As the 112th Congress got underway in January, what to do about the reported presence of the suspected carcinogen chromium-VI in drinking water supplies attracted significant attention in the U.S. Senate.
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) led the charge, and introduced legislation on the first day of the session that would require EPA to establish an enforceable drinking standard for chromium-VI within one year of the bill’s enactment. The legislation (S. 79, the “Protecting Pregnant Women and Children From Hexavalent Chromium Act”) would also require the standard to be “as protective of vulnerable individuals [such as infants, children, and pregnant women] as is feasible,” and would direct EPA to issue a health advisory for the contaminant within 90 days of the bill becoming law.
The legislation appeared to be inspired by a report released by the Environmental Working Group in December, which alleged that drinking water samples collected from 31 communities across the country contained detectable levels of chromium-VI. While questions have been raised about the report’s methodology, S. 79 prominently citied its results in the findings portion of the bill.
Chromium-VI and EPA’s oversight of drinking water supplies were also the topic of an Environment and Public Works Committee hearing Sen. Boxer convened in early February. AMWA was invited to testify at the hearing, and used it as an opportunity to urge Congress to allow EPA to continue to choose which drinking water contaminants to regulate pursuant to the Safe Drinking Water Act without political pressure from Congress or outside groups.
A copy of AMWA’s written statement to the Committee is available here.