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To: Members, Affiliates & Legal Affairs Committee From: National Office Date: October 2000 The National Office is pleased to provide you with the October 2000 Legislative Update. The update will provide you with a comprehensive overview of AMSA’s recent legislative initiatives and the general outlook on Capitol Hill current to November 13, 2000. The attached Bill Digest provides an abbreviated summary of pertinent legislation that AMSA is currently tracking. If you have any questions or comments, please contact the National Office.
President Signs EPA Budget for Fiscal Year 2001
On October 27, President Clinton signed into law the VA-HUD-Independent Agencies appropriations bill that includes funding for the Environmental Protection Agency. The budget includes $1.35 billion for making capitalization grants for the Clean Water State Revolving Funds; $825 million for capitalization grants for the Drinking Water State Revolving Funds as well as $1 million for the National Biosolids Partnership. The measure also directs EPA to contract with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for a review of the quality of science used to develop and implement TMDLs (report due to Congress by June 1, 2001); directs EPA to conduct a comprehensive assessment of State resources available to develop and implement TMDLs (due to Congress in 120 days - February 2001); and further tells the Agency to prepare an analysis of the monitoring data needed for development and implementation of TMDLs.Lastly, the law "directs EPA Region IX as well as all other EPA Regions and EPA Headquarters not to impose or mandate new TMDL-related requirements or issue new guidance relative to new TMDL-related permits prior to the date the TMDL rule can be implemented under current law." Agency personnel have interpreted this language as applying only to the new TMDL rule; work continues on national guidance to permitting authorities on developing a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for a point source discharge to an impaired waterbody prior to establishment of a TMDL for those pollutants under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. For further information, contact AMSA's Lee Garrigan at 202/833-4655.
Water Infrastructure Funding Talks Continue
Talks among representatives of 27 nationally-recognized trade associations continued this month in Washington. Association members and staff are hammering out the details of a water infrastructure financing program. An early draft of the report was reviewed and discussed at length during the November 1 meeting. In an effort to gain consensus on sources of funding, eligibilities to address a variety of local clean and safe water concerns, the range of funding vehicles, assistance for technology innovation, and other issues, participants have agreed to a fourth facilitated session in mid-December. The report is expected to be finalized in early January and will be presented later in the month to the new President and to members of the 107th Congress. For more information on WIN, call AMSA's Lee Garrigan at (202)833-4655.AMSA Joins the Investing in Communities Coalition
Last March, AMSA ex-President Kumar Kishinchand represented AMSA at a National League of Cities (NLC) Advisory Council meeting where more than 40 national organizations embarked on a mission to develop a plan for Investing in Communities. The result of that meeting is a statement, Investing in Communities: A Shared Vision and A Call for Action, which is the basis for a new advocacy group – the Investing in Communities Coalition (ICC). AMSA formally became a member in mid-October. The group's priority is to articulate the elements of the ICC statement to the President-elect and his transition team as well as to the leadership of the next Congress. AMSA will focus on the portion of the statement that calls for an increased investment in environmental infrastructure. According to Detroit (MI) Mayor Dennis Archer, head of the NLC effort, members of the Coalition will be able to share their priorities with other organizations that have joined the ICC. AMSA staff distributed information at the meeting on the Water Infrastructure Network as well as other materials related to the wastewater funding gap. For more information on the ICC, contact AMSA's Lee Garrigan at (202)833-4655.House Committee Leadership Seeks Inclusion of Wet Weather Bill in Funding Measure
The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee leadership is pressing for the incorporation of the Wet Weather Water Quality Act of 2000 (H.R. 828), as part of a larger environmental infrastructure package, into an available appropriations bill before Congress adjourns. AMSA has supported this bill, which provides SSO and CSO grant funding and authorizes money for watershed demonstration projects, as a step forward. At the same time, the National Office has communicated our displeasure at the decision to proceed without SSO liability and stormwater clarification provisions, and urged Congress to return to the issue of infrastructure funding next year to address the $23 billion annual gap in water infrastructure spending.Before the end of the budget deliberations on November 3, Chairman Bud Shuster secured a commitment by House appropriators to insert the provisions of the bill into the Labor, Health & Human Services, and Education funding package (H.R. 4577) during the "lame duck" session starting November 13. In an attempt to solidify this commitment, the House Committee has urged AMSA to encourage its membership to write letters of support for inclusion of the "environmental infrastructure package" (containing the Wet Weather Quality Act of 2000) into a remaining appropriations bill. AMSA’s November 7 FAXAlert (Special Edition) asked members to write the Senate and House Appropriations Committee leadership to encourage them to approve this measure.
President Signs Estuary Habitat Bill into Law
On November 7, 2000, President Clinton signed into law the Estuary Habitat Restoration Partnership Act of 2000 (S. 835). The bill was originally introduced by the late Senator John H. Chafee (R-RI). The new law establishes voluntary measures to restore one million acres of estuary habitat by 2010 and authorizes $275 million over five years for restoration activities. The Senate approved the bill’s conference report on October 23, and the House followed suit on October 25. The package also incorporates eight other water bills, including versions of legislation (H.R. 3039) that would authorize $40 million annually through fiscal 2005 for continued restoration of the country's largest estuary, the Chesapeake Bay; a bill (H.R. 3313) to reauthorize restoration efforts in the Long Island Sound; and a measure (H.R. 1106) that would authorize a pilot program to award federal grants for alternative water resource programs, designed to give areas with critical water needs an environmentally sustainable water supply through the conservation, management, reclamation or reuse of water, or by treating wastewater.
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