I 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6591 

To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 

publish a rule that establishes standards for the flushability of disposable 

nonwoven wipes, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 3, 2022 

Mrs. MCCLAIN (for herself and Mr. LOWENTHAL) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to publish a rule that establishes standards 

for the flushability of disposable nonwoven wipes, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Infrastruc5 ture and Promoting Environmental Stewardship Act’’ or 

6 the ‘‘PIPES Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FLUSHABILITY OF DISPOSABLE NONWOVEN PROD2 UCTS. 

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

4 date of enactment of this section, the Administrator of the 

5 Environmental Protection Agency shall publish a rule in 

6 the Federal Register that— 

7 (1) establishes standards for flushability with 

8 respect to disposable nonwoven products, based on— 

9 (A) the criteria set forth in the document 

10 entitled ‘‘Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 

11 1: 2020 Criteria for Recognition as a Flushable 

12 Product’’, published by the International Water 

13 Services Flushability Group and dated Decem14 ber 2020 (or any appropriate successor criteria, 

15 as determined by the Administrator), and any 

16 relevant voluntary consensus standards, or 

17 other standards, determined appropriate by the 

18 Administrator; and 

19 (B) consideration of— 

20 (i) the environmental impact of flush21 ing the product, based on the composition 

22 of the materials in the product; 

23 (ii) the toilet and drain clearance abil24 ity of the product; 

25 (iii) the disintegration of the product; 


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1 (iv) how the product settles in the 

2 waste system; and 

3 (v) the biodegradation of the product; 

4 and 

5 (2) establishes a process to assess whether a 

6 disposable nonwoven product conforms to the stand7 ards established under paragraph (1), including a 

8 requirement that in order for a disposable nonwoven 

9 product to be designated or marked ‘‘flushable’’ or 

10 ‘‘sewer and septic safe’’, or with any other represen11 tation that depicts the disposable nonwoven product 

12 as suitable for toilet disposal, the manufacturer of 

13 the disposable nonwoven product shall— 

14 (A) submit to the Administrator— 

15 (i) documentation demonstrating that 

16 the disposable nonwoven product conforms 

17 to such standards; and 

18 (ii) a fee in an amount determined ap19 propriate by the Administrator to cover the 

20 costs of administering this section; and 

21 (B) make public the documentation sub22 mitted pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i). 

23 (b) PRODUCT DESIGNATION OR MARKING.—Begin24 ning on the effective date of the rule published under sub25 section (a), a covered entity may use the terms ‘‘flushable’’ 


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1 or ‘‘sewer and septic safe’’, or any other representation 

2 that depicts a disposable nonwoven product as suitable for 

3 toilet disposal, to designate or mark a disposable 

4 nonwoven product only if— 

5 (1) the disposable nonwoven product conforms 

6 to the standards established under subsection (a)(1); 

7 and 

8 (2) the manufacturer of the disposable 

9 nonwoven product is in compliance with the process 

10 established under subsection (a)(2) with respect to 

11 the disposable nonwoven product. 

12 (c) COMPLIANCE.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may, in 

14 consultation with the Federal Trade Commission, 

15 develop a process to determine whether a covered en16 tity is in compliance with this section, which may in17 clude— 

18 (A) a requirement to submit a third-party 

19 verification that a disposable nonwoven product 

20 conforms to the standards established under 

21 subsection (a)(1) if the Administrator deter22 mines that the documentation submitted pursu23 ant to subsection (a)(2) is insufficient, or fur24 ther information is otherwise necessary, to 

25 verify such compliance; and 


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1 (B) a requirement to submit to the Admin2 istrator, upon request, such other information 

3 as the Administrator determines necessary to 

4 determine such compliance. 

5 (2) CIVIL REMEDIES.— 

6 (A) MONETARY CIVIL PENALTIES.—The 

7 Administrator shall impose a monetary civil 

8 penalty on any covered entity that violates sub9 section (b) in an amount that does not exceed— 

10 (i) $25,000 for each day a disposable 

11 nonwoven product designated or marked by 

12 the covered entity in violation of such sub13 section is for sale at retail; and 

14 (ii) $500,000 for a single such viola15 tion. 

16 (B) ORDERS; INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—The 

17 Administrator may, with respect to any covered 

18 entity that violates subsection (b), issue an 

19 order to comply, or bring an action in an appro20 priate United States district court for appro21 priate injunctive relief. 

22 (d) WEBSITE.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

23 of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall— 


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1 (1) publish a website to educate the public 

2 about the proper use and disposal of disposable 

3 nonwoven products, including— 

4 (A) the effects of flushing nonflushable 

5 wipes; and 

6 (B) the requirements of this section; and 

7 (2) establish a quick response code to advertise 

8 such website. 

9 (e) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be appro10 priated to the Administrator— 

11 (1) to carry out subsection (a), such sums as 

12 may be necessary; and 

13 (2) to administer this section, an amount equal 

14 to any amounts collected by the Administrator pur15 suant to this section. 

16 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the effec17 tive date of the rule published under subsection (a), the 

18 Administrator shall submit to Congress a report on the 

19 implementation of this section, which may include rec20 ommendations for any changes necessary to improve such 

21 implementation. 

22 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis24 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ25 mental Protection Agency. 


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1 (2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en2 tity’’ means a manufacturer, wholesaler, supplier, or 

3 retailer that is responsible for the labeling or retail 

4 packaging of a disposable nonwoven product that is 

5 sold or offered for sale in the United States. 

6 (3) DISPOSABLE NONWOVEN PRODUCT.—The 

7 term ‘‘disposable nonwoven product’’ means a 

8 premoistened, nonwoven disposable wipe that has 

9 significant potential to be flushed, as determined by 

10 the Administrator. 

Æ 


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