I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3977 
To require owners of property to test and disclose the water quality of 
qualified wells before selling or leasing the property, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 6, 2005 
Mr. ANDREWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To require owners of property to test and disclose the water 
quality of qualified wells before selling or leasing the 
property, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Private Well 
Protection Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. TESTING OF QUALIFIED WELLS BEFORE SALE OR 
LEASE OF PROPERTY. 
(a) REQUIREMENTS.—Before selling or leasing any 
privately-owned property that includes a qualified well, the 
owner of such property shall—
(1) conduct tests with respect to each such well 
in accordance with subsection (b); 
(2) disclose the results of such tests to the pro-
spective buyer or lessee of the property; and 
(3) provide the results of such tests to the En-
vironmental Protection Agency. 
(b) TESTING.—Tests described in subsection (a) shall 
be conducted in accordance with the following: 
(1) The tests shall be conducted at the expense 
of the owner of the property. 
(2) The tests shall be conducted separately for 
each qualified well on the property. 
(3) The tests shall be conducted, and the sam-
ples shall be gathered, by a laboratory that is ac-
credited in accordance with the National Environ-
mental Laboratory Accreditation Program. 
(4) The tests shall be conducted at any time 
during the 6-month period preceding the sale or 
lease involved. 
(5) The tests shall determine the level of con-
taminants in the water of each qualified well on the 
property. At a minimum, the tests shall be for the 
following contaminants: 
(A) Total coliform bacteria. 
(B) Iron.
(C) Manganese. 
(D) pH. 
(E) All volatile organic compounds for 
which a maximum contaminant level has been 
established under the Safe Drinking Water Act 
(42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.). 
(F) Nitrate. 
(G) Lead. 
(H) Mercury. 
(c) CIVIL ACTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—If a person sells or leases a 
property in violation of subsection (a)(2), the buyer 
or lessee of the property may bring a civil action 
against such person in an appropriate United States 
district court or in a State court of competent juris-
diction. 
(2) DAMAGES.—In any action brought under 
paragraph (1), if the court finds that the defendant 
violated subsection (a)(2), the defendant shall be lia-
ble to the plaintiff in an amount equal to the sum 
of— 
(A) an amount equal to 1 percent of the 
appraised value of the property involved or 
$10,000, whichever is greater;
(B) the amount of any actual, direct eco-
nomic damages, including any remediation, 
legal, and medical costs, incurred by the plain-
tiff as a proximate result of any contamination 
which the defendant failed to disclose as re-
quired by subsection (a)(2); and 
(C) the costs of the action under this sub-
section. 
(3) LIMITATION.—An action under this sub-
section must be brought not later than 5 years after 
the sale or lease of the property involved. 
(d) CIVIL PENALTY.—Any person found by the Ad-
ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, after 
notice and an opportunity for a hearing, to have com-
mitted a violation of subsection (a)(3) is liable to the 
United States Government for a civil penalty of not more 
than $5,000 for each such violation. 
(e) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF TEST RESULTS.—The 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 
shall— 
(1) collect, compile, and maintain the results of 
tests provided to the Administrator pursuant to sub-
section (a)(3); and
(2) make such results available to the public by 
request, together with an explanation of such results 
in lay language if requested. 
(f) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘qualified 
well’’ means a well that— 
(1) has fewer than 15 service connections; and 
(2) does not regularly serve at least 25 individ-
uals for at least 60 days each year. 
(g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section applies only 
with respect to the sale or lease of a property on or after 
the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment 
of this section. 
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