Bill > HR766

This bill, known as the SEWER (Surveilling Effluent Water for Epidemic Response) Act, proposes to expand the National Wastewater Surveillance System by authorizing the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to enhance wastewater monitoring for various infectious diseases. Specifically, the bill aims to coordinate federal, state, and local efforts to detect and track pathogens like SARS-CoV-2, influenza, mpox, dengue, West Nile virus, and respiratory syncytial virus through wastewater testing. To support these efforts, the bill authorizes $150 million in funding annually through 2030, which will remain available for use. Importantly, the bill includes a provision that explicitly states that wastewater utilities and service providers are not required to comply with surveillance requests, providing some protection for these entities. Wastewater surveillance has emerged as a valuable public health tool during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing early detection of disease spread in communities by testing sewage for genetic traces of pathogens before widespread clinical symptoms appear.

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https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/766/all-info