PUBLIC LAW 104±182ÐAUG. 6, 1996 110 STAT. 1613 Public Law 104±182 104th Congress An Act To reauthorize and amend title XIV of the Public Health Service Act (commonly Aug. 6, 1996 known as the ``Safe Drinking Water Act''), and for other purposes. [S. 1316] Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, Safe Drinking Water Act SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. Amendments of (a) SHORT TITLE.ÐThis Act may be cited as the ``Safe Drinking 1996. Inter- Water Act Amendments of 1996''. governmental (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.Ð relations. Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Environmental Sec. 2. References; effective date; disclaimer. protection. Sec. 3. Findings. 42 USC 201 note. TITLE IÐAMENDMENTS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT Sec. 101. Definitions. Sec. 102. General authority. Sec. 103. Risk assessment, management, and communication. Sec. 104. Standard-setting. Sec. 105. Treatment technologies for small systems. Sec. 106. Limited alternative to filtration. Sec. 107. Ground water disinfection. Sec. 108. Effective date for regulations. Sec. 109. Arsenic, sulfate, and radon. Sec. 110. Recycling of filter backwash. Sec. 111. Technology and treatment techniques. Sec. 112. State primacy. Sec. 113. Enforcement; judicial review. Sec. 114. Public notification. Sec. 115. Variances. Sec. 116. Small systems variances. Sec. 117. Exemptions. Sec. 118. Lead plumbing and pipes. Sec. 119. Capacity development. Sec. 120. Authorization of appropriations for certain ground water programs. Sec. 121. Amendments to section 1442. Sec. 122. Technical assistance. Sec. 123. Operator certification. Sec. 124. Public water system supervision program. Sec. 125. Monitoring and information gathering. Sec. 126. Occurrence data base. Sec. 127. Drinking Water Advisory Council. Sec. 128. New York City watershed protection program. Sec. 129. Federal agencies. Sec. 130. State revolving loan funds. Sec. 131. State ground water protection grants. Sec. 132. Source water assessment. Sec. 133. Source water petition program. Sec. 134. Water conservation plan. Sec. 135. Drinking water assistance to colonias. Sec. 136. Estrogenic substances screening program. Sec. 137. Drinking water studies. TITLE IIÐDRINKING WATER RESEARCH Sec. 201. Drinking water research authorization. 110 STAT. 1614 PUBLIC LAW 104±182ÐAUG. 6, 1996 Sec. 202. Scientific research review. Sec. 203. National center for ground water research. TITLE IIIÐMISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS Sec. 301. Water return flows. Sec. 302 Transfer of funds. Sec. 303. Grants to Alaska to improve sanitation in rural and Native villages. Sec. 304. Sense of the Congress. Sec. 305. Bottled drinking water standards. Sec. 306. Washington Aqueduct. Sec. 307. Wastewater assistance to colonias. Sec. 308. Prevention and control of zebra mussel infestation of Lake Champlain. TITLE IVÐADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR WATER INFRASTRUCTURE AND WATERSHEDS Sec. 401. National program. TITLE VÐCLERICAL AMENDMENTS Sec. 501. Clerical amendments. SEC. 2. REFERENCES; EFFECTIVE DATE; DISCLAIMER. (a) REFERENCES TO SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT.ÐExcept as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to that section or other provision of title XIV of the Public Health Service Act (commonly known as the ``Safe Drinking Water Act'') (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.). 42 USC 300f (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.ÐExcept as otherwise specified in this note. Act or in the amendments made by this Act, this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act. 42 USC 300f (c) DISCLAIMER.ÐExcept for the provisions of section 302 (relat- note. ing to transfers of funds), nothing in this Act or in any amendments made by this Act to title XIV of the Public Health Service Act (commonly known as the ``Safe Drinking Water Act'') or any other law shall be construed by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency or the courts as affecting, modifying, expanding, changing, or alteringÐ (1) the provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; (2) the duties and responsibilities of the Administrator under that Act; or (3) the regulation or control of point or nonpoint sources of pollution discharged into waters covered by that Act. The Administrator shall identify in the agency's annual budget all funding and full-time equivalents administering such title XIV separately from funding and staffing for the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. 