PFAS User Fee Act of 2019

PFAS User Fee Act of 2019

This bill creates a fee to provide support for the treatment of drinking water contaminated with certain perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS. These substances are man-made and may have adverse human health effects. A variety of products contain the compounds, such as nonstick cookware or weatherproof clothing.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must establish a fee for the manufacture of PFAS. Revenue generated from the fees must be made available for a grant program. Under the program, the EPA must make grants to pay for the removal of PFAS from drinking water systems and wastewater treatment works.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2570 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2570

 To ensure that polluters pay ongoing water treatment costs associated 
with contamination from perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 8, 2019

  Mr. Rouda introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
  Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To ensure that polluters pay ongoing water treatment costs associated 
with contamination from perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``PFAS User Fee Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances have 
        emerged as pervasive contaminants in sources of drinking water 
        and water to be treated by treatment works.
            (2) Such substances are not naturally occurring, but are 
        present in water because of manufacturing and distribution of 
        PFAS in commerce.
            (3) Such substances pose serious risks to health, including 
        risks of cancer, reproductive and developmental effects, and 
        effects on the immune system, liver, and kidneys.
            (4) Because of these risks, regulatory limits continue to 
        be established for PFAS in drinking water and effluent from 
        treatment works.
            (5) Removing PFAS from water results in significant ongoing 
        operation and maintenance costs.
            (6) Those costs are currently borne by community water 
        systems and treatment works, and in turn by ratepayers.
            (7) Those costs should rightly be borne by the 
        manufacturers of PFAS, who are using community water systems 
        and treatment works to remove their pollution from the 
        environment.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) Affected facility.--The term ``affected facility'' 
        means--
                    (A) a community water system that has operation and 
                maintenance costs associated with the removal of PFAS 
                from water of the community water system; or
                    (B) a treatment works that has operation and 
                maintenance costs associated with the removal of PFAS 
                from effluent prior to discharge from the treatment 
                works.
            (3) Community water system.--The term ``community water 
        system'' has the meaning given that term in section 1401 of the 
        Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f).
            (4) Disadvantaged community.--The term ``disadvantaged 
        community'' has the meaning given that term in section 1452 of 
        the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j-12).
            (5) Manufacture.--The term ``manufacture'' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 3 of the Toxic Substances Control 
        Act (15 U.S.C. 2602).
            (6) PFAS.--The term ``PFAS'' means a perfluoroalkyl or 
        polyfluoroalkyl substance with at least one fully fluorinated 
        carbon atom.
            (7) Treatment works.--The term ``treatment works'' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 212 of the Federal Water 
        Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1292).

SEC. 4. PFAS MANUFACTURER USER FEE.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator shall, by rule, establish fees 
for the manufacture of PFAS, which shall be assessed to each person 
manufacturing PFAS based on the amount of PFAS manufactured by the 
person.
    (b) Initial Fee.--Not later than 12 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish fees under 
subsection (a) that are sufficient to ensure the collection of not less 
than $2,000,000,000 dollars per year.
    (c) Review and Update.--Not less frequently than every 2 years, the 
Administrator shall review the fees established under subsection (a) 
and update such fees as necessary to ensure that the fee collections 
are sufficient to cover at least 25 percent of the operation and 
maintenance costs associated with the removal of PFAS by affected 
facilities.

SEC. 5. PFAS TREATMENT TRUST FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of the 
United States a trust fund to be known as the ``PFAS Treatment Trust 
Fund'', consisting of such amounts as may be appropriated to such Trust 
Fund.
    (b) Transfer to Trust Fund of Amounts Equivalent to User Fees.--
There are hereby appropriated to the PFAS Treatment Trust Fund amounts 
equivalent to the fees collected under section 4.
    (c) Expenditures From Trust Fund.--Amounts in the PFAS Treatment 
Trust Fund shall be available, without further appropriation, only for 
purposes of making expenditures to carry out section 6.

SEC. 6. SUPPORT FOR OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF COMMUNITY WATER 
              SYSTEMS AND TREATMENT WORKS.

    (a) Grants.--The Administrator shall make grants to affected 
facilities to pay for operation and maintenance costs associated with 
the removal of PFAS.
    (b) Applications.--
            (1) Guidance.--Not later than 12 months after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall publish guidance 
        describing the form and timing for affected facilities to apply 
        for grants under this section.
            (2) Required information.--The Administrator shall require 
        an affected facility applying for a grant under this section to 
        submit information showing the presence of PFAS in water at the 
        facility.
    (c) Priority.--The Administrator shall prioritize for funding 
grants to affected facilities serving disadvantaged communities.
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