🚀 go-pugleaf

I'm forwarding this alert which was distributed by the organizations 
listed at the end of this posting. Please refer any questions to: 
Velma Smith at Friends of the Earth, 218 D Street SE, Washington, DC  20003
(202) 544-2600 ext. 294
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PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT!  

Nearly every American assumes that the water they drink is safe.  More than 
two hundred million Americans obtain their drinking water from public water 
systems.  There have been a growing number of cases of health problems 
from bad quality drinking water and an increasing number of water supplies 
that have been polluted from toxic chemicals, industrial pollutants and 
pesticides.  To address these pollution problems, Congress passed 
sweeping legislation in the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1986, increasing the 
number of contaminants for which water systems must monitor and test.

Unfortunately, Congress has put relatively little money into state programs to 
enforce these new regulations.  State drinking water programs, which 
oversee the drinking water regulations, received approximately $45 million in 
federal funds in 1991.  States, in total, contributed more than twice that much
in the same year.

Far more money is needed, however.  Many states have tried to raise 
additional money for drinking water programs through voter referendums 
that would charge water system customers a "user fee".  Given the current 
state of the economy, many of these referendums have not passed.  Some 
states may return responsibility for making sure that systems are meeting 
federal drinking water standards to the federal government. Unfortunately, 
EPA's own resources are too limited to effectively assume the task of water 
system oversight.

The federal government must put more money into drinking water programs 
to ensure that the water we all drink does not pose a threat to public health.
If states cannot meet the goals of drinking water legislation, and worse, if 
states give up their programs, many Americans may have good reason to 
question the quality of water that comes from the tap.

Please write your Senators and Congressmen, urging them to increase the 
funding levels for drinking water programs.  (Better still, call their district
offices.)  The attached letter was signed by 35 national organizations and 
sent to every member of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees.  
The letter can be used as a model. 

It would be most helpful if you make the contacts with your legislators in 
early to mid-June.

Please contact Velma Smith at Friends of the Earth, 218 D Street SE, 
Washington, DC  20003 or (202) 544-2600 extension 294 to provide copies 
of your letters or to get additional information.

Thank you for supporting this effort.

********************************

May 27, 1992

The Honorable Robert Byrd
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C.  20510

Dear Senator Byrd:

Safe drinking water is a fundamental right of every American.  That right is 
now threatened, however, due to severe budget shortfalls for state and local 
drinking water programs, EPA, and public water systems.  To address these 
severe fiscal constraints, an unusual coalition of state and local regulators, 
industry representatives, rural development groups, environmentalists, and 
citizen groups has united to ask that Congress recommit to the public trust 
and provide the funds necessary to ensure safe drinking water in this 
country through the FY-93 appropriations process.  The shortfalls have now 
reached crisis proportions and the situation is urgent.
                                  *************
Whenever a person turns on a drinking water faucet in this country, that 
moment represents perhaps the most intimate connection between public 
trust and the government's duty to protect the public health of its citizens.  
Unlike any other day-to-day government activity, the provision of drinking 
water has a direct and immediate effect on the well-being of every citizen.
It was in this spirit that Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) 
in 1974.

The 1986 Amendments to the SDWA added to these requirements.  The 
Amendments require the regulation of 83 contaminants, plus 25 additional 
contaminants every three years, disinfection and filtration of surface water, 
and disinfection of ground-water.  Collectively, the regulations promulgated 
under the SDWA cover approximately 204,000 public water systems and 
impact 219 million people nationwide.

The health impact of the SDWA regulations is significant.  A 1989 report 
entitled Estimates of the Total Benefits and Total Costs Associated with 
Implementation of the 1986 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act 
indicates that the aggregate health effects for all rules except for the 
disinfectants/disinfection by-products includes 178 cases of cancer avoided 
each year; over 200,000 endemic and outbreak cases of waterborne disease 
avoided annually; 226,000 persons having reduced exposure to cadmium; 
and 138 million persons estimated to have reduced exposure to lead.  The 
latest estimates for lead also indicate that the decrease in exposure will 
lead to the reduction of 630,000 cases of hypertension.

The provision of safe drinking water is in question, however.  State costs to 
implement the Act and water system compliance costs have created a crisis 
situation.  In FY-91, the cost of the program exceeded $125 million with the 
states contribution almost $81 million (64 percent) and EPA contributing 
about $45 million (36 percent) through state grants.  These numbers are in 
stark contrast to the President's FY-93 budget request of $58.95 million.  In 
fact, EPA estimates that state implementation costs will be $400 million by 
1995.  Estimates for water system costs are $7 billion per year.  EPA costs 
will also significantly increase in the areas of research and development, 
data management, and implementation and enforcement.

State and local governments, however, are not in a position to shoulder a 
substantially increased percentage of these regulatory costs.  Last year over 
33 states experienced severe budget deficits resulting in across-the-board 
budget cuts, furloughs, and reduction of drinking water staff.  This comes at
a time when EPA is threatening to withdraw primacy from states that are not 
capable of fully meeting the requirements of the SDWA.

We respectfully ask that Congress consider:

* increasing the Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) grant from 
the President's budget request of $58.9 million to $100 million;

* increasing the EPA budget for drinking water research and 
development by $3 million targeted towards drinking water health effects 
research (in addition to water research dollars requested by other 
organizations); and

* increasing the EPA salaries and expenses for the drinking water 
program by $22.1 million to $84.77 million;

* providing an additional $5 million for data management for drinking water.

While we recognize that the funds requested will not meet the complete 
needs of the program, we feel that Congress' commitment is essential to 
show the public that safe drinking water is indeed a basic right of every 
citizen in this country.

We thank you for the opportunity to share these views and we hope that you 
will seriously consider the importance of safe drinking water in this country.

Sincerely, 

Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies 
Association of State Drinking Water Administrators
Natural Resources Defense Council
American Water Works Association
Groundwater Project Friends of the Earth
National Water Resources Association
Rural Community Assistance Program
National Association of Water Companies
National Rural Water Association
Environmental Defense Fund
The Ecology Center
Ohio Citizen Action
Gulf Coast Tenants Association
North Carolina Rural Community Assistance Project, Inc.
Center for Environment, Commerce & Energy
Michigan Environmental Council
Clean Water Action
Southeast, Clean Water Action
Concern, Inc.
Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council
American Public Health Association
National Toxics Campaign Fund
New England Clean Water Action
Georgia Environmental Organization
Michigan Clean Water Action
Ohio Environmental Council
Water Resource Committee
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement
Friends of the Earth
U.S. Conference of Mayors
Vermonters Organized for Clean-Up/Vermont Toxic Education Program
    Fulton Safe Drinking Water Community
Environmental Concerns, Inc.


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_______________________________
Dave Paradise	    ddp@sgi.com