National Opportunity for Lead Exposure Accountability and Deterrence Act of 2017

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3677 To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to improve transparency under the national primary drinking water regulations for lead and copper, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 10, 2019 Mr. KILDEE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to improve trans- parency under the national primary drinking water regu- lations for lead and copper, 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 ‘‘National Opportunity 4 for Lead Exposure Accountability and Deterrence Act of 5 2017’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:31 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3677.IH H3677 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3677 IH SEC. 2. NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING WATER REGULA- 1 TIONS FOR LEAD AND COPPER. 2 The Safe Drinking Water Act is amended by insert- 3 ing after section 1417 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 300g–6) 4 the following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 1417A. NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING WATER REGU- 6 LATIONS FOR LEAD AND COPPER. 7 ‘‘(a) LEAD AND COPPER RULE.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The national primary 9 drinking water regulations for lead and copper (in 10 this section referred to as the ‘lead and copper rule’) 11 shall include each of the requirements described in 12 this section. 13 ‘‘(2) REVISION.—The Administrator shall revise 14 the lead and copper rule in accordance with this sec- 15 tion— 16 ‘‘(A) not later than 9 months after the 17 date of enactment of the National Opportunity 18 for Lead Exposure Accountability and Deter- 19 rence Act of 2017; and 20 ‘‘(B) thereafter, in accordance with section 21 1412(b). 22 ‘‘(b) SAMPLING.— 23 ‘‘(1) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection applies 24 with respect to sampling by a public water system 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:31 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3677.IH H3677 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3677 IH of lead or copper in drinking water, irrespective of 1 whether such sampling— 2 ‘‘(A) is required by the lead and copper 3 rule; or 4 ‘‘(B) is voluntary sampling initiated by 5 customers of the public water system. 6 ‘‘(2) REPORTING.—Subject to paragraph (3), 7 not less than once every 3 months, a public water 8 system shall report the results of sampling to the 9 Administrator or the State exercising primary en- 10 forcement responsibility, as applicable, and shall in- 11 clude in such reporting— 12 ‘‘(A) the number of residential and non- 13 residential facilities at which the sampling was 14 conducted; 15 ‘‘(B) subject to paragraph (4), the address 16 of such residential and nonresidential facilities; 17 ‘‘(C) previous samples taken at such resi- 18 dential and nonresidential facilities and the re- 19 sults of those samples; 20 ‘‘(D) where such information exists, the 21 material composition of the service lines at such 22 residential and nonresidential facilities; 23 ‘‘(E) the dates on which the respective 24 sampling occurred; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:31 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3677.IH H3677 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3677 IH ‘‘(F) the highest and median lead and cop- 1 per levels detected; 2 ‘‘(G) the 90th percentile lead and copper 3 levels (as such percentile is calculated under 4 section 141.80 of title 40, Code of Federal Reg- 5 ulations, and any successor regulations) de- 6 tected; 7 ‘‘(H) the number and value of all samples 8 pursuant to sampling described in subpara- 9 graph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) above the 10 lead or copper action levels; 11 ‘‘(I) the disinfectants and corrosion inhibi- 12 tors being used and the target doses at the 13 water treatment plant; 14 ‘‘(J) any changes since the previous report 15 under this section in the type, method, or quan- 16 tity of treatments being used in the water sam- 17 pled; 18 ‘‘(K) the history of violations, and fines re- 19 ceived, by the system; 20 ‘‘(L) the number of samples invalidated 21 and the reason for their invalidation; and 22 ‘‘(M) if sampling is conducted at residen- 23 tial facilities other than those with lead service 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:31 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3677.IH H3677 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3677 IH lines, an explanation of why such sampling was 1 conducted. 2 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF REPORTS.—A 3 public water system shall make publicly available 4 any report that is required by this section or by the 5 lead and copper rule. 6 ‘‘(4) PRIVACY.—A public water system shall— 7 ‘‘(A) give the owner of each residential and 8 nonresidential facility at which sampling data is 9 collected, at the written request of such owner, 10 the option be identified only by block number 11 and street name, unless the facility includes a 12 child care center; and 13 ‘‘(B) keep each such request on file. 14 ‘‘(5) SAMPLING PROTOCOL; INSTRUCTIONS.— 15 The Administrator shall— 16 ‘‘(A) develop a protocol for sampling for 17 compliance with the lead and copper rule; 18 ‘‘(B) in such protocol— 19 ‘‘(i) prohibit the use of techniques 20 that minimize the detection of lead or cop- 21 per in drinking water; 22 ‘‘(ii) require sampling under this sec- 23 tion to occur not less than once per year; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:31 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3677.IH H3677 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3677 IH ‘‘(iii) include criteria for site selection 1 that prioritize testing at high-risk build- 2 ings (as defined in subsection (g)); 3 ‘‘(iv) require sampling in all schools 4 and child care centers served by the public 5 water system at all designated drinking 6 water taps, to be designated by the respec- 7 tive schools and child care centers; and 8 ‘‘(v) require the sampling methodology 9 to be scientifically based; and 10 ‘‘(C) develop instructions for compliance 11 with such protocol for dissemination to public 12 water systems and customers thereof. 13 ‘‘(c) ACTION LEVEL EXCEEDED.— 14 ‘‘(1) INVESTIGATIONS.