WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) successfully teamed up to pass bipartisan legislation to bolster fire safety and protect local governments from a dangerous and expensive new mandate.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced a policy that will require local governments to replace malfunctioning fire hydrants with new independently certified lead-free fire hydrants. This EPA regulation essentially makes it impossible for local governments to repair fire hydrants or replace them with existing inventory. Additionally, it is uncertain whether fire hydrants that meet the new criteria are actually available for purchase.
Last week, the Senators introduced legislation (S. 1779) to exempt fire hydrants from the mandate. The Senate unanimously passed House legislation identical to S. 1779 today.
“The notion that people drink from fire hydrants often enough to warrant this kind of regulation is ridiculous and in no way justifies the cost of replacing hydrants in every city and town in the country,” said Sen. Toomey. “It’s great news that the Senate and the House have both acknowledged this absurdity. The implementation of this EPA rule would have forced local governments to leave malfunctioning fire hydrants idle until adequate funds and products are available – which poses an undeniable threat to public safety. The passage of our bipartisan bill is a great victory for common sense, and I look forward to President Obama signing it into law.”
“I’m pleased that the Senate has come together in a bipartisan fashion to pass this legislation which will allow our first responders to continue their lifesaving work without the fear of a new, burdensome regulation,” Sen. Casey said. “Passing this bill will help municipalities replace aging fire hydrants and prevent the EPA from moving forward with this unworkable regulation.”
As a result of this rule, local governments across the country will be forced to leave malfunctioning fire hydrants out-of-service until sufficient numbers of new compliant fire hydrants can be purchased and installed. The cost of purchasing new fire hydrants every time an existing fire hydrant malfunctions will place considerable financial strain on local governments, and place the safety of communities across the country at risk.
Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Edward Markey (D-Mass.) have also supported Sen. Toomey’s bipartisan legislation to exempt fire hydrants from this EPA regulation.
The legislation has been sent to the President and is now awaiting his signature.
Several of Pennsylvania’s local government associations and municipalities support the efforts of Sens. Toomey and Casey on this issue:
“The Pennsylvania Municipal League (PML) applauds Sen. Toomey and Sen. Casey for introducing the Community Fire Safety Act of 2013. This legislation will save local governments across the nation millions of dollars by exempting fire hydrants from lead content standards for drinking water infrastructure. Like most communities, Pennsylvania’s municipalities are very budget conscious and cannot afford the substantial mandate the EPA’s interpretation would impose. PML supports S. 1779,” said PML Executive Director Richard J. Schuettler.
“The PA State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) applauds Sen. Toomey and Sen. Casey in addressing an unfunded mandate that will result in substantial cost to local governments and their residents with minimal benefits,” said PSATS Executive Director David Sanko.
“An unfunded mandate of this magnitude could cost boroughs across Pennsylvania thousands of dollars in retrofits and inventory loss. The Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs (PSAB) thanks Sen. Toomey and Sen. Casey for their support of this common-sense legislation,” said PSAB Government Affairs Director Ed Troxell.
“Excluding fire hydrants from the No-Lead Rule is imperative to the continued efficient operations of the Erie Water Works. Without the appropriate legislation, dozens of hydrants currently in inventory at the Water Works would be rendered useless, costing the Water Works tens of thousands of dollars in replacement costs. Additionally, not having hydrants readily available in stock to replace broken or unusable fire hydrants would also lead to a degradation of public fire protection, as inoperable hydrants would remain ‘out of service’ until compliant hydrants were available,” said Erie Water Works CEO/CFO Paul D. Vojtek.
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