On the recordMay 16, 2011
I rise today to introduce the Small System Drinking Water Act of 2011. This is the fourth Congress that I have introduced this bill which would help water systems throughout the country comply with the ever growing number of federal drinking water standards. I am pleased to be joined by Senators Thad Cochran, David Vitter, John Boozman, James Risch, and Mike Crapo as cosponsors of this legislation. My bill will require the Federal Government to live up to its obligations and require the EPA to use the tools it was given in the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act amendments, SDWA. My goal here is to ensure that small towns across the country have safe, affordable drinking water and that the laws are fair to small and rural communities. Currently EPA assumes that families can afford water rates of 2.5 percent of their annual median household income, or $1,000 per household. For some families, paying $83 a month for water may not be a hardship but for so many more, it is nearly impossible. There must be some flexibility inserted into the calculation that factors in the ability of the truly disadvantaged to pay these costs. Forcing systems to raise rates beyond what their ratepayers can afford only causes more damage than good. EPA needs to look more closely at how it determines affordability. My bill directs EPA to take additional factors into consideration when making this determination.…
