Please take a moment to invite your Pennsylvania Senator to support two bills that will greatly improve oversight of the bottled water industry. Specifically, the letter you can send encourages your PA Senator to reach out to Senate leaders and urge them to take action on both bills.
Both pieces of legislation (HB 754 and 755; SB 629 and 630) are companion bills because they amend two distinct laws and would make the regulation of bottled water more efficient by treating all bottled water manufacturers as food establishments under Pennsylvania law. If enacted, these bills would clarify the regulatory oversight of bottled water by the Department of Agriculture (PDA) and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). All finished bottled water products would be under the sole jurisdiction of the PDA because they are food products. These bills do not, however, alter DEP’s oversight of bottled water source water withdrawals or public water systems (tap water). Rather, these changes would remove duplicative oversight of facilities that are all food manufacturers and not public water systems.
Key Points - these bills will:
Both pieces of legislation (HB 754 and 755; SB 629 and 630) are companion bills because they amend two distinct laws and would make the regulation of bottled water more efficient by treating all bottled water manufacturers as food establishments under Pennsylvania law. If enacted, these bills would clarify the regulatory oversight of bottled water by the Department of Agriculture (PDA) and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). All finished bottled water products would be under the sole jurisdiction of the PDA because they are food products. These bills do not, however, alter DEP’s oversight of bottled water source water withdrawals or public water systems (tap water). Rather, these changes would remove duplicative oversight of facilities that are all food manufacturers and not public water systems.
Key Points - these bills will:
- Maintain the current high quality and safety of bottled water
- Not change DEP’s role with respect to bottled water source water withdrawal and source water quality
- Align Pennsylvania with the majority of other states
- Provide consistency in food manufacturing regulations, inspections, and oversight
- Treat bottled water as a food product rather than a public water system
Please send your letter today!