More on Drinking Water - US Politics

To: Aquatic-Plants <Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com>
Subject: More on Drinking Water - US Politics
From: "Williams, Rochelle - DCSPIM" <williaro at ftmcphsn-emh1_army.mil>
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 14:10:05 -0400


With all the recent talk about what is in our tap water, I though some of 
you would like an update on the current US Congressional actions on 
modifying the Clean Water Act.  The following is a summary from Greenwire, 
an environmental news service.

 A House subcommittee hearing and markup on safe drinking water legislation 
 -- which had been expected to begin today -- was canceled yesterday amid an 
escalating public-relations battle between business and enviro groups.  No 
official explanation was given for the delay, and despite
previous plans for bringing the bill to the House floor in early 5/96, no 
further action was scheduled.   The chlorine industry is "engaged in a 
last-minute lobbying push to win concessions in the Safe Drinking Water 
Act," the Associated Press reports.  <for non-US people, chlorine is used 
for water purification in this country.>  For more than two years, the 
industry has fought a proposed EPA rule that would reduce potentially 
cancer-causing compounds in drinking water which are formed as byproducts of 
chlorination.  But now the industry is seeking a provision in the House bill 
that would subject the draft rule to further cost-benefit analysis 
(AP/mult.).  The industry-based Chlorine Chemistry Council notes that the 
existing EPA analysis suggests the cost of each prevented cancer is between 
several thousand dollars and $19 billion.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) has introduced "right to know" bill that would 
require water systems to report annually to customers on contaminant levels 
in drinking water.

After reading all the comments about levels of contaminants, I'm getting a 
water report from my local utility company!  This is scary!!

Rochelle Williams
williaro at ftmcphsn-emh1_army.mil