[19990208]96-722_1996年《安全饮用水法》修正案：P.L.概述104-182.pdf

Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS Web96-722 ENRUpdated February 8, 1999Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996:Overview of P.L. 104-182Mary TiemannSpecialist in Environmental PolicyEnvironment and Natural Resources Policy DivisionSummaryThe 104 Congress made extensive changes to the Safe Drinking Water Actth(SDWA) with the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996 (P.L. 104-182),bringing to a close a multi-year effort to amend a statute that was widely criticized ashaving too little flexibility, too many unfunded mandates, and an arduous but unfocusedregulatory schedule. Among the many changes to the SDWA, the 1996 amendmentsadded provisions to provide funding to communities for drinking water mandates, focusregulatory efforts on contaminants posing the greatest health risks, and add someflexibility to the regulatory process. Congress also added programs to: improve thecapacity of public water systems to comply with drinking water regulations, preventcontamination of source waters, strengthen the science underlying drinking waterregulations, and increase information provided to public water system customers.Aut