Emergency OASIS Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3286 To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to require drinking water distribution systems to be flushed under certain circumstances, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 17, 2021 Mr. RUIZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to require drinking water distribution systems to be flushed under certain circumstances, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Emergency Order As- 4 surance, Safety, and Inspection of water Systems Act’’ or 5 the ‘‘Emergency OASIS Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT. 7 (a) DRINKING WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM 8 FLUSHING.—Section 1412(b) of the Safe Drinking Water 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3286.IH H3286 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3286 IH Act (42 U.S.C. 300g–1(b)) is amended by adding at the 1 end the following: 2 ‘‘(16) DRINKING WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM 3 FLUSHING.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 4 enactment of the Emergency OASIS Act, the Ad- 5 ministrator shall promulgate a regulation to require 6 each community water system to flush its distribu- 7 tion system if— 8 ‘‘(A) the concentration of any contaminant 9 in the drinking water of the community water 10 system has exceeded the applicable maximum 11 contaminant level for longer than 6 months; or 12 ‘‘(B) drinking water has stood motionless 13 in the distribution system of the community 14 water system for longer than 6 months.’’. 15 (b) EMERGENCY ORDERS.—Section 1431 of the Safe 16 Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300i) is amended by add- 17 ing at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(c) The actions the Administrator may take under 19 subparagraph (a) also include, with respect to a commu- 20 nity water system that is the subject of an order issued 21 under subsection (a)(1)— 22 ‘‘(1) carrying out testing for metalloid contami- 23 nants at not more than 25, but not less than 10 per- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3286.IH H3286 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3286 IH cent, of the service connections of such a community 1 water system; and 2 ‘‘(2) providing alternative water supplies in ac- 3 cordance with subsection (d). 4 ‘‘(d) If the Administrator determines that, after a pe- 5 riod of 7 days beginning on the date on which an order 6 is issued under subsection (a)(1), a community water sys- 7 tem has not provided alternative water supplies as re- 8 quired by such order— 9 ‘‘(1) the Administrator may provide such alter- 10 native water supplies; and 11 ‘‘(2) if the Administrator provides such alter- 12 native water supplies under paragraph (1), the Ad- 13 ministrator may require the owner of the community 14 water system to pay an amount that is not less than 15 twice the cost of providing such alternative water 16 supplies. 17 ‘‘(e) Any community water system that is required 18 to provide alternative water supplies under an order issued 19 under subsection (a) may not increase any fees, rent, or 20 other costs on customers in order to comply with such 21 order.’’. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3286.IH H3286 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS