zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 2016

This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to revise regulations for drinking water contaminants, including by:

 requiring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine whether or not to regulate no fewer than 10 contaminants every 3 years (current law requires 5 contaminants every 5 years); revising the process and requirements for setting maximum containment levels in national primary drinking water regulations; directing the EPA to revise national primary drinking water regulations for lead and copper; setting deadlines for the EPA to publish maximum contaminant level goals and promulgate national drinking water regulations for perchlorate, perfluorinated compounds, and microcystin (algal) toxin; establishing grant programs for reducing lead in drinking water in schools; requiring community water systems to assess their vulnerabilities to contamination, including vulnerabilities from climate change or sabotage, and develop plans for addressing those vulnerabilities; establishing the Drinking Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Program, under which the EPA may award grants for community water systems to increase their resiliency to those threats; removing a regulatory exemption for hydraulic fracturing; requiring the EPA to develop a strategic plan for assessing and managing the risks of drought to drinking water provided by public water systems; revising requirements for the drinking water state revolving fund (SRF); creating a process for consolidating water systems that repeatedly fail to comply with drinking water standards; requiring the EPA to create an inventory of data about drinking water violations; directing the EPA to revise regulations for consumer confidence reports; establishing research grants for monitoring technology; and requiring the EPA to study the presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in drinking water sources. The bill reauthorizes specified programs under the Act, including reauthorizing through FY2021 the SRF.

Date: 2016-09-22
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Climate Resiliency, Security, and Source Water Protection Act

This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring each community water system to submit to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) source water and distribution system vulnerability assessments that identify threats from:

 industrial activity, pipelines and storage tanks, contaminated sites, agricultural activity, and oil and gas exploration; climate change, extreme weather, drought, and temperature changes; and intentional acts, including intentional contamination, sabotage, and theft of any chemical of interest. Each community water system must also submit to the EPA protection plans that mitigate the threats to source water and distribution systems.

The EPA must establish a grant program for increasing the resiliency or adaptability of the community water systems to threats.

Date: 2016-09-22
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to publish a maximum contaminant level goal and promulgate a national primary drinking water regulation for perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) within two years. (PFCs are manufactured compounds that are used in an array of consumer products and that accumulate in human blood.)

Date: 2016-09-22
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to revise regulations about consumer confidence reports in order to increase their effectiveness and understandability. Currently, each community water system must mail their customers an annual consumer confidence report that provides information about local drinking water quality.

Date: 2016-09-22
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Water, Cosmetics, and Unwanted Pharmaceuticals Study Act

This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out a study on the presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in sources of drinking water, which must identify:

 pharmaceuticals and personal care products that have been detected in the sources; the levels at which the pharmaceuticals and products have been detected; the origins of pharmaceuticals and products found in drinking water; the effects of the pharmaceuticals and products on humans, the environment, and the safety of drinking water; and methods to control, limit, treat, or prevent them.

Date: 2016-09-22
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to publish a maximum contaminant level goal and promulgate a national primary drinking water regulation for perchlorate, which is a naturally occurring and manufactured chemical. According to the EPA, perchlorate can disrupt the normal function of the thyroid gland.

Date: 2016-09-22
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to publish revised guidance for school officials about reducing exposure to lead from drinking water in schools, including testing protocols for schools to detect lead contamination in school drinking water and its sources.

Date: 2016-09-22
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to publish a maximum contaminant level goal and promulgate a national primary drinking water regulation for microcystin toxin, which is a toxin produced by a blue-green algae called cyanobacteria.

Date: 2016-09-22
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Reducing Lead in Drinking Water Act

This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to direct the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a grant program to remove lead service lines from public water systems.

Grant recipients may use grant funds to assist low-income homeowners with replacing privately owned lead service lines.

Date: 2016-09-22
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Ending Legacy Lawsuit Abuse Act

This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to allow a defendant to remove from a state court to the U.S. district court a civil action involving a claim of environmental contamination that impacts or threatens to impact waters of the United States subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Date: 2016-09-26
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to authorize states and the Environmental Protection Agency to require public water systems that have repeatedly failed to comply with drinking water standards to assess options for consolidation.

Public water systems are eligible for financial assistance to assist with undertaking consolidation activities.

Additionally, the bill provides liability protection for compliant public water systems that consolidate with non-compliant systems.

