Bipartisan legislation inspired by the crisis in Flint won near-unanimous approval in the House of Representatives on February 10. The measure would require EPA to step in and notify the public in some cases when concentrations of lead in drinking water are detected above the federal action level.
Sponsored by Reps. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) and Fred Upton (R-Mich.), the “Safe Drinking Water Act Improved Compliance Awareness Act” (H.R. 4470) is a modified version of another bill (H.R. 4414) that Rep. Kildee introduced at the start of the month. Building on the original bill, H.R. 4470 includes several revisions intended to ensure that communities are not required to repeatedly notify water customers about isolated test results indicating concentrations of lead above the federal action level.
As approved by the House, H.R. 4470 would:
- Require water utilities to notify the public within 24 hours if the 90th percentile of sampling results exceed the Safe Drinking Water Act lead action level, and the results are thought to indicate “the potential for serious adverse human health effects as a result of short-term exposure.” EPA would be required to deliver this notice to the public if the local water system fails to do so, but the 24-hour time limit would not apply in the absence of a perceived short-term risk to human health.
- Require EPA, upon the receipt of science-based information showing high levels of lead in the drinking water of a particular residence, to share the information with the community water system for distribution to the occupants of that residence (referred to in the bill as “affected persons”) within a period of time determined by EPA. If the water system fails to do so before the prescribed deadline, then EPA must consult with the state’s governor to develop a plan to distribute the information to the affected persons within 24 hours. If EPA and the governor fail to reach a distribution agreement, or if the governor fails to distribute the information under the terms of the agreement within 24 hours, then EPA must distribute the information to the affected persons on its own. The information must include an explanation of the lead action level exceedance, potential adverse effects on human health, steps being taken by the utility to correct the problem, and “whether it is advisable for persons served by the public water system to seek alternative water supplies.” Congressional staff say this section is in direct response to the Flint crisis, where EPA officials reportedly possessed information about severely high lead levels detected in specific households, but failed to warn the residents.
- Provide EPA with 120 days to establish, in collaboration with water utilities and state regulators, a strategic plan for how communities should “conduct targeted outreach, education, technical assistance, and risk communication to populations affected by lead in a public water system.”
- Require annual consumer confidence reports to include a definition of the term “action level.”
H.R. 4470 passed the House by a vote of 416–2, with no members speaking in opposition to the measure. It has been sent to the Senate, but the leaders of that chamber have not announced a specific timeframe for action – though there is speculation on Capitol Hill that it could be rolled into any Flint funding agreement that is reached between Democrats and Republicans.