—The Administrator (or 15 the State exercising primary enforcement responsi- 16 bility) shall require on-site investigations to identify 17 the source of lead in all residential or nonresidential 18 facilities with individual samples with a lead or cop- 19 per concentration above the action level, which inves- 20 tigations shall— 21 ‘‘(A) subject to paragraph (3), be com- 22 pleted by the public water system or local 23 health department within 10 business days of 24 the sample result; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:31 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3677.IH H3677 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3677 IH ‘‘(B) include additional samples at addi- 1 tional locations outside of the facility sampled 2 to identify the potential scope of elevated lead 3 or copper levels. 4 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—Whenever a public water 5 system detects a lead or copper concentration level 6 above the action level, the system shall, within 2 cal- 7 endar days of detecting such an exceedance that is 8 specific to one or more facilities, notify the persons 9 at such facilities. 10 ‘‘(3) NO RESPONSE FROM OWNER OF FACIL- 11 ITY.—The requirement of paragraph (1)(A) to com- 12 plete an investigation concerning a facility is deemed 13 to be satisfied if— 14 ‘‘(A) within the period of 10 business days 15 described in such paragraph, the public water 16 system or local health department makes at 17 least 3 attempts to contact the owners of the 18 facility, including— 19 ‘‘(i) at least once in person; 20 ‘‘(ii) at least once by letter or email; 21 and 22 ‘‘(iii) at least once in person or by 23 phone call, letter, or email; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:31 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3677.IH H3677 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3677 IH ‘‘(B) the public water system or local 1 health department maintains documentation of 2 such attempts; and 3 ‘‘(C) such owners fail to respond. 4 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC EDUCATION.—The lead and copper rule 5 shall require testing results— 6 ‘‘(1) to be in a standardized format; 7 ‘‘(2) to be posted on the website of the Admin- 8 istrator, the State exercising primary enforcement 9 responsibility, and the public water system; and 10 ‘‘(3) to include— 11 ‘‘(A) the provisions of consumer confidence 12 reports under section 1414(c)(4) relating to 13 lead and copper; 14 ‘‘(B) reports under subsection (b)(2) on 15 the results of sampling; 16 ‘‘(C) educational materials on lead service 17 line replacement and financial assistance, in- 18 cluding forms for applying for such financial as- 19 sistance; and 20 ‘‘(D) instructions on how a consumer can 21 request a water test. 22 ‘‘(e) SERVICE LINE INVENTORY.—A public water 23 system shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:31 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3677.IH H3677 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3677 IH ‘‘(1) develop, maintain, and beginning not later 1 than 3 years after the date of enactment of the Na- 2 tional Opportunity for Lead Exposure Accountability 3 and Deterrence Act of 2017 make publicly available 4 an inventory of the material composition of the serv- 5 ice lines at all residential and nonresidential facili- 6 ties, including— 7 ‘‘(A) online maps showing the locations of 8 lead service lines; and 9 ‘‘(B) where information is available, a his- 10 tory of services performed on such lines, includ- 11 ing partial line replacement; 12 ‘‘(2)(A) give the owner of each residential and 13 nonresidential facility at which sampling data is col- 14 lected, at the written request of such owner, the op- 15 tion be identified only by block number and street 16 name, unless the facility includes a child care center; 17 and 18 ‘‘(B) keep each such request on file; and 19 ‘‘(3) in developing such inventory, take meas- 20 ures to minimize any disturbance to service lines 21 that might release contaminants. 22 ‘‘(f) SERVICE LINE OWNERSHIP.—A public water 23 system shall collect, maintain, and beginning not later 24 than 3 years after the date of enactment of the National 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:31 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3677.IH H3677 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3677 IH Opportunity for Lead Exposure Accountability and Deter- 1 rence Act of 2017 make publicly available all legal docu- 2 ments establishing the ownership of service lines at resi- 3 dential and nonresidential facilities. 4 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 5 ‘‘(1) The term ‘high-risk buildings’ means— 6 ‘‘(A) residential and nonresidential facili- 7 ties with lead service lines— 8 ‘‘(i) that have galvanized pipes; 9 ‘‘(ii) that have low water use; or 10 ‘‘(iii) whose lead service lines are 11 among the longest served by the public 12 water system; and 13 ‘‘(B) residential facilities at which one or 14 more pregnant women or children reside or 15 where in-home childcare occurs. 16 ‘‘(2) The term ‘lead service line’ means a pipe 17 and its fittings, which are not lead free (as defined 18 under section 1417 of the Safe Drinking Water Act 19 (42 U.S.C. 300g–6)), that connect the drinking 20 water main to the building inlet. 21 ‘‘(3) The term ‘publicly available’ means that a 22 report is— 23 ‘‘(A) written in plain language that is cul- 24 turally and linguistically appropriate; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:31 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3677.IH H3677 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3677 IH ‘‘(B)(i) published on a publicly accessible 1 website of the public water system; or 2 ‘‘(ii) with respect to any person who is 3 served by the system and gives notice to the 4 system of not having access to a publicly avail- 5 able website, distributed by carrier route.’’. 6 SEC. 3. TO LOWER THE ACTION LEVEL FOR LEAD IN DRINK- 7 ING WATER. 8 Section 1412(b) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 9 U.S.C. 300g–1(b)) is amended by adding at the end the 10 following new paragraph: 11 ‘‘(16) LEAD IN DRINKING WATER.—The Ad- 12 ministrator shall revise the national primary drink- 13 ing water regulation for lead to ensure that— 14 ‘‘(A) not later than December 31, 2020, 15 the action level for lead in drinking water is not 16 more than 10 parts per billion; and 17 ‘‘(B) not later than December 31, 2026, 18 the action level for lead in drinking water is not 19 more than 5 parts per billion.’’. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:31 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3677.IH H3677 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS