Act now to safeguard the nation’s drinking water.

A Bush administration proposal to weaken health protections under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) will allow up to three times or more cancer and other disease-causing chemical contaminants in the U.S. drinking water than is currently allowed.  The health of rural and low-income communities across the U.S. may be hardest hit by the Bush administration’s proposed changes, which would create a two-tiered drinking water system: safe drinking water for better off city dwellers, and contaminated water for many rural and small-town residents who struggle to pay the costs to meet drinking water standards. Instead of making funding available to make the necessary investments, the administration is cutting corners and undermining equal environmental protections. In addition to weakening drinking water protection, experts are concerned that industry will seek to use the change to justify allowing more pollution in landfills and toxic waste sites.

On March 2nd, 2006, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed policy change that would define “affordability” under SDWA in a way that will seriously undermine health protections. Specifically, EPA would make it far easier for smaller towns to serve contaminated drinking water, by arguing that it would cost too much to clean it up. In fact, EPA proposes to allow up to three times or more the current legal limit of toxic chemicals in tap water, and still label it “protective of health.”  

Most drinking water providers, state environmental and health agencies, and public health and environmental groups are strongly opposed to this scheme to weaken the nation’s drinking water protections.  

After months of EPA-convened negotiations, an expert panel on affordability including small and large water systems, state, local and tribal governments, public health experts, consumer and environmental groups, and academic experts agreed to changes that would have resulted in addressing legitimate affordability concerns and kept needed health protections for rural and low-income communities.  Stunningly, EPA has ignored this near-consensus agreement, refusing even to consider it. Sadly, the one group of 18 participating in the negotiations, the National Rural Water Association (which represents the boards of some small water suppliers) has championed EPA’s new attempt to undermine drinking water standards, and has speculated that it will allow their members to go as high as 20 times the national standard. Other organizations, including the American Water Works Association (a trade association representing most small and large water systems), Clean Water Action, Consumer Federation of America, Food & Water Watch, National Consumer Law Center, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Rural Community Assistance Partnership, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, and many other groups who stand up for strong standards  are strongly opposed to EPA’s new botched proposal.

The Environmental Protection Agency, which is supposed to safeguard our environment, is risking the health of our communities, particularly those residing in low-income and rural areas. This is completely unacceptable and must be stopped immediately!

The deadline to comment is May 1, 2006.

Please tell President Bush and the Environmental Protection Agency to stop this unprecedented attempt to undermine our environmental and public health protections. Instead, the administration must provide direct financial assistance to meet drinking water standards that protect our health – not create second-class communities that would be stuck with more seriously contaminated water.

Act now to safeguard the nation’s drinking water.

Read the federal notice.