Eagle Forum Issues Call to Action on SB 71, HB 162

From Eagle Forum of Alabama

We need doctors and health professionals to push back on these identical bills that will harm Alabamians' Health!  I am circulating the Southern Environmental Law Center’s letter to gather signatures from health professionals, which will be presented to legislators next week. When you click the link to read the letter, it'll ask for your name, email and confirm you're not a bot before you can see the letter.  

BRIEF BACKGROUND  

1. In 2015 EPA published new Integrated Risk Information System [IRIS] (toxic standards), but the state never updated its thresholds to match. Several times since then environmental groups have petitioned the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) to update standards. But to no avail.
2. In June 2025, seven Alabama environmental groups were finally victorious when the Alabama Environmental Management Commission (appointed by Gov. Ivey) agreed to update outdated water toxicity standards. The groups had filed a petition asking the state to revise the limits on 12 toxic and potentially carcinogenic pollutants in waterways to reflect current scientific guidance. The commission voted 6-1 in favor of the petition despite objections from ADEM. Once finalized, the updated standards would impose stricter limits on how much of these toxic substances can be legally discharged into rivers and streams, offering greater protection for drinking water and recreational waters.

THE CURRENT SITUATION:

3. SB71/HB162 is an attempt to thwart what the Alabama Environmental Management Commission agreed ADEM should do which is update the standards on 12 toxic potentially carcinogenic pollutants in our waterways.  These identical bills remove Alabama's power to strengthen our standards on toxic substances.  The legislation would require Alabama to rely on federal law which many experts agree are too lax or don’t exist.  For example, there are no federal water quality standards for many substances such as arsenic and cyanide.The bill would allow Alabama to go beyond federal standards only if the state can prove that a chemical directly causes bodily harm, a standard that is rarely achievable. State agencies with limited resources would be required to show a “direct causal link” to harm and would be prohibited from setting protections based on an “increased risk of disease.” This approach is out of step with public health science, which is fundamentally based on assessing and reducing risk. This framework would prevent our state government from protecting Alabama’s most vulnerable populations like children, pregnant women, and the elderly.

YOU (health professional) can help by signing on to the letter found at this link which will be given to legislators. Click here to access the letter for docs and health professionals to sign.

A FEW BULLET POINTS-- VOTE NO on Unsound Science Toxics Bill SB 71/HB 162 

• This bill will endanger our families. It keeps state agencies from creating science-based standards for toxic substances such as Arsenic, Cyanide, and Forever Chemicals (PFAS) and allows Washington D.C. to dictate what is best for Alabama and the health of our families.
• This bill will increase the cost of treating drinking water. Drinking water utilities and customers will have to pay the price of cleaning up our drinking water. If ADEM can’t regulate harmful chemicals, municipal water suppliers and customers will be forced to foot the bill in maintaining federally required drinking water standards for Forever Chemicals.
• This bill creates an impossible burden for state agencies to create standards for toxic substances. It requires evidence to prove a chemical is harmful that typically doesn’t exist because state agencies that have limited resources must show “a direct causal link” to bodily harm in order to protect citizens and prohibits standards based on “increased risk of disease.” This is out of step with science—all public health science is based on risk.
•  The bill will require state agencies to wait until animals or people are dying or sick from toxic exposure before they are allowed to adopt rules about dangerous chemicals or substances.

Please forward to all your health professional buddies.

Warmly,

Becky Gerritson

Executive Director, Eagle Forum of Alabama

Becky@alabamaeagle.org

www.AlabamaEagle.org

Editor’s Note: Summary of Alabama House Bill 162

Alabama House Bill 162, sponsored by Rep. Troy Stubbs (R) and introduced January 13, 2026, addresses state environmental rulemaking. The measure would prohibit state agencies from adopting new environmental rules or amending existing ones that impose standards stricter than federal law or regulations on specified environmental protection subjects.

Under the bill’s terms, agencies could not adopt or revise rules that impose tighter numeric limits on chemical substances, pollutants, hazardous waste, air quality, water quality or related areas if those changes would exceed federal standards. Where no federal standard exists, the bill requires that any new rule or amendment be grounded in the “best available science and the weight of scientific evidence.”

The legislation also specifies that scientific information used to support any such rule must be reliable, subject to independent verification, and consistent with accepted scientific practice. In protecting human health, safety or welfare, the rule must show a direct causal link between exposure above the proposed criteria and manifest bodily harm in humans based on scientific evidence.

HB 162 sets an effective date of October 1, 2026, and currently awaits Committee action in the House State Government Committee.

Alabama Senate Bill 71, which was initially filed as an identical bill to HB162 and sponsored by Sen. Donnie Chesteen, was amended and reported out of the Senate County and Municipal Government Committee and now awaits action by the full Senate.