IIB 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4470 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
FEBRUARY 11, 2016 
Received 
JULY 14, 2016 
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 
AN ACT 
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act with respect to 
the requirements related to lead in drinking water, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe Drinking Water 
Act Improved Compliance Awareness Act’’. 
SEC. 2. ENFORCEMENT OF DRINKING WATER REGULA-
TIONS. 
Section 1414(c) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 
U.S.C. 300g–3(c)) is amended— 
(1) in the header, by inserting ‘‘STATES, THE 
ADMINISTRATOR, AND’’ before ‘‘PERSONS SERVED’’; 
(2) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
‘‘paragraph (2)(E)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 
(2)(F)’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) Notice of any exceedance at the 90th 
percentile of a lead action level in a regulation 
promulgated under section 1412.’’; 
(3) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘sub-
paragraph (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph 
(E)’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (C)— 
(i) in the header, by striking ‘‘VIOLA-
TIONS’’ and inserting ‘‘NOTICE OF VIOLA-
TIONS’’; 
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(ii) in the matter preceding clause 
(i)— 
(I) by inserting ‘‘, and each ex-
ceedance 
described 
in 
paragraph 
(1)(D),’’ after ‘‘for each violation’’; 
and 
(II) by inserting ‘‘or exceedance’’ 
after ‘‘Each notice of violation’’; 
(iii) by inserting ‘‘or exceedance’’ 
after ‘‘the violation’’ each place it appears; 
and 
(iv) in clause (iv)— 
(I) in subclause (I), by striking 
‘‘broadcast 
media’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘media, including broadcast media,’’; 
(II) in subclause (II)— 
(aa) by striking ‘‘in a news-
paper of general circulation serv-
ing the area’’ and inserting ‘‘for 
circulation in the affected area, 
including in a newspaper of gen-
eral 
circulation 
serving 
the 
area,’’; and 
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(bb) by striking ‘‘or the date 
of publication of the next issue of 
the newspaper’’; and 
(III) in subclause (III), by strik-
ing ‘‘in lieu of notification by means 
of broadcast media or newspaper’’; 
(C) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) 
and (E) as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respec-
tively; and 
(D) by inserting after subparagraph (C) 
the following: 
‘‘(D) NOTICE
BY
ADMINISTRATOR.—If, 
after 24 hours after the Administrator’s notifi-
cation under subsection (a)(1)(A), the State 
with primary enforcement responsibility or the 
owner or operator of the public water system 
has not issued a notice that is required under 
subparagraph (C) for an exceedance described 
in paragraph (1)(D), the Administrator shall 
issue such required notice pursuant to this 
paragraph.’’; 
(4) in paragraph (3)(B)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A) and’’ 
and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A),’’; and 
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(B) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (C) or (D) 
of paragraph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph 
(C) or (E) of paragraph (2), and notices issued 
by the Administrator with respect to public 
water systems serving Indian Tribes under sub-
paragraph (D) of such paragraph’’; 
(5) in paragraph (4)(B)— 
(A) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘the terms’’ 
and inserting ‘‘the terms ‘action level’,’’; and 
(B) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘and (IV)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘(IV) the action level for the con-
taminant, and (V)’’; and 
(6) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) EXCEEDANCE OF SAFE LEAD LEVEL.— 
‘‘(A) STRATEGIC
PLAN.—Not later than 
120 days after the date of enactment of this 
paragraph, the Administrator shall, in collabo-
ration with owners and operators of public 
water systems and States, establish a strategic 
plan for how the Administrator, a State with 
primary enforcement responsibility, and owners 
and operators of public water systems shall con-
duct targeted outreach, education, technical as-
sistance, and risk communication to populations 
affected by lead in a public water system, in-
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cluding dissemination of information described 
in subparagraph (C). 
‘‘(B) EPA INITIATION OF NOTICE.— 
‘‘(i) FORWARDING OF DATA BY EM-
PLOYEE
OF
EPA.—If the Environmental 
Protection Agency develops or receives, 
from a source other than the State or the 
public water system, data, which meets the 
requirements of section 1412(b)(3)(A)(ii), 
indicating that the drinking water of a per-
son served by a public water system con-
tains a level of lead that exceeds a lead ac-
tion level promulgated under section 1412, 
the Administrator shall require an appro-
priate employee of the Agency to forward 
such data to the owner or operator of the 
public water system and to the State in 
which the exceedance occurred within a 
time period established by the Adminis-
trator. 
‘‘(ii) DISSEMINATION
OF
INFORMA-
TION
BY
OWNER
OR
OPERATOR.—If an 
owner or operator of a public water system 
receives a notice under clause (i), the 
owner or operator, within a time period es-
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tablished by the Administrator, shall dis-
seminate to affected persons the informa-
tion described in subparagraph (C). 