Date: 2016-09-26
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Water Quality Improvement Act of 2016

This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish an integrated planning and permitting process for municipal wastewater and stormwater management that:

 enables municipalities to identify the most cost-effective and protective approaches to comply with the Act's requirements; helps them prioritize their investments in addressing the requirements; and is comprehensive and flexible. The EPA must provide technical assistance to the municipalities or states for developing an integrated plan upon request.

The EPA must: (1) update its financial capability assessment guidance entitled, "Combined Sewer Overflows--Guidance for Financial Capability Assessment and Schedule Development," and dated February 1997; and (2) ensure that the guidance may be used for assessing the financial capability of municipalities to implement effluent limitations and other pollution control measures.

During the next 5 years, the EPA must work with at least 15 municipalities to develop and implement integrated plans and permits to meet the requirements of the national pollutant discharge elimination system.

Date: 2016-09-27
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Investing in Testing Act of 2016

This bill requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the health implications of contamination of drinking water by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). (PFASs can accumulate in the body and are commonly found at low levels in food, water, and the environment.)

Date: 2016-09-28
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Health
Clean Water Healthy Communities Act

This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by directing the Environmental Protection Agency to require monitoring of unregulated contaminants in drinking water supplied by public water systems, regardless of the number of people served by the system.

Date: 2016-09-28
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
National Opportunity for Lead Exposure Accountability and Deterrence Act of 2016

This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revise the national primary drinking water regulations for lead and copper. The rule must direct:

 public water systems to meet certain reporting requirements; the EPA to develop a sampling protocol and develop instructions for compliance with the protocol; the EPA, or the state exercising primary enforcement responsibility, to require on-site investigations for determining the source of lead when the concentration of lead or copper contamination exceeds specified levels; public water systems to meet certain notification and reporting requirements when lead or copper concentration levels are exceeded; the systems to develop and make publicly accessible an inventory of the material composition of the service lines at residential and nonresidential facilities; the systems to collect and make publicly accessible information about the ownership of those service lines; and the systems to replace an entire lead service line (instead of partially replacing them) when they are replaced. The EPA must also revise the rule to lower the allowable level of lead that may be contained in drinking water.

Date: 2016-11-14
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a grant program to help schools and day cares in replacing service lines and solder that are not lead free. The program may fund activities for identifying the location and condition of the service lines and solder.

Date: 2016-11-16
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Clean Water Protection Act

This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to define "fill material" to mean any pollutant that replaces portions of waters of the United States with dry land or that changes the bottom elevation of a water body for any purpose and to exclude from its meaning pollutants discharged into the water primarily to dispose of waste (e.g., mining waste). Thus, permits issued under the Clean Water Act that allow for the discharge of fill material into navigable waters and wetlands may not include those waste pollutants.

Date: 2016-11-30
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Buy America for Drinking Water Extension Act of 2016

This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring projects funded by the drinking water state revolving fund to only use iron and steel produced in the United States, unless: (1) it would be inconsistent with the public interest, (2) iron and steel products are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality, or (3) inclusion of iron and steel products produced in the United States will increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25%.

The requirement does not apply with respect to a project if a state approves the plans and specifications for the project prior to October 1, 2018.

Date: 2016-12-07
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) by allowing a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program to incorporate a water quality improvement partnership program that encourages investment by publicly owned treatment works and municipal separate storm sewer systems in watershed-based projects for improving water quality. Those partnerships may be used by publicly owned treatment works and municipal separate storm sewer systems to attain and maintain water quality standards.

Date: 2016-12-07
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Preventing Preventable Earthquakes Act

This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring regulations for state underground injection programs to include provisions designed to prevent the occurrence of seismicity induced by underground injection activities.

The bill redefines "underground injection" to include the subsurface emplacement of fluids or propping agents pursuant to hydraulic fracturing operations. Hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) is a process to extract underground resources such as oil or gas from a geologic formation by injecting water, a propping agent (e.g., sand), and chemical additives into a well under enough pressure to fracture the geological formation.

The Environmental Protection Agency must review approved state underground injection programs at least once every five years.

Date: 2016-12-08
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Lead-free Students Act

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require a local education agency, as a condition of receiving ESEA funds, to require a student to undergo blood lead-level testing prior to enrolling in an elementary school for the first time.

Date: 2016-12-08
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Education
Drinking Water Protection Act 

This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to direct the Environmental Protection Agency to develop and submit to Congress a strategic plan for assessing and managing risks associated with algal toxins in drinking water provided by public water systems. Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, have the ability to produce cyanotoxins, or algal toxins. When certain conditions are favorable, algae can rapidly multiply causing blooms, or dense surface scums, that may be toxic.

