H.R. 977 — Introduced in House

I 116th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 977 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 5, 2019Mr. Mast introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To require the Corps of Engineers to notify affected communities before releasing water contaminated with cyanobacteria from flood risk management projects, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Toxic Health Threat Warning Act of 2019. 2. Releases of water contaminated with cy­ano­bac­te­ria (a) Determination Before releasing water from a flood risk management project, the Secretary shall determine whether the water is contaminated with cy­ano­bac­te­ria, based on tests conducted by the Secretary, another Federal agency, or the State in which the flood risk management project is located. (b) Notification If the Secretary determines under subsection (a) that water to be released from a flood risk management project is contaminated with cy­ano­bac­te­ria, the Secretary shall notify the public and affected governments of the contamination and planned release, and any potential effects on human health, before releasing the water. (c) Definitions In this section: (1) Affected government The term affected government means a State, local, or Tribal government with jurisdiction over an area that will be affected by a release of water from a flood risk management project. (2) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers.