Sen. Toomey Introduces Bill To Eliminate Unfunded Mandate

Press Release

Today, Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) has introduced the End Unnecessary Mailers Act, which will eliminate unnecessary government regulations and save communities money.

Since 1996, the Environmental Protection Agency has required water authorities yearly to mail detailed consumer confidence reports (CCRs) on water quality. These highly-technical reports are quickly disregarded by most households and are mailed at great expense each year. Sen. Toomey's legislation introduced Tuesday, S. 1578, will allow water authorities to fulfill their reporting requirements by posting them online and relieve small communities from the burden of complying with federal unfunded mandates.

"The End Unnecessary Mailers Act removes excessive paperwork burdens from Pennsylvania's local communities and will save water authorities tens of thousands of dollars a year. By allowing water authorities to post their reports online instead of paying for mailers few will read, these utilities will be able to pass on the savings to consumers or improve their services by investing in infrastructure," Sen. Toomey said.

Sens. John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) are co-sponsors of the bill. U.S. Representative Bill Young (R-Fla.) has introduced a companion bill, H.R. 1340, in the House.

Water authorities across Pennsylvania thanked Sen. Toomey for introducing this money-saving legislation:

"Not having to send out CCRs would save the PWSA several thousand dollars each year, money that could be better spent on improving our infrastructure. We send out nearly 100,000 CCRs a year and only receive a few complaints and/or comments. The CCR is always posted on the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority's website and could be mailed to PWSA customers on request," said Thomas Gigliotti, director of the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority.

"The EPA should talk to water authorities before implementing expensive programs such the Consumer Confidence Reports, as these programs ultimately impact the consumers. I have never had a customer call and say that they found the reports helpful," said Sharon Bruno, director of the West View Water Authority in Allegheny County.

"Elimination of the mailing of the CCRs would save the Beaver Falls Municipal Authority $10,000 per year in mailing and printing costs. The authority sends out 17,000 CCRs per year and receives fewer than 10 calls per year. Any assistance would be extremely helpful," said Jim Riggio, general manager of the Beaver Falls Municipal Authority in Beaver County.

"I feel that the current requirement that a paper copy of the annual CCR be sent to all customers should be amended. It has been my experience that most customers do not read the reports. I would like to have the option of posting the report online, with a paper copy available upon request. This action would save the authority time and money while still making customers aware of important water quality information," said Matthew A. Cranmer, manager of the Municipal Water Authority of Adams Township in Butler County.

"I fully support of this legislation - the Erie Water Works spends more than $16,000 in printing and postage yearly, as well as several thousand dollars extra on designing the publication. This would eliminate wasteful spending when a more cost effective way of sharing information via electronic media is quickly becoming the preferred method. I have personally fielded questions from customers questioning why we continue to publish this report when posting it to our website is so much more cost effective," said Paul Vojtek, chief executive officer of the Erie Water Works.

"Eliminating the requirement to mail a CCR to each customer will allow the authority to replace at least an additional 1,000 feet of outdated infrastructure each year. The information is still available to those who are concerned, and the authority will still be required to notify the affective customers in case of an emergency," said Bob Softcheck, general manager of the North Fayette County Municipal Authority in Fayette County.

"It is important for consumers to have access to information about their water quality, but the federal mandate to mail a printed copy to every household is restrictive and expensive. Each year, the Lehigh County Authority spends almost $10,000 to fulfill the mail-delivery requirement. This cost to our customers could be avoided if electronic communications were allowable, as Sen. Toomey is suggesting. In addition, allowing electronic communication of these important water quality messages would allow utilities to communicate with consumers more often and more effectively, thereby better achieving the original goal of building consumer confidence in public drinking water," said Aurel Arndt, general manager of the Lehigh County Authority.

"Allowing consumer confidence reports that show compliance with all drinking water standards to be posted online and mailed only to customers who request a printed copy would save tens of thousands of dollars in printing and postage costs for our company alone. Those savings would accrue to the benefit of customers, many of whom have expressed a preference for the efficiency and timeliness of online communications. This change also reflects our commitment to sustainable operations and conservation of natural resources," said Thomas O'Connor, senior manager of customer operations at Aqua America in Montgomery County.

"I strongly support Sen. Toomey's efforts. This unfunded mandate costs the authority thousands of dollars to mail these reports, usually resulting in only confused and/or scared customers," said Jeff Kovach, manager of the Tri-County Joint Municipal Water Authority in Washington County.

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