The plan must include steps and time lines to:

 evaluate the risk to human health from drinking water contaminated with algal toxins; establish, publish, and update a comprehensive list of algal toxins that may have an adverse effect on human health; summarize the known adverse human health effects of algal toxins and the factors that cause toxin-producing cyanobacteria and algae to grow rapidly and make toxins; determine whether to publish health advisories for algal toxins and establish relevant guidance; recommend feasible treatment options; and enter into cooperative agreements with, and provide technical assistance to, affected states and public water systems to manage risks associated with algal toxins.

Date: 2015-02-11
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Safe and Secure Drinking Water Protection Act of 2015

This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and publish within 180 days a health advisory with recommendations on: (1) the level of microcystins (toxins produced by freshwater cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae) in drinking water that is safe for human consumption; (2) feasible treatment techniques and other means for achieving a safe level; and (3) standardized procedures for testing for microcystins in drinking water.

The EPA must report annually on: (1) the status of the EPA's efforts to determine whether to regulate microcystins in drinking water, (2) the steps taken by the EPA to promote testing of drinking water for microcystins in areas that have been affected by harmful algal blooms, and (3) an analysis of available treatment techniques and other means for addressing microcystins in drinking water. The EPA must submit its first report within 180 days.

Date: 2015-02-11
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the Senate reported version is repeated here.)

Grassroots Rural and Small Community Water Systems Assistance Act 

(Sec. 4) This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to reauthorize through FY2020 the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) program providing technical assistance to small public water systems in complying with national primary drinking water regulations.

The EPA may use the funds to provide grants or cooperative agreements to nonprofit organizations that provide onsite technical assistance; circuit-rider technical assistance programs; multistate, regional technical assistance programs; onsite and regional training; assistance with implementing source water protection plans; and assistance with implementation monitoring plans, rules, regulations, and water security enhancements. Those grants and cooperative agreements may not be used for citizen suits brought under that Act.

In order to ensure that technical assistance funding is used in a manner that is most beneficial to the small and rural communities, the EPA must give preference to nonprofit organizations that are the most qualified and experienced and that the small community water systems find to be the most beneficial and effective.

Date: 2015-02-27
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Water Supply Cost Savings Act or the Savings Act 

This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Agriculture to: (1) update their programs that provide drinking water technical assistance by including information on cost-effective, innovative, and alternative drinking water delivery systems; and (2) disseminate information on the cost effectiveness of alternative drinking water delivery systems, including wells and well systems, to communities and nonprofit organizations seeking federal funding for drinking water systems serving 500 or fewer persons.

In applications for a grant or loan from the federal government or a state that is using federal assistance for drinking water systems serving 500 or fewer persons, applicants must self-certify that they have considered as an alternative drinking water supply, drinking water delivery systems sourced by publicly-owned individual, shared, and community wells.

Date: 2015-06-22
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Improving Notification for Clean and Safe Drinking Water Act of 2016

This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require public water systems to notify their customers of lead concentration levels in drinking water that exceed lead limits under national primary drinking water regulations.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must notify the public within 15 days of the lead levels exceeding those limits if the public water system or the state does not notify the public.

The EPA may notify the public or the local or state health department of the result of lead monitoring conducted by a public water system.

Date: 2016-01-27
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to reauthorize through FY2020 the drinking water state revolving fund program.

The bill also amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to reauthorize through FY2020 the state revolving fund program for water pollution control.

Date: 2016-02-10
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring small or medium public water systems to sample their tap water for lead and copper in accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) monitoring requirements under the national primary drinking water regulations until the system: (1) exceeds the regulation's lead or copper limits, or (2) becomes eligible for reduced monitoring. Small or medium water systems that exceed the lead and copper limits must carry out certain corrosion control treatment steps by specified deadlines.

Public water systems must notify their customers of lead concentration levels in drinking water when the lead levels exceed those regulatory limits or when the EPA determines the lead concentration warrants notice. The EPA must notify the public about those lead concentrations by a certain deadline if the public water system or the state does not do so. The EPA may notify customers of a public water system or the local or state health department of the result of lead monitoring conducted by a public water system.

States must provide a short-term remedy, including bottled water or a water filtration system, to each affected household when a public water system exceeds lead limits or when the EPA determines the lead concentration warrants notice.

