1-1  By:  Nixon                                           S.C.R. No. 161
    1-2        (In the Senate - Filed May 18, 1995; May 18, 1995, read first
    1-3  time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources; May 19, 1995,
    1-4  reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 9, Nays 0;
    1-5  May 19, 1995, sent to printer.)
    1-6                     SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
    1-7        WHEREAS, The reauthorization of the Safe Drinking Water Act
    1-8  in 1986 marked a renewed commitment and resolve by the federal
    1-9  government to protect human health by ensuring the purification and
   1-10  protection of our nation's drinking water; and
   1-11        WHEREAS, While the goals of the federal Safe Drinking Water
   1-12  Act are shared by the citizens of this country, state and local
   1-13  governments must have greater flexibility and discretion in
   1-14  determining the most appropriate steps to take to reduce drinking
   1-15  water contamination; and
   1-16        WHEREAS, Under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, strict
   1-17  water sampling regulations were adopted that specify the number and
   1-18  frequency of water samples to be collected from all public water
   1-19  systems; and
   1-20        WHEREAS, Sampling may be required for as many as 11 different
   1-21  groups of chemicals, each group requiring a separate sample;
   1-22  consequently, 11 separate samples per quarter may be required at
   1-23  each location where treated water enters the system; and
   1-24        WHEREAS, This unfunded federal mandate to require increased
   1-25  sampling will have a financial impact on all public water systems,
   1-26  especially the smaller systems, which have limited resources and
   1-27  staff; and
   1-28        WHEREAS, State and local efforts to focus limited resources
   1-29  on specific Texas issues will be undermined; and
   1-30        WHEREAS, The failure of the United States Congress to provide
   1-31  adequate funding to implement the Safe Drinking Water Act and other
   1-32  federal legislation has placed state and local governments in the
   1-33  untenable position of attempting to fund the federal requirements
   1-34  with diminishing amounts of available revenue or, by failing to do
   1-35  so, jeopardizing state and local eligibility for certain federal
   1-36  funds; now, therefore, be it
   1-37        RESOLVED, That the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas
   1-38  hereby strongly urge the Congress of the United States to amend the
   1-39  Safe Drinking Water Act to allow cities to exercise greater
   1-40  discretion and flexibility concerning the number and frequency of
   1-41  water samples required to ensure safe drinking water; and, be it
   1-42  further
   1-43        RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward official copies
   1-44  of this resolution to the President of the United States, to the
   1-45  speaker of the house of representatives and president of the senate
   1-46  of the United States Congress, and to all members of the Texas
   1-47  delegation to the congress with the request that it be officially
   1-48  entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress
   1-49  of the United States of America.
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