Bill Introduced in Congress to Amend Safe Drinking Water Act to Include Perchlorate

A Bill to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to require a national primary drinking water standard for perchlorate was introduced in Congress. HR 1747 known as the "Safe Drinking Water for Healthy Communities Act of 2007" would require a draft standard be published in the Federal Register within 12 months after the date of enactment and a final standard in place 18 months after that.

The Bill specifically states that the "most prevalent sources of perchlorate contamination in environmental media can be traced to the manufacture and improper disposal of wastes from blasting agents and military munitions". Last year the DoD established 24 ppb as their "level of concern for managing perchlorate in the environment". Some States are actively pursuing to establish their own standards which, in some cases are significantly lower than the DoD level of concern.

The Bill was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. To view HR 1747 click the download link below.