Each state must post online the annual consumer confidence report of each community water system.

Date: 2016-02-10
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Drinking Water Safety and Infrastructure Act

This bill provides additional assistance for a public health emergency related to a contaminated public drinking water supply system. Assistance may be provided through grants under the drinking water state revolving fund and loans under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Program.

Upon the request of a state or local health official, the National Center for Environmental Health's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry must conduct voluntary surveillance activities to evaluate any adverse health effects on individuals exposed to lead from drinking water in affected communities.

The bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring public water systems to notify their customers of lead concentration levels in drinking water that exceed lead limits. The Environmental Protection Agency must notify the public within 15 days of the lead levels exceeding those limits if the public water system or the state does not notify the public. The EPA may notify the public or the local or state health department of the result of lead monitoring conducted by a public water system.

The Department of Health and Human Services must establish a lead exposure registry to collect data on the lead exposure of residents of a city on a voluntary basis.

The Treasury must transfer funds to: (1) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funds for the childhood lead poisoning prevention program, (2) the Department of Housing and Urban Development for its Healthy Homes Initiative, and (3) the Health Resources and Services Administration for the Healthy Start Initiative.

The bill prohibits further spending by the Department of Energy on or after October 1, 2020, for the subsidy costs of loans issued through the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Loan Program.

Date: 2016-02-24
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Firm, Unwavering National Dedication to Water Act or the FUND Water Act

This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to reauthorize through FY2021 the drinking water state revolving fund program.

The bill also amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to reauthorize through FY2021 the state revolving fund program for water pollution control.

Date: 2016-02-25
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Copper and Lead Evaluation and Reporting Act of 2016 or the CLEAR Act

This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate new lead and copper regulations that would set a health-based, household action level for lead and copper that triggers: (1) a consumer notification of drinking water contamination; (2) a report to the appropriate public health agency; and (3) an examination by the public water system of service line material and, if applicable, the removal of lead portions of the service line.

 That action level must be based on the amount of lead that would result in a blood lead level greater than five micrograms per deciliter in an average, healthy infant who consumes infant formula made with water.

The regulations must also:

 provide outreach about the health risk and protection available to consumers with known or suspected lead service lines, institutions and facilities that serve other vulnerable populations, and the caregivers and health care providers of those consumers or populations; require reporting by public water systems for each monitoring period to the populations they serve on information concerning lead and copper levels; require public water systems to provide a public statement of lead service line ownership where a community has such lines; modify monitoring requirements to provide for voluntary, consumer-requested tap samples for lead; and provide for utilizing the results of those samples.

Date: 2016-02-25
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Grants and Education To Tackle Homeowner Exposure to Lead Ensuring America Drinks Only from Unpolluted Taps Act of 2016 or the GET THE LEAD OUT Act of 2016

This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a grant program to provide assistance to eligible entities (i.e., certain water systems, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies) for reducing lead levels in water for human consumption.

Grant funds may be used to assist low-income homeowners in carrying out lead reduction projects, as long as the grant amount does not exceed the cost of replacing the privately owned portion of the service line.

If an eligible entity uses funds for replacing lead service lines, it must: (1) notify customers of the planned replacement of any publicly owned portion of the lead service line; (2) inform each customer that it will replace the public portion of the line only if it obtains the customer's consent to simultaneously replace the privately owned portion of the line; and (3) demonstrate that it has considered multiple options for reducing lead in drinking water, including an evaluation of options for corrosion control.

Date: 2016-02-25
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Water Technology Acceleration Act of 2016

This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act to accelerate the testing, deployment, and commercialization of innovative water technologies.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)must evaluate the barriers impacting greater use of innovative water technology and provide technical assistance to facilitate financial assistance tohelp communities use new technology.The new technology is designed to help communities address wastewater, storm runoff, and drinking water challenges.

Additionally, the EPA must carry out a grant program to accelerate the testing and deployment of innovative water technologies that address water challenges. Priority funding must be given to projects that have the potential to: (1)provide substantial cost savings across a sector, or (2)significantly improve human health or the environment.

Date: 2016-03-14
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Lead in Drinking Water Disaster Act of 2016

This bill authorizes the President, upon request of a governor of a state, to declare a major disaster relating to lead contamination of drinking water from a public water system. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must promulgate regulations to carry out such authority within 60 days of this Act's enactment.

