S. 2820

Contaminant and Lead Electronic Accounting and Reporting Requirements (CLEARR) for Drinking Water Act of 2016

This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by revising requirements governing the drinking water state revolving funds, including by prioritizing grant applications that improve continuous electronic monitoring or transmission of water quality testing results.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must issue formal guidance that develops a process for protecting and improving the drinking water of minority, tribal, or low-income communities. In developing the process, the EPA must establish within the Office of Environmental Justice a process for the communities to request expedited testing of the quality of drinking water.

The EPA must develop an electronic database of drinking water quality and health screening tests.

The EPA may make grants for educating residents in minority, tribal, or low-income communities about: (1) drinking water contaminants that may have adverse effects on human health, and (2) the assistance that the EPA may provide in addressing the contaminants.

The EPA may create a partnership for researching contaminants in drinking water.

The bill revises reporting requirements, inspection requirements, and enforcement provisions concerning violations of national primary drinking water standards.

The EPA must issue a rule establishing requirements for electronic submission of compliance data by public water systems and states with primary enforcement responsibilities.

The bill establishes additional requirements for those states with respect to notifications of violations of drinking water regulations that have the potential to have serious adverse effects on human health.