operator of

22 a public water system shall give notice of each of the

23 following to the persons served by the system:

24 ‘‘(A) Notice of any failure on the part of

25 the public water system to—
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•HR 3604 IH

1 ‘‘(i) comply with an applicable maxi2 mum contaminant level or treatment tech3 nique requirement of, or a testing proce4 dure prescribed by, a national primary

5 drinking water regulation; or

6 ‘‘(ii) perform monitoring required by

7 section 1445(a).

8 ‘‘(B) If the public water system is subject

9 to a variance granted under subsection

10 (a)(1)(A), (a)(2), or (e) of section 1415 for an

11 inability to meet a maximum contaminant level

12 requirement or is subject to an exemption

13 granted under section 1416, notice of—

14 ‘‘(i) the existence of the variance or

15 exemption; and

16 ‘‘(ii) any failure to comply with the

17 requirements of any schedule prescribed

18 pursuant to the variance or exemption.

19 ‘‘(C) Notice of the concentration level of

20 any unregulated contaminant for which the Ad21 ministrator has required public notice pursuant

22 to paragraph (2)(E).

23 ‘‘(2) FORM, MANNER, AND FREQUENCY OF NO24 TICE.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator

2 shall, by regulation, and after consultation with

3 the States, prescribe the manner, frequency,

4 form, and content for giving notice under this

5 subsection. The regulations shall—

6 ‘‘(i) provide for different frequencies

7 of notice based on the differences between

8 violations that are intermittent or infre9 quent and violations that are continuous or

10 frequent; and

11 ‘‘(ii) take into account the seriousness

12 of any potential adverse health effects that

13 may be involved.

14 ‘‘(B) STATE REQUIREMENTS.—

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A State may, by

16 rule, establish alternative notification re17 quirements—

18 ‘‘(I) with respect to the form and

19 content of notice given under and in a

20 manner in accordance with subpara21 graph (C); and

22 ‘‘(II) with respect to the form

23 and content of notice given under sub24 paragraph (D).
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1 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—The alternative re2 quirements shall provide the same type and

3 amount of information as required pursu4 ant to this subsection and regulations is5 sued under subparagraph (A).

6 ‘‘(iii) RELATIONSHIP TO SECTION

7 1413.—Nothing in this subparagraph shall

8 be construed or applied to modify the re9 quirements of section 1413.

10 ‘‘(C) VIOLATIONS WITH POTENTIAL TO

11 HAVE SERIOUS ADVERSE EFFECTS ON HUMAN

12 HEALTH.—Regulations issued under subpara13 graph (A) shall specify notification procedures

14 for each violation by a public water system that

15 has the potential to have serious adverse effects

16 on human health as a result of short-term expo17 sure. Each notice of violation provided under

18 this subparagraph shall—

19 ‘‘(i) be distributed as soon as prac20 ticable after the occurrence of the viola21 tion, but not later than 24 hours after the

22 occurrence of the violation;

23 ‘‘(ii) provide a clear and readily un24 derstandable explanation of—

25 ‘‘(I) the violation;
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•HR 3604 IH

1 ‘‘(II) the potential adverse effects

2 on human health;

3 ‘‘(III) the steps that the public

4 water system is taking to correct the

5 violation; and

6 ‘‘(IV) the necessity of seeking al7 ternative water supplies until the vio8 lation is corrected;

9 ‘‘(iii) be provided to the Administrator

10 or the head of the State agency that has

11 primary enforcement responsibility under

12 section 1413 as soon as practicable, but

13 not later than 24 hours after the occur14 rence of the violation; and

15 ‘‘(iv) as required by the State agency

16 in general regulations of the State agency,

17 or on a case-by-case basis after the con18 sultation referred to in clause (iii), consid19 ering the health risks involved—

20 ‘‘(I) be provided to appropriate

21 broadcast media;

22 ‘‘(II) be prominently published in

23 a newspaper of general circulation

24 serving the area not later than 1 day

25 after distribution of a notice pursuant
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•HR 3604 IH

1 to clause (i) or the date of publication

2 of the next issue of the newspaper; or

3 ‘‘(III) be provided by posting or

4 door-to-door notification in lieu of no5 tification by means of broadcast

6 media or newspaper.

7 ‘‘(D) WRITTEN NOTICE.—

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Regulations issued

9 under subparagraph (A) shall specify noti10 fication procedures for violations other

11 than the violations covered by subpara12 graph (C). The procedures shall specify

13 that a public water system shall provide

14 written notice to each person served by the

15 system by notice (I) in the first bill (if

16 any) prepared after the date of occurrence

17 of the violation, (II) in an annual report is18 sued not later than 1 year after the date

19 of occurrence of the violation, or (III) by

20 mail or direct delivery as soon as prac21 ticable, but not later than 1 year after the

22 date of occurrence of the violation.

23 ‘‘(ii) FORM AND MANNER OF NO24 TICE.—The Administrator shall prescribe

25 the form and manner of the notice to pro-
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1 vide a clear and readily understandable ex2 planation of the violation, any potential ad3 verse health effects, and the steps that the

4 system is taking to seek alternative water

5 supplies, if any, until the violation is cor6 rected.

7 ‘‘(E) UNREGULATED CONTAMINANTS.—

8 The Administrator may require the owner or

9 operator of a public water system to give notice

10 to the persons served by the system of the con11 centration levels of an unregulated contaminant

12 required to be monitored under section 1445(a).

13 ‘‘(3) REPORTS.—

14 ‘‘(A) ANNUAL REPORT BY STATE.—

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than

16 January 1, 1997, and annually thereafter,

17 each State that has primary enforcement

18 responsibility under section 1413 shall pre19 pare, make readily available to the public,

20 and submit to the Administrator an annual

21 report on violations of national primary

22 drinking water regulations by public water

23 systems in the State, including violations

24 with respect to (I) maximum contaminant

25 levels, (II) treatment requirements, (III)
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1 variances and exemptions, and (IV) mon2 itoring requirements determined to be sig3 nificant by the Administrator after con4 sultation with the States.

5 ‘‘(ii) DISTRIBUTION.—The State shall

6 publish and distribute summaries of the re7 port and indicate where the full report is

8 available for review.

9 ‘‘(B) ANNUAL REPORT BY ADMINIS10 TRATOR.—Not later than July 1, 1997, and an11 nually thereafter, the Administrator shall pre12 pare and make available to the public an annual

13 report summarizing and evaluating reports sub14 mitted by States pursuant to subparagraph (A)

15 and notices submitted by public water systems

16 serving Indian Tribes provided to the Adminis17 trator pursuant to subparagraph (C) or (D) of

18 paragraph (2) and making recommendations

19 concerning the resources needed to improve

20 compliance with this title. The report shall in21 clude information about public water system

22 compliance on Indian reservations and about

23 enforcement activities undertaken and financial

24 assistance provided by the Administrator on In25 dian reservations, and shall make specific rec-
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1 ommendations concerning the resources needed

2 to improve compliance with this title on Indian

3 reservations.

4 ‘‘(4) CONSUMER CONFIDENCE REPORTS BY

5 COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEMS.—

6 ‘‘(A) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONSUMERS.—

7 The Administrator, in consultation with public

8 water systems, environmental groups, public in9 terest groups, risk communication experts, and

10 the States, and other interested parties, shall

11 issue regulations within 24 months after the

12 date of the enactment of this paragraph to re13 quire each community water system to—

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

15 local newspapers serving the area in which

16 customers of the system are located, and

17 ‘‘(ii) mail to each customer of the sys18 tem at least once annually

19 a report on the level of contaminants in the

20 drinking water purveyed by that system (here21 inafter in this paragraph referred to as a

22 ‘consumer confidence report’). Such regulations

23 shall provide a brief and plainly worded defini24 tion of the terms ‘maximum contaminant level

25 goal’ and ‘maximum contaminant level’ and
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1 brief statements in plain language regarding

2 the health concerns that resulted in regulation

3 of each regulated contaminant. The regulations

4 shall also provide for a toll-free hot-line that

5 consumers can call for more information and

6 explanation.

7 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The

8 consumer confidence reports under this para9 graph shall include, but not be limited to, each

10 of the following:

11 ‘‘(i) Information on the source of the

12 water purveyed.

13 ‘‘(ii) A brief and plainly worded defi14 nition of the terms ‘maximum contaminant

15 level goal’ and ‘maximum contaminant

16 level’, as provided in the regulations of the

17 Administrator.

18 ‘‘(iii) If any regulated contaminant is

19 detected in the water purveyed by the pub20 lic water system, a statement setting forth

21 (I) the maximum contaminant level goal,

22 (II) the maximum contaminant level, (III)

23 the level of such contaminant in such

24 water system, and (IV) for any regulated

25 contaminant for which there has been a
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1 violation of the maximum contaminant

2 level during the year concerned, the brief

3 statement in plain language regarding the

4 health concerns that resulted in regulation

5 of such contaminant, as provided by the

6 Administrator in regulations under sub7 paragraph (A).

8 ‘‘(iv) Information on compliance with

9 national primary drinking water regula10 tions.

11 ‘‘(v) Information on the levels of un12 regulated contaminants for which monitor13 ing is required under section 1445(a)(2)

14 (including levels of cryptosporidium and

15 radon where States determine they may be

16 found).

17 ‘‘(vi) A statement that more informa18 tion about contaminants and potential

19 health effects can be obtained by calling

20 the Environmental Protection Agency hot

21 line.

22 A public water system may include such addi23 tional information as it deems appropriate for

24 public education. The Administrator may, for

25 not more than 3 regulated contaminants other
46

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1 than those referred to in subclause (IV) of

2 clause (iii), require a consumer confidence re3 port under this paragraph to include the brief

4 statement in plain language regarding the

5 health concerns that resulted in regulation of

6 the contaminant or contaminants concerned, as

7 provided by the Administrator in regulations

8 under subparagraph (A).

9 ‘‘(C) COVERAGE.—The Governor of a

10 State may determine not to apply the mailing

11 requirement of subparagraph (A)(ii) to a com12 munity water system serving fewer than 10,000

13 persons. Any such system shall—

14 ‘‘(i) inform its customers that the sys15 tem will not be complying with subpara16 graph (A)(ii),

17 ‘‘(ii) make information available upon

18 request to the public regarding the quality

19 of the water supplied by such system, and

20 ‘‘(iii) publish the public notice re21 quired by subparagraph (A)(i).

22 ‘‘(D) ALTERNATIVE FORM AND CON23 TENT.—A State exercising primary enforcement

24 responsibility may establish, by rule, after no25 tice and public comment, alternative require-
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1 ments with respect to the form and content of

2 consumer confidence reports under this para3 graph.’’.

4 SEC. 132. ENFORCEMENT.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1414 (42 U.S.C. 300g–

6 3) is amended as follows:

7 (1) In subsection (a):

8 (A) In paragraph (1)(A)(i), by striking

9 ‘‘any national primary drinking water regula10 tion in effect under section 1412’’ and inserting

11 ‘‘any applicable requirement’’, and by striking

12 ‘‘with such regulation or requirement’’ in the

13 matter following clause (ii) and inserting ‘‘with

14 the requirement’’.

15 (B) In paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘reg16 ulation or’’ and inserting ‘‘applicable’’.

17 (C) By amending paragraph (2) to read as

18 follows:

19 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT IN NONPRIMACY STATES.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, on the basis of informa21 tion available to the Administrator, the Adminis22 trator finds, with respect to a period in which a

23 State does not have primary enforcement respon24 sibility for public water systems, that a public water

25 system in the State—
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1 ‘‘(i) for which a variance under section

2 1415 or an exemption under section 1416 is not

3 in effect, does not comply with any applicable

4 requirement; or

5 ‘‘(ii) for which a variance under section

6 1415 or an exemption under section 1416 is in

7 effect, does not comply with any schedule or

8 other requirement imposed pursuant to the

9 variance or exemption;

10 the Administrator shall issue an order under sub11 section (g) requiring the public water system to com12 ply with the requirement, or commence a civil action

13 under subsection (b).

14 ‘‘(B) NOTICE.—If the Administrator takes any

15 action pursuant to this paragraph, the Adminis16 trator shall notify an appropriate local elected offi17 cial, if any, with jurisdiction over the public water

18 system of the action prior to the time that the action

19 is taken.’’.

20 (2) In subsection (b), in the first sentence, by

21 striking ‘‘a national primary drinking water regula22 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘any applicable requirement’’.

23 (3) In subsection (g):
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1 (A) In paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘regula2 tion, schedule, or other’’ each place it appears

3 and inserting ‘‘applicable’’.

4 (B) In paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘effect

5 until after notice and opportunity for public

6 hearing and,’’ and inserting ‘‘effect,’’, and by

7 striking ‘‘proposed order’’ and inserting

8 ‘‘order’’, in the first sentence and in the second

9 sentence, by striking ‘‘proposed to be’’.

10 (C) In paragraph (3), by striking subpara11 graph (B) and inserting the following:

12 ‘‘(B) In a case in which a civil penalty sought by the

13 Administrator under this paragraph does not exceed

14 $5,000, the penalty shall be assessed by the Administrator

15 after notice and opportunity for a public hearing (unless

16 the person against whom the penalty is assessed requests

17 a hearing on the record in accordance with section 554

18 of title 5, United States Code). In a case in which a civil

19 penalty sought by the Administrator under this paragraph

20 exceeds $5,000, but does not exceed $25,000, the penalty

21 shall be assessed by the Administrator after notice and

22 opportunity for a hearing on the record in accordance with

23 section 554 of title 5, United States Code.’’.

24 (D) In paragraph (3)(C), by striking

25 ‘‘paragraph exceeds $5,000’’ and inserting
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1 ‘‘subsection for a violation of an applicable re2 quirement exceeds $25,000’’.

3 (4) By adding at the end the following sub4 sections:

5 ‘‘(h) RELIEF.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An owner or operator of a

7 public water system may submit to the State in

8 which the system is located (if the State has primary

9 enforcement responsibility under section 1413) or to

10 the Administrator (if the State does not have pri11 mary enforcement responsibility) a plan (including

12 specific measures and schedules) for—

13 ‘‘(A) the physical consolidation of the sys14 tem with 1 or more other systems;

15 ‘‘(B) the consolidation of significant man16 agement and administrative functions of the

17 system with 1 or more other systems; or

18 ‘‘(C) the transfer of ownership of the sys19 tem that may reasonably be expected to im20 prove drinking water quality.

21 ‘‘(2) CONSEQUENCES OF APPROVAL.—If the

22 State or the Administrator approves a plan pursuant

23 to paragraph (1), no enforcement action shall be

24 taken pursuant to this part with respect to a specific

25 violation identified in the approved plan prior to the
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1 date that is the earlier of the date on which consoli2 dation is completed according to the plan or the date

3 that is 2 years after the plan is approved.

4 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION OF APPLICABLE REQUIREMENT.—

5 In this section, the term ‘applicable requirement’ means—

6 ‘‘(1) a requirement of section 1412, 1414,

7 1415, 1416, 1417, 1441, or 1445;

8 ‘‘(2) a regulation promulgated pursuant to a

9 section referred to in paragraph (1);

10 ‘‘(3) a schedule or requirement imposed pursu11 ant to a section referred to in paragraph (1); and

12 ‘‘(4) a requirement of, or permit issued under,

13 an applicable State program for which the Adminis14 trator has made a determination that the require15 ments of section 1413 have been satisfied, or an ap16 plicable State program approved pursuant to this

17 part.’’.

