Prompt and Fast Action to Stop Damages Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1567 To authorize the Department of Defense to temporarily provide water uncontaminated with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) for agricultural purposes to areas affected by contami- nation from military installations, and to authorize the Secretary of the Air Force to acquire real property to extend the contiguous geo- graphic footprint of any Air Force base that has shown signs of contami- nation from PFOA and PFOS due to activities on the base, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 6, 2019 Mr. LUJA´N (for himself, Ms. HAALAND, and Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mex- ico) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con- cerned A BILL To authorize the Department of Defense to temporarily pro- vide water uncontaminated with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) for agri- cultural purposes to areas affected by contamination from military installations, and to authorize the Sec- retary of the Air Force to acquire real property to extend the contiguous geographic footprint of any Air Force base that has shown signs of contamination from PFOA VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1567.IH H1567 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1567 IH and PFOS due to activities on the base, 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 ‘‘Prompt and Fast Ac- 4 tion to Stop Damages Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) PFAS.—The term ‘‘PFAS’’ means 8 perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. 9 (2) PFOA.—The term ‘‘PFOA’’ means 10 perfluorooctanoic acid. 11 (3) PFOS.—The term ‘‘PFOS’’ means 12 perfluorooctane sulfonate. 13 SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS. 14 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 15 (1) PFAS have been manufactured and used in 16 a variety of industries around the world, including in 17 the United States since the 1940s. 18 (2) PFAS are found in many consumer prod- 19 ucts like cookware, food packaging, and stain 20 repellants. 21 (3) PFAS manufacturing and processing facili- 22 ties and airports and military installations that use 23 firefighting foams are some of the main sources of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1567.IH H1567 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1567 IH PFAS contamination in large concentrations that 1 can lead to human exposure. 2 (4) There is evidence that exposure to PFAS 3 can lead to adverse health effects in humans. 4 (5) PFAS are a group of man-made chemicals 5 that includes PFOA and PFOS. 6 (6) PFOA and PFOS have been the most ex- 7 tensively produced and studied of the PFAS chemi- 8 cals. 9 (7) PFOA and PFOS are very persistent in the 10 environment and in the human body, meaning they 11 do not break down and can accumulate over time. 12 (8) Studies indicate that PFOA and PFOS can 13 cause reproductive and developmental, liver and kid- 14 ney, and immunological effects in laboratory ani- 15 mals. 16 (9) The Environmental Protection Agency is be- 17 ginning the necessary steps— 18 (A) to propose designating PFOA and 19 PFOS as hazardous substances through one of 20 the available statutory mechanisms, including 21 section 102 of the Comprehensive Environ- 22 mental Response, Compensation, and Liability 23 Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9602); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1567.IH H1567 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1567 IH (B) to set a maximum contaminant level 1 under the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 2 300f et seq.). 3 (10) In the 1970s, the Air Force began pur- 4 chasing and using aqueous film-forming foam con- 5 taining PFOA and PFOS for extinguishing petro- 6 leum fires and during firefighting training activities. 7 (11) The Air Force has used a proactive, com- 8 prehensive approach to identify installations where 9 aqueous film-forming foam containing PFOA or 10 PFOS has been used and there is a suspected re- 11 lease that may impact drinking water and expose 12 humans to PFOA and PFOS. 13 (12) The Air Force uses authorities granted 14 under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 15 Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 16 9601 et seq.) and the Defense Environmental Res- 17 toration Program under chapter 160 of title 10, 18 United States Code, to ensure that no one is drink- 19 ing water containing unacceptable levels of PFOA or 20 PFOS due to Air Force activities. 21 (13) The Air Force provides alternative sources 22 of drinking water, including filters or connections to 23 public utilities, to provide longer-term assurances 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1567.IH H1567 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1567 IH that individuals are not drinking water containing 1 unacceptable levels of PFOA or PFOS. 2 (14) The Air Force asserts that authorities 3 under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 4 Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 5 9601 et seq.) do not extend to the provision of clean 6 water for livestock or agricultural purposes. 7 (15) Livestock and agriculture are produced for 8 human consumption in items such as milk and dairy 9 and provide a direct pathway for human exposure to 10 PFOA and PFOS. 11 (16) Under section 634 of the Departments of 12 Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and 13 Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public 14 Law 105–119; 111 Stat. 2525), the Department of 15 Defense was authorized to use available funds to 16 compensate cranberry growers adjacent to the Mas- 17 sachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Code, Massa- 18 chusetts, for commercial loss of crops in 1997 due 19 to the presence of ethylene dibromide in ground- 20 water, demonstrating previous recognition by Con- 21 gress of the need to provide compensation for dam- 22 ages associated with chemical releases at military in- 23 stallations. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1567.IH H1567 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1567 IH (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 1 gress that Congress— 2 (1) supports temporary, explicit, authority for 3 the Department of Defense to address indirect path- 4 ways to human exposure from PFOA and PFOS 5 until such time as the Federal agencies with over- 6 sight over agricultural products and food have estab- 7 lished regulatory standards; and 8 (2) supports the designation by the Environ- 9 mental Protection Agency of PFAS as hazardous 10 chemicals. 11 SEC. 4. PROVISION OF WATER UNCONTAMINATED WITH 12 PERFLUOROOCTANOIC ACID (PFOA) AND 13 PERFLUOROOCTANE SULFONATE (PFOS) FOR 14 AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES. 15 (a) AUTHORITY.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Using amounts appropriated 17 or otherwise made available for operation and main- 18 tenance for the military department concerned, or 19 for operation and maintenance Defense-wide in the 20 case of the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary con- 21 cerned may provide water sources uncontaminated 22 with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, 23 including PFOA and PFOS, or treatment of con- 24 taminated waters, for agricultural purposes used to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1567.IH H1567 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1567 IH produce products destined for human consumption 1 in an area in which a water source has been deter- 2 mined pursuant to paragraph (2) to be contaminated 3 with such compounds by reason of activities on a 4 military installation under the jurisdiction of the 5 Secretary concerned. 6 (2) APPLICABLE STANDARD.—For purposes of 7 paragraph (1), an area is determined to be contami- 8 nated with PFOA or PFOS if— 9 (A) the level of contamination is above the 10 Lifetime Health Advisory for contamination 11 with such compounds issued by the Environ- 12 mental Protection Agency and printed in the 13 Federal Register on May 25, 2016; or 14 (B) on or after the date the Food and 15 Drug Administration sets a standard for PFOA 16 and PFOS in raw agricultural commodities and 17 milk, the level of contamination is above such 18 standard. 19 (b) SECRETARY CONCERNED DEFINED.—In this sec- 20 tion, the term ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means the following: 21 (1) The Secretary of the Army, with respect to 22 the Army. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1567.IH H1567 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1567 IH (2) The Secretary of the Navy, with respect to 1 the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard 2 (when it is operating as a service in the Navy). 3 (3) The Secretary of the Air Force, with re- 4 spect to the Air Force. 5 (4) The Secretary of Defense, with respect to 6 the Defense Agencies. 7 SEC. 5. ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY BY AIR FORCE. 8 (a) AUTHORITY.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Air 10 Force may acquire one or more parcels of real prop- 11 erty within the vicinity of an Air Force base that 12 has shown signs of contamination from PFOA and 13 PFOS due to activities on the base and which would 14 extend the contiguous geographic footprint of the 15 base and increase the force protection standoff near 16 critical infrastructure and runways. 17 (2) IMPROVEMENTS AND PERSONAL PROP- 18 ERTY.—The authority under paragraph (1) to ac- 19 quire real property described in that paragraph in- 20 cludes the authority to purchase improvements and 21 personal property located on that real property. 22 (3) RELOCATION EXPENSES.—The authority 23 under paragraph (1) to acquire real property de- 24 scribed in that paragraph shall include the authority 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1567.IH H1567 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1567 IH to provide Federal financial assistance for moving 1 costs, relocation benefits, and other expenses in- 2 curred in accordance with the Uniform Relocation 3 Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies 4 Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.). 5 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVITIES.—The Air Force 6 shall conduct such activities at a parcel or parcels of real 7 property acquired under subsection (a) as are necessary 8 to remediate contamination from PFOA and PFOS re- 9 lated to activities at the Air Force base. 10 (c) FUNDING.—Funds for the land acquisitions au- 11 thorized under subsection (a) shall be derived from 12 amounts appropriated for fiscal year 2020 for military 13 construction or unobligated balances available for military 14 construction. 15 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The authority under 16 this section constitutes authority to carry out land acquisi- 17 tions for purposes of section 2802 of title 10, United 18 States Code. 19 SEC. 6. REMEDIATION PLAN. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 22 shall submit to Congress a remediation plan for cleanup 23 of all water at or adjacent to a military base that is con- 24 taminated with PFOA or PFOS. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1567.IH H1567 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1567 IH (b) STUDY.—In preparing the remediation plan 1 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall conduct a study 2 on the contamination of water at military bases with 3 PFOA or PFOS. 4 (c) BUDGET AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall ensure 5 that each budget of the President submitted to Congress 6 under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, re- 7 quests funding in amounts necessary to address remedi- 8 ation efforts under the remediation plan submitted under 9 subsection (a). 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1567.IH H1567 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS