On January 9, 2014, officials in West Virginia discovered that an estimated 10,000 gallons of the chemical 4-methylcyclohexanemethanol (MCHM), mixed with a small amount of glycol ethers known as PPH, leaked from a 46,000-gallon aboveground storage tank at a chemical storage facility owned by Freedom Industries on a site northeast of Charleston, WV. A substantial amount of the chemical was released into the Elk River, a tributary to the Kanawha River. Moving downriver, an unknown amount of the chemical plume entered intake pipes of a water treatment facility located 1.5 miles from the chemical storage facility, causing the issuance of state and federal emergency declarations and prompting the local water utility to issue a "do not use" order that directed more than 300,000 commercial and residential customers in nine counties of West Virginia not to drink or use tap water for any purpose other than flushing toilets. Multiple responses followed. Federal, state, and local emergency response, public health, and environmental officials assembled resources to sample and test for the chemical at the treatment plant and in the water distribution system. Officials sought to obtain and evaluate information about toxicity and potential hazards in order to understand the impact of the chemical contamination. Emergency officials delivered and made water supply available to affected citizens. Recommendations of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were used to determine a "safe level" of the chemicals and when the ban on the use of tap water could be lifted. It was fully and finally lifted on January 18, 2014. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board began an investigation of the incident to determine what happened and how to prevent a similar incident in the future. Public and congressional interest in the incident has been significant. Oversight hearings by House and Senate committees began within a month to review the event and to identify policy issues regarding the federal and state roles in regulating chemical facilities and whether legislative remedies may be warranted. Several concerns emerged from these discussions: Many have called for more robust inspections and controls at bulk chemical storage and manufacturing facilities and efforts to enhance inspection, spill containment, leak detection, and training requirements for personnel who manage activities at such facilities. Although underground storage tanks (USTs) are extensively regulated, relatively few federal regulations apply to aboveground storage tanks. For example, federal requirements for prevention and preparedness for releases from aboveground tanks apply to tanks containing oil, but do not apply to tanks storing hazardous substances or tanks containing non-hazardous substances or chemicals such as those at the Freedom Industries facility. There has been dispute over whether the tanks in question were subject to federal or state regulatory requirements that they be structurally sound and have adequate secondary containment, and whether existing requirements were effectively enforced. Little was known about the toxicity of the chemicals that leaked, which complicated efforts by the water utility, emergency responders, and other officials to assess risks to the affected public. Questions were raised about the adequacy of requirements for chemical testing of MCHM and PPH, as well as thousands of other chemicals used in commerce throughout the country. Facilities that store hazardous chemicals in excess of threshold quantities or experience a release in excess of established quantities are required by federal law to report and notify state and local emergency response personnel. However, there are no requirements that nearby or downstream water suppliers be notified. Rather, it is assumed that state and local emergency responders would notify affected entities and individuals. Many have called for more effective accident prevention, encompassing siting and design of chemical storage tanks, as well as inspections to safeguard against structural failure. Similarly, some now recommend that federal environmental laws should give greater attention to protecting sources of water against pollution and contamination. Some of these concerns are reflected in two bills that have been introduced in response to the chemical spill: S. 1961 , the Chemical Safety and Preparedness Act, introduced by Senator Manchin on January 27, and H.R. 4024 , the Ensuring Access to Clean Water Act of 2014, introduced by Representative Capito on February 10. This report describes and analyzes S. 1961 , as reported, and H.R. 4024 . The bills have a number of core elements and provisions in common—both would seek to create a new chemical release prevention and response program to address gaps highlighted by the West Virginia spill—but they take different approaches to doing so. S. 1961 would make programmatic changes by amending the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), while H.R. 4024 would amend the Clean Water Act (CWA). Table A-1 in the Appendix to this report provides a comparison of the two bills. On July 31, 2014, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works reported S. 1961 ( S.Rept. 113-238 ), with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. While basic program elements remain similar to the bill as introduced, the reported bill includes new terms, definitions, and various added