‘‘(iii) CONSULTATION.— 
‘‘(I) DEADLINE.—With respect to 
an exceedance at the 90th percentile 
of a lead action level in a regulation 
promulgated under section 1412, if 
the owner or operator of the public 
water system does not disseminate, in 
the time period established by the Ad-
ministrator, the information described 
in subparagraph (C), as required 
under clause (ii), not later than 24 
hours after becoming aware of such 
failure to disseminate, the Adminis-
trator shall consult, within a period 
not to exceed 24 hours, with the ap-
plicable Governor to develop a plan, in 
accordance with the strategic plan, to 
disseminate such information to af-
fected persons within 24 hours of the 
end of such consultation period. 
‘‘(II) 
DELEGATION.—The 
Ad-
ministrator may only delegate the 
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duty to consult under this clause to 
an employee of the Environmental 
Protection Agency who is working in 
the Office of Water, at the head-
quarters of the Agency, at the time of 
such delegation. 
‘‘(iv) DISSEMINATION
BY
ADMINIS-
TRATOR.—The Administrator shall, as 
soon as reasonably possible, disseminate to 
affected persons the information described 
subparagraph (C) if— 
‘‘(I) the Administrator and the 
applicable Governor do not agree on a 
plan described in clause (iii)(I) during 
the consultation period under such 
clause; or 
‘‘(II) the applicable Governor 
does not disseminate the information 
within 24 hours of the end of such 
consultation period. 
‘‘(C) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—Informa-
tion required to be disseminated under this 
paragraph shall include a clear explanation of 
the exceedance of a lead action level, its poten-
tial adverse effects on human health, the steps 
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that the owner or operator of the public water 
system is taking to correct the exceedance, and 
the necessity of seeking alternative water sup-
plies until the exceedance is corrected. 
‘‘(6) PRIVACY.—Any notice under this sub-
section to the public or an affected person shall pro-
tect the privacy of individual customer informa-
tion.’’. 
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON USE OF LEAD PIPES, SOLDER, 
AND FLUX. 
Section 1417 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 
U.S.C. 300g–6) is amended— 
(1) by amending subsection (a)(2)(A) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 
‘‘(i) IDENTIFICATION AND NOTICE.— 
Each owner or operator of a public water 
system shall identify and provide notice to 
persons who may be affected by— 
‘‘(I) lead contamination of their 
drinking water where such contamina-
tion results from— 
‘‘(aa) the lead content in the 
construction materials of the 
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public water distribution system; 
or 
‘‘(bb) 
corrosivity 
of 
the 
water supply sufficient to cause 
leaching of lead; or 
‘‘(II) an exceedance at the 90th 
percentile of a lead action level in a 
regulation promulgated under section 
1412. 
‘‘(ii) MANNER
AND
FORM.—Notice 
under this paragraph shall be provided in 
such manner and form as may be reason-
ably required by the Administrator. Not-
withstanding clause (i)(II), notice under 
this paragraph shall be provided notwith-
standing the absence of a violation of any 
national drinking water standard.’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)(2)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘The requirements’’ and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The requirements’’; 
and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘Enforcement of such requirements shall be 
carried out by a State with primary enforce-
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ment responsibility or the Administrator, as ap-
propriate. 
‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION BY ADMINISTRATOR.— 
In the case of an exceedance described in sub-
section (a)(2)(A)(i)(II), if the public water sys-
tem or the State in which the public water sys-
tem is located does not notify the persons who 
may be affected by such exceedance in accord-
ance with subsection (a)(2), the Administrator 
shall notify such persons of such exceedance in 
accordance with subsection (a)(2), including no-
tification of the relevant concentrations of lead. 
Such notice shall protect the privacy of indi-
vidual customer information.’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) PUBLIC EDUCATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 
make information available to the public regarding 
lead in drinking water, including information regard-
ing— 
‘‘(A) risks associated with lead in drinking 
water; 
‘‘(B) the likelihood that drinking water in 
a residence may contain lead; 
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‘‘(C) steps States, public water systems, 
and consumers can take to reduce the risks of 
lead; and 
‘‘(D) the availability of additional re-
sources that consumers can use to minimize 
lead exposure, including information on how to 
sample for lead in drinking water. 
‘‘(2) VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.—In making 
information available to the public under this sub-
section, the Administrator shall carry out targeted 
outreach strategies that focus on educating groups 
within the general population that may be at greater 
risk than the general population of adverse health 
effects from exposure to lead in drinking water.’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives February 10, 
2016. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
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