Bill > S3445

This bill mandates that the Secretary of Defense must offer alternative drinking water to households whose private drinking water wells are contaminated with perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) substances, which are chemicals that have been linked to health problems, if this contamination resulted from Department of Defense activities at a nearby military installation and has exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) maximum contaminant level (MCL), a legally enforceable standard for contaminants in public drinking water. The bill specifies that "alternative drinking water" can include bottled water, connection to public water systems, or filtration systems for private homes. The Secretary must coordinate these efforts with existing environmental laws, such as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), also known as Superfund, which is a federal law designed to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites. However, the Secretary is not required to provide alternative water if all affected households in a community are already connected to a municipal water system or if other actions have been taken under CERCLA to reduce exposure to these contaminants and meet relevant drinking water standards. A "private drinking water well" is defined as a well not connected to a public water system.

Military Affairs and Security

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/3445/all-info