details and clarifications. The following discussion reviews the Senate bill, as amended. S. 1961 would amend the SDWA, adding a new "Part G" to require states or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to carry out a chemical storage tank surface water protection (CSTSWP) program to protect public water systems from releases of chemicals from storage tanks. The bill would give states or EPA two years to establish a CSTSWP program that provides for oversight and inspection of chemical storage tanks, including tanks located in source water areas identified through the SDWA source water assessment program. Although S. 1961 would establish the tank program under the SDWA, a state would determine which state agency would implement the program. The chemical storage tank program would be administered by states that have primary enforcement responsibility for public water systems (i.e., primacy ), or by EPA if either (A) a state does not have primacy or (B) a state has primacy but expressly refrains from administering and implementing a program. Primacy states choosing not to establish a program would be required to notify EPA of their decision no later than two years after enactment. S. 1961 would require EPA to issue guidance and provide other technical assistance to assist states in implementing the bill's requirements. However, the bill would not authorize funding to support state administration of the CSTSWP program. The bill delineates minimum elements for chemical storage tank programs, including requirements for tanks and tank owners and operators (such as construction and leak detection, inspections, and emergency response plans that provide for immediate notification to public water systems of chemical releases) and requirements for states (including tank inspections and a comprehensive tank inventory). S. 1961 , as introduced, did not include a definition for the term "chemical." The reported bill defines "chemical" to mean a chemical substance that is identified as a hazardous substance under Section 101(14) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, commonly referred to as Superfund); subject to emergency planning or reporting requirements of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA); or defined as a contaminant under SDWA Section 1401(6). The introduced bill focused on chemical storage facilities; however, as reported, S. 1961 changes the focus from "facilities" to "tanks." Under the amended bill, "covered chemical storage tanks" would include onshore, fixed, aboveground bulk chemical storage containers (and related piping and appurtenances) or a combination of containers from which a chemical release would pose a risk of harm to a public water system. This change in scope from facilities to tanks, specifically, may add clarity and certainty as to what exactly would be subject to regulation under the legislation. Additionally, a focus on "tanks" may make any new requirements more compatible with existing state aboveground storage tank regulatory programs. The bill excludes from the definition a tank or container that is subject to regulations under Clean Water Act Section 311(j)(1). In addition, S. 1961 gives states or EPA broad authority to adopt additional exclusions based on substantially similar federal or state laws or based on a determination that the tank "would not pose a risk of harm to a public water system." Under the bill, CSTSWP programs must provide for oversight and inspection of tanks and contain the following minimum requirements: Covered chemical storage tank requirements including design, construction, and maintenance standards; leak detection; spill and overfill control; inventory control for promptly determining the quantity of chemicals released in the event of a spill; an emergency response and communication plan (including procedures for immediately notifying relevant water systems, and state and local emergency response officials, as required by EPCRA); training and safety plan; tank integrity inspections; corrosion protection; and financial responsibility requirements. Inspections of tanks: high hazard tanks—annually by a certified inspector for the owner or operator; tanks identified in a source water assessment area—at least once every three years for facilities; and other tanks—every five years. Comprehensive inventory of covered facilities in the state. Proposed Section 1472(d) would require CSTSWP programs to be implemented and enforced in accordance with SDWA broadly, thus making the bill's requirements subject to federal enforcement authorities (including civil penalties), any monitoring or recordkeeping requirements EPA may establish by regulation, judicial review, citizens' civil actions, EPA general regulatory authority, and other provisions. Relatedly, a tank program and associated requirements would be considered a part of the national primary drinking water regulations for purposes of state primary enforcement responsibility. The substitute amendment to S. 1961 added Section 1472(g) to clarify that state actions regarding the administration of a CSTSWP program would not affect state primacy for other SDWA programs. Among other provisions, the Senate bill would authorize EPA or a state to issue corrective action orders (proposed Section 1473), and would make facility owners or operators liable for costs incurred by EPA or a state for response actions taken under the new Part G (proposed Section 1474).