Safe Drinking Water Act

State environmental policy
U.S. environmental policy
Endangered species policy
State endangered species
Federal land policy
Environmental terms

The Safe Drinking Water Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Gerald Ford (R) in 1974. Its purpose is to "establish standards and treatment requirements for public water supplies, control underground injection of wastes, finance infrastructure projects, and protect sources of drinking water," according to the Congressional Research Service.^[1][2]

Enforcement is divided between the federal government and the states. States have authority to implement and enforce drinking water regulations if they adopt standards that mirror national requirements, adopt adequate enforcement mechanisms, conduct water system monitoring, and maintain records and compliance information. As of March 2017, 49 states (all but Wyoming) had primary authority over public water systems.^[1][2]

Background[edit]

The Safe Drinking Water Act was enacted in 1974 and amended in 1986, 1996, and 2016. The act established programs for drinking water standards and water treatment requirements for public water supplies, authorized federal funding for drinking water infrastructure projects, and enabled federal regulation of underground injection of fluids to protect underground drinking water supplies.^[1][2][3]

Enforcement is divided between the federal government and the states. States have authority to implement and enforce drinking water regulations if they adopt standards that mirror national requirements, adopt adequate enforcement mechanisms, conduct water system monitoring, and maintain records and compliance information. As of March 2017, 49 states had primary authority over public water systems. The original 1974 act gave the EPA discretionary authority to regulate drinking water contaminants and gave states primary authority for implementing and enforcing the act's requirements on public water supplies.^[1][3]

The 1986 amendments required the EPA to regulate 83 specific contaminants by June 1989 and 25 additional contaminants every three years after 1989. The act also established federal standards for disinfecting and filtrating public water supplies, requirements for reducing the use of lead pipes in new drinking water systems, federal grants to states and localities for groundwater protection programs, and federal regulation and monitoring of underground injection of wastes below drinking water sources.^[1][3][4]

In the 1996 amendments, Congress eliminated the requirement that the EPA regulate 25 new contaminants per year and instead required the EPA to select new contaminants for regulation based on their health risks, occurrence in public water systems, and the estimated risk reductions that may result from regulation. The amendments also established a revolving drinking water grant fund; states distribute federal grants to localities for water infrastructure improvements and for compliance with drinking water standards.^[1][3][5]

In the 2016 amendments, Congress authorized new grant programs for public water systems in low-income communities (following the drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan), for lead pipe replacements, and for voluntary lead testing at schools and daycare facilities.^[6]

Legislative history[edit]

Sen. Warren Magnuson (D-Washington) introduced the Safe Drinking Water Act on January 18, 1973. The Senate passed its version of the bill on June 22, 1973. The House of Representatives passed its version on November 19, 1974. The Senate amended the House bill before passing it again. The House agreed to the amended Senate bill on December 3, 1974, and the law was signed by President Gerald Ford (R) on December 16, 1974.^[7]

In remarks delivered at the signing ceremony for the SDWA, Ford said:^[8]

Provisions[edit]

National drinking water standards[edit]

See also: Drinking water quality

The Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 required the EPA to issue national drinking water standards to limit any contaminants that may pose health risks or are likely to be found in public water supplies. Federal standards apply to all privately and publicly owned water systems that regularly service at least 25 people. The EPA selects and regulates contaminants based on the following criteria:^{[1][2][3][11]}

• Potential adverse health effects
• A high likelihood that a contaminant will be found in public water systems at a level and frequency that could affect public health
• Probability that regulating a contaminant will reduce health risks for people who regularly use public water systems

Contaminants regulated through national drinking water standards include microorganisms (such as harmful bacteria), radionuclides (such as cancer-causing chemicals), organic chemicals (such as benzene and pesticides), and inorganic chemicals (such as arsenic and lead). The EPA sets maximum contaminant levels at which no known or anticipated adverse health effects occur in individuals.^[1][11]

As of March 2017, national drinking water regulations applied to approximately 152,700 privately and publicly owned drinking water systems. Of that total, 51,350 water systems—approximately 34 percent of regulated systems—served the same residences year-round.^[1]

State authority[edit]

The act gave state governments primary enforcement and oversight authority over public water systems (if the EPA determines a state has met the act's requirements). In addition, the 1996 amendments authorized $100 million per year in grants (between fiscal years 1997-2003) to states for administering the Public Water Supply Supervision (PWSS) Program, which is the main program for regulating public water systems.^[3]

Unregulated contaminants[edit]

The act required the EPA to maintain a public list of unregulated contaminants that are known or could be found in public water systems and that may require regulation. The agency must monitor these contaminants and collect data on their occurrence in public water systems. Every five years, the EPA must publish its list of monitored contaminants and determine whether or not to regulate at least five contaminants on the list.^[12][13]

Underground injection control programs (UIC)[edit]

The act authorized underground injection control programs (UIC programs) to prevent contamination of groundwater, which seeps into the ground and accumulates in rock beneath the Earth's surface; groundwater is also a common drinking water source. These programs apply to injection wells, which are human-made devices to discharge fluids or collect material underground. Wells regulated under these programs include municipal waste disposal wells, oil and natural gas-related wells, wells used to extract and dissolve minerals, radioactive and hazardous injection wells, and wells to discharge non-hazardous fluids into or above groundwater.^[3][14][15]

