S-2579 : Still Just a Bill

Drinking Water Safety and Infrastructure Act

This bill provides additional assistance for a public health emergency related to a contaminated public drinking water supply system. Assistance may be provided through grants under the drinking water state revolving fund and loans under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Program.

Upon the request of a state or local health official, the National Center for Environmental Health's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry must conduct voluntary surveillance activities to evaluate any adverse health effects on individuals exposed to lead from drinking water in affected communities.

The bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring public water systems to notify their customers of lead concentration levels in drinking water that exceed lead limits. The Environmental Protection Agency must notify the public within 15 days of the lead levels exceeding those limits if the public water system or the state does not notify the public. The EPA may notify the public or the local or state health department of the result of lead monitoring conducted by a public water system.

The Department of Health and Human Services must establish a lead exposure registry to collect data on the lead exposure of residents of a city on a voluntary basis.

The Treasury must transfer funds to: (1) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funds for the childhood lead poisoning prevention program, (2) the Department of Housing and Urban Development for its Healthy Homes Initiative, and (3) the Health Resources and Services Administration for the Healthy Start Initiative.

The bill prohibits further spending by the Department of Energy on or after October 1, 2020, for the subsidy costs of loans issued through the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Loan Program.