In the case of such a declared major disaster, the federal coordinating officer appointed under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act shall ensure that the coordination of administration of relief required under such Act includes coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, and any other relevant agency.

Date: 2016-03-14
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Emergency management
Transparent Environment in School Testing for Lead Act or the TEST for Lead Act 

This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to: (1) allow funds from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to be used to train school personnel on issues relating to lead contamination in drinking water and to assist in lead remediation efforts, and (2) condition a state's receipt of funding from such Fund on the state establishing a program to test for lead in school drinking water.

Program requirements include testing water from: (1) faucets used for food preparation, (2)sinks in bathrooms, and (3)drinking water coolers.Testing must be conducted at least biannually at schools built prior to 1996 and at least annually at schools built in 1996 or after.

Additionally, local education agencies must notify parents or guardians, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the state in which they are located, the local municipal government, and local health agencies within 48 hours if a level of lead exceeds the EPA's lead action level.

Date: 2016-04-11
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Contaminant and Lead Electronic Accounting and Reporting Requirements (CLEARR) for Drinking Water Act of 2016

This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by revising requirements governing the drinking water state revolving funds, including by prioritizing grant applications that improve continuous electronic monitoring or transmission of water quality testing results.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must issue formal guidance that develops a process for protecting and improving the drinking water of minority, tribal, or low-income communities. In developing the process, the EPA must establish within the Office of Environmental Justice a process for the communities to request expedited testing of the quality of drinking water.

The EPA must develop an electronic database of drinking water quality and health screening tests.

The EPA may make grants for educating residents in minority, tribal, or low-income communities about: (1) drinking water contaminants that may have adverse effects on human health, and (2) the assistance that the EPA may provide in addressing the contaminants.

The EPA may create a partnership for researching contaminants in drinking water.

The bill revises reporting requirements, inspection requirements, and enforcement provisions concerning violations of national primary drinking water standards.

The EPA must issue a rule establishing requirements for electronic submission of compliance data by public water systems and states with primary enforcement responsibilities.

The bill establishes additional requirements for those states with respect to notifications of violations of drinking water regulations that have the potential to have serious adverse effects on human health.

Date: 2016-04-20
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Testing, Removal, and Updated Evaluations of Lead Everywhere in America for Dramatic Enhancements that Restore Safety to Homes, Infrastructure, and Pipes Act of 2016 or the True LEADership Act of 2016

This bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)to establish grant programs to assist communities and states fund projects that reduce lead in drinking water.

The bill establishes a mandatory reporting requirement for states to report elevated levels of lead in children's blood to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to direct the EPA to promulgate lead and copper pipe regulations that would set household action levels for lead and copper in drinking water.The EPA must develop a process to protect and improve the drinking water of minority, tribal, and low-income communities.Additionally, the EPA must establish a voluntary school and child care lead testing grant program.

The bill creates a new tax credit for homeowners to invest in eliminating lead hazards.Additionally, the bill revises how the Department of Housing and Urban Development deals with lead in homes.

The EPA must establish a grant program to accelerate the testing, deployment and commercialization of new drinking water technologies.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is authorized to provide funding from its disaster relief fund in response to a major incident of lead contamination in drinking water.

The bill creates a grant program for local educational agencies to assist children that have been affected by lead poisoning.

Date: 2016-04-20
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Lead Testing in School and Child Care Drinking Water Act of 2016

This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to direct the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a voluntary school and child care lead testing program of grants to states to assist local educational agencies in voluntary testing for lead contamination in drinking water at schools and child care programs.

The bill repeals the current program of federal assistance for state programs regarding lead contamination in school drinking water.

Date: 2016-04-20
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
EPA Accountability in Flint Act

This bill makes the Federal Tort Claims Act exemption inapplicable to any claim brought against the federal government relating to an act or omission of, exercise or performance of, or failure to exercise or perform a discretionary function or duty by, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) relating to the lead contamination of the drinking water of the city of Flint, Michigan, between April 1, 2014, and the date on which the EPA determines that the drinking water of the city complies with federal standards.

A civil action relating to the EPA's conduct in relation to such contamination must be commenced within 10 years after the cause of action accrues.

 Any award against, or compromise settlement by, the government relating to the EPA's conduct in relation to such contamination shall be paid out of unobligated balances in the Environmental Programs And Management account.

The EPA shall work with any affected state or local government to implement a program for the long-term monitoring of the quality of Flint's drinking water in response to such contamination.