42 USC 300f SEC. 3. FINDINGS. note. The Congress finds thatÐ (1) safe drinking water is essential to the protection of public health; (2) because the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.) now exceed the financial and technical capacity of some public water systems, especially many small public water systems, the Federal Government needs to provide assistance to communities to help the commu- nities meet Federal drinking water requirements; PUBLIC LAW 104±182ÐAUG. 6, 1996 110 STAT. 1615 (3) the Federal Government commits to maintaining and improving its partnership with the States in the administration and implementation of the Safe Drinking Water Act; (4) States play a central role in the implementation of safe drinking water programs, and States need increased finan- cial resources and appropriate flexibility to ensure the prompt and effective development and implementation of drinking water programs; (5) the existing process for the assessment and selection of additional drinking water contaminants needs to be revised and improved to ensure that there is a sound scientific basis for setting priorities in establishing drinking water regulations; (6) procedures for assessing the health effects of contami- nants establishing drinking water standards should be revised to provide greater opportunity for public education and partici- pation; (7) in considering the appropriate level of regulation for contaminants in drinking water, risk assessment, based on sound and objective science, and benefit-cost analysis are impor- tant analytical tools for improving the efficiency and effective- ness of drinking water regulations to protect human health; (8) more effective protection of public health requiresÐ (A) a Federal commitment to set priorities that will allow scarce Federal, State, and local resources to be tar- geted toward the drinking water problems of greatest public health concern; (B) maximizing the value of the different and com- plementary strengths and responsibilities of the Federal and State governments in those States that have primary enforcement responsibility for the Safe Drinking Water Act; and (C) prevention of drinking water contamination through well-trained system operators, water systems with adequate managerial, technical, and financial capacity, and enhanced protection of source waters of public water sys- tems; (9) compliance with the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act continues to be a concern at public water systems experiencing technical and financial limitations, and Federal, State, and local governments need more resources and more effective authority to attain the objectives of the Safe Drinking Water Act; and (10) consumers served by public water systems should be provided with information on the source of the water they are drinking and its quality and safety, as well as prompt notification of any violation of drinking water regulations. TITLE IÐAMENDMENTS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. (a) IN GENERAL.ÐSection 1401 (42 U.S.C. 300f) is amended as follows: (1) In paragraph (1)Ð (A) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ``accepted meth- ods for'' before ``quality control''; and 110 STAT. 1616 PUBLIC LAW 104±182ÐAUG. 6, 1996 Federal Register, (B) by adding at the end the following: ``At any time publication. after promulgation of a regulation referred to in this para- graph, the Administrator may add equally effective quality control and testing procedures by guidance published in the Federal Register. Such procedures shall be treated as an alternative for public water systems to the quality control and testing procedures listed in the regulation.''. (2) In paragraph (13)Ð (A) by striking ``The'' and inserting ``(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the''; and (B) by adding at the end the following: ``(B) For purposes of section 1452, the term `State' means each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.''. (3) In paragraph (14), by adding at the end the following: ``For purposes of section 1452, the term includes any Native village (as defined in section 3(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(c))).''. (4) By adding at the end the following: ``(15) COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEM.ÐThe term `community water system' means a public water system thatÐ ``(A) serves at least 15 service connections used by year-round residents of the area served by the system; or ``(B) regularly serves at least 25 year-round residents. ``(16) NONCOMMUNITY WATER SYSTEM.ÐThe term `non- community water system' means a public water system that is not a community water system.''. (b) PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM.Ð (1) IN GENERAL.ÐSection 1401(4) (42 U.S.C. 300f(4)) is amended as follows: (A) In the first sentence, by striking ``piped water for human consumption'' and inserting ``water for human consumption through pipes or other constructed convey- ances''. (B) By redesignating subparagraphs