Group Says Water Safety Jeopardized Center Claims Kempthorne Helping To Weaken Laws

Portions of new federal clean water legislation are in danger of being significantly weakened, in part by Idaho Sen. Dirk Kempthorne, environmental groups allege in an advertising campaign that kicks off in Boise today.

The salvo is being fired by the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Information Center. It says that Kempthorne’s office has spent $2,300 to buy bottled water while expecting the public to drink tap water that isn’t sure to be pure under the proposed new law.

“We don’t think clean and safe drinking water ought to be a political perk,” said Tom Keefe. Keefe, a former staff member for two U.S. senators, lives in Kamiah, Idaho, and is a field representative for the Environmental Information Center.

Other critics - including environmentalists and water utilities - contend Kempthorne is set to give the chlorine and disinfectant industry the right to join EPA deliberations over reducing the amount of chlorine by-products in drinking water.

However, Kempthorne staff and people involved in the House-Senate negotiations over a final bill dispute the charges about weakening standards and say the chlorine industry isn’t getting veto power over EPA rules. Kempthorne staff add that bottled water is needed because the Senate office building pipes are being overhauled because of lead contamination.

“Bottled water is all that is available,” said Mark Snider, Kempthorne’s press secretary. “It’s from the Fairfax County, Va., public water system, it’s no fancy spring water.”

Last year, Kempthorne authored a reauthorization of the Safe Drinking Water Act that passed the Senate 99-0. The House also passed a new drinking water bill but the two versions differ on three or four key points.

The House version sets standards for radon in drinking water, requires annual notification of water customers as to what’s in their drinking water, and says only water systems serving fewer than 3,300 customers can be released from requirements to test for a broad range of chemicals, said Keefe.

The Senate version has no limits on radon in drinking water nor provisions for notifying customers of the presence of several potential contaminants. It also calls for chemical-testing requirements for systems serving less than 10,000 customers instead of 3,300, Keefe said. Some 95 percent of all drinking water systems in Idaho have 3,300 or fewer customers, he said. Another 4 percent fall in the category of 10,000 customers or fewer.

The Senate version would exclude 99 percent of Idaho water systems from tests for several chemicals. “If the Senate language prevails, there will be two classes of water in the state,” Keefe said.

“One for people in Boise and other large population areas and a dramatically less safe and secure drinking water supply for the other 99 percent of the systems.”

Kempthorne wants to make sure sending water customers a long list of what’s in their water - commonly called public-right-to-know laws - won’t needlessly scare or confuse people, said Snider. Kempthorne instead wants a right-to-know law that provides clear, meaningful information.

In addition, Kempthorne has proposed that the right-to-know law be extended to bottled water.

“For any outside group to suddenly come in and make accusations and to say Sen. Kempthorne is doing one thing or another isn’t helpful or accurate,” Snider said.

Kempthorne’s office also said that accusations of broad differences in the House and Senate bill no longer apply.

While the radon question hasn’t yet been addressed, the Senate is offering to accept the House version of the bill on what should be included in the annual notification of what’s in a customer’s water.

The Senate now is agreeing that 3,300 or fewer customers be the threshold for testing rules.

And the Senate now is suggesting the EPA be called upon to rule on waivers for systems serving between 3,300 and 10,000 customers.

“It sounds encouraging,” Keefe of the Environmental Information Center said when asked about those changes.

“If, in fact, Sen. Kempthorne is taking the lead in moving the Senate conferees closer to the House version, he should be applauded.”

, DataTimes