In 1993, a law office file clerk named Erin Brockovich began investigating illnesses in the town of Hinkley, California, which residents suspected were linked to drinking water contamination. In 1996, Brockovich's firm settled a lawsuit with Pacific Gas & Electric for contaminating the town's water with chromium-6 (hexavalent chromium). In 2000, a Julia Roberts film made Brockovich and Hinkley famous. In 2012, there are still no drinking water standards for chromium-6. If Congressional supporters of the recently-passed REINS Act get their way, there never will be.

Widespread Chromium-6 Tap-Water Contamination

According to the Environmental Working Group , "At least 74 million Americans in 42 states drink chromium-polluted tap water, much of it likely in the cancer-causing hexavalent form." Under EPA enforcement of the Safe Drinking Water Act, there is a limit on total chromium in the water. Given that chromium-3 is an important nutrient found in food and taken as a dietary supplement while chromium-6 is a carcinogen, many public health experts think a separate chromium-6 standard is warranted. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Toxicology Program, along with agencies in California, have spent years studying the scientific evidence about how much chromium-6 in drinking water it takes to increase cancer risk. The black berkey water filters that come standard with every berkey water filter remove total chromium levels by up to 95%.

Multi-Year Scientific Review of Chromium-6 and Tap Water Safety by Agencies

EPA put a draft scientific assessment of the health risks of chromium 6 out for peer review in 2010, taking comments from non-agency scientists throughout 2011 in order to better inform the regulatory process. This is exactly the kind of regulatory work state agencies want EPA to be doing because they don't have resources to evaluate each of the hundreds of chemicals that may be in our water. Yet, 241 members of Congress, most of whom have no formal science training, think that they should be the ones to decide how much chromium you drink.

REINS Act Would Make Every Regulatory Decision Subject to Political Vote

The Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act would, very simply, shut down the federal executive branch when it comes to new rules or regulations, whether on food safety, drinking water, health care, workers rights … How? If passed by the U.S. Senate and signed into law, the REINS Act would require any new regulation that might cost more than $100 million dollars in cumulative economic impact (meaning cost to anyone) get a majority vote in both houses of Congresses before it could go into effect. Any rule or regulation not voted on by Congress within 70 days of its finalization by its respective agency would not be implemented.

With 50 to 100 regulations issued by federal agencies annually, the REINS Act could create a vote-scheduling nightmare. David Goldston of the Natural Resources Defense Council explains: "The bill could, in effect, impose a slow-motion government shutdown, and it would replace a process based on expertise, rationality and openness with one characterized by political maneuvering, economic clout and secrecy."

Existing Checks & Balance System Makes REINS Act Unnecessary

Ironically, Congress already has the power to block regulations coming out of EPA, FDA, USDA and all the other executive branch agencies, but not with a simple majority vote as they would under the REINS Act.

In our three-branch system of government, the legislature passes the laws and the executive branch implements them. Numerous laws passed by Congress, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act, specifically delegated detailed, science based regulations to the agencies. Subsequent Congresses were unhappy with some of those regulations and in 1996, Congress passed the Congressional Review Act, enabling a “resolution of disapproval" from both houses of Congress to override proposed regulations.

However, because stopping a regulation under the Congressional Review Act requires a two-thirds majority in both houses to override the president, Congress has only managed this once since 1996, in 2001 to block ergonomics regulations out of the Department of Labor. The high hurdle for overriding regulations means an agency's decision must be truly misguided or genuinely opposed by the public for Congress to muster the political will to overturn it.

REINS Act Would Create More Gridlock in Washington

The REINS Act turns the regulatory review process on it's head, requiring members to rally political support for every single new regulation, no matter how carefully considered or scientifically sound. Considering how few of the top legistalative priorities of the most powerful members of Congress make it through the process, many political experts think the bill would bring Washington to a grinding halt.

“The REINS Act would undermine our ability to protect children from harmful toys, prevent asthma and lung ailments resulting from pollution, and ensure that our small businesses can compete fairly in the marketplace. At the same time, it would force Congress to play a larger role in the regulatory process, leading to even more gridlock in Washington,” House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said in a statement.

The good news is that, as a stand-alone bill, the REINS Act has little chance of being passed by the Senate and signed by the president. Unfortunately, it is exactly the kind of measure that members like to attach to must-pass spending bills so it's very likely that we see it again.