Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 110 Part 2.djvu/823

 PUBLIC LAW 104-182—AUG. 6, 1996 110 STAT. 1615 (3) the Federal Government commits to maintaining and improving its partnership with the States in the administration and implementation of the Safe Drinking Water Act; (4) States play a central role in the implementation of safe drinking water programs, and States need increased financial resources and appropriate flexibility to ensure the prompt and effective development and implementation of drinking water programs; (5) the existing process for the assessment and selection of additional drinking water contaminants needs to be revised and improved to ensure that there is a sound scientific basis for setting priorities in establishing drinking water regulations; (6) procedures for assessing the health effects of contaminants establishing drinking water standards should be revised to provide greater opportunity for public education and participation; (7) in considering the appropriate level of regulation for contaminants in drimdng water, risk assessment, based on sound and objective science, and benefit-cost analysis are important analytical tools for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of drinking water regulations to protect human health; (8) more effective protection of public health requires— (A) a Federal commitment to set priorities that will allow scarce Federal, State, and local resources to be targeted toward the drinking water problems of greatest public ealth concern; (B) maximizing the value of the different and complementary strengths and responsibilities of the Federal and State governments in those States that have primary enforcement responsibility for the Safe Drinking Water Act; and (C) prevention of drinking water contamination through well-trained system operators, water systems with adequate managerial, technical, and financial capacity, and enhanced protection of source waters of public water systems; (9) compliance with the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act continues to be a concern at public water systems experiencing technical and financial limitations, and Federal, State, and local governments need more resources and more effective authority to attain the objectives of the Safe Drinking Water Act; and (10) consumers served by public water systems should be provided with information on the source of the water they are drinking and its quality and safety, as well as prompt notification of any violation of drinking water regulations. TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT SEC. 101. DEFINrriONS. (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1401 (42 U.S.C. 300f) is amended as follows: (1) In paragraph (1)— (A) in subparagraph (D), by inserting "accepted methods for" before "quality control"; and

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