John Chafee: “I commend the Senator from Idaho for the amendment he has presented. He is truly representing the folks of his State…”

“I commend the Senator from Idaho for the amendment he has presented. He is truly representing the folks of his State where they do have many, many small water systems. Let me just give you a statistic, if I might. There are 36,000 community water systems in the United States serving populations of less than 500 people. It seems impossible, but that is the point that the Senator from Idaho was making. In his State--and in mine, too, but to a lesser degree, but certainly in his State--he has, I can only believe, a whole series of these very small systems that, if we require the traditional type of preventive--well, I guess the word is ``preventive''--or curative solutions be adopted, the costs would just be out of sight. So the point the Senator from Idaho has made in his amendment is an excellent one. There are innovative techniques that can be developed. The only way we will do them is if we try them. So I commend the Senator from Idaho for his amendment and, certainly on this side, we accept it enthusiastically.”