Date: 2016-04-28
Topic: Environment (Drinking Water)
Subject: Environmental protection
Honoring Female Congressional Pioneers Act of 2007 - Directs the Postal Service to provide for the issuance and sale of a semipostal in order to afford the public a convenient means to contribute towards the acquisition (for public display) of works of art honoring Jeanette Rankin, Mary Teresa Norton, Patsy Mink, Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm, and other female pioneers in government service.

Date: 2007-02-12
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Requires the Postmaster General to provide for the issuance of a postage stamp to commemorate the 450th anniversary of the founding of the first European settlement in the continental United States at Pensacola, Florida, by Tristan de Luna in 1559.

Date: 2007-02-13
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Commemorations
Breast Cancer Research Stamp Authorization Act - Extends through December 31, 2009, provisions requiring the U.S. Postal Service to issue a special postage stamp for first-class mail that costs not less than 15% more than the regular first-class stamp to contribute funding for breast cancer research.

Date: 2007-02-15
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Extends through December 31, 2011, provisions requiring the U.S. Postal Service to issue a special postage stamp for first-class mail that costs not less than 15% more than the regular first-class stamp to contribute funding for breast cancer research. Requires the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Defense (DOD) to annually report to Congress and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the use of any such funding, including a description of any significant advances or accomplishments.

Date: 2007-02-28
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Declares that the results of an AMP study (an area mail processing study relating to consolidating the operations of two or more postal facilities) shall not be cognizable for any purpose unless specified time limit and notice requirements are met. Requires the U.S. Postal Service to ensure that no reduction in the workforce of, and no removal of equipment from, any postal facility occurs while an AMP study regarding that facility is pending. Applies this Act to AMP studies started on or after enactment and to studies pending at enactment of this Act.

Date: 2007-05-03
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Perpetual Purple Heart Stamp Act - Directs the Postmaster General to provide for the issuance of a forever stamp (a stamp that meets first-class postage requirements even if postage rates increase) to honor the sacrifices of the men and women of the Armed Forces who have been awarded the Purple Heart.

Date: 2007-05-14
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Requires the U.S. Postal Service to provide for the issuance and sale of a veterans health care stamp to help fund the medical care and treatment of veterans.

Date: 2007-11-08
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Mail Network Protection Act of 2007 - Requires the U.S. Postal Service to bargain with unions representing career Postal Service employees before entering into a contract for mail processing, mail handling, or surface transportation of mail if the contract, in a 12 month period, would involve work that would otherwise be performed by those employees and either: (1) involve more than a specified amount of work time; or (2) cost over $5 million.

Date: 2007-11-15
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Directs the U.S. Postal Service to designate a single, unique ZIP Code that encompasses the entire city of Windsor Heights, Iowa.

Date: 2008-01-29
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Postal Service Access Assurance Act of 2008 - Requires the U.S. Postal Service to ensure that, to the maximum extent practicable, automated stamp vending machines are provided at all facilities which are owned by or under the control of the Postal Service and provide retail services to the public. Exempts automated stamp vending machines in such locations from requirements that business operations conducted by the Postal Service and certain other entities be fully capable of accepting $1 coins.

Date: 2008-03-06
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Post Office Modernization Act of 2008 - Requires the Postal Service to ensure that every post office has access to running water and bathroom facilities. Prohibits the Post Office, in making a determination whether or not to close or consolidate a post office, from considering whether the post office meets the requirements of this Act.

Date: 2008-05-08
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Modifies the procedures the U.S. Postal Service must follow in connection with the closing or consolidation of any post office, including: (1) requiring an assessment of the need for the closure or consolidation; (2) eliminating a requirement to consider the resulting Postal Service economic savings; (3) requiring a posting in each affected post office at least 90 days before the final decision is made; and (4) requiring (currently, allowing) suspension of the determination pending an appeal to the Postal Regulatory Commission. Provides for exceptions for emergency suspensions (as defined under Postal Service regulations) or lease termination or cancellation by a party other than the Postal Service. Defines "post office," for the provisions amended by this Act, to include an office, branch, station, or other facility operated by the Postal Service.

Date: 2008-06-09
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Directs the Postmaster General to issue a commemorative, first-class postage stamp on Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, two chronic digestive diseases collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease.

Date: 2008-07-31
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Extends through December 31, 2011, provisions requiring the U.S. Postal Service to issue a special postage stamp for first-class mail that costs not less than 15% more than the regular first-class stamp to contribute funding for breast cancer research. Requires the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Defense (DOD) to annually report to Congress and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the use of any such funding, including a description of any significant advances or accomplishments.

