From Source to Tap/Challenges and Opportunities for Safe, Reliable, and Affordable Drinking Water: February 24th U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee Hearing

The Subcommittee on Environment of the United States House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee held a February 24th Hearing titled:

From Source to Tap: A Hearing to Examine Challenges and Opportunities for Safe, Reliable, and Affordable Drinking Water (“Hearing”).

The stated purpose of the Hearing was to examine:

• Current state of United States drinking water infrastructure.
• How the Safe Drinking Water Act (“SDWA”) is being implemented.
• Security of water systems against cyber threats.
• Other risks.

The SDWA is the federal law that protects drinking water supplies. The statute requires that EPA identify drinking water contaminants. The agency is then then required to develop rules that either set maximum permissible levels for the contaminants or establish protocols to treat the water to minimize the levels of the contaminants. All owners or operators of SDWA regulated public water systems are required to comply with the primary (health-related) standards.

In preparation for the Hearing, the Energy and Commerce Committee Majority Staff prepared a memorandum for members of the Subcommittee on Environment whose components included:

• Background.
• Key sections of the SDWA.
• Funding and affordability.
• Cyber security and water infrastructure reliability concerns.
• Protecting the safety of our drinking water.
• Recent EPA Office of Inspector General activities.
• Topics for discussion.

Witnesses scheduled to testify at the Hearing included:

• Eric Hill - Russellville Water & Sewer Board, Russellville, Alabama, on behalf of the National Rural Water Association.
• Nicole Murley - Deputy Inspector General performing the duties of the Inspector General, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
• Lindsey Rechtin, CPA - Northern Kentucky Water District, on behalf of the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies.
• Erik Olson - Senior Strategic Director for Health & Food, Natural Resources Defense Council.

A link to the written witness statements can be found here.