The EPA sets minimum requirements for the UIC program, and state governments have primary enforcement authority over the program (the EPA can revise or revoke state UIC programs if they do not meet minimum federal requirements). As of June 2017, 34 states had primary authority over all underground injection wells regulated under the act. Seven states had primary authority over just oil and natural gas-related wells.^[16][17]

Lead in drinking water[edit]

The act included the following requirements on lead and drinking water supplies:^[1][3]

• The act restricted the amount of lead in pipes and plumbing equipment used to deliver drinking water. Specifically, the act (which was partially amended by the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act of 2011) prohibited the use of pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings, and fixtures that contain more than a weighted average of 0.25 percent lead. States have primary regulatory authority over this provision.
• In the 1986 amendments, Congress required public water system owners or operators to notify individuals who may be affected by lead in drinking water supplies caused by construction materials that were used to build the system or because the water was corrosive.
• In the 1996 amendments, Congress directed the EPA to issue standards limiting the amount of lead that may leach from new plumbing fittings or fixtures unless a voluntary industry standard was established within one year (an industry standard was established).

Public water systems by state[edit]

See also: Water systems in the United States

Three types of public water system exist in the United States:^[18]

• Community water systems deliver water to the same residences year-round.
• Non-transient non-community water systems regularly supply water to at least 25 of the same people for six months per year. These systems include schools, factories, office buildings, and hospitals. Such facilities may have their own on-site water systems.
• Transient non-community water systems provide water for certain areas where people do not remain for a long period of time, such as gas stations or campgrounds. These systems are open at least 60 days per year.

The table below shows the number of public water systems (defined as systems that supply drinking water to at least 25 people) by state. Wisconsin had the most water systems (11,641), and Hawaii had the fewest water systems (134).

Drinking water and hydraulic fracturing[edit]

See also: Fracking in the United States

Fracking overview[edit]

Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, is a method of oil and natural gas extraction. The process involves injecting fluid into subterranean rock formations at high pressure. The high pressure fluid produces a fracture network that allows crude oil and natural gas inside dense rocks to flow into a wellbore and be extracted at the surface. The fluid (known as frac fluid) contains between 98 percent and 99.5 percent water and sand; between 0.5 percent and 2 percent of the fluid is composed of chemical additives, which are used to stop the growth of microorganisms, prevent well casing corrosion, increase the rate at which the fluid is injected, and reduce pressure, among other uses.^[19][20]

While all oil and gas activities, including hydraulic fracturing, must meet federal requirements outlined in the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and other federal environmental laws, states have primary regulatory authority over fracking. States with fracking regulate the location and spacing of wells, drilling methods, lining of wells, the process of fracking itself, plugging wells, waste disposal, and site reclamation. States can allow their environmental regulatory agency to regulate fracking; other states regulate fracking through their oil and gas commissions.^[21]

Fracking regulation under SDWA[edit]

After Congress passed the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the EPA interpreted the law to exclude fracking from regulation under the underground injection program for oil and natural gas-related wells, arguing that the purpose of fracking was to extract natural gas and not to inject fluids into a well. In 1997, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled that the use of fracking to extract coalbed methane in Alabama was underground injection subject to Safe Drinking Water Act regulations.^[20][22]

After the ruling, the EPA studied the potential health and safety impacts on drinking water supplies by fracking for coalbed methane, concluding in 2004 that risks were minimal (unless diesel fuel was used) and that federal fracking regulation was unnecessary.^[20][23]

In the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Congress revised the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to exclude "the underground injection of fluids or propping agents (other than diesel fuels) pursuant to hydraulic fracturing operations related to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities” from the Safe Drinking Water Act's requirements for the underground injection control (UIC) program. The 2005 act effectively permitted state governments to regulate fracking as the process relates to underground drinking water sources, though state regulations must meet the minimum requirements outlined in all applicable federal laws, such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and others.^[20][24]

EPA study of fracking (2015-2016)[edit]

Congress in 2010 directed the EPA to review available research on the impacts of fracking on drinking water resources. The EPA study plan was released in November 2011, and the final report was released in December 2016.^[25] The total cost of the study was $29 million.^[26][27]

A review draft of the report was issued in June 2015, along with a press release headlined: “Assessment shows hydraulic fracturing activities have not led to widespread, systemic impacts to drinking water resources and identifies important vulnerabilities to drinking water resources.”^[28]

Following release of the draft, the EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) reviewed the report and submitted comments to the agency. In its 180 pages of comment, the board questioned the basis for the draft conclusion, stating, “The SAB finds that the EPA did not support quantitatively its conclusion about lack of evidence for widespread, systemic impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources, and did not clearly describe the system(s) of interest (e.g., groundwater, surface water), the scale of impacts (i.e., local or regional), nor the definitions of ‘systemic’ and ‘widespread.’”^[29]

The conclusion in the EPA's final report published in December 2016 stated:

Both the draft and final reports noted that fracking has led to local-level impacts on drinking water resources in some instances. However, the final report concluded that data gaps prevented researchers from reaching a conclusion on broader impacts while the draft report noted no evidence of widespread impact.^[31][32]

For more information on the EPA's study of fracking and drinking water supplies, see this article.

Recent[edit]

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See also[edit]

• 

  Environmental policy in the U.S.

• 

  Energy policy in the U.S.

• 

  Endangered species policy in the U.S.

• Drinking water quality
• Glossary of environmental terms

Footnotes[edit]

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