18 (b) STATE AUTHORITY FOR ADMINISTRATIVE PEN19 ALTIES.—Section 1413(a) (42 U.S.C. 300g–2(a)) is

20 amended as follows:

21 (1) In paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

22 end thereof.

23 (2) In paragraph (5), by striking the period at

24 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’.

25 (3) By adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(6) has adopted authority for administrative

2 penalties (unless the constitution of the State pro3 hibits the adoption of the authority) in a maximum

4 amount—

5 ‘‘(A) in the case of a system serving a pop6 ulation of more than 10,000, that is not less

7 than $1,000 per day per violation; and

8 ‘‘(B) in the case of any other system, that

9 is adequate to ensure compliance (as deter10 mined by the State);

11 except that a State may establish a maximum limita12 tion on the total amount of administrative penalties

13 that may be imposed on a public water system per

14 violation.’’.

15 SEC. 133. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

16 Section 1448(a) (42 U.S.C. 300j–7(a)) is amended

17 as follows:

18 (1) In paragraph (2), in the first sentence, by

19 inserting ‘‘final’’ after ‘‘any other’’.

20 (2) In the matter after and below paragraph

21 (2)—

22 (A) by striking ‘‘or issuance of the order’’

23 and inserting ‘‘or any other final Agency ac24 tion’’; and
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1 (B) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In

2 any petition concerning the assessment of a

3 civil penalty pursuant to section 1414(g)(3)(B),

4 the petitioner shall simultaneously send a copy

5 of the complaint by certified mail to the Admin6 istrator and the Attorney General. The court

7 shall set aside and remand the penalty order if

8 the court finds that there is not substantial evi9 dence in the record to support the finding of a

10 violation or that the assessment of the penalty

11 by the Administrator constitutes an abuse of

12 discretion.’’.

13 Subtitle D—Exemptions and

14 Variances

15 SEC. 141. EXEMPTIONS.

16 (a) SYSTEMS SERVING FEWER THAN 3,300

17 PERSONS.—Section 1416 is amended by adding the fol18 lowing at the end thereof:

19 ‘‘(h) SMALL SYSTEMS.—(1) For public water systems

20 serving fewer than 3,300 persons, the maximum exemp21 tion period shall be 4 years if the State is exercising pri22 mary enforcement responsibility for public water systems

23 and determines that—

24 ‘‘(A) the public water system cannot meet the

25 maximum contaminant level or install Best Available
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1 Affordable Technology (‘BAAT’) due in either case

2 to compelling economic circumstances (taking into

3 consideration the availability of financial assistance

4 under section 1452, relating to State Revolving

5 Funds) or other compelling circumstances;

6 ‘‘(B) the public water system could not comply

7 with the maximum contaminant level through the

8 use of alternate water supplies;

9 ‘‘(C) the granting of the exemption will provide

10 a drinking water supply that protects public health

11 given the duration of exemption; and

12 ‘‘(D) the State has met the requirements of

13 paragraph (2).

14 ‘‘(2)(A) Before issuing an exemption under this sec15 tion or an extension thereof for a small public water sys16 tem described in paragraph (1), the State shall—

17 ‘‘(i) examine the public water system’s tech18 nical, financial, and managerial capability (taking

19 into consideration any available financial assistance)

20 to operate in, and maintain compliance with, this

21 title, and

22 ‘‘(ii) determine if management or restructuring

23 changes (or both) can reasonably be made that will

24 result in compliance with this title or, if compliance
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1 cannot be achieved, improve the quality of the drink2 ing water.

3 ‘‘(B) Management changes referred to in subpara4 graph (A) may include rate increases, accounting changes,

5 the hiring of consultants, the appointment of a technician

6 with expertise in operating such systems, contractual ar7 rangements for a more efficient and capable system for

8 joint operation, or other reasonable strategies to improve

9 capacity.

10 ‘‘(C) Restructuring changes referred to in subpara11 graph (A) may include ownership change, physical consoli12 dation with another system, or other measures to other13 wise improve customer base and gain economies of scale.

14 ‘‘(D) If the State determines that management or re15 structuring changes referred to in subparagraph (A) can

16 reasonably be made, it shall require such changes and a

17 schedule therefore as a condition of the exemption. If the

18 State determines to the contrary, the State may still grant

19 the exemption. The decision of the State under this sub20 paragraph shall not be subject to review by the Adminis21 trator, except as provided in subsection (d).

22 ‘‘(3) Paragraphs (1) and (3) of subsection (a) shall

23 not apply to an exemption issued under this subsection.

24 Subparagraph (B) of subsection (b)(2) shall not apply to

25 an exemption issued under this subsection, but any exemp-
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1 tion granted to such a system may be renewed for addi2 tional 4-year periods upon application of the public water

3 system and after a determination that the criteria of para4 graphs (1) and (2) of this subsection continue to be met.

5 ‘‘(4) No exemption may be issued under this section

6 for microbiological contaminants.’’.

7 (b) LIMITED ADDITIONAL COMPLIANCE PERIOD.—

8 At the end of section 1416(h) insert:

9 ‘‘(5)(A) Notwithstanding this subsection, the State of

10 New York, on a case-by-case basis and after notice and

11 an opportunity of at least 60 days for public comment,

12 may allow an additional period for compliance with the

13 Surface Water Treatment Rule established pursuant to

14 section 1412(b)(7)(C) in the case of unfiltered systems in

15 Essex, Columbia, Greene, Duchess, Rennselaer,

16 Schoharie, Saratoga, Washington, and Warren Counties

17 serving a population of less than 5,000, which meet appro18 priate disinfection requirements and have adequate water19 shed protections, so long as the State determines that the

20 public health will be protected during the duration of the

21 additional compliance period and the system agrees to im22 plement appropriate control measures as determined by

23 the State.

24 ‘‘(B) The additional compliance period referred to in

25 subparagraph (A) shall expire on the earlier of the date
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1 3 years after the date on which the Administrator identi2 fies appropriate control technology for the Surface Water

3 Treatment Rule for public water systems in the category

4 that includes such system pursuant to section

5 1412(b)(4)(E) or 5 years after the enactment of the Safe

6 Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996.’’.

7 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

8 (1) Section 1416(b)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘prescribed

9 by a State pursuant to this subsection’’ and inserting

10 ‘‘prescribed by a State pursuant to this subsection or sub11 section (h)’’.

12 (2) Section 1416(c) is amended by striking ‘‘under

13 subsection (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘under this section’’ and by

14 inserting after ‘‘(a)(3)’’ in the second sentence ‘‘or the de15 termination under subsection (h)(1)(C)’’.

16 (3) Section 1416(d)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘3-

17 year’’ and inserting ‘‘4-year’’ and by amending the first

18 sentence to read as follows: ‘‘Not later than 4 years after

19 the date of enactment of the Safe Drinking Water Act

20 Amendments of 1996, the Administrator shall complete a

21 comprehensive review of the exemptions granted (and

22 schedules prescribed pursuant thereto) by the States dur23 ing the 4-year period beginning on such date.’’.

24 (4) Section 1416(b)(2)(C) is repealed.
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1 (d) SYSTEMS SERVING MORE THAN 3,300 PER2 SONS.—Section 1416(b)(2)(A)(ii) is amended by striking

3 ‘‘12 months’’ and inserting ‘‘4 years’’ and section

4 1416(b)(2)(B) is amended by striking ‘‘3 years after the

5 date of the issuance of the exemption’’ and inserting ‘‘4

6 years after the expiration of the initial exemption’’.

7 SEC. 142. VARIANCES.

8 (a) BAAT VARIANCE.—Section 1415 (42 U.S.C.

9 300g–4) is amended by adding the following at the end

10 thereof:

11 ‘‘(e) SMALL SYSTEM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—

12 ‘‘(1) BAAT VARIANCES.—In the case of public

13 water systems serving 3,300 persons or fewer, a

14 variance under this section shall be granted by a

15 State which has primary enforcement responsibility

16 for public water systems allowing the use of Best

17 Available Affordable Technology in lieu of best tech18 nology or other means where—

19 ‘‘(A) no best technology or other means is

20 listed under section 1412(b)(4)(E) for the ap21 plicable category of public water systems;

22 ‘‘(B) the Administrator has identified

23 BAAT for that contaminant pursuant to para24 graph (3); and
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1 ‘‘(C) the State finds that the conditions in

2 paragraph (4) are met.

3 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF BAAT.—The term ‘Best

4 Available Affordable Technology’ or ‘BAAT’ means

5 the most effective technology or other means for the

6 control of a drinking water contaminant or contami7 nants that is available and affordable to systems

8 serving fewer than 3,300 persons.

9 ‘‘(3) IDENTIFICATION OF BAAT.—(A) As part

10 of each national primary drinking water regulation

11 proposed and promulgated after the enactment of

12 the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996,

13 the Administrator shall identify BAAT in any case

14 where no ‘best technology or other means’ is listed

15 for a category of public water systems listed under

16 section 1412(b)(4)(E). No such identified BAAT

17 shall require a technology from a specific manufac18 turer or brand. BAAT need not be adequate to

19 achieve the applicable maximum contaminant level

20 or treatment technique, but shall bring the public

21 water system as close to achievement of such maxi22 mum contaminant level as practical or as close to

23 the level of health protection provided by such treat24 ment technique as practical, as the case may be. Any

25 technology or other means identified as BAAT must
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1 be determined by the Administrator to be protective

2 of public health. Simultaneously with identification

3 of BAAT, the Administrator shall list any assump4 tions underlying the public health determination re5 ferred to in the preceding sentence, where such as6 sumptions concern the public water system to which

7 the technology may be applied, or its source waters.

8 The Administrator shall provide the assumptions

9 used in determining affordability, taking into consid10 eration the number of persons served by such sys11 tems. Such listing shall provide as much reliable in12 formation as practicable on performance, effective13 ness, limitations, costs, and other relevant factors in

14 support of such listing, including the applicability of

15 BAAT to surface and underground waters or both.

16 ‘‘(B) To the greatest extent possible, within 36

17 months after the date of the enactment of the Safe

18 Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996, the Ad19 ministrator shall identify BAAT for all national pri20 mary drinking water regulations promulgated prior

21 to such date of enactment where no best technology

22 or other means is listed for a category of public

23 water systems under section 1412(b)(4)(E), and

24 where compliance by such small systems is not prac25 tical. In identifying BAAT for such national primary
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1 drinking water regulations, the Administrator shall

2 give priority to evaluation of atrazine, asbestos, sele3 nium, pentachlorophenol, antimony, and nickel.

4 ‘‘(4) CONDITIONS FOR BAAT VARIANCE.—To

5 grant a variance under this subsection, the State

6 must determine that—

7 ‘‘(A) the public water system cannot install

8 ‘best technology or other means’ because of the

9 system’s small size;

10 ‘‘(B) the public water system could not

11 comply with the maximum contaminant level

12 through use of alternate water supplies or

13 through management changes or restructuring;

14 ‘‘(C) the public water system has the ca15 pacity to operate and maintain BAAT; and

16 ‘‘(D) the circumstances of the public water

17 system are consistent with the public health as18 sumptions identified by the Administrator

19 under paragraph (3).

20 ‘‘(5) SCHEDULES.—Any variance granted by a

21 State under this subsection shall establish a schedule

22 for the installation and operation of BAAT within a

23 period not to exceed 2 years after the issuance of the

24 variance, except that the State may grant an exten25 sion of 1 additional year upon application by the
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1 system. The application shall include a showing of

2 financial or technical need. Variances under this

3 subsection shall be for a term not to exceed 5 years

4 (including the period allowed for installation and op5 eration of BAAT), but may be renewed for such ad6 ditional 5-year periods by the State upon a finding

7 that the criteria in paragraph (1) continue to be

8 met.

9 ‘‘(6) REVIEW.—Any review by the Adminis10 trator under paragraphs (4) and (5) shall be pursu11 ant to subsection (a)(1)(G)(i).

12 ‘‘(7) INELIGIBILITY FOR VARIANCES.—A vari13 ance shall not be available under this subsection

14 for—

15 ‘‘(A) any maximum contaminant level or

16 treatment technique for a contaminant with re17 spect to which a national primary drinking

18 water regulation was promulgated prior to Jan19 uary 1, 1986; or

20 ‘‘(B) a national primary drinking water

21 regulation for a microbial contaminant (includ22 ing a bacterium, virus, or other organism) or an

23 indicator or treatment technique for a microbial

24 contaminant.’’.

25 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING CHANGES.—
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1 Section 1415 (42 U.S.C. 300g–4) is amended as fol2 lows:

3 (1) By striking ‘‘best technology, treatment

4 techniques, or other means’’ and ‘‘best available

5 technology, treatment techniques or other means’’

6 each place such terms appear and inserting in lieu

7 thereof ‘‘best technology or other means’’.

8 (2) By striking the third sentence and by strik9 ing ‘‘Before a schedule prescribed by a State pursu10 ant to this subparagraph may take effect’’ and all

11 that follows down to the beginning of the last sen12 tence in subsection (a)(1)(A).

13 (3) By amending the first sentence of sub14 section (a)(1)(C) to read as follows: ‘‘Before a vari15 ance is issued and a schedule is prescribed pursuant

16 to this subsection or subsection (e) by a State, the

17 State shall provide notice and an opportunity for a

18 public hearing on the proposed variance and sched19 ule.’’.

20 (4) By inserting ‘‘under this section’’ before the

21 period at the end of the third sentence of subsection

22 (a)(1)(C).

23 (5) By striking ‘‘under subparagraph (A)’’ and

24 inserting ‘‘under this section’’ in subsection

25 (a)(1)(D).
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1 (6) By striking ‘‘that subparagraph’’ in each

2 place it appears and insert in each such place ‘‘this

3 section’’ in subsection (a)(1)(D).

4 (7) By striking the last sentence of subsection

5 (a)(1)(D).

6 (8) By striking ‘‘3-year’’ and inserting ‘‘5-year’’

7 of subsection (a)(1)(F) and by amending the first

8 sentence of such subsection (a)(1)(F) to read as fol9 lows: ‘‘Not later than 5 years after the enactment of

10 the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996,

11 the Administrator shall complete a review of the

12 variances granted under this section (and the sched13 ules prescribed in connection with such variances).’’.

14 (9) By striking ‘‘subparagraph (A) or (B)’’ and

15 inserting ‘‘this section’’ in subsection (a)(1)(G)(i).

16 (10) By striking ‘‘paragraph (1)(B) or (2) of

17 subsection (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘this section’’ in sub18 section (b).

19 (11) By striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and inserting

20 ‘‘this section’’ in subsection (c).

21 (12) By repealing subsection (d).
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1 Subtitle E—Lead Plumbing and

2 Pipes

3 SEC. 151. LEAD PLUMBING AND PIPES.

4 Section 1417 (42 U.S.C. 300g–6) is amended as fol5 lows:

6 (1) In subsection (a)—

7 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert8 ing the following:

9 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITIONS.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No person may use

11 any pipe, any pipe or plumbing fitting or fix12 ture, any solder, or any flux, after June 19,

13 1986, in the installation or repair of—

14 ‘‘(i) any public water system; or

15 ‘‘(ii) any plumbing in a residential or

16 nonresidential facility providing water for

17 human consumption,

18 that is not lead free (within the meaning of

19 subsection (d)).

