Bipartisan legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on March 2 to create a tool on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website that will aid Americans with a private well to find resources to test their drinking water and understand the results.
The Test Your Well Water Act was introduced by Representatives Dan Kildee (D-Michigan), along with Mike Gallagher (R-Wisconsin), Ron Kind (D-Wisconsin), Antonio Delgado (D-New York), and Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan).
The tool would promote transparency and streamline the EPA’s resources to help people potentially exposed to toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other contaminants. In the United States, 43 million people get their drinking water from water wells that are currently unregulated by federal and state governments.
“Whether drinking from a municipal water source or well water, Michiganders deserve cleaning drinking water,” Kildee said. “Many communities, including Oscoda in my district, have for years been dealing with the impact of contaminated well water. Having an easy interactive online tool through the EPA will make it easier for people to test their well water and make sure it is safe to drink and free from PFAS chemicals.”
In January, a version of this legislation passed the House of Representatives as part of H.R. 535, the PFAS Action Act.
NGWA CEO Terry S. Morse, CAE, CIC, thanked Representative Kildee for introducing the bill. Morse and others from the groundwater industry are advocating for working solutions relating to PFAS during the 2020 NGWA Groundwater Fly-In and Water Resources Congressional Summit, which is being held March 3-4 in Washington D.C.
“It’s vital that private well owners across the country have the resources they need to test and treat their water supply,” Morse said. “This tool is an important step in identifying and addressing water quality issues and we look forward to working with Representative Kildee and the cosponsors of this important bill in making this legislation law.”