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Papers > Politics > Lead Contamination Control Act of 1988
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Lead Contamination Control Act of 1988 |
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... As Kinkaid explains, environmentalists had some clear advantages in effecting change: “(1) pollution was a prominent public concern; (2) all governments in the federal system could be charged with neglect; (3) environmental problems crosscut state and local boundaries; (4) business regulation was an accepted principle of governance; (5) the nation could afford pollution control; and (6) nearly all states’ rights objections to federeal government action had been demolished. ... This paper explores a case study in American intergovernmental relations, the Lead Contamination Control Act (LCCA) of 1988. ... INTRODUCTION The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated in 1986 that 42 million Americans had tap water contaminated by more lead than permissible under the then-proposed EPA standard of 20 parts per billion (ppb). An estimated 241,000 children under age 6 were being exposed to lead in drinking water at levels high enough to impair their intellectual development. Lead poisoning in infants and children has long been a major public health concern. The most severe effects of lead ingestion are learning disorders, anemia, kidney disease, mental retardation and behavioral problems. A previous legislative action to address exposure to lead was the 1971 Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act (P. ... 91-695) which provided for testing and treating children with elevated blood lead levels, in addition to eliminating the causes of lead-based paint poisoning. Other legislative actions have resulted in reducing human exposure to lead from gasoline and canned products, especially baby food. Although these programs have proved successful, more than a decade passed before Congress confronted the issue of lead in drinking water. ... Public Health Service’s Report to Congress on Childhood Lead Poisoning warned that some lead-lined electric water cooler tanks contain a lead solder that may release lead into drinking water. ... In less than one year, the Lead Contamination Control Act of 1988 (LCCA) was passed and President Bush signed it into law (PL 100-572). ... While they may feel compelled to act, they may not do so at the expense of States’ rights; nor at the expense of what already may be effective oversight and management. ... I conclude with a discussion of the possible ramifications for Federal environmental regulation and views on the proper roles of Congress, administrative agencies, the States and interest groups in handling policy matters such as lead contamination. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY On June 29, 1988, Representative Jerry Sikorski of Minnesota introduced HR 4939, the Lead Contamination Control Act of 1988. His bill was ambitious in seeking to address lead contamination in water systems throughout the country, from water sources to customers. ... The bill would amend the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and within six months require the EPA to revise national drinking water standards and establish a new regulatory standard for lead content of no more than 10 ppb. Within 12 months the bill would force public water systems to replace any component or fixture that emitted lead in excess of the stipulated amount. Beyond these general requirements, it would direct the EPA to publish and distribute to the States a list of each model of drinking water cooler with lead-lined tanks. To assist schools in identifying and remedying lead contamination in school drinking water supplies, a handbook on testing protocol was to be distributed. The EPA also would be required to notify manufacturers of lead-lined tanks, and subsequently they would have to repair or replace such water coolers. Should the manufacturers fail to act, the EPA would be mandated to do so. Furthermore, the LCCA would ban the manufacture or importation of drinking water coolers that were not lead-free. The states would be directed to establish a program, funded through EPA grants if necessary, to assist local education agencies in testing for and remedying lead contamination in water coolers. In conclusion, the bill was to amend the Public Health Service Act, authorizing the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make state grants to screen and treat infants and children, and to educate the public at large about childhood lead poisoning. ... Hearings A subcommittee hearing was held on July 13, 1988. ... Tests determined that eight of 22 water coolers had linings containing lead. ... His testimony centered on the efforts currently underway to address the larger public health issue of lead in drinking water. ... He added that the EPA and the states had already taken several actions to address lead in drinking water, including the ban of lead solder, flux, or plumbing in public building construction and restoration. ... Cook added that the guidelines would have to be published in accordance with the formal rule making process, which could lead to unnecessary delays in making them available. LCCA required states to establish programs to assist education agencies in testing for and remedying problems with lead in schools’ drinking water, yet they currently were taking effective action on this score. ... Obviously the EPA did not look favorably on the bill as drafted, although the agency asserted that lead contamination was a serious problem that it had been combating for several years. On August 3, 1988 the Subcommittee on Health and Environment met in open session and ordered reporting on HR 4939. ... On October 3, 1988, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce reported HR 4939 and issued House Report No. ... The provision for a regulatory standard for lead of 10 ppb. ... Section 1463 directed the EPA to publish within 100 days of the bill’s enactment a list of water coolers that were not lead-free, and Section 1463(b) included a prohibition on the manufacture or sale of these coolers. ... Cook had averred that manufacturers had ceased producing water coolers with lead tanks or lead components. Also remaining was the language that later would turn out to be the most troublesome: that the states be given nine months after enactment to establish a program for assisting local education agencies (LEA’s) in testing for and remedying lead contamination problems in schools. These efforts aimed at eliminating all sources of lead contamination in school drinking water, including securing the assistance of water suppliers to reduce the corrosivity of water entering the schools and thereby reduce leaching of lead from existing plumbing. ... Waxman would later state, “Unfortunately, the legislation before us does not include provisions mandating that the Federal EPA establish a stringent new tap water standard for lead. |
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Title: Lead Contamination Control Act of 1988
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