20 ‘‘(B) LEADED JOINTS.—Subparagraph (A)

21 shall not apply to leaded joints necessary for

22 the repair of cast iron pipes.’’.

23 (2) In subsection (a)(2)(A), by inserting ‘‘owner

24 or operator of a’’ after ‘‘Each’’.
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1 (3) By adding at the end of subsection (a) the

2 following:

3 ‘‘(3) UNLAWFUL ACTS.—Effective 2 years after

4 the date of enactment of this paragraph, it shall be

5 unlawful—

6 ‘‘(A) for any person to introduce into com7 merce any pipe, or any pipe or plumbing fitting

8 or fixture, that is not lead free, except for a

9 pipe that is used in manufacturing or industrial

10 processing;

11 ‘‘(B) for any person engaged in the busi12 ness of selling plumbing supplies, except manu13 facturers, to sell solder or flux that is not lead

14 free; or

15 ‘‘(C) for any person to introduce into com16 merce any solder or flux that is not lead free

17 unless the solder or flux bears a prominent

18 label stating that it is illegal to use the solder

19 or flux in the installation or repair of any

20 plumbing providing water for human consump21 tion.’’.

22 (4) In subsection (d)—

23 (A) by striking ‘‘lead, and’’ in paragraph

24 (1) and inserting ‘‘lead;’’;
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1 (B) by striking ‘‘lead.’’ in paragraph (2)

2 and inserting ‘‘lead; and’’; and

3 (C) by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(3) when used with respect to plumbing fit5 tings and fixtures, refers to plumbing fittings and

6 fixtures in compliance with standards established in

7 accordance with subsection (e).’’.

8 (5) By adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(e) PLUMBING FITTINGS AND FIXTURES.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall

11 provide accurate and timely technical information

12 and assistance to qualified third-party certifiers in

13 the development of voluntary standards and testing

14 protocols for the leaching of lead from new plumbing

15 fittings and fixtures that are intended by the manu16 facturer to dispense water for human ingestion.

17 ‘‘(2) STANDARDS.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a voluntary stand19 ard for the leaching of lead is not established

20 by the date that is 1 year after the date of en21 actment of this subsection, the Administrator

22 shall, not later than 2 years after the date of

23 enactment of this subsection, promulgate regu24 lations setting a health-effects-based perform25 ance standard establishing maximum leaching
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1 levels from new plumbing fittings and fixtures

2 that are intended by the manufacturer to dis3 pense water for human ingestion. The standard

4 shall become effective on the date that is 5

5 years after the date of promulgation of the

6 standard.

7 ‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVE REQUIREMENT.—If

8 regulations are required to be promulgated

9 under subparagraph (A) and have not been pro10 mulgated by the date that is 5 years after the

11 date of enactment of this subsection, no person

12 may import, manufacture, process, or distribute

13 in commerce a new plumbing fitting or fixture,

14 intended by the manufacturer to dispense water

15 for human ingestion, that contains more than 4

16 percent lead by dry weight.’’.

17 Subtitle F—Capacity Development

18 SEC. 161. CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT.

19 Part B (42 U.S.C. 300g et seq.) is amended by add20 ing at the end the following:

21 ‘‘SEC. 1419. CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT.

22 ‘‘(a) STATE AUTHORITY FOR NEW SYSTEMS.—Each

23 State shall obtain the legal authority or other means to

24 ensure that all new community water systems and new

25 nontransient, noncommunity water systems commencing
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1 operation after October 1, 1999, demonstrate technical,

2 managerial, and financial capacity with respect to each na3 tional primary drinking water regulation in effect, or likely

4 to be in effect, on the date of commencement of oper5 ations.

6 ‘‘(b) SYSTEMS IN SIGNIFICANT NONCOMPLIANCE.—

7 ‘‘(1) LIST.—Beginning not later than 1 year

8 after the date of enactment of this section, each

9 State shall prepare, periodically update, and submit

10 to the Administrator a list of community water sys11 tems and nontransient, noncommunity water sys12 tems that have a history of significant noncompli13 ance with this title (as defined in guidelines issued

14 prior to the date of enactment of this section or any

15 revisions of the guidelines that have been made in

16 consultation with the States) and, to the extent

17 practicable, the reasons for noncompliance.

18 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the

19 date of enactment of this section and as part of the

20 capacity development strategy of the State, each

21 State shall report to the Administrator on the suc22 cess of enforcement mechanisms and initial capacity

23 development efforts in assisting the public water sys24 tems listed under paragraph (1) to improve tech25 nical, managerial, and financial capacity.
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1 ‘‘(c) CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years

3 after the date of enactment of this section, each

4 State shall develop and implement a strategy to as5 sist public water systems in acquiring and maintain6 ing technical, managerial, and financial capacity.

7 ‘‘(2) CONTENT.—In preparing the capacity de8 velopment strategy, the State shall consider, solicit

9 public comment on, and include as appropriate—

10 ‘‘(A) the methods or criteria that the State

11 will use to identify and prioritize the public

12 water systems most in need of improving tech13 nical, managerial, and financial capacity;

14 ‘‘(B) a description of the institutional, reg15 ulatory, financial, tax, or legal factors at the

16 Federal, State, or local level that encourage or

17 impair capacity development;

18 ‘‘(C) a description of how the State will

19 use the authorities and resources of this title or

20 other means to—

21 ‘‘(i) assist public water systems in

22 complying with national primary drinking

23 water regulations;

24 ‘‘(ii) encourage the development of

25 partnerships between public water systems
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1 to enhance the technical, managerial, and

2 financial capacity of the systems; and

3 ‘‘(iii) assist public water systems in

4 the training and certification of operators;

5 ‘‘(D) a description of how the State will es6 tablish a baseline and measure improvements in

7 capacity with respect to national primary drink8 ing water regulations and State drinking water

9 law; and

10 ‘‘(E) an identification of the persons that

11 have an interest in and are involved in the de12 velopment and implementation of the capacity

13 development strategy (including all appropriate

14 agencies of Federal, State, and local govern15 ments, private and nonprofit public water sys16 tems, and public water system customers).

17 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the

18 date on which a State first adopts a capacity devel19 opment strategy under this subsection, and every 3

20 years thereafter, the head of the State agency that

21 has primary responsibility to carry out this title in

22 the State shall submit to the Governor a report that

23 shall also be available to the public on the efficacy

24 of the strategy and progress made toward improving
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1 the technical, managerial, and financial capacity of

2 public water systems in the State.

3 ‘‘(4) REVIEW.—The decisions of the State

4 under this section regarding any particular public

5 water system are not subject to review by the Ad6 ministrator and may not serve as the basis for with7 holding funds under section 1452(a)(1)(H)(i).

8 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall

10 support the States in developing capacity develop11 ment strategies.

12 ‘‘(2) INFORMATIONAL ASSISTANCE.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180

14 days after the date of enactment of this section,

15 the Administrator shall—

16 ‘‘(i) conduct a review of State capacity

17 development efforts in existence on the

18 date of enactment of this section and pub19 lish information to assist States and public

20 water systems in capacity development ef21 forts; and

22 ‘‘(ii) initiate a partnership with

23 States, public water systems, and the pub24 lic to develop information for States on
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1 recommended operator certification re2 quirements.

3 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION.—

4 The Administrator shall publish the information

5 developed through the partnership under sub6 paragraph (A)(ii) not later than 18 months

7 after the date of enactment of this section.

8 ‘‘(3) PROMULGATION OF DRINKING WATER

9 REGULATIONS.—In promulgating a national primary

10 drinking water regulation, the Administrator shall

11 include an analysis of the likely effect of compliance

12 with the regulation on the technical, financial, and

13 managerial capacity of public water systems.

14 ‘‘(4) GUIDANCE FOR NEW SYSTEMS.—Not later

15 than 2 years after the date of enactment of this sec16 tion, the Administrator shall publish guidance devel17 oped in consultation with the States describing legal

18 authorities and other means to ensure that all new

19 community water systems and new nontransient,

20 noncommunity water systems demonstrate technical,

21 managerial, and financial capacity with respect to

22 national primary drinking water regulations.’’.
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1 TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO

2 PART C

3 SEC. 201. SOURCE WATER QUALITY ASSESSMENT.

4 (a) GUIDELINES AND PROGRAMS.—Section 1428 is

5 amended by adding ‘‘AND SOURCE WATER’’ after

6 ‘‘WELLHEAD’’ in the section heading and by adding at

7 the end thereof the following:

8 ‘‘(l) SOURCE WATER ASSESSMENT.—

9 ‘‘(1) GUIDANCE.—Within 12 months after en10 actment of the Safe Drinking Water Act Amend11 ments of 1996, after notice and comment, the Ad12 ministrator shall publish guidance for States exercis13 ing primary enforcement responsibility for public

14 water systems to carry out directly or through dele15 gation (for the protection and benefit of public water

16 systems and for the support of monitoring flexibility)

17 a source water assessment program within the

18 State’s boundaries.

19 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—A source

20 water assessment program under this subsection

21 shall—

22 ‘‘(A) delineate the boundaries of the as23 sessment areas in such State from which one or

24 more public water systems in the State receive

25 supplies of drinking water, using all reasonably
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1 available hydrogeologic information on the

2 sources of the supply of drinking water in the

3 State and the water flow, recharge, and dis4 charge and any other reliable information as

5 the State deems necessary to adequately deter6 mine such areas; and

7 ‘‘(B) identify for contaminants regulated

8 under this title for which monitoring is required

9 under this title (or any unregulated contami10 nants which the State, for the purposes of this

11 subsection, has determined to present a sub12 stantial threat to public health), to the extent

13 practical, the origins within each delineated

14 area of such contaminants to determine the

15 susceptibility of the public water systems in the

16 delineated area to such contaminants.

17 ‘‘(3) APPROVAL, IMPLEMENTATION, AND MON18 ITORING RELIEF.—A State source water assessment

19 program under this subsection shall be submitted to

20 the Administrator within 18 months after the Ad21 ministrator’s guidance is issued under this sub22 section and shall be deemed approved 9 months

23 after the date of such submittal unless the Adminis24 trator disapproves the program as provided in sub25 section (c). States shall begin implementation of the
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1 program immediately after its approval. The Admin2 istrator’s approval of a State program under this

3 subsection shall include a timetable, established in

4 consultation with the State, allowing not more than

5 2 years for completion after approval of the pro6 gram. Public water systems seeking monitoring relief

7 in addition to the interim relief provided under sec8 tion 1418(a) shall be eligible for monitoring relief,

9 consistent with section 1418(b), upon completion of

10 the assessment in the delineated source water as11 sessment area or areas concerned.

12 ‘‘(4) TIMETABLE.—The timetable referred to in

13 paragraph (3) shall take into consideration the avail14 ability to the State of funds under section 1452 (re15 lating to State Revolving Funds) for assessments

16 and other relevant factors. The Administrator may

17 extend any timetable included in a State program

18 approved under paragraph (3) to extend the period

19 for completion by an additional 18 months. Compli20 ance with subsection (g) shall not affect any State

21 permanent monitoring flexibility program approved

22 under section 1418(b).

23 ‘‘(5) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.—The Admin24 istrator shall, as soon as practicable, conduct a dem25 onstration project, in consultation with other Fed-
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1 eral agencies, to demonstrate the most effective and

2 protective means of assessing and protecting source

3 waters serving large metropolitan areas and located

4 on Federal lands.

5 ‘‘(6) USE OF OTHER PROGRAMS.—To avoid du6 plication and to encourage efficiency, the program

7 under this section shall, to the extent practicable, be

8 coordinated with other existing programs and mech9 anisms, and may make use of any of the following:

10 ‘‘(A) Vulnerability assessments, sanitary

11 surveys, and monitoring programs.

12 ‘‘(B) Delineations or assessments of

13 ground water sources under a State wellhead

14 protection program developed pursuant to this

15 section.

16 ‘‘(C) Delineations or assessments of sur17 face or ground water sources under a State pes18 ticide management plan developed pursuant to

19 the Pesticide and Ground Water State Manage20 ment Plan Regulation (subparts I and J of part

21 152 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations),

22 promulgated under section 3(d) of the Federal

23 Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7

24 U.S.C. 136a(d)).
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1 ‘‘(D) Delineations or assessments of sur2 face water sources under a State watershed ini3 tiative or to satisfy the watershed criterion for

4 determining if filtration is required under the

5 Surface Water Treatment Rule (section 141.70

6 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations).

7 ‘‘(7) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The State shall

8 make the results of the source water assessments

9 conducted under this subsection available to the pub10 lic.’’.

11 (b) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF STATE PRO12 GRAMS.—Section 1428 is amended as follows:

13 (1) Amend the first sentence of subsection

14 (c)(1) to read as follows: ‘‘If, in the judgment of the

15 Administrator, a State program or portion thereof

16 under subsection (a) is not adequate to protect pub17 lic water systems as required by subsection (a) or a

18 State program under subsection (l) does not meet

19 the applicable requirements of subsection (l), the Ad20 ministrator shall disapprove such program or portion

21 thereof.’’.

22 (2) Add after the second sentence of subsection

23 (c)(1) the following: ‘‘A State program developed

24 pursuant to subsection (l) shall be deemed to meet

25 the applicable requirements of subsection (l) unless
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1 the Administrator determines within 9 months of the

2 receipt of the program that such program (or por3 tion thereof) does not meet such requirements.’’.

4 (3) In the third sentence of subsection (c)(1)

5 and in subsection (c)(2) strike ‘‘is inadequate’’ and

6 insert ‘‘is disapproved’’.

7 (4) In subsection (b), add the following before

8 the period at the end of the first sentence: ‘‘and

9 source water assessment programs under subsection

10 (l)’’.

11 (5) In subsection (g)—

12 (A) insert after ‘‘under this section’’ the

13 following: ‘‘and the State source water assess14 ment programs under subsection (l) for which

15 the State uses grants under section 1452 (relat16 ing to State Revolving Funds)’’; and

17 (B) strike ‘‘Such’’ in the last sentence and

18 inserting ‘‘In the case of wellhead protection

19 programs, such’’.

20 SEC. 202. FEDERAL FACILITIES.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part C (42 U.S.C. 300h et seq.)

22 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new

23 section:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 1429. FEDERAL FACILITIES.

