Posted February 13, 2014
 
U.S. Representative Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) introduced legislation that would require oversight and inspection of chemical storage facilities and aboveground storage tanks, according to an article by the Huntington News, available here.
 
Capito introduced the Ensuring Access to Clean Water Act, H.R. 4024, on Monday in response to recent chemical spills in West Virginia.
 
“Families need to know that the water that comes out of their tap is clean and safe.  The chemical spill in Charleston highlighted a number of gaps in existing regulations that must be closed.  
 
Chemical storage facilities and aboveground storage tanks must be routinely inspected, particularly if they are located near rivers.  Public utilities must know what chemicals are nearby and how to respond should chemicals enter the water system.  I urge Congress to pass this critical legislation to ensure that everyone in America has access to clean water in their homes,” Rep. Capito said in a press release here.
 
The legislation would require states to create programs for overseeing chemical storage facilities and inspect aboveground storage tanks.  It would also “establish minimum requirements for these state oversight and inspection programs, including design standard, leak detection, spill and overfill control, inventory control, emergency response and communication, employee training, lifecycle maintenance, and notice regarding the potential toxicity of stored chemicals.”
 
Inspections would be required every three years for tanks located in “source water assessment areas” and every five years for other tanks.  The bill would also allow the EPA to offer technical assistance to state programs, mandate that the EPA create a survey of best practices, set penalties for violations, and provide owners/operators of public water companies the right to file a civil action or petition to address “imminent and substantial endangerment to public health.”

 

For more information on the Clean Water Act, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
 
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