Congress Passes 'Most Significant' Water Bill Since Safe Drinking Water Act
By Sara Jerome,
@sarmje
Congress has approved a measure to assist small water systems, advancing the Grassroots Rural and Small Community Water Systems Act to President Obama for his signature.
“This is likely the most significant safe drinking water policy enacted since the passage of the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1996,” the National Rural Water Association (NRWA) said in in its newsletter.
The House of Representatives approved the bill on November 30. The bill passed the Senate in May. “The NRWA expects President Obama to sign the bill into law with enthusiasm,” the newsletter said.
John Camden, of Montana Rural Water Systems, stressed the importance of policies supporting these systems in an interview with the Billings Gazette.
“If you look at populations of 3,300 and larger, there are only 29 systems [in Montana],” Camden said. “Less than 100, I bet there’s 300 to 500. It only takes 25 people to be a public water supplier, or 15 or more service connections.”
Approved with bipartisan support, the legislation “reauthorizes an EPA program that provides technical assistance to small public water systems” and “authorizes EPA to provide technical assistance programs to small public water systems through grants or cooperative agreements made to nonprofit organizations,” according to a release from House Energy and Commerce Republicans.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) praised the legislation when it passed his committee.
“This popular program is important to all our rural water system managers, and to their customers, who need technical assistance to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act’s stringent standards. By passing this legislation today on a bipartisan basis, without amendment, we’re hopeful it will be considered by the full House as soon as possible,” he said.
Various stakeholders commended the bill, including American Public Works Association President Brian Usher. Usher thanked lawmakers “for working in a bipartisan fashion to move the bill through the Congress in quick order.”
House Energy and Commerce lawmakers discussed the legislation at a hearing in October.
For similar stories, visit Water Online’s Drinking Water Regulations And Legislation Solutions Center.