Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - June 25, 2004
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June 25, 2004
Senate Environment Committee
Successfully Marks Up Water Infrastructure Bill
The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee successfully marked up the Water Infrastructure Financing Act (S. 2550) by a vote of 18-1. S. 2550 would reauthorize the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) at $20 billion and the Drinking Water SRF at $15 billion over 5 years. Prior to the markup, AMSA sent a letter (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/leg_outreach.cfm) to EPW Committee leaders stating that while AMSA offered its general support for the legislation the Association’s position remains that solving the infrastructure funding gap “ultimately requires the creation of a long-term, dedicated fund, comparable to the trust funds that currently support our nation’s highway and aviation infrastructure.”The Committee also approved Senator George Voinovich’s (R-OH) amendment to reauthorize the sewer overflow control grant program through fiscal year 2009 at $250 million per year. Several drinking water amendments were also adopted, including $5 billion in funding to, among other things, help utilities assess and comply with lead and arsenic standards in drinking water. The bill also provides for a revised SRF formula that reportedly favors small states and keeps funding flat for large states. No timetable has been set to take this legislation to the Senate floor. AMSA will provide a more detailed analysis of S. 2550 to members in next week’s Legislative Update.
AMSA Files Brief in Water Transfer Case
This week, AMSA filed an amicus curiae brief with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals supporting the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, an AMSA member agency. Catskill Mountains Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Inc. v. City of New York raises a critical question—should local government transfers of untreated, natural water receive National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits? Joining AMSA on its brief were the National League of Cities, the New York State Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials, and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies. In the brief, AMSA highlights that local governments have a core interest in ensuring that suitable requirements apply to our provision of clean and safe water. AMSA also discusses programs that are better tailored to mitigate the water quality impacts of untreated water transfers than the NPDES program. AMSA’s brief and others filed in the case are posted to the Member Pipeline at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/littrack/.Plan Now to Attend AMSA’s 2004 July Conference
Join AMSA at its 2004 July Conference, Leading the Way…POTWs Take Environmental Protection Beyond the Pipe, July 20-23, in Denver, Colorado, to hear experts speak on environmental issues ranging from water reclamation and reuse, challenges facing the nation’s wastewater collection systems and how these affect the nation’s clean water agencies, as well as how shortcomings in the nation’s water quality monitoring programs affect the ability of wastewater utilities to make educated water quality decisions.Reserve your hotel room, by the extended July 2, 2004 deadline, to ensure AMSA’s discounted room rate of $165. Reservations can be made by calling the Westin Tabor Center at 303/572-9100. AMSA also encourages members to sign up for advanced registration by the July 8, 2004 deadline. Along with your registration be sure to include plans to attend the July Conference’s “special events” – AMSA’s annual golf tournament, at Fossil Trace Golf Club, or a guided tour of the Denver Metro Wastewater Reclamation District’s Central Treatment Plant and its Water Recycling Plant. To register or view the agenda, visit AMSA’s Conferences & Meetings webpage (http://ww.amsa-cleanwater.org/meetings/04summer/).