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. 1-50 * * * * *