I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3206 

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to require a national primary drinking 

water regulation for perchlorate. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 14, 2009 

Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. 

SHERMAN, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. INSLEE, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. NADLER of New York, Mr. HONDA, Mr. 

HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. WEINER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. 

GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. 

HINCHEY, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. 

DEGETTE, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. MATSUI, and Mr. 

MILLER of North Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to require a national 

primary drinking water regulation for perchlorate. 

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 ‘‘Safe Drinking Water 

5 for Healthy Communities Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Perchlorate is a chemical used as the pri2 mary ingredient in solid propellant for rockets, mis3 siles, and fireworks. 

4 (2) Large-scale production of perchlorate-con5 taining chemicals in the United States began in the 

6 mid-1940s and large volumes have been disposed of 

7 in various States since the 1950s. 

8 (3) Perchlorate is an oxidizing anion that origi9 nates as a contaminant in ground and surface wa10 ters and is highly soluble and exceedingly mobile in 

11 aqueous systems, persisting for many decades under 

12 typical ground and surface water conditions. 

13 (4) The most prevalent sources of perchlorate 

14 contamination in environmental media can be traced 

15 to the manufacture and improper disposal of wastes 

16 from blasting agents and military munitions and to 

17 a lesser extent fireworks. 

18 (5) Ninety percent of perchlorate in the United 

19 States is produced for use by the Department of De20 fense and the National Aeronautics and Space Ad21 ministration. 

22 (6) According to the Government Accountability 

23 Office, in May 2005, perchlorate contamination has 

24 been detected in water and soil at almost 400 sites 

25 in the United States. The Government AccountVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:49 Jul 15, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3206.IH H3206

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1 ability Office concluded that because there is no 

2 standardized approach for reporting perchlorate data 

3 nationwide, a greater number of sites may exist. 

4 (7) According to the Government Accountability 

5 Office, in May 2005, limited Environmental Protec6 tion Agency data show that perchlorate has been 

7 found in 35 States and the District of Columbia and 

8 is known to have contaminated 153 public water sys9 tems in 26 States. The Government Accountability 

10 Office reported that concentrations of perchlorate in 

11 drinking water ranged from 4 parts per billion to 

12 more than 420 parts per billion. 

13 (8) Environmental Protection Agency data like14 ly underestimates the total drinking water exposure, 

15 as illustrated by the findings of the California De16 partment of Health Services that perchlorate has 

17 contaminated approximately 276 drinking water 

18 sources and 77 drinking water systems in the State 

19 of California. 

20 (9) Food and Drug Administration scientists 

21 and other scientific researchers have detected per22 chlorate in the United States food supply, including 

23 but not limited to lettuce, milk, cucumbers, toma24 toes, carrots, cantaloupe, wheat, and spinach, and in 

25 human breast milk. 


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1 (10) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre2 vention has concluded that perchlorate exposure ap3 pears to be widespread in the United States popu4 lations. 

5 (11) The National Academy of Sciences re6 leased a report on January 10, 2005, which rec7 ommended a perchlorate reference dose of 0.0007 

8 milligrams per kilogram per day. 

9 (12) In March 2006, the Children’s Health Pro10 tection Advisory Committee advised the Environ11 mental Protection Agency that the Agency’s prelimi12 nary remediation goal (PRG) for perchlorate is not 

13 protective of children’s health, as it can result in a 

14 nursing infant exposure that is 5 to 10 times higher 

15 than the recommended dose (Rfd) of 24.5 parts per 

16 billion. 

17 (13) Perchlorate inhibits the uptake of iodine 

18 by the thyroid gland (which is necessary to produce 

19 important hormones which help regulate normal 

20 human health and development), presenting a risk to 

21 human health in vulnerable populations, including 

22 pregnant women and children. 

23 (14) In October 2006, the Centers for Disease 

24 Control and Prevention found significant changes in 

25 the level of thyroid hormones in humans exposed to 


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1 perchlorate. For women with low iodine levels, per2 chlorate exposure was associated with changes in the 

3 production levels of hormones by the thyroid. About 

4 36 percent of women in the United States have 

5 lower iodine levels. 

6 (15) Given the seriousness of the potential ad7 verse effects associated with perchlorate and the fact 

8 that children were at risk, combined with the ab9 sence of a Federal drinking water standard (MCL) 

10 for perchlorate, California proposed a drinking water 

11 standard of 6 parts per billion, and Massachusetts 

12 promulgated a drinking water standard of 2 parts 

13 per billion. 

14 (16) Other States, including Nevada, Texas, 

15 New York, and Maryland, have issued some form of 

16 drinking water guidance for perchlorate, including a 

17 drinking water action level, health-based guidance, 

18 and a health based advisory level at ranges from 1 

19 part per billion to 18 parts per billion. 

20 (17) Perchlorate has been detected in the soil, 

21 surface waters, and groundwater at 55 Department 

22 of Defense facilities across the country, with off-site 

23 migration occurring at some facilities. 

24 (18) As of 2003, the Department of Defense 

25 policy on perchlorate requires sampling only where a 


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1 perchlorate release due to Department activities is 

2 suspected and a complete human exposure pathway 

3 is likely to exist. 

4 (19) According to the Environmental Protection 

5 Agency, the Department of Defense is deferring all 

6 remedial action relating to perchlorate contamina7 tion at or from its facilities until a Federal per8 chlorate drinking water standard is adopted. 

9 (20) There are as many as 22 contaminants 

10 without Federal drinking water standards for which 

11 the Environmental Protection Agency has set site 

12 specific cleanup levels for the remediation of ground13 water, making the lack of response actions for per14 chlorate contamination at Department of Defense 

15 Superfund facilities a unique situation. 

16 (21) The Environmental Protection Agency has 

17 failed to take enforcement action against the De18 partment of Defense to cause the Department to 

19 mitigate or remediate the perchlorate contamination 

20 emanating from its Aberdeen Proving Ground facil21 ity that has adversely impacted the drinking water 

22 supply for the City of Aberdeen, Maryland. 

23 (22) Since 2002, the Department of Defense 

24 actively sought to exempt the Department from 

25 State and Federal public health and environmental 


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1 laws which protect drinking water supplies from 

2 chemical constituents of military munitions including 

3 perchlorate. 

4 SEC. 3. NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING WATER REGULA5 TION FOR PERCHLORATE. 

6 Section 1412(b)(12) of the Safe Drinking Water Act 

7 (42 U.S.C. 300g–1(b)(12)) is amended by adding at the 

8 end the following: 

9 ‘‘(C) PERCHLORATE.— 

10 ‘‘(i) SCHEDULE AND STANDARD.— 

11 Notwithstanding the deadlines set forth in 

12 paragraph (1), the Administrator shall 

13 promulgate a national primary drinking 

14 water regulation for perchlorate pursuant 

15 to this subsection, in accordance with the 

16 schedule established by this subparagraph. 

17 ‘‘(ii) PROPOSED REGULATIONS.—Not 

18 later than 12 months after the date of the 

19 enactment of this subparagraph, the Ad20 ministrator shall publish in the Federal 

21 Register a proposed national primary 

22 drinking water regulation for perchlorate. 

23 ‘‘(iii) FINAL REGULATIONS.—Not 

24 later than 18 months after the date of 

25 publication of the proposed national priVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:49 Jul 15, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3206.IH H3206

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1 mary drinking water regulation required by 

2 clause (ii), after notice and opportunity for 

3 public comment, the Administrator shall 

4 promulgate a national primary drinking 

5 water regulation for perchlorate.’’. 

Æ 


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