Legislation and Advocacy

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Defend our Health

Legislation

Maine

LD 1891

LD1891, HP 1401 An Act to Continue Supporting Safe Drinking Water for Maine Families
Signed/Enacted
The bill will enable the Maine State Housing Authority to provide one-time grants to eligible owners of single family homes or landlords with private well water that shows evidence of contamination. While the original bill had a General Fund appropriation of $500,000, following testimony from students participating in the All About Arsenic project, the fiscal note was amended by Committee Amendment to a total General Fund appropriation of $1,000,000.

LD 1570

LD1570 An Act to Protect Drinking Water for Maine Residents
Passed out of committee; next steps: fiscal note and push to appropriations committee
The bill will require the state to update the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for arsenic in drinking water, provide free well water testing to low-income families, and require landlords to test and disclose results of arsenic and other contaminants to tenants and prospective tenants if the rental property uses well water. 

LD 1943

HP1387, LD 1943 An Act to Protect Drinking Water for Low-income Maine Residents
In Congress
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to establish and maintain a program through the Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory offering free well water testing for low-income residents of the State. It also requires the department to review recent research regarding arsenic toxicity and levels suitable for consumption and to amend its rules to revise the maximum contaminant level for arsenic to be consistent with that research.

January 27, 2020 news coverage of the LD 1943 public hearing.

LD 1263

SP0426, LD 1263 An Act to Increase the Affordability of Safe Drinking Water for Maine Families
Passed: August 2, 2017
This bill helps families install filtration systems when they have arsenic in their well water, but don’t have the means to treat it. It sets aside $500,000 to make sure families in Maine have access to safe water

LD 454

HP0321, LD 454 An Act to Ensure Safe Drinking Water for Families in Maine
Passed: June 19, 2017
This law establishes the Safe Drinking Water Fund, which the Maine Center for Disease Control will use for outreach and education around the importance of testing well water. It also provides funds for well water testing for families who cannot afford it. 

New Hampshire

HB 261

HB 261 Requiring the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Services to Revise Rules Relative to Arsenic Contamination in Drinking Water
Passed July 16, 2019
This bill directs the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services to adopt an arsenic standard no higher than 5 ppb.  

HB 1592

HB 1592 Requiring the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Services to Review Ambient Groundwater Standards for Arsenic
Passed: June 12, 2018 
The commissioner of the Department of Environmental Services will review the current standard for arsenic in groundwater, 10 ppb*, to determine if it should be lowered. Considerations include detection and removal abilities, the impact on public health, and the costs and benefits to those potentially affected by the change. *10 ppb is the Maximum Contaminant Level set by the EPA. 

HB 1356

HB 1356 Data Sharing Between the Department of Environmental Services and the Department of Health and Human Services
Passed: June 26, 2018 
Includes a provision requiring the Department of Environmental Services and the Department of Health and Human Services to share health outcome and environmental data. They are also being asked to “describe and estimate the cost of performing a 2-way pilot project between the departments on arsenic and drinking water, where both health effects and environmental data exist”.

HB 511

HB 511 Commission to Study Environmentally-Triggered Chronic Illness
Effective: June 18, 2017
The commission formed by House Bill 511 is looking at ways to track diseases caused by environmental exposure before they become a cluster (i.e. cancer clusters). Contaminated drinking water can be an environmental trigger that leads to cancer.