AMWA-supported legislation to exempt fire hydrants from new lead-content standards quickly advanced through Congress this month, virtually ensuring that communities can continue using their existing supplies of fire hydrants after the new standards take effect on January 4.
The House of Representatives approved H.R. 3588, the “Community Fire Safety Act,” on December 2 by a unanimous vote of 384 – 0. The U.S. Senate followed on December 17, also approving the legislation without any objections. The bill, which adds fire hydrants to a list of products that are statutorily exempt from the new lead-content standards, will now be sent to President Obama for his signature.
The legislation was made necessary by an October 22 EPA decision to subject newly installed fire hydrants to new lead-content rules for pipes and plumbing fixtures beginning on January 4. Most stakeholders had not expected the new standards to apply to hydrants, so as a result many water utilities warned they would be stranded with millions of dollars worth of unusable hydrant inventories after that date. Utilities would also be left unable to repair or replace broken hydrants until new compliant models could be procured. AMWA and other water utility groups notified Congress of these problems, prompting the legislative fix.
Throughout November and December numerous water utilities contacted members of Congress with messages of support for H.R. 3588 as well as information on the number of in-stock hydrants that would be made unusable due to the new lead standards. This outpouring of advocacy aided the quick passage of H.R. 3588, and also prompted a bipartisan group of Senators led by Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) to introduce a companion version of the bill as S. 1779. That bill ultimately attracted nine Senate cosponsors, further demonstrating broad support for addressing the issue.
Amid the growing political furor EPA eventually did reverse its original ruling, announcing on December 13 that the October guidance “should be revised to exclude fire hydrants if Congress doesn’t take action” to do so before the January 4 deadline. It was unclear how EPA planned to go about making these revisions within the short timeframe, but the question was made moot by the Senate’s approval of H.R. 3588.