Ruiz Introduces Emergency OASIS Act to Protect Clean Drinking Water Access

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-36) introduced H.R. 3286, the Emergency Order Assurance, Safety, and Inspection of water Systems (Emergency OASIS Act), which would strengthen the ability of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to protect communities from drinking water contamination and help ensure that residents have access to clean drinking water while their systems are being repaired.

"I am determined to prevent other communities from suffering the injustices that residents of Oasis Mobile Home Park have had to over the past year and a half," said Dr. Ruiz. "My bill, the Emergency OASIS Act, will protect access to clean drinking water and prevent bad actors from taking advantage of the residents they are supposed to protect."

After the Oasis Mobile Home Park was placed under an EPA Emergency Order in August 2019, the residents of the park faced a months-long struggle with park ownership to acquire safe alternative drinking water while their well was under repair. Ruiz's legislation would allow the EPA to step in when a water system owner acts in bad faith and fails to provide clean water to residents.

H.R. 3286 would also take additional steps to make sure the distribution system is safe prior to an EPA Emergency Order being lifted. While the current Emergency Order at Oasis Mobile Home Park focused on fixing the well's filtration system, local advocacy organizations discovered that arsenic had built up in the pipes leading to residents' homes. The Emergency OASIS Act would require both testing and flushing of the water pipes to clear out any remaining contaminants.

BACKGROUND

The Emergency OASIS Act would make the following improvements to the EPA's authorities to protect clean drinking water access:

• New Flushing Requirements
  • H.R. 3286 requires the EPA to establish regulations to flush a drinking water system if contaminants were present in the system for longer than six months, or if water stood motionless in the system for longer than six months.
  • This requirement would ensure that any contaminants were removed from the system before residents use it for drinking water again.
• New Testing of the Distribution System
  • H.R. 3286 requires the EPA to test for contaminants at a subset of service connections prior to lifting an emergency order for a contaminant like arsenic.
  • This requirement would inform the EPA if the water system is truly safe to return to service following a contamination issue.
• Provision of Alternate Drinking Water
  • H.R. 3286 gives the EPA the authority to provide replacement water to the users of a drinking water system if the owner of a contaminated system fails to do so after 7 days.
  • The EPA may charge the owner twice the costs of the replacement water. The owner may not pass these costs along to the customers.
  • This requirement will ensure that residents of a drinking water system have access to clean drinking water while their system is under repair.

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