H-3842.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 2585
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State of Washington 56th Legislature 2000 Regular Session
By Representatives Schindler, Mielke, Koster, Boldt, D. Sommers and Lambert
Read first time 01/17/2000. Referred to Committee on Health Care.
AN ACT Relating to fluoridation of public water systems; amending RCW 70.119A.060; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that maintaining the purity of the state's public water systems is critical to the health and safety of the public and the environment, and that prohibiting any additives that compromise that purity is good public policy. The legislature further finds that ingesting fluoride through water fluoridation imposes dangers on the public and on wildlife that are not widely understood. Some studies have found that fluoride accumulation in bones over time can cause increased susceptibility to osteoporosis, while other studies have linked fluoride to increased incidences of cancer, damage to the human immune system, worsening of arthritis, and dental fluorosis in children. The legislature declares that fluoride additives to water are toxic and that an immediate moratorium be placed on adding any fluoride to additional public water systems.
Sec. 2. RCW 70.119A.060 and 1995 c 376 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) In order to assure safe and reliable public drinking water and to protect the public health, public water systems shall:
(a) Protect the water sources used for drinking water, including imposing a moratorium on fluoridation in any form in public water systems that do not currently have fluoride additives;
(b) Provide treatment adequate to assure that the public health is protected;
(c) Provide and effectively operate and maintain public water system facilities;
(d) Plan for future growth and assure the availability of safe and reliable drinking water;
(e) Provide the department with the current names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the owners, operators, and emergency contact persons for the system, including any changes to this information, and provide to users the name and twenty-four hour telephone number of an emergency contact person; and
(f) Take whatever investigative or corrective action is necessary to assure that a safe and reliable drinking water supply is continuously available to users.
(2) No new public water system may be approved or created unless: (a) It is owned or operated by a satellite system management agency established under RCW 70.116.134 and the satellite system management system complies with financial viability requirements of the department; or (b) a satellite management system is not available and it is determined that the new system has sufficient management and financial resources to provide safe and reliable service. The approval of any new system that is not owned by a satellite system management agency shall be conditioned upon future management or ownership by a satellite system management agency, if such management or ownership can be made with reasonable economy and efficiency, or upon periodic review of the system's operational history to determine its ability to meet the department's financial viability and other operating requirements. The department and local health jurisdictions shall enforce this requirement under authority provided under this chapter, chapter 70.116, or 70.05 RCW, or other authority governing the approval of new water systems by the department or a local jurisdiction.
(3) The department and local health jurisdictions shall carry out the rules and regulations of the state board of health adopted pursuant to RCW 43.20.050(2)(a) and other rules adopted by the department relating to public water systems.
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