AMWA is continuing to communicate with congressional staff over legislation that would allow drinking water utilities to distribute their annual consumer confidence reports (CCRs) electronically, rather than through the postal mail as the Safe Drinking Water Act currently requires.
Legislation introduced in the House of Representatives (H.R. 1340) to permit electronic CCRs in some circumstances has attracted 41 cosponsors, while a companion bill in the Senate (S. 1578) has 10. Importantly, each of the bills has won support from members of both parties.
Congressional staff have told AMWA that they are working to meet with various stakeholders in the public interest community to gauge their feelings on the legislation and to chart a path going forward. If the process goes smoothly, the House Energy and Commerce Committee could hold a hearing on the issue early next year, though nothing has been firmly scheduled as of yet.
In the meantime, AMWA is still encouraging its members to contact their representatives and senators to ask that they support H.R. 1340 and S. 1578. If your utility would like to do so, please contact AMWA’s Dan Hartnett for more information.