WASHINGTON — The chairman and vice chair of a House subcommittee called this week for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a “wide-reaching” investigation of the bottled water industry, particularly relating to the industry’s recent rapid growth and its environmental impacts.

The industry’s trade association, the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), responded in a January 31 statement that it “stands ready to work with [the GAO]” to provide information demonstrating the industry’s “outstanding record of environmental stewardship, conservation and sustainability practices.”

Reps. Albert R. Wynn (D-MD), chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials, and the subcommittee’s vice chair, Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA), said in a joint statement, “In the past decade, sales of bottled water have reportedly tripled, but no one is examining the environmental ramifications of Americans shifting their water consumption from the traditional tap to the plastic bottle.”

They added, “Given the growing prevalence of bottled water, it is imperative that we have all the information regarding not only the source and labeling, but also the unintended consequences of this trend.”

In a letter to the head of the GAO, the lawmakers are asking the agency to look at the following:

● Effects of water bottles on municipal landfill capacity

● Effects of energy use on the transportation and manufacture of bottled water

● Labeling of bottled water and how it relates to bottled water sources and purity

● Regulations now used by states or other nations to regulate the quality of bottled water.

In the IBWA statement, association President and CEO Joe Doss said, “IBWA and the bottled water industry welcome the opportunity to share important facts about bottled water with the GAO and our nation’s elected officials as they undertake this task.”

Among the points IBWA says it will make to GAO are that bottled water is a safe and convenient food product regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration; that actions aimed at the environmental impact of packaging should focus on all food and consumer products, not just bottled water; that the industry is taking steps to reduce its environmental footprint; and that the industry already complies with FDA labeling and source requirements.

The GAO is the independent, non-partisan investigatory arm of Congress.  

To read the full statement and letter to the GAO from Reps. Wynn and Solis, click here.

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