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each department, agency, and

3 instrumentality of the executive, legislative, and judicial

4 branches of the Federal Government—

5 ‘‘(1) owning or operating any facility in a well6 head protection area,

7 ‘‘(2) engaged in any activity at such facility re8 sulting, or which may result, in the contamination of

9 water supplies in any such area, or

10 ‘‘(3) owning or operating any public water sys11 tem,

12 shall be subject to, and comply with, all Federal, State,

13 interstate, and local requirements, both substantive and

14 procedural (including any requirement for permits or re15 porting or any provisions for injunctive relief and such

16 sanctions as may be imposed by a court to enforce such

17 relief), respecting the protection of such wellhead areas

18 and respecting such public water systems in the same

19 manner and to the same extent as any person is subject

20 to such requirements, including the payment of reasonable

21 service charges. The Federal, State, interstate, and local

22 substantive and procedural requirements referred to in

23 this subsection include, but are not limited to, all adminis24 trative orders and all civil and administrative penalties

25 and fines, regardless of whether such penalties or fines

26 are punitive or coercive in nature or are imposed for iso-
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1 lated, intermittent, or continuing violations. The United

2 States hereby expressly waives any immunity otherwise

3 applicable to the United States with respect to any such

4 substantive or procedural requirement (including, but not

5 limited to, any injunctive relief, administrative order or

6 civil or administrative penalty or fine referred to in the

7 preceding sentence, or reasonable service charge). The rea8 sonable service charges referred to in this subsection in9 clude, but are not limited to, fees or charges assessed in

10 connection with the processing and issuance of permits,

11 renewal of permits, amendments to permits, review of

12 plans, studies, and other documents, and inspection and

13 monitoring of facilities, as well as any other nondiscrim14 inatory charges that are assessed in connection with a

15 Federal, State, interstate, or local regulatory program re16 specting the protection of wellhead areas or public water

17 systems. Neither the United States, nor any agent, em18 ployee, or officer thereof, shall be immune or exempt from

19 any process or sanction of any State or Federal Court with

20 respect to the enforcement of any such injunctive relief.

21 No agent, employee, or officer of the United States shall

22 be personally liable for any civil penalty under any Fed23 eral, State, interstate, or local law concerning the protec24 tion of wellhead areas or public water systems with respect

25 to any act or omission within the scope of the official du-
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1 ties of the agent, employee, or officer. An agent, employee,

2 or officer of the United States shall be subject to any

3 criminal sanction (including, but not limited to, any fine

4 or imprisonment) under any Federal or State requirement

5 adopted pursuant to this title, but no department, agency,

6 or instrumentality of the executive, legislative, or judicial

7 branch of the Federal Government shall be subject to any

8 such sanction. The President may exempt any facility of

9 any department, agency, or instrumentality in the execu10 tive branch from compliance with such a requirement if

11 he determines it to be in the paramount interest of the

12 United States to do so. No such exemption shall be grant13 ed due to lack of appropriation unless the President shall

14 have specifically requested such appropriation as a part

15 of the budgetary process and the Congress shall have

16 failed to make available such requested appropriation. Any

17 exemption shall be for a period not in excess of 1 year,

18 but additional exemptions may be granted for periods not

19 to exceed 1 year upon the President’s making a new deter20 mination. The President shall report each January to the

21 Congress all exemptions from the requirements of this sec22 tion granted during the preceding calendar year, together

23 with his reason for granting each such exemption.

24 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY ORDERS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Administrator finds

2 that a Federal agency has violated an applicable re3 quirement under this title, the Administrator may

4 issue a penalty order assessing a penalty against the

5 Federal agency.

6 ‘‘(2) PENALTIES.—The Administrator may,

7 after notice to the agency, assess a civil penalty

8 against the agency in an amount not to exceed

9 $25,000 per day per violation.

10 ‘‘(3) PROCEDURE.—Before an administrative

11 penalty order issued under this subsection becomes

12 final, the Administrator shall provide the agency an

13 opportunity to confer with the Administrator and

14 shall provide the agency notice and an opportunity

15 for a hearing on the record in accordance with chap16 ters 5 and 7 of title 5, United States Code.

17 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC REVIEW.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any interested person

19 may obtain review of an administrative penalty

20 order issued under this subsection. The review

21 may be obtained in the United States District

22 Court for the District of Columbia or in the

23 United States District Court for the district in

24 which the violation is alleged to have occurred

25 by the filing of a complaint with the court with-
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1 in the 30-day period beginning on the date the

2 penalty order becomes final. The person filing

3 the complaint shall simultaneously send a copy

4 of the complaint by certified mail to the Admin5 istrator and the Attorney General.

6 ‘‘(B) RECORD.—The Administrator shall

7 promptly file in the court a certified copy of the

8 record on which the order was issued.

9 ‘‘(C) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—The court

10 shall not set aside or remand the order unless

11 the court finds that there is not substantial evi12 dence in the record, taken as a whole, to sup13 port the finding of a violation or that the as14 sessment of the penalty by the Administrator

15 constitutes an abuse of discretion.

16 ‘‘(D) PROHIBITION ON ADDITIONAL PEN17 ALTIES.—The court may not impose an addi18 tional civil penalty for a violation that is subject

19 to the order unless the court finds that the as20 sessment constitutes an abuse of discretion by

21 the Administrator.

22 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON STATE USE OF FUNDS COL23 LECTED FROM FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—Unless a State

24 law in effect on the date of the enactment of the Safe

25 Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996 or a State con-
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1 stitution requires the funds to be used in a different man2 ner, all funds collected by a State from the Federal Gov3 ernment from penalties and fines imposed for violation of

4 any substantive or procedural requirement referred to in

5 subsection (a) shall be used by the State only for projects

6 designed to improve or protect the environment or to de7 fray the costs of environmental protection or enforce8 ment.’’.

9 (b) CITIZEN ENFORCEMENT.—The first sentence of

10 section 1449(a) (42 U.S.C. 300j–8(a)) is amended—

11 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘, or’’ and in12 serting a semicolon;

13 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at

14 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

15 (3) by adding at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(3) for the collection of a penalty by the

17 United States Government (and associated costs and

18 interest) against any Federal agency that fails, by

19 the date that is 1 year after the effective date of a

20 final order to pay a penalty assessed by the Admin21 istrator under section 1447(d), to pay the penalty.’’.

22 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 1447 (42

23 U.S.C. 300j–6) is amended as follows:

24 (1) In subsection (a)—
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1 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘(1)

2 having jurisdiction over any federally owned or

3 maintained public water system or (2)’’;

4 (B) in the first sentence, by striking out

5 ‘‘respecting the provision of safe drinking water

6 and’’; and

7 (C) in the second sentence, by striking

8 ‘‘(A)’’, ‘‘(B)’’, and ‘‘(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘(1)’’,

9 ‘‘(2)’’, and ‘‘(3)’’, respectively.

10 (2) In subsection (c), by striking ‘‘the Safe

11 Drinking Water Amendments of 1977’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘this title’’ and by striking ‘‘this Act’’ and in13 serting ‘‘this title’’.

14 TITLE III—GENERAL PROVI15 SIONS REGARDING SAFE

16 DRINKING WATER ACT

17 SEC. 301. OPERATOR CERTIFICATION.

18 Section 1442 is amended by adding the following

19 after subsection (e):

20 ‘‘(f) MINIMUM STANDARDS.—(1) Not later than 30

21 months after the date of enactment of the Safe Drinking

22 Water Act Amendments of 1996 and after consultation

23 with States exercising primary enforcement responsibility

24 for public water systems, the Administrator shall promul25 gate regulations specifying minimum standards for certifi-
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1 cation (and recertification) of the operators of community

2 and nontransient noncommunity public water systems.

3 Such regulations shall take into account existing State

4 programs, the complexity of the system and other factors

5 aimed at providing an effective program at reasonable cost

6 to States and public water systems, taking into account

7 the size of the system.

8 ‘‘(2) Any State exercising primary enforcement re9 sponsibility for public water systems shall adopt and im10 plement, within 2 years after the promulgation of regula11 tions pursuant to paragraph (1), requirements for the cer12 tification of operators of community and nontransient

13 noncommunity public water systems.

14 ‘‘(3) For any State exercising primary enforcement

15 responsibility for public water systems which has an oper16 ator certification program in effect on the date of the en17 actment of the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of

18 1996, the regulations under paragraph (1) shall allow the

19 State to enforce such program in lieu of the regulations

20 under paragraph (1) if the State submits the program to

21 the Administrator within 18 months after the promulga22 tion of such regulations unless the Administrator deter23 mines (within 9 months after the State submits the pro24 gram to the Administrator) that such program is not sub25 stantially equivalent to such regulations. In making this
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1 determination, such existing State programs shall be pre2 sumed to be substantially equivalent to the regulations,

3 notwithstanding program differences, based on the size of

4 systems or the quality of source water, providing State

5 programs meet overall public health objectives of the regu6 lations. If disapproved the program may be resubmitted

7 in accordance with section 1428(c).’’.

8 SEC. 302. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

9 Section 1442(e) (42 U.S.C. 300j–1(e)), relating to

10 technical assistance for small systems, is amended to read

11 as follows:

12 ‘‘(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator

13 may provide technical assistance to small public water sys14 tems to enable such systems to achieve and maintain com15 pliance with applicable national primary drinking water

16 regulations. Such assistance may include circuit-rider pro17 grams, training, and preliminary engineering evaluations.

18 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Adminis19 trator to be used for such technical assistance

20 $15,000,000 for fiscal years 1997 through 2003. No por21 tion of any State revolving fund established under section

22 1452 (relating to State revolving funds) and no portion

23 of any funds made available under this subsection may

24 be used either directly or indirectly for lobbying expenses.

25 Of the total amount appropriated under this subsection,
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1 3 percent shall be used for technical assistance to public

2 water systems owned or operated by Indian tribes.’’.

3 SEC. 303. PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM SUPERVISION PROGRAM.

4 Section 1443(a) (42 U.S.C. 300j–2(a)) is amended

5 as follows:

6 (1) In paragraph (7), by adding at the end a

7 period and the following: ‘‘For the purpose of mak8 ing grants under paragraph (1), there are author9 ized to be appropriated $100,000,000 for each of fis10 cal years 1994 through 2003.’’.

11 (2) By adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(8) RESERVATION OF FUNDS BY THE ADMINIS13 TRATOR.—If the Administrator assumes the primary en14 forcement responsibility of a State public water system su15 pervision program, the Administrator may reserve from

16 funds made available pursuant to this subsection, an

17 amount equal to the amount that would otherwise have

18 been provided to the State pursuant to this subsection.

19 The Administrator shall use the funds reserved pursuant

20 to this paragraph to ensure the full and effective adminis21 tration of a public water system supervision program in

22 the State.

23 ‘‘(9) STATE LOAN FUNDS.—For any fiscal year for

24 which the amount made available to the Administrator by

25 appropriations to carry out this subsection is less than the
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1 amount that the Administrator determines is necessary to

2 supplement funds made available pursuant to paragraph

3 (8) to ensure the full and effective administration of a

4 public water system supervision program in a State, the

5 Administrator may reserve from the funds made available

6 to the State under section 1452 (relating to State revolv7 ing funds) an amount that is equal to the amount of the

8 shortfall. This paragraph shall not apply to any State not

9 exercising primary enforcement responsibility for public

10 water systems as of the date of enactment of the Safe

11 Drinking Water Amendments of 1996.’’.

12 SEC. 304. MONITORING AND INFORMATION GATHERING.

13 (a) REVIEW OF EXISTING REQUIREMENTS.—Para14 graph (1) of section 1445(a) (42 U.S.C. 300j–4(a)(1)) is

15 amended to read as follows:

16 ‘‘(1)(A) Every person who is subject to any re17 quirement of this title or who is a grantee, shall es18 tablish and maintain such records, make such re19 ports, conduct such monitoring, and provide such in20 formation as the Administrator may reasonably re21 quire by regulation to assist the Administrator in es22 tablishing regulations under this title, in determin23 ing whether such person has acted or is acting in

24 compliance with this title, in administering any pro25 gram of financial assistance under this title, in eval-
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1 uating the health risks of unregulated contaminants,

2 or in advising the public of such risks. In requiring

3 a public water system to monitor under this sub4 section, the Administrator may take into consider5 ation the system size and the contaminants likely to

6 be found in the system’s drinking water.

7 ‘‘(B) Every person who is subject to a national

8 primary drinking water regulation under section

9 1412 shall provide such information as the Adminis10 trator may reasonably require, after consultation

11 with the State in which such person is located if

12 such State has primary enforcement responsibility

13 for public water systems, on a case-by-case basis, to

14 determine whether such person has acted or is act15 ing in compliance with this title.

16 ‘‘(C) Every person who is subject to a national

17 primary drinking water regulation under section

18 1412 shall provide such information as the Adminis19 trator may reasonably require to assist the Adminis20 trator in establishing regulations under section 1412

21 of this title, after consultation with States and sup22 pliers of water. The Administrator may not require

23 under this subparagraph the installation of treat24 ment equipment or process changes, the testing of

25 treatment technology, or the analysis or processing
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1 of monitoring samples, except where the Adminis2 trator provides the funding for such activities. Be3 fore exercising this authority, the Administrator

4 shall first seek to obtain the information by vol5 untary submission.

6 ‘‘(D) The Administrator shall not later than 2

7 years after the date of enactment of this sentence,

8 after consultation with public health experts, rep9 resentatives of the general public, and officials of

10 State and local governments, review the monitoring

11 requirements for not fewer than 12 contaminants

12 identified by the Administrator, and promulgate any

13 necessary modifications.’’.

14 (b) MONITORING RELIEF.—Part B is amended by

15 adding the following new section after section 1417:

16 ‘‘SEC. 1418. MONITORING OF CONTAMINANTS.

17 ‘‘(a) INTERIM MONITORING RELIEF AUTHORITY.—

18 (1) A State exercising primary enforcement responsibility

19 for public water systems may modify the monitoring re20 quirements for any regulated or unregulated contaminants

21 for which monitoring is required other than microbial con22 taminants (or indicators thereof), disinfectants and dis23 infection byproducts or corrosion byproducts for an in24 terim period to provide that any public water system serv25 ing 10,000 persons or fewer shall not be required to con-
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1 duct additional quarterly monitoring during an interim re2 lief period for such contaminants if—

3 ‘‘(i) monitoring, conducted at the beginning of

4 the period for the contaminant concerned and cer5 tified to the State by the public water system, fails

6 to detect the presence of the contaminant in the

7 ground or surface water supplying the public water

8 system, and

9 ‘‘(ii) the State, (considering the hydrogeology of

10 the area and other relevant factors), determines in

11 writing that the contaminant is unlikely to be de12 tected by further monitoring during such period.

13 ‘‘(2) The interim relief period referred to in para14 graph (1) shall terminate when permanent monitoring re15 lief is adopted and approved for such State, or at the end

16 of 36 months after the enactment of the Safe Drinking

17 Water Act Amendments of 1996, whichever comes first.

18 In order to serve as a basis for interim relief, the monitor19 ing conducted at the beginning of the period must occur

20 at the time determined by the State to be the time of the

21 public water system’s greatest vulnerability to the con22 taminant concerned in the relevant ground or surface

23 water, taking into account in the case of pesticides the

24 time of application of the pesticide for the source water

25 area and the travel time for the pesticide to reach such
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1 waters and taking into account, in the case of other con2 taminants, seasonality of precipitation and contaminant

3 travel time.

4 ‘‘(b) PERMANENT MONITORING RELIEF AUTHOR5 ITY.—(1) Each State exercising primary enforcement re6 sponsibility for public water systems under this title and

7 having an approved wellhead protection program and a

8 source water assessment program may adopt, in accord9 ance with guidance published by the Administrator, and

10 submit to the Administrator as provided in section

11 1428(c), tailored alternative monitoring requirements for

12 public water systems in such State (as an alternative to

13 the monitoring requirements specified in the Administra14 tor’s standardized monitoring framework for chemical con15 taminants and the applicable national primary drinking

16 water regulations) where the State concludes that (based

17 on data available at the time of adoption concerning sus18 ceptibility, use, occurrence, wellhead protection, or from

19 the State’s drinking water source water assessment pro20 gram) such alternative monitoring would provide assur21 ance that it complies with the Administrator’s guidelines.

22 The State program must be adequate to assure compliance

23 with, and enforcement of, applicable national primary

24 drinking water regulations. Alternative monitoring shall

25 not apply to regulated microbiological contaminants (or in-
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1 dicators thereof), disinfectants and disinfection by-prod2 ucts, or corrosion by-products. The preceding sentence is

3 not intended to limit other authority of the Administrator

4 under other provisions of this title to grant monitoring

5 flexibility.

6 ‘‘(2)(A) The Administrator shall issue, after notice

7 and comment and at the same time as guidelines are is8 sued for source water assessment under section 1428(l),

9 guidelines for States to follow in proposing alternative re10 quirements to the standardized monitoring framework for

11 chemical contaminants. The Administrator shall publish

12 such framework in the Federal Register. The guidelines

13 shall assure that the public health will be protected from

14 drinking water contamination. The guidelines shall require

15 that a State alternative monitoring program apply on a

16 contaminant-by-contaminant basis and that, to be eligible

17 for such alternative monitoring program, a public water

18 system must show the State that the contaminant is not

19 present in the drinking water supply or, if present, it is

20 reliably and consistently below the maximum contaminant

21 level.

22 ‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the phrase

23 ‘reliably and consistently below the maximum contaminant

24 level’ means that, although contaminants have been de25 tected in a water supply, the State has sufficient knowl-
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1 edge of the contamination source and extent of contamina2 tion to predict that the maximum contaminant level will

3 not be exceeded. In determining that a contaminant is reli4 ably and consistently below the maximum contaminant

5 level, States shall consider the quality and completeness

6 of data, the length of time covered and the volatility or

7 stability of monitoring results during that time, and the

8 proximity of such results to the maximum contaminant

9 level. Wide variations in the analytical results, or analyt10 ical results close to the maximum contaminant level, shall

11 not be considered to be reliably and consistently below the

12 maximum contaminant level.

13 ‘‘(3) The guidelines issued by the Administrator

14 under paragraph (2) shall require that if, after the mon15 itoring program is in effect and operating, a contaminant

16 covered by the alternative monitoring program is detected

17 at levels at or above the maximum contaminant level or

18 is no longer reliably or consistently below the maximum

19 contaminant level, the public water system must either—

20 ‘‘(A) demonstrate that the contamination

21 source has been removed or that other action has

22 been taken to eliminate the contamination problem,

23 or
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1 ‘‘(B) test for the detected contaminant pursu2 ant to the applicable national primary drinking

3 water regulation.

4 ‘‘(c) TREATMENT AS NPDWR.—All monitoring relief

5 granted by a State to a public water system for a regu6 lated contaminant under subsection (a) or (b) shall be

7 treated as part of the national primary drinking water reg8 ulation for that contaminant.

9 ‘‘(d) OTHER MONITORING RELIEF.—Nothing in this

10 section shall be construed to affect the authority of the

11 States under the standard monitoring framework for

12 chemical contaminants and under applicable national pri13 mary drinking water regulations to alter monitoring re14 quirements through waivers or other existing authorities.

15 The Administrator shall periodically review and, as appro16 priate, revise such authorities.’’.

17 (c) UNREGULATED CONTAMINANTS.—Section

18 1445(a) (42 U.S.C. 300j–4(a)) is amended by striking

19 paragraphs (2) through (8) and inserting the following:

20 ‘‘(2) MONITORING PROGRAM FOR UNREGU21 LATED CONTAMINANTS.—

22 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Adminis23 trator shall promulgate regulations establishing

24 the criteria for a monitoring program for un25 regulated contaminants. The regulations shall
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1 require monitoring of drinking water supplied

2 by public water systems and shall vary the fre3 quency and schedule for monitoring require4 ments for systems based on the number of per5 sons served by the system, the source of supply,

6 and the contaminants likely to be found.

7 ‘‘(B) MONITORING PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN

8 UNREGULATED CONTAMINANTS.—

9 ‘‘(i) INITIAL LIST.—Not later than 3

10 years after the date of enactment of the

11 Safe Drinking Water Amendments of 1996

12 and every 5 years thereafter, the Adminis13 trator shall issue a list pursuant to sub14 paragraph (A) of not more than 40 un15 regulated contaminants to be monitored by

16 public water systems and to be included in

17 the national drinking water occurrence

18 data base maintained pursuant to sub19 section (g).

20 ‘‘(ii) GOVERNORS’ PETITION.—The

21 Administrator shall include among the list

22 of contaminants for which monitoring is

23 required under this paragraph each con24 taminant recommended in a petition signed

25 by the Governor of each of 7 or more
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1 States, unless the Administrator deter2 mines that the action would prevent the

3 listing of other contaminants of a higher

4 public health concern.

5 ‘‘(C) MONITORING PLAN FOR SMALL AND

6 MEDIUM SYSTEMS.—

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Based on the reg8 ulations promulgated by the Administrator,

9 each State shall develop a representative

10 monitoring plan to assess the occurrence of

11 unregulated contaminants in public water

12 systems that serve a population of 10,000

13 or fewer. The plan shall require monitoring

14 for systems representative of different

15 sizes, types, and geographic locations in

16 the State.

17 ‘‘(ii) GRANTS FOR SMALL SYSTEM

18 COSTS.—From funds appropriated under

19 subparagraph (G), the Administrator shall

20 pay the reasonable cost of such testing and

21 laboratory analysis as are necessary to

22 carry out monitoring under the plan.

23 ‘‘(D) MONITORING RESULTS.—Each public

24 water system that conducts monitoring of un25 regulated contaminants pursuant to this para-
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1 graph shall provide the results of the monitor2 ing to the primary enforcement authority for

3 the system.

4 ‘‘(E) NOTIFICATION.—Notification of the

5 availability of the results of monitoring pro6 grams required under paragraph (2)(A) shall be

7 given to the persons served by the system and

8 the Administrator.

9 ‘‘(F) WAIVER OF MONITORING REQUIRE10 MENT.—The Administrator shall waive the re11 quirement for monitoring for a contaminant

12 under this paragraph in a State, if the State

13 demonstrates that the criteria for listing the

14 contaminant do not apply in that State.

15 ‘‘(G) ANALYTICAL METHODS.—The State

16 may use screening methods approved by the

17 Administrator under subsection (g) in lieu of

18 monitoring for particular contaminants under

19 this paragraph.

20 ‘‘(H) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA21 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro22 priated to carry out this paragraph

23 $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1997

24 through 2003.’’.
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1 (d) SCREENING METHODS.—Section 1445 (42 U.S.C.

2 300j–4) is amended by adding the following after sub3 section (h):

4 ‘‘(i) SCREENING METHODS.—The Administrator

5 shall review new analytical methods to screen for regulated

6 contaminants and may approve such methods as are more

7 accurate or cost-effective than established reference meth8 ods for use in compliance monitoring.’’.

9 SEC. 305. OCCURRENCE DATA BASE.

10 Section 1445 is amended by adding the following new

11 subsection after subsection (f):

12 ‘‘(g) NATIONAL DRINKING WATER OCCURRENCE

13 DATA BASE.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years

15 after the date of enactment of the Safe Drinking

16 Water Act Amendments of 1996, the Administrator

17 shall assemble and maintain a national drinking

18 water occurrence data base, using information on

19 the occurrence of both regulated and unregulated

20 contaminants in public water systems obtained

21 under subsection (a)(1)(A) or subsection (a)(2) and

22 reliable information from other public and private

23 sources.

24 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC INPUT.—In establishing the occur25 rence data base, the Administrator shall solicit rec-
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1 ommendations from the Science Advisory Board, the

2 States, and other interested parties concerning the

3 development and maintenance of a national drinking

4 water occurrence data base, including such issues as

5 the structure and design of the data base, data input

6 parameters and requirements, and the use and inter7 pretation of data.

8 ‘‘(3) USE.—The data shall be used by the Ad9 ministrator in making determinations under section

10 1412(b)(1) with respect to the occurrence of a con11 taminant in drinking water at a level of public

12 health concern.

13 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Ad14 ministrator shall periodically solicit recommenda15 tions from the appropriate officials of the National

16 Academy of Sciences and the States, and any person

17 may submit recommendations to the Administrator,

18 with respect to contaminants that should be included

19 in the national drinking water occurrence data base,

20 including recommendations with respect to addi21 tional unregulated contaminants that should be list22 ed under subsection (a)(2). Any recommendation

23 submitted under this clause shall be accompanied by

24 reasonable documentation that—
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1 ‘‘(A) the contaminant occurs or is likely to

2 occur in drinking water; and

3 ‘‘(B) the contaminant poses a risk to pub4 lic health.

5 ‘‘(5) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The information

6 from the data base shall be available to the public

7 in readily accessible form.

8 ‘‘(6) REGULATED CONTAMINANTS.—With re9 spect to each contaminant for which a national pri10 mary drinking water regulation has been established,

11 the data base shall include information on the detec12 tion of the contaminant at a quantifiable level in

13 public water systems (including detection of the con14 taminant at levels not constituting a violation of the

15 maximum contaminant level for the contaminant).

16 ‘‘(7) UNREGULATED CONTAMINANTS.—With re17 spect to contaminants for which a national primary

18 drinking water regulation has not been established,

19 the data base shall include—

20 ‘‘(A) monitoring information collected by

21 public water systems that serve a population of

22 more than 3,300, as required by the Adminis23 trator under subsection (a);

24 ‘‘(B) monitoring information collected by

25 the States from a representative sampling of
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1 public water systems that serve a population of

2 3,300 or fewer; and

3 ‘‘(C) other reliable and appropriate mon4 itoring information on the occurrence of the

5 contaminants in public water systems that is

6 available to the Administrator.’’.

7 SEC. 306. CITIZENS SUITS.

8 Section 1449 (42 U.S.C. 300j-8) is amended by in9 serting ‘‘, or a State’’ after ‘‘prosecuting a civil action in

10 a court of the United States’’ in subsection (b)(1)(B).

11 SEC. 307. WHISTLE BLOWER.

12 (a) WHISTLE BLOWER.—Section 1450(i) is amended

13 as follows:

14 (1) Amend paragraph (2)(A) by striking ‘‘30

15 days’’ and inserting ‘‘180 days’’ and by inserting be16 fore the period at the end ‘‘and the Environmental

17 Protection Agency’’.

18 (2) Amend paragraph (2)(B)(i) by inserting be19 fore the last sentence the following: ‘‘Upon conclu20 sion of such hearing and the issuance of a rec21 ommended decision that the complaint has merit,

22 the Secretary shall issue a preliminary order provid23 ing the relief prescribed in clause (ii), but may not

24 order compensatory damages pending a final

25 order.’’.
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1 (3) Amend paragraph (2)(B)(ii) by inserting

2 ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘(III)’’ and by striking ‘‘compensatory

3 damages, and (IV) where appropriate, exemplary

4 damages’’ and inserting ‘‘and the Secretary may

5 order such person to provide compensatory damages

6 to the complainant’’.

7 (4) Redesignate paragraphs (3), (4), (5), and

8 (6) as paragraphs (4), (5), (6), and (7), respectively,

9 and insert after paragraph (2) the following:

10 ‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary shall dismiss a complaint filed

11 under paragraph (1), and shall not conduct the investiga12 tion required under paragraph (2), unless the complainant

13 has made a prima facie showing that any behavior de14 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph

15 (1) was a contributing factor in the unfavorable personnel

16 action alleged in the complaint.

17 ‘‘(B) Notwithstanding a finding by the Secretary that

18 the complaint has made the showing required by para19 graph (1)(A), no investigation required under paragraph

20 (2) shall be conducted if the employer demonstrates, by

21 clear and convincing evidence, that it would have taken

22 the same unfavorable personnel action in the absence of

23 such behavior.

24 ‘‘(C) The Secretary may determine that a violation

25 of paragraph (1) has occurred only if the complainant has
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1 demonstrated that any behavior described in subpara2 graphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (1) was a contribut3 ing factor in the unfavorable personnel action alleged in

4 the complaint.

5 ‘‘(D) Relief may not be ordered under paragraph (2)

6 if the employer demonstrates clear and convincing evi7 dence that it would have taken the same unfavorable per8 sonnel action in the absence of such behavior.’’.

9 (5) Add at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(8) This subsection may not be construed to expand,

11 diminish, or otherwise affect any right otherwise available

12 to an employee under Federal or State law to reduce the

13 employee’s discharge or other discriminatory action taken

14 by the employer against the employee. The provisions of

15 this subsection shall be prominently posted in any place

16 of employment to which this subsection applies.’’.

17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

18 subsection (a) shall apply to claims filed under section

19 1450(i) of the Public Health Service Act on or after the

20 date of the enactment of this Act.

21 SEC. 308. STATE REVOLVING FUNDS.

22 (a) STATE REVOLVING FUNDS.—Part E (42 U.S.C.

23 300j et seq.) is amended by adding the following new sec24 tion after section 1451:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 1452. STATE REVOLVING FUNDS.

2 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—

3 ‘‘(1) GRANTS TO STATES TO ESTABLISH RE4 VOLVING FUNDS.—(A) The Administrator shall

5 enter into agreements with eligible States to make

6 capitalization grants, including letters of credit, to

7 the States under this subsection solely to further the

8 health protection objectives of this title, promote the

9 efficient use of fund resources, and for such other

10 purposes as are specified in this title.

11 ‘‘(B) To be eligible to receive a capitalization

12 grant under this section, a State shall establish a

13 drinking water treatment revolving loan fund and

14 comply with the other requirements of this section.

15 ‘‘(C) Such a grant to a State shall be deposited

16 in the drinking water treatment revolving fund es17 tablished by the State, except as otherwise provided

18 in this section and in other provisions of this title.

19 No portion of funds authorized to be used for other

20 purposes in this section or authorized by other provi21 sions of this title to be used for other purposes spec22 ified in this title shall be deposited in any State re23 volving fund.

24 ‘‘(D) Such a grant to a State shall be available

25 to the State for obligation during the fiscal year for

26 which the funds are authorized and during the fol-
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1 lowing fiscal year, except that grants made available

2 from funds provided in Public Law 103–327, Public

3 Law 103–124, and Public Law 104–134 shall be

4 available for obligation during each of the fiscal

5 years 1997 and 1998.

6 ‘‘(E) Except as otherwise provided in this sec7 tion, funds made available to carry out this part

8 shall be allotted to States that have entered into an

9 agreement pursuant to this section in accordance

10 with—

11 ‘‘(i) for each of fiscal years 1995 through

12 1997, a formula that is the same as the for13 mula used to distribute public water system su14 pervision grant funds under section 1443 in fis15 cal year 1995, except that the minimum propor16 tionate share established in the formula shall be

17 1 percent of available funds and the formula

18 shall be adjusted to include a minimum propor19 tionate share for the State of Wyoming; and

20 ‘‘(ii) for fiscal year 1998 and each subse21 quent fiscal year, a formula that allocates to

22 each State the proportional share of the State

23 needs identified in the most recent survey con24 ducted pursuant to section 1452(h), except that

25 the minimum proportionate share provided to
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1 each State shall be the same as the minimum

2 proportionate share provided under clause (i).

3 ‘‘(F) Such grants not obligated by the last day

4 of the period for which the grants are available shall

5 be reallotted according to the appropriate criteria set

6 forth in subparagraph (E).

7 ‘‘(G) The State allotment for a State not exer8 cising primary enforcement responsibility for public

9 water systems shall not be deposited in any such

10 fund but shall be allotted by the Administrator as

11 follows: 20 percent of such allotment shall be avail12 able to the Administrator as needed to exercise pri13 mary enforcement responsibility under this title in

14 such State and the remainder shall be reallotted to

15 States exercising primary enforcement responsibility

16 for public water systems for deposit in such funds.

17 Whenever the Administrator makes a final deter18 mination pursuant to section 1413(b) that the re19 quirements of section 1413(a) are no longer being

20 met by a State, additional grants for such State

21 under this title shall be immediately terminated by

22 the Administrator. This subparagraph shall not

23 apply to any State not exercising primary enforce24 ment responsibility for public water systems as of
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1 the date of enactment of the Safe Drinking Water

2 Amendments of 1996.

3 ‘‘(H)(i) Beginning in fiscal year 1999, the Ad4 ministrator shall withhold 20 percent of each cap5 italization grant made pursuant to this section to a

6 State unless the State has met the requirements of

7 section 1419 (relating to capacity development).

8 ‘‘(ii) The Administrator shall withhold 20 per9 cent of each capitalization grant made pursuant to

10 this section unless the State has met the require11 ments of subsection (f) of section 1442 (relating to

12 operator certification).

13 ‘‘(iii) All funds withheld by the Administrator

14 pursuant to clause (i) shall be reallotted by the Ad15 ministrator on the basis of the same ratio as is ap16 plicable to funds allotted under subparagraph (E).

17 None of the funds reallotted by the Administrator

18 pursuant to this paragraph shall be allotted to a

19 State unless the State has met the requirements of

20 section 1419 (relating to capacity development).

21 ‘‘(iv) All funds withheld by the Administrator

22 pursuant to clause (ii) shall be reallotted by the Ad23 ministrator on the basis of the same ratio as appli24 cable to funds allotted under subparagraph (E).

25 None of the funds reallotted by the Administrator
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1 pursuant to this paragraph shall be allotted to a

2 State unless the State has met the requirements of

3 subsection (f) of section 1442 (relating to operator

4 certification).

5 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Except as otherwise au6 thorized by this title, amounts deposited in such re7 volving funds, including loan repayments and inter8 est earned on such amounts, shall be used only for

9 providing loans, loan guarantees, or as a source of

10 reserve and security for leveraged loans, the pro11 ceeds of which are deposited in a State revolving

12 fund established under paragraph (1), or other fi13 nancial assistance authorized under this section to

14 community water systems and nonprofit noncommu15 nity water systems, other than systems owned by

16 Federal agencies. Such financial assistance may be

17 used by a public water system only for expenditures

18 (not including monitoring, operation, and mainte19 nance expenditures) of a type or category which the

20 Administrator has determined, through guidance,

21 will facilitate compliance with national primary

22 drinking water regulations applicable to such system

23 under section 1412 or otherwise significantly further

24 the health protection objectives of this title. Such

25 funds may also be used to provide loans to a system
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1 referred to in section 1401(4)(B) for the purpose of

2 providing the treatment described in section

3 1401(4)(B)(i)(III). Such funds shall not be used for

4 the acquisition of real property or interests therein,

5 unless such acquisition is integral to a project au6 thorized by this paragraph and the purchase is from

7 a willing seller. Of the amount credited to any re8 volving fund established under this section in any

9 fiscal year, 15 percent shall be available solely for

10 providing loan assistance to public water systems

11 which regularly serve fewer than 10,000 persons.

12 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

14 subparagraph (B), no assistance under this

15 part shall be provided to a public water system

16 that—

17 ‘‘(i) does not have the technical, man18 agerial, and financial capability to ensure

19 compliance with the requirements of this

20 title; or

21 ‘‘(ii) is in significant noncompliance

22 with any requirement of a national pri23 mary drinking water regulation or vari24 ance.
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1 ‘‘(B) RESTRUCTURING.—A public water

2 system described in subparagraph (A) may re3 ceive assistance under this part if—

4 ‘‘(i) the owner or operator of the sys5 tem agrees to undertake feasible and ap6 propriate changes in operations (including

7 ownership, management, accounting, rates,

8 maintenance, consolidation, alternative

9 water supply, or other procedures) if the

10 State determines that such measures are

11 necessary to ensure that the system has

12 the technical, managerial, and financial ca13 pability to comply with the requirements of

14 this title over the long term; and

15 ‘‘(ii) the use of the assistance will en16 sure compliance.

17 ‘‘(b) INTENDED USE PLANS.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After providing for public

19 review and comment, each State that has entered

20 into a capitalization agreement pursuant to this part

21 shall annually prepare a plan that identifies the in22 tended uses of the amounts available to the State

23 loan fund of the State.

24 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—An intended use plan shall

25 include—
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1 ‘‘(A) a list of the projects to be assisted in

2 the first fiscal year that begins after the date

3 of the plan, including a description of the

4 project, the expected terms of financial assist5 ance, and the size of the community served;

6 ‘‘(B) the criteria and methods established

7 for the distribution of funds; and

8 ‘‘(C) a description of the financial status of

9 the State loan fund and the short-term and

10 long-term goals of the State loan fund.

11 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An intended use plan

13 shall provide, to the maximum extent prac14 ticable, that priority for the use of funds be

15 given to projects that—

16 ‘‘(i) address the most serious risk to

17 human health;

18 ‘‘(ii) are necessary to ensure compli19 ance with the requirements of this title (in20 cluding requirements for filtration); and

21 ‘‘(iii) assist systems most in need on

22 a per household basis according to State

23 affordability criteria.

24 ‘‘(B) LIST OF PROJECTS.—Each State

25 shall, after notice and opportunity for public
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1 comment, publish and periodically update a list

2 of projects in the State that are eligible for as3 sistance under this part, including the priority

4 assigned to each project and, to the extent

5 known, the expected funding schedule for each

6 project.

7 ‘‘(c) FUND MANAGEMENT.—Each State revolving

8 fund under this section shall be established, maintained,

9 and credited with repayments and interest. The fund cor10 pus shall be available in perpetuity for providing financial

11 assistance under this section. To the extent amounts in

12 each such fund are not required for current obligation or

13 expenditure, such amounts shall be invested in interest

14 bearing obligations of the State or of the United States.

15 ‘‘(d) ASSISTANCE FOR DISADVANTAGED COMMU16 NITIES.—

17 ‘‘(1) LOAN SUBSIDY.—Notwithstanding any

18 other provision of this section, in any case in which

19 the State makes a loan pursuant to section (a)(2) to

20 a disadvantaged community or to a community that

21 the State expects to become a disadvantaged com22 munity as the result of a proposed project, the State

23 may provide additional subsidization (including for24 giveness of principal).
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1 ‘‘(2) TOTAL AMOUNT OF SUBSIDIES.—For each

2 fiscal year, the total amount of loan subsidies made

3 by a State pursuant to paragraph (1) may not ex4 ceed 30 percent of the amount of the capitalization

5 grant received by the State for the year.

6 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION OF DISADVANTAGED COMMU7 NITY.—In this subsection, the term ‘disadvantaged

8 community’ means the service area of a public water

9 system that meets affordability criteria established

10 after public review and comment by the State in

11 which the public water system is located. The Ad12 ministrator may publish information to assist States

13 in establishing affordability criteria.

14 ‘‘(e) STATE CONTRIBUTION.—Each agreement under

15 subsection (a) shall require that the State deposit in the

16 State revolving fund from State moneys an amount equal

17 to at least 20 percent of the total amount of the grant

18 to be made to the State on or before the date on which

19 the grant payment is made to the State, except that a

20 State shall not be required to deposit such amount into

21 the fund prior to the date on which each grant payment

22 is made for fiscal years 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997 if

23 such State deposits the State contribution amount into the

24 State fund prior to September 30, 1998.
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1 ‘‘(f) COMBINED FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION.—Not2 withstanding subsection (c), a State may (as a convenience

3 and to avoid unnecessary administrative costs) combine,

4 in accordance with State law, the financial administration

5 of a revolving fund established under this section with the

6 financial administration of any other revolving fund estab7 lished by the State if otherwise not prohibited by the law

8 under which such revolving fund was established and if

9 the Administrator determines that—

10 ‘‘(1) the grants under this section, together

11 with loan repayments and interest, will be separately

12 accounted for and used solely for the purposes speci13 fied in subsection (a); and

14 ‘‘(2) the authority to establish assistance prior15 ities and carry out oversight and related activities

16 (other than financial administration) with respect to

17 such assistance remains with the State agency hav18 ing primary responsibility for administration of the

19 State program under section 1413.

20 ‘‘(g) ADMINISTRATION.—(1) Each State may annu21 ally use up to 4 percent of the funds allotted to the State

22 under this section to cover the reasonable costs of adminis23 tration of the programs under this section, including the

24 recovery of reasonable costs expended to establish such a

25 fund which are incurred after the date of enactment of
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1 this section, and to provide technical assistance to public

2 water systems within the State. For fiscal year 1995 and

3 each fiscal year thereafter, each State with primary en4 forcement responsibility for public water systems within

5 that State may use up to an additional 10 percent of the

6 funds allotted to the State under this section—

7 ‘‘(A) for public water system supervision pro8 grams under section 1443(a);

9 ‘‘(B) to administer or provide technical assist10 ance through source water protection programs;

11 ‘‘(C) to develop and implement a capacity devel12 opment strategy under section 1419(c); and

13 ‘‘(D) for an operator certification program for

14 purposes of meeting the requirements of section

15 1442(f)

16 if the State matches such expenditures with at least an

17 equal amount of State funds. At least half of such match

18 must be additional to the amount expended by the State

19 for public water supervision in fiscal year 1993. An addi20 tional 1 percent of the funds annually allotted to the State

21 under this section shall be used by each State to provide

22 technical assistance to public water systems in such State.

23 Funds utilized under section 1452(g)(1)(B) shall not be

24 used for enforcement actions or for purposes which do not

25 facilitate compliance with national primary drinking water
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1 regulations or otherwise significantly further the health

2 protection objectives of this title.

3 ‘‘(2) The Administrator shall publish such guidance

4 and promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to

5 carry out the provisions of this section, including—

6 ‘‘(A) provisions to ensure that each State com7 mits and expends funds allotted to the State under

8 this section as efficiently as possible in accordance

9 with this title and applicable State laws,

10 ‘‘(B) guidance to prevent waste, fraud, and

11 abuse, and

12 ‘‘(C) guidance to avoid the use of funds made

13 available under this section to finance the expansion

14 of any public water system in anticipation of future

15 population growth.

16 Such guidance and regulations shall also insure that the

17 States, and public water systems receiving assistance

18 under this section, use accounting, audit, and fiscal proce19 dures that conform to generally accepted accounting

20 standards.

21 ‘‘(3) Each State administering a revolving fund and

22 assistance program under this subsection shall publish and

23 submit to the Administrator a report every 2 years on its

24 activities under this subsection, including the findings of

25 the most recent audit of the fund and the entire State
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1 allotment. The Administrator shall periodically audit all

2 revolving funds established by, and all other amounts al3 lotted to, the States pursuant to this subsection in accord4 ance with procedures established by the Comptroller Gen5 eral.

6 ‘‘(h) NEEDS SURVEY.—The Administrator shall con7 duct an assessment of water system capital improvements

8 needs of all eligible public water systems in the United

9 States and submit a report to the Congress containing the

10 results of such assessment within 180 days after the date

11 of the enactment of the Safe Drinking Water Act Amend12 ments of 1996 and every 4 years thereafter.

‘‘(i) INDIAN TRIBES.—11 13 ⁄2 percent of the amounts

14 appropriated annually to carry out this section may be

15 used by the Administrator to make grants to Indian

16 Tribes and Alaskan Native Villages which are not other17 wise eligible to receive either grants from the Adminis18 trator under this section or assistance from State revolv19 ing funds established under this section. Such grants may

20 only be used for expenditures by such tribes and villages

21 for public water system expenditures referred to in sub22 section (a)(2).

23 ‘‘(j) OTHER AREAS.—Of the funds annually available

24 under this section for grants to States, the Administrator

25 shall make allotments in accordance with section
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1 1443(a)(4) for the District of Columbia, the Virgin Is2 lands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is3 lands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Republic of

4 Palau. The grants allotted as provided in this subsection

5 may be provided by the Administrator to the governments

6 of such areas, to public water systems in such areas, or

7 to both, to be used for the public water system expendi8 tures referred to in subsection (a)(2). Such grants shall

9 not be deposited in revolving funds. The total allotment

10 of grants under this section for all areas described in this

11 paragraph in any fiscal year shall not exceed 1 percent

12 of the aggregate amount made available to carry out this

13 section in that fiscal year.

14 ‘‘(k) SET-ASIDES.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection

16 (a)(2), a State may take each of the following ac17 tions:

18 ‘‘(A) Provide assistance, only in the form

19 of a loan to one or both of the following:

20 ‘‘(i) Any public water system de21 scribed in subsection (a)(2) to acquire land

22 or a conservation easement from a willing

23 seller or grantor, if the purpose of the ac24 quisition is to protect the source water of

25 the system from contamination and to en-
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1 sure compliance with national primary

2 drinking water regulations.

3 ‘‘(ii) Any community water system to

4 implement local, voluntary source water

5 protection measures to protect source

6 water in areas delineated pursuant to sec7 tion 1428(l), in order to facilitate compli8 ance with national primary drinking water

9 regulations applicable to such system

10 under section 1412 or otherwise signifi11 cantly further the health protection objec12 tives of this title. Funds authorized under

13 this clause may be used to fund only vol14 untary, incentive-based mechanisms.

15 ‘‘(B) Provide assistance, including tech16 nical and financial assistance, to any public

17 water system as part of a capacity development

18 strategy developed and implemented in accord19 ance with section 1419(c).

20 ‘‘(C) Make expenditures from the capital21 ization grant of the State for fiscal years 1996

22 and 1997 to delineate and assess source water

23 protection areas in accordance with section

24 1428(l), except that funds set aside for such ex-
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1 penditure shall be obligated within 4 fiscal

2 years.

3 ‘‘(D) Make expenditures from the fund for

4 the establishment and implementation of well5 head protection programs under section 1428.

6 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—For each fiscal year, the

7 total amount of assistance provided and expendi8 tures made by a State under this subsection may not

9 exceed 15 percent of the amount of the capitaliza10 tion grant received by the State for that year and

11 may not exceed 10 percent of that amount for any

12 one of the following activities:

13 ‘‘(A) To acquire land or conservation ease14 ments pursuant to paragraph (1)(A)(i).

15 ‘‘(B) To provide funding to implement vol16 untary, incentive-based source water quality

17 protection measures pursuant to paragraph

18 (1)(A)(ii).

19 ‘‘(C) To provide assistance through a ca20 pacity development strategy pursuant to para21 graph (1)(B).

22 ‘‘(D) To make expenditures to delineate or

23 assess source water protection areas pursuant

24 to paragraph (1)(C).
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1 ‘‘(E) To make expenditures to establish

2 and implement wellhead protection programs

3 pursuant to paragraph (1)(D).

4 ‘‘(3) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in

5 this section creates or conveys any new authority to

6 a State, political subdivision of a State, or commu7 nity water system for any new regulatory measure,

8 or limits any authority of a State, political subdivi9 sion of a State or community water system.

10 ‘‘(l) SAVINGS.—The failure or inability of any public

11 water system to receive funds under this section or any

12 other loan or grant program, or any delay in obtaining

13 the funds, shall not alter the obligation of the system to

14 comply in a timely manner with all applicable drinking

15 water standards and requirements of this title.

16 ‘‘(m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

17 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out the purposes

18 of this section $599,000,000 for the fiscal year 1994 and

19 $1,000,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1995 through

20 2003. Sums shall remain available until expended.

21 ‘‘(n) HEALTH EFFECTS STUDIES.—From funds ap22 propriated pursuant to this section for each fiscal year,

23 the Administrator shall reserve $10,000,000 for health ef24 fects studies on drinking water contaminants authorized

25 by section 1442. In allocating funds made available under
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1 this subsection, the Administrator shall give priority to

2 studies concerning the health effects of cryptosporidium,

3 disinfection byproducts, and arsenic, and the implementa4 tion of a plan for studies of subpopulations at greater risk

5 of adverse effects.

6 ‘‘(o) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT FOR STATE OF VIR7 GINIA.—Notwithstanding the other provisions of this sub8 section limiting the use of funds deposited in a State re9 volving fund from any State allotment, the State of Vir10 ginia may, as a single demonstration and with the ap11 proval of the Virginia General Assembly and the Adminis12 trator, conduct a program to demonstrate alternative ap13 proaches to intergovernmental coordination to assist in the

14 financing of new drinking water facilities in the following

15 rural communities in southwestern Virginia where none

16 exists on the date of the enactment of the Safe Drinking

17 Water Act Amendments of 1996 and where such commu18 nities are experiencing economic hardship: Lee County,

19 Wise County, Scott County, Dickenson County, Russell

20 County, Buchanan County, Tazewell County, and the city

21 of Norton, Virginia. The funds allotted to that State and

22 deposited in the State revolving fund may be loaned to

23 a regional endowment fund for the purpose set forth in

24 this paragraph under a plan to be approved by the Admin-
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1 istrator. The plan may include an advisory group that in2 cludes representatives of such counties.

3 ‘‘(p) SMALL SYSTEM TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The

4 Administrator may reserve up to 2 percent of the total

5 funds appropriated pursuant to subsection (m) for each

6 of the fiscal years 1997 through 2003 to carry out the

7 provisions of section 1442(e), relating to technical assist8 ance for small systems.’’.

9 SEC. 309. WATER CONSERVATION PLAN.

10 Part E is amended by adding at the end the follow11 ing:

12 ‘‘SEC. 1453. WATER CONSERVATION PLAN.

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

14 date of the enactment of the Safe Drinking Water Act

15 Amendments of 1996, the Administrator shall publish in

16 the Federal Register guidelines for water conservation

17 plans for public water systems serving fewer than 3,300

18 persons, public water systems serving between 3,300 and

19 10,000 persons, and public water systems serving more

20 than 10,000 persons, taking into consideration such fac21 tors as water availability and climate.

22 ‘‘(b) SRF LOANS OR GRANTS.—Within 1 year after

23 publication of the guidelines under subsection (a), a State

24 exercising primary enforcement responsibility for public

25 water systems may require a public water system, as a
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1 condition of receiving a loan or grant from a State revolv2 ing fund under section 1452, to submit with its application

3 for such loan or grant a water conservation plan consistent

4 with such guidelines.’’.

5 TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS

6 SEC. 401. DEFINITIONS.

7 (a) ALTERNATIVE QUALITY CONTROL AND TESTING

8 PROCEDURES.—Section 1401(1)(D) (42 U.S.C.

9 300f(1)(D)) is amended by adding the following at the end

10 thereof: ‘‘At any time after promulgation of a regulation

11 referred to in this paragraph, the Administrator may add

12 equally effective quality control and testing procedures by

13 guidance published in the Federal Register. Such proce14 dures shall be treated as an alternative for public water

15 systems to the quality control and testing procedures list16 ed in the regulation.’’.

17 (b) PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1401(4) (42 U.S.C.

19 300f(4)) is amended—

20 (A) in the first sentence, by striking

21 ‘‘piped water for human consumption’’ and in22 serting ‘‘water for human consumption through

23 pipes or other constructed conveyances’’;

24 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (A)

25 and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively;
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1 (C) by striking ‘‘(4) The’’ and inserting

2 the following:

3 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The’’; and

5 (D) by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(B) CONNECTIONS.—

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of

8 subparagraph (A), a connection to a sys9 tem that delivers water by a constructed

10 conveyance other than a pipe shall not be

11 considered a connection, if—

12 ‘‘(I) the water is used exclusively

13 for purposes other than residential

14 uses (consisting of drinking, bathing,

15 and cooking, or other similar uses);

16 ‘‘(II) the Administrator or the

17 State (in the case of a State exercis18 ing primary enforcement responsibility

19 for public water systems) determines

20 that alternative water to achieve the

21 equivalent level of public health pro22 tection provided by the applicable na23 tional primary drinking water regula24 tion is provided for residential or simi-
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1 lar uses for drinking, cooking, and

2 bathing; or

3 ‘‘(III) the Administrator or the

4 State (in the case of a State exercis5 ing primary enforcement responsibility

6 for public water systems) determines

7 that the water provided for residential

8 or similar uses for drinking, cooking,

9 and bathing is centrally treated or

10 treated at the point of entry by the

11 provider, a pass-through entity, or the

12 user to achieve the equivalent level of

13 protection provided by the applicable

14 national primary drinking water regu15 lations.

16 ‘‘(ii) IRRIGATION DISTRICTS.—An irri17 gation district in existence prior to May

18 18, 1994, that provides primarily agricul19 tural service through a piped water system

20 with only incidental residential or similar

21 use shall not be considered to be a public

22 water system if the system or the residen23 tial or similar users of the system comply

24 with subclause (II) or (III) of clause (i).
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1 ‘‘(C) TRANSITION PERIOD.—A water sup2 plier that would be a public water system only

3 as a result of modifications made to this para4 graph by the Safe Drinking Water Act Amend5 ments of 1995 shall not be considered a public

6 water system for purposes of the Act until the

7 date that is two years after the date of enact8 ment of this subparagraph. If a water supplier

9 does not serve 15 service connections (as de10 fined in subparagraphs (A) and (B)) or 25 peo11 ple at any time after the conclusion of the two12 year period, the water supplier shall not be con13 sidered a public water system.’’.

14 (2) GAO STUDY.—The Comptroller General of

15 the United States shall undertake a study to—

16 (A) ascertain the numbers and locations of

17 individuals and households relying for their res18 idential water needs, including drinking, bath19 ing, and cooking (or other similar uses) on irri20 gation water systems, mining water systems, in21 dustrial water systems or other water systems

22 covered by section 1401(4)(B) of the Safe

23 Drinking Water Act that are not public water

24 systems subject to the Safe Drinking Water

25 Act;
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1 (B) determine the sources and costs and

2 affordability (to users and systems) of water

3 used by such populations for their residential

4 water needs; and

5 (C) review State and water system compli6 ance with the exclusion provisions of section

7 1401(4)(B) of such Act.

8 The Comptroller General shall submit a report to

9 the Congress within 3 years after the enactment of

10 this Act containing the results of such study.

11 SEC. 402. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

12 (a) GENERAL.—Part A (42 U.S.C. 300f) is amended

13 by adding the following new section after section 1401:

14 ‘‘SEC. 1402. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

15 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

16 as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this

17 title for the first 7 fiscal years following the enactment

18 of the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996.’’.

19 (b) CRITICAL AQUIFER PROTECTION.—Section 1427

20 (42 U.S.C. 300h–6) is amended as follows:

21 (1) Subsection (b)(1) is amended by striking

22 ‘‘not later than 24 months after the enactment of

23 the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of

24 1986’’.
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1 (2) The table in subsection (m) is amended by

2 adding at the end the following:

‘‘1992–2003 .............................................................................. 15,000,000.’’.

3 (c) WELLHEAD PROTECTION AREAS.—The table in

4 section 1428(k) (42 U.S.C. 300h–7(k)) is amended by

5 adding at the end the following:

‘‘1992–2003 .............................................................................. 30,000,000.’’.

6 (d) UNDERGROUND INJECTION CONTROL GRANT.—

7 The table in section 1443(b)(5) (42 U.S.C. 300j–2(b)(5))

8 is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘1992–2003 .............................................................................. 15,000,000.’’.

9 SEC. 403. NEW YORK CITY WATERSHED PROTECTION PRO10 GRAM.

11 Section 1443 (42 U.S.C. 300j-2) is amended by add12 ing at the end the following:

13 ‘‘(d) NEW YORK CITY WATERSHED PROTECTION

14 PROGRAM.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator is au16 thorized to provide financial assistance to the State

17 of New York for demonstration projects imple18 mented as part of the watershed program for the

19 protection and enhancement of the quality of source

20 waters of the New York City water supply system.

21 Demonstration projects which shall be eligible for fi22 nancial assistance shall be certified to the Adminis23 trator by the State of New York as satisfying the
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1 purposes of this subsection and shall include those

2 projects that demonstrate, assess, or provide for

3 comprehensive monitoring, surveillance, and analysis

4 with respect to the efficacy of phosphorus offsets or

5 trading, wastewater diversion, septic system siting

6 and maintenance, innovative or enhanced wastewater

7 treatment technologies, innovative methodologies for

8 the control of storm water runoff, urban, agricul9 tural, and forestry best management practices for

10 controlling nonpoint source pollution, operator train11 ing, compliance surveillance and that establish wa12 tershed or basin-wide coordinating, planning or gov13 erning organizations. In certifying projects to the

14 Administrator, the State of New York shall give pri15 ority to these monitoring projects that have under16 gone peer review.

17 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the

18 date on which the Administrator first provides as19 sistance pursuant to this paragraph, the Governor of

20 the State of New York shall submit a report to the

21 Administrator on the results of projects assisted.

22 ‘‘(3) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.—Federal as23 sistance provided under this subsection shall not ex24 ceed 35 percent of the total cost of the protection
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1 program being carried out for any particular water2 shed or ground water recharge area.

3 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to

4 be appropriated to the Administrator such sums as

5 are necessary to carry out this subsection for each

6 of fiscal years 1997 through 2003 including

7 $15,000,000 for each of such fiscal years for the

8 purpose of providing assistance to the State of New

9 York to carry out paragraph (2).’’.

10 SEC. 404. ESTROGENIC SUBSTANCES SCREENING PRO11 GRAM.

12 Part F is amended by adding the following at the

13 end thereof:

14 ‘‘SEC. 1470. ESTROGENIC SUBSTANCES SCREENING PRO15 GRAM.

16 ‘‘(a) DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than 2 years after

17 the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator

18 shall develop a screening program, using appropriate vali19 dated test systems and other scientifically relevant infor20 mation, to determine whether certain substances may have

21 an effect in humans that is similar to an effect produced

22 by a naturally occurring estrogen, or such other endocrine

23 effect as the Administrator may designate.

24 ‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 3 years

25 after the date of enactment of this section, after obtaining
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1 public comment and review of the screening program de2 scribed in subsection (a) by the scientific advisory panel

3 established under section 25(d) of the Act of June 25,

4 1947 (chapter 125) or the Science Advisory Board estab5 lished by section 8 of the Environmental Research, Devel6 opment, and Demonstration Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C.

7 4365), the Administrator shall implement the program.

8 ‘‘(c) SUBSTANCES.—In carrying out the screening

9 program described in subsection (a), the Administrator—

10 ‘‘(1) shall provide for the testing of all active

11 and inert ingredients used in products described in

12 section 103(e) of the Comprehensive Environmental

13 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980

14 (42 U.S.C. 9603(e)) that may be found in sources

15 of drinking water, and

16 ‘‘(2) may provide for the testing of any other

17 substance that may be found in sources of drinking

18 water if the Administrator determines that a sub19 stantial population may be exposed to such sub20 stance.

21 ‘‘(d) EXEMPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection (c),

22 the Administrator may, by order, exempt from the require23 ments of this section a biologic substance or other sub24 stance if the Administrator determines that the substance
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1 is anticipated not to produce any effect in humans similar

2 to an effect produced by a naturally occurring estrogen.

3 ‘‘(e) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall

5 issue an order to a person that registers, manufac6 tures, or imports a substance for which testing is re7 quired under this subsection to conduct testing in

8 accordance with the screening program described in

9 subsection (a), and submit information obtained

10 from the testing to the Administrator, within a rea11 sonable time period that the Administrator deter12 mines is sufficient for the generation of the informa13 tion.

14 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURES.—To the extent practicable

15 the Administrator shall minimize duplicative testing

16 of the same substance for the same endocrine effect,

17 develop, as appropriate, procedures for fair and eq18 uitable sharing of test costs, and develop, as nec19 essary, procedures for handling of confidential busi20 ness information.

21 ‘‘(3) FAILURE OF REGISTRANTS TO SUBMIT IN22 FORMATION.—

23 ‘‘(A) SUSPENSION.—If a person required

24 to register a substance referred to in subsection

25 (c)(1) fails to comply with an order under para-
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1 graph (1) of this subsection, the Administrator

2 shall issue a notice of intent to suspend the sale

3 or distribution of the substance by the person.

4 Any suspension proposed under this paragraph

5 shall become final at the end of the 30-day pe6 riod beginning on the date that the person re7 ceives the notice of intent to suspend, unless

8 during that period a person adversely affected

9 by the notice requests a hearing or the Admin10 istrator determines that the person referred to

11 in paragraph (1) has complied fully with this

12 subsection.

13 ‘‘(B) HEARING.—If a person requests a

14 hearing under subparagraph (A), the hearing

15 shall be conducted in accordance with section

16 554 of title 5, United States Code. The only

17 matter for resolution at the hearing shall be

18 whether the person has failed to comply with an

19 order under paragraph (1) of this subsection. A

20 decision by the Administrator after completion

21 of a hearing shall be considered to be a final

22 agency action.

23 ‘‘(C) TERMINATION OF SUSPENSIONS.—

24 The Administrator shall terminate a suspension

25 under this paragraph issued with respect to a
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1 person if the Administrator determines that the

2 person has complied fully with this subsection.

3 ‘‘(4) NONCOMPLIANCE BY OTHER PERSONS.—

4 Any person (other than a person referred to in para5 graph (3)) who fails to comply with an order under

6 paragraph (1) shall be liable for the same penalties

7 and sanctions as are provided under section 16 of

8 the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2601

9 and following) in the case a violation referred to in

10 that section. Such penalties and sanctions shall be

11 assessed and imposed in the same manner as pro12 vided in such section 16.

13 ‘‘(f) AGENCY ACTION.—In the case of any substance

14 that is found, as a result of testing and evaluation under

15 this section, to have an endocrine effect on humans, the

16 Administrator shall, as appropriate, take action under

17 such statutory authority as is available to the Adminis18 trator, including consideration under other sections of this

19 Act, as is necessary to ensure the protection of public

20 health.

21 ‘‘(g) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 4 years

22 after the date of enactment of this section, the Adminis23 trator shall prepare and submit to Congress a report con24 taining—
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1 ‘‘(1) the findings of the Administrator resulting

2 from the screening program described in subsection

3 (a);

4 ‘‘(2) recommendations for further testing need5 ed to evaluate the impact on human health of the

6 substances tested under the screening program; and

7 ‘‘(3) recommendations for any further actions

8 (including any action described in subsection (f))

9 that the Administrator determines are appropriate

10 based on the findings.

11 ‘‘(h) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section shall

12 be construed to amend or modify the provisions of the

13 Toxic Substances Control Act or the Federal Insecticide,

14 Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.’’.

15 SEC. 405. REPORTS ON PROGRAMS ADMINISTERED DI16 RECTLY BY ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

17 AGENCY.

18 For States and Indian Tribes in which the Adminis19 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency has re20 voked primary enforcement responsibility under part B of

21 title XIV of the Public Health Service Act (which title is

22 commonly known as the Safe Drinking Water Act) or is

23 otherwise administering such title, the Administrator shall

24 provide every 2 years, a report to Congress on the imple-
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1 mentation by the Administrator of all applicable require2 ments of that title in such States.

3 SEC. 406. RETURN FLOWS.

4 Section 3013 of Public Law 102–486 (42 U.S.C.

5 13551) shall not apply to drinking water supplied by a

6 public water system regulated under title XIV of the Pub7 lic Health Service Act (the Safe Drinking Water Act).

8 SEC. 407. EMERGENCY POWERS.

9 Section 1431(b) is amended by striking out ‘‘$5,000’’

10 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘$15,000’’.

11 SEC. 408. WATERBORNE DISEASE OCCURRENCE STUDY.

12 (a) SYSTEM.—The Director of the Centers for Dis13 ease Control and Prevention, and the Administrator of the

14 Environmental Protection Agency, shall jointly establish—

15 (1) within 2 years after the date of enactment

16 of this Act, pilot waterborne disease occurrence stud17 ies for at least 5 major United States communities

18 or public water systems; and

19 (2) within 5 years after the date of enactment

20 of this Act, a report on the findings of the pilot

21 studies, and a national estimate of waterborne dis22 ease occurrence.

23 (b) TRAINING AND EDUCATION.—The Director and

24 Administrator shall jointly establish a national health care

25 provider training and public education campaign to inform
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1 both the professional health care provider community and

2 the general public about waterborne disease and the symp3 toms that may be caused by infectious agents, including

4 microbial contaminants. In developing such a campaign,

5 they shall seek comment from interested groups and indi6 viduals, including scientists, physicians, State and local

7 governments, environmental groups, public water systems,

8 and vulnerable populations.

9 (c) FUNDING.—The Administrator may use not more

10 than $2,000,000 of the funds from amounts reserved

11 under section 1452(n) for health effects studies for pur12 poses of this section and may transfer a portion of such

13 funds to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

14 for such purposes. There are authorized to be appro15 priated such additional sums as may be necessary to carry

16 out this section.

17 SEC. 409. DRINKING WATER STUDIES.

18 (a) SUBPOPULATIONS AT GREATER RISK.—The Ad19 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall

20 conduct a continuing program of studies to identify groups

21 within the general population that are at greater risk than

22 the general population of adverse health effects from expo23 sure to contaminants in drinking water. The study shall

24 examine whether and to what degree infants, children,

25 pregnant women, the elderly, individuals with a history of
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1 serious illness, or other subpopulations that can be identi2 fied and characterized are likely to experience elevated

3 health risks, including risks of cancer, from contaminants

4 in drinking water.

5 (b) BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS.—The Administrator

6 shall conduct studies to—

7 (1) understand the biomedical mechanisms by

8 which chemical contaminants are absorbed, distrib9 uted, metabolized, and eliminated from the human

10 body, so as to develop more accurate physiologically

11 based models of the phenomena;

12 (2) understand the effects of contaminants and

13 the biomedical mechanisms by which the contami14 nants cause adverse effects (especially noncancer

15 and infectious effects) and the variations in the ef16 fects among humans, especially subpopulations at

17 greater risk of adverse effects, and between test ani18 mals and humans; and

19 (3) develop new approaches to the study of

20 complex mixtures, such as mixtures found in drink21 ing water, especially to determine the prospects for

22 synergistic or antagonistic interactions that may af23 fect the shape of the dose-response relationship of

24 the individual chemicals and microbes, and to exam-
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1 ine noncancer endpoints and infectious diseases, and

2 susceptible individuals and subpopulations.

3 (c) STUDIES ON HARMFUL SUBSTANCES IN DRINK4 ING WATER.—

5 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF STUDIES.—The Admin6 istrator shall, after consultation with the Secretary

7 of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Ag8 riculture, and, as appropriate, the heads of other

9 Federal agencies, conduct the studies described in

10 paragraph (2) to support the development and im11 plementation of the most current version of each of

12 the following:

13 (A) Enhanced surface water treatment rule

14 (59 Fed. Reg. 38832 (July 29, 1994)).

15 (B) Disinfectant and disinfection byprod16 ucts rule (59 Fed. Reg. 38668 (July 29,

17 1994)).

18 (C) Ground water disinfection rule (avail19 ability of draft summary announced at (57 Fed.

20 Reg. 33960 (July 31, 1992)).

21 (2) CONTENTS OF STUDIES.—

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The studies required by

23 paragraph (1) shall include, at a minimum,

24 each of the following:
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1 (i) An identification and characteriza2 tion of new disinfection byproducts associ3 ated with the use of different disinfectants.

4 (ii) Toxicological studies and, if war5 ranted, epidemiological studies to deter6 mine what levels of exposure from dis7 infectants and disinfection byproducts, if

8 any, may be associated with developmental

9 and birth defects and other potential toxic

10 end points.

11 (iii) Toxicological studies and, if war12 ranted, epidemiological studies to quantify

13 the carcinogenic potential from exposure to

14 disinfection byproducts resulting from dif15 ferent disinfectants.

16 (iv) The development of practical ana17 lytical methods for detecting and enumer18 ating microbial contaminants, including

19 giardia, cryptosporidium, and viruses.

20 (v) The development of reliable, effi21 cient, and economical methods to deter22 mine the viability of individual

23 cryptosporidium oocysts.
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1 (vi) The development of dose-response

2 curves for pathogens, including

3 cryptosporidium and the Norwalk virus.

4 (vii) The development of indicators

5 that define treatment effectiveness for

6 pathogens and disinfection byproducts.

7 (viii) Bench, pilot, and full-scale stud8 ies and demonstration projects to evaluate

9 optimized conventional treatment, ozone,

10 granular activated carbon, and membrane

11 technology for controlling pathogens (in12 cluding cryptosporidium) and disinfection

13 byproducts.

14 (B) RISK DEFINITION STRATEGY.—The

15 studies under this subsection shall include a

16 strategy for determining the risks and esti17 mated extent of disease resulting from patho18 gens, disinfectants, and disinfection byproducts

19 in drinking water, and the costs and removal ef20 ficiencies associated with various control meth21 ods for pathogens, disinfectants, and disinfec22 tion byproducts.

23 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

24 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
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1 this subsection $12,500,000 for each of fiscal years

2 1997 through 2003.

3 SEC. 410. BOTTLED DRINKING WATER STANDARDS.

4 Section 410 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic

5 Act (21 U.S.C. 349) is amended as follows:

6 (1) By striking ‘‘Whenever’’ and inserting ‘‘(a)

7 Except as provided in subsection (b), whenever’’.

8 (2) By adding at the end thereof the following

9 new subsection:

10 ‘‘(b)(1) Not later than 180 days before the effective

11 date of a national primary drinking water regulation pro12 mulgated by the Administrator of the Environmental Pro13 tection Agency for a contaminant under section 1412 of

14 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300g–1), the

15 Secretary shall promulgate a standard of quality regula16 tion under this subsection for that contaminant in bottled

17 water or make a finding that such a regulation is not nec18 essary to protect the public health because the contami19 nant is contained in water in public water systems (as de20 fined under section 1401(4) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

21 300f(4)) but not in water used for bottled drinking water.

22 The effective date for any such standard of quality regula23 tion shall be the same as the effective date for such na24 tional primary drinking water regulation, except for any

25 standard of quality of regulation promulgated by the Sec-
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1 retary before the date of enactment of the Safe Drinking

2 Water Act Amendments of 1996 for which (as of such date

3 of enactment) an effective date had not been established.

4 In the case of a standard of quality regulation to which

5 such exception applies, the Secretary shall promulgate

6 monitoring requirements for the contaminants covered by

7 the regulation not later than 2 years after such date of

8 enactment. Such monitoring requirements shall become ef9 fective not later than 180 days after the date on which

10 the monitoring requirements are promulgated.

11 ‘‘(2) A regulation issued by the Secretary as provided

12 in this subsection shall include any monitoring require13 ments that the Secretary determines appropriate for bot14 tled water.

15 ‘‘(3) A regulation issued by the Secretary as provided

16 in this subsection shall require the following:

17 ‘‘(A) In the case of contaminants for which a

18 maximum contaminant level is established in a na19 tional primary drinking water regulation under sec20 tion 1412 of the Public Health Service Act, the reg21 ulation under this subsection shall establish a maxi22 mum contaminant level for the contaminant in bot23 tled water which is no less stringent than the maxi24 mum contaminant level provided in the national pri25 mary drinking water regulation.
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1 ‘‘(B) In the case of contaminants for which a

2 treatment technique is established in a national pri3 mary drinking water regulation under section 1412

4 of the Public Health Service Act, the regulation

5 under this subsection shall require that bottled water

6 be subject to requirements no less protective of the

7 public health than those applicable to water provided

8 by public water systems using the treatment tech9 nique required by the national primary drinking

10 water regulation.

11 ‘‘(4)(A) If the Secretary does not promulgate a regu12 lation under this subsection within the period described

13 in paragraph (1), the national primary drinking water reg14 ulation referred to in paragraph (1) shall be considered,

15 as of the date on which the Secretary is required to estab16 lish a regulation under paragraph (1), as the regulation

17 applicable under this subsection to bottled water.

18 ‘‘(B) In the case of a national primary drinking water

19 regulation that pursuant to subparagraph (A) is consid20 ered to be a standard of quality regulation, the Secretary

21 shall, not later than the applicable date referred to in such

22 subparagraph, publish in the Federal Register a notice—

23 ‘‘(i) specifying the contents of such regulation,

24 including monitoring requirements, and
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1 ‘‘(ii) providing that for purposes of this para2 graph the effective date for such regulation is the

3 same as the effective date for the regulation for pur4 poses of title XIV of the Public Health Service Act

5 (or, if the exception under paragraph (1) applies to

6 the regulation, that the effective date for the regula7 tion is 2 years and 180 days after the date of the

8 enactment of the Safe Drinking Water Act Amend9 ments of 1996).’’.

10 SEC. 411. CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.

11 (a) PART B.—Part B (42 U.S.C. 300g and following)

12 is amended as follows:

13 (1) In section 1412(b)(2)(C) by striking ‘‘para14 graph (3)(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (3)(A)’’.

15 (2) In section 1415(a)(1)(A) by inserting ‘‘the’’

16 before ‘‘time the variance is granted’’.

17 (b) PART C.—Part C (42 U.S.C. 300h and following)

18 is amended as follows:

19 (1) In section 1421(b)(3)(B)(i) by striking

20 ‘‘number or States’’ and inserting ‘‘number of

21 States’’.

22 (2) In section 1427(k) by striking ‘‘this sub23 section’’ and inserting ‘‘this section’’.

24 (c) PART E.—Section 1441(f) (42 U.S.C. 300j(f)) is

25 amended by inserting a period at the end.
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1 (d) SECTION 1465(b).—Section 1465(b) (42 U.S.C.

2 300j–25) is amended by striking ‘‘as by’’ and inserting

3 ‘‘by’’.

4 (e) SHORT TITLE.—Section 1 of Public Law 93–523

5 (88 Stat. 1600) is amended by inserting ‘‘of 1974’’ after

6 ‘‘Act’’ and title XIV of the Public Health Service Act is

7 amended by inserting the following immediately before

8 part A:

9 ‘‘SEC. 1400. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

10 ‘‘(a) SHORT TITLE.—This title may be cited as the

11 ‘‘Safe Drinking Water Act’’.

12 ‘‘(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

‘‘TITLE XIV—SAFETY OF PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS

‘‘Sec. 1400. Short title and table of contents.

‘‘PART A—DEFINITIONS

‘‘Sec. 1401. Definitions.

‘‘Sec. 1402. Authorization of appropriations.

‘‘PART B—PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS

‘‘Sec. 1411. Coverage.

‘‘Sec. 1412. National drinking water regulations.

‘‘Sec. 1413. State primary enforcement responsibility.

‘‘Sec. 1414. Enforcement of drinking water regulations.

‘‘Sec. 1415. Variances.

‘‘Sec. 1416. Exemptions.

‘‘Sec. 1417. Prohibition on use of lead pipes, solder, and flux.

‘‘Sec. 1418. Monitoring of contaminants.

‘‘PART C—PROTECTION OF UNDERGROUND SOURCES OF DRINKING WATER

‘‘Sec. 1421. Regulations for State programs.

‘‘Sec. 1422. State primary enforcement responsibility.

‘‘Sec. 1423. Enforcement of program.

‘‘Sec. 1424. Interim regulation of underground injections.

‘‘Sec. 1425. Optional demonstration by States relating to oil or natural gas.

‘‘Sec. 1426. Regulation of State programs.

‘‘Sec. 1427. Sole source aquifer demonstration program.

‘‘Sec. 1428. State programs to establish wellhead protection areas.

‘‘Sec. 1429. Federal facilities.
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‘‘PART D—EMERGENCY POWERS

‘‘Sec. 1431. Emergency powers.

‘‘Sec. 1432. Tampering with public water systems.

‘‘PART E—GENERAL PROVISIONS

‘‘Sec. 1441. Assurance of availability of adequate supplies of chemicals necessary for treatment of water.

‘‘Sec. 1442. Research, technical assistance, information, training of personnel.

‘‘Sec. 1443. Grants for State programs.

‘‘Sec. 1444. Special study and demonstration project grants; guaranteed loans.

‘‘Sec. 1445. Records and inspections.

‘‘Sec. 1446. National Drinking Water Advisory Council.

‘‘Sec. 1447. Federal agencies.

‘‘Sec. 1448. Judicial review.

‘‘Sec. 1449. Citizen’s civil action.

‘‘Sec. 1450. General provisions.

‘‘Sec. 1451. Indian tribes.

‘‘Sec. 1452. State revolving funds.

‘‘PART F—ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS TO REGULATE THE SAFETY OF

DRINKING WATER

‘‘Sec. 1461. Definitions.

‘‘Sec. 1462. Recall of drinking water coolers with lead-lined tanks.

‘‘Sec. 1463. Drinking water coolers containing lead.

‘‘Sec. 1464. Lead contamination in school drinking water.

‘‘Sec. 1465. Federal assistance for State programs regarding lead contamination in school drinking water.’’.

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