	Introduction

On January 9, 2014, officials in West Virginia discovered that an estimated 10,000 gallons of the chemical 4-methylcyclohexanemethanol (MCHM), mixed with a small amount of glycol ethers known as PPH, leaked from a 46,000-gallon aboveground storage tank at a chemical storage facility owned by Freedom Industries on a site northeast of Charleston, WV. Oversight hearings by House and Senate committees began within a month to review the event and to identify policy issues regarding the federal and state roles in regulating chemical facilities and whether legislative remedies may be warranted. Some of these concerns are reflected in two bills that have been introduced in response to the chemical spill: S. 1961 , the Chemical Safety and Preparedness Act, introduced by Senator Manchin on January 27, and H.R. 4024 , the Ensuring Access to Clean Water Act of 2014, introduced by Representative Capito on February 10. This report describes and analyzes S. 1961 , as reported, and H.R. The bills have a number of core elements and provisions in common—both would seek to create a new chemical release prevention and response program to address gaps highlighted by the West Virginia spill—but they take different approaches to doing so. S. 1961 would make programmatic changes by amending the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), while H.R. 4024 would amend the Clean Water Act (CWA). S. 1961 would amend the SDWA, adding a new "Part G" to require states or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to carry out a chemical storage tank surface water protection (CSTSWP) program to protect public water systems from releases of chemicals from storage tanks. The bill would give states or EPA two years to establish a CSTSWP program that provides for oversight and inspection of chemical storage tanks, including tanks located in source water areas identified through the SDWA source water assessment program. Under the bill, CSTSWP programs must provide for oversight and inspection of tanks and contain the following minimum requirements:
Covered chemical storage tank requirements including design, construction, and maintenance standards; leak detection; spill and overfill control; inventory control for promptly determining the quantity of chemicals released in the event of a spill; an emergency response and communication plan (including procedures for immediately notifying relevant water systems, and state and local emergency response officials, as required by EPCRA); training and safety plan; tank integrity inspections; corrosion protection; and financial responsibility requirements. Comprehensive inventory of covered facilities in the state. For example:
Broadly similar to S. 1961 , H.R. 4024 would require EPA or states to carry out a chemical storage facility source water protection program. ( S. 1961 would require states or EPA to administer a chemical storage tank surface water protection program aimed at protecting public water systems.) 4024 , EPA or a state would be authorized to issue a "corrective action order" to require the owner or operator of a covered chemical facility to carry out requirements of the title. H.R. 4024 would require that the new chemical storage facility program be carried out by states that have been delegated primary authority to issue CWA discharge permits. 4024 . Third, only S. 1961 would direct EPA to implement a program in a primacy state that refrains from establishing one. H.R. Both bills would exclude tanks ( S. 1961 ) or facilities ( H.R. Both bills also would authorize states or EPA to establish other exclusions. Fifth, the bills define "chemical" differently. As Congress considers possible legislative responses, multiple approaches may emerge. Both of the bills discussed in this report contemplate creating state-led programs to provide for oversight and inspection of covered chemical storage facilities or tanks. Further, regardless of the role of states in the pending bills, some stakeholders prefer allowing states to take the lead in determining the need for and details of programs to address chemical storage facilities within their borders. 4024
In January 2014, an estimated 10,000 gallons of 4-methylcyclohexanemethanol (MCHM) and other chemicals leaked from a bulk aboveground storage tank at a chemical storage facility located upstream from the intake pipes of the water treatment plant serving Charleston, WV, and nearby counties. In the wake of the resulting contamination of this large public water supply, Congress has undertaken oversight and is considering legislative options.
The chemical storage tank at the center of the West Virginia incident appears to not have been subject to regulation under various federal or state laws aimed at protecting water resources from chemical releases. Oversight hearings by House and Senate committees began within a month to review the event, and to identify policy issues regarding the federal and state roles in regulating chemical facilities and whether legislation might be warranted. In further response to the spill, S. 1961, the Chemical Safety and Preparedness Act, was introduced on January 27, 2014, and H.R. 4024, the Ensuring Access to Clean Water Act of 2014, was introduced on February 10, 2014.
This report describes and analyzes H.R. 4024 and S. 1961, as reported. The bills share a number of broadly similar provisions—both would direct states or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish programs to prevent and respond to releases from chemical storage facilities (H.R. 4024) or tanks (S. 1961) located near drinking water sources—but they take different approaches to doing so: S. 1961 would make programmatic changes by amending the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), while H.R. 4024 would amend the Clean Water Act (CWA).
The bills would require states with primary enforcement responsibility for public water systems (S. 1961), or states with primary authority to issue CWA discharge permits (H.R. 4024), to establish a regulatory program for chemical storage tanks or facilities, and would have EPA establish programs in other states. Only S. 1961 would require EPA to establish and administer the program in primacy states that refrain from doing so. H.R. 4024 would require EPA or states to carry out a "chemical storage facility source water protection program" within one year of enactment, while S. 1961 would give EPA or states two years to establish a "chemical storage tank surface water protection program."
Both bills include similar program requirements: (1) a state inventory of chemical storage facilities (H.R. 4024) or tanks (S. 1961); (2) regular inspections; and (3) requirements for facilities or tanks (including construction standards, leak detection, emergency response and communication plans, employee training, etc.). Both bills would authorize EPA or a state to issue corrective action orders to enforce the requirements of the legislation, and to recover response costs from facility or tank owners or operators. The bills would require pre-transfer inspections of facilities or tanks, and require information about stored chemicals and response plans to be shared with local water systems. The bills define "chemical" and "storage tank" differently, but would give states or EPA broad discretion in determining the scope of covered facilities or tanks.
Both bills contemplate creating state programs to provide for oversight and inspection of covered chemical storage facilities or tanks, but neither would provide financial resources to assist states in establishing or administering the programs. The pending bills broadly present one approach among an array of possible approaches that have received some discussion. Some Members of Congress and stakeholders have suggested that a federal legislative response to the West Virginia spill is premature, saying that they favor allowing states to take the lead in determining the need for and details of programs to address chemical storage tanks and facilities within their borders.