Date: 2007-02-14
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Perpetual Purple Heart Stamp Act - Directs the Postmaster General to provide for the issuance of a forever stamp (a stamp that meets first-class postage requirements even if postage rates increase) to honor the sacrifices of the men and women of the Armed Forces who have been awarded the Purple Heart.

Date: 2007-05-15
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Mail Delivery Protection Act of 2007 - Prohibits the U.S. Postal Service from contracting for the delivery of mail on any route with one or more families per mile. Allows existing contracts to remain in effect until terminated by their terms and to be renewed one or more times. (Chapter 52 of title 39, U.S. Code, was repealed by P.L. 109-435, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act.)

Date: 2007-05-23
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Directs the U.S. Postal Service to designate a single ZIP Code applicable to the area encompassing only the city of Windsor Heights, Iowa.

Date: 2008-02-06
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Air Carriage of International Mail Act - (Sec. 2) Authorizes the U.S. Postal Service to contract, through an open procurement process, for air transportation of mail between foreign points only with certificated air carriers (carriers that hold a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued under specified provisions). Allows a contract to be awarded to transport mail between any foreign points the Secretary of Transportation has authorized the carrier to serve either directly or through a code-share relationship. Requires that the Postal Service use a method for determining fair and reasonable prices developed in consultation with, and with the concurrence of, certificated air carriers representing at least 51% of available ton miles in the markets of interest. Presumes ceiling prices determined by that method to be fair and reasonable if they do not exceed the ceiling prices derived from a weighted average based on market rate data furnished by the International Air Transport Association (or its subsidiary unit) or such other neutral weighted average market rates as the Postal Service, with the concurrence of such air carriers representing at least 51% of available ton miles, may designate. Provides for exceptions for emergency or unanticipated conditions or inadequate lift space. Removes provisions requiring that the Secretary of Transportation set prices to be paid by the Postal Service for the transportation of mail by aircraft in foreign air transportation. Removes references to foreign air transportation from provisions relating to a duty to provide certain transportation of mail. Authorizes the Postal Service to weigh mail transported by aircraft between places in Alaska and make statistical and administrative computations necessary in the interest of mail service. (Current law does not restrict that authorization to flights between places in Alaska.) Removes a requirement that the Postal Service make a fair and equitable distribution of mail business to carriers providing similar modes of transportation. Modifies provisions regarding the mail of members of the U.S. Armed Forces and of friendly foreign nations.

Date: 2008-09-22
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Access to Postal Services Act - Modifies the procedures the U.S. Postal Service must follow in connection with the closing or consolidation of any postal facility, including: (1) requiring an assessment of the need for the closure or consolidation; (2) eliminating a requirement to consider the resulting Postal Service economic savings; (3) requiring a posting in each affected postal facility at least 90 days before the final decision is made; and (4) requiring (under current law, allowing) suspension of the determination pending an appeal to the Postal Regulatory Commission. Exempts emergency suspensions (as defined under Postal Service regulations) or lease termination or cancellation by a party other than the Postal Service. Defines "postal facility," for the provisions amended by this Act, to include an office, branch, station, or other facility operated by the Postal Service.

Date: 2009-01-22
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 46-02 21st Street in Long Island City, New York, as the "Geraldine Ferraro Post Office Building."

Date: 2009-01-28
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Requires the U.S. Postal Service to implement procedures to ensure that no permanent change-of-address request is carried out unless the Postal Service first receives signed confirmation from the addressee (or the addressee's authorized agent) that the request was in fact made by (or on behalf of) the addressee.

Date: 2009-03-02
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Mail Network Protection Act of 2009 - Requires the U.S. Postal Service to bargain with unions representing career Postal Service employees before entering into a contract for mail processing, mail handling, or surface transportation of mail if the contract, in a 12 month period, would involve work that would otherwise be performed, in whole or in part, by those employees and either: (1) involve more than a specified amount of work time; or (2) cost over $5 million.

Date: 2009-03-24
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Post Office Modernization Act of 2009 - Requires the Postal Service to ensure that every post office has access to running water and bathroom facilities. Prohibits the Post Office, in making a determination whether or not to close or consolidate a post office, from considering whether the post office meets the requirements of this Act.

Date: 2009-04-02
Topic: Government Operations (Postal Service)
Subject: Government operations and politics