September 1997
The following will bring you up-to-date on recent key legislative developments and AMSA National Office activity since the last report to the Board of Directors in July 1997.
Congress Returns After Month Long Recess
Members of the 105th Congress returned to Washington, DC on September 3 and 4 to resume finalization of 1998 appropriations and discussions on several major pieces of legislation, including reauthorization of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund) and the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA).
Reports are already circulating as to the possibility of an early adjournment for 1997. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) has been reported as stating that he thinks that it is possible that the Senate could adjourn as early as October 31, the earliest date for adjournment in 30 years. The date originally scheduled for adjournment was November 14. Senator Lott was also quoted as saying that he "wants the agenda -- not some arbitrary date -- to drive adjournment." Given that, there are several obstacles that stand in the way of early leave-taking. Several Senate committee leaders have expressed an interest in completing their agendas before the year is out, others have threatened delays unless campaign finance reform is taken up this year; and the contested Louisiana election of Mary Landrieu has forced attention away from crucial appropriations issues.
On the House side, Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-MO) has stated that he won’t support adjournment until the Sanchez/Dornan issue is resolved. Last year, Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) defeated former Representative Robert Dornan (R-CA) by 984 votes. Dornan has been calling for a new election based on claims of voter fraud. House Republicans have stated that the probe will continue.
EPA Appropriations Head for Conference
Prior to August recess, both the House and Senate approved funding measures for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Neither bill contains any of the riders or restrictive language that has plagued past attempts to fund the Agency. Conference dates to hash out differences between the two funding proposals have not been scheduled. The House approved a total of $7.23 billion for the Agency, with $1.25 billion dedicated to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. The Senate approved a total of $6.97 billion for the Agency, with $750 million dedicated to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. The Agency’s appropriation for 1997 was $6.79 billion.
Superfund Subject of Hearing, Possible Mark-up
Prior to returning from recess, Senators John Chafee (R-RI), Chair of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee, and Robert Smith (R-NH) circulated a revised draft of the reauthorization legislation, S.8, for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund). The revised draft is intended to eventually be introduced as a substitute for the original bill introduced earlier this year.
On September 4, the Environment & Public Works Committee held a hearing on the legislation to gather comments from interested parties. The bill was then scheduled to proceed to mark-up on September 11. During the September 4 hearing, it became clear that legislators needed more time to shore up consensus among committee members and the mark-up date was postponed.
Among the issues of concern raised during the hearing are liability at co-disposal sites, expansion of state authority and changes to the natural resources damages title. The revised bill retains the original bill’s provision that would exempt all generators, transporters and arrangers at co-disposal sites (municipal and commercial disposal sites) from liability for conduct prior to January 1, 1997. It also caps liability on owner/operators of these landfills under certain conditions. There are currently 250 co-disposal sites nationwide requiring remediation activity.
There are also new developments on this issue in the regulatory arena. AMSA submitted comments in mid-August expressing its strong support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Draft Municipal Settlement Policy. This policy will equitably and expeditiously resolve Superfund liability issues for local governments that stem for their municipal solid waste (MSW)/municipal sewage sludge (MSS) activities. Once the policy is adopted, it should ease the litigation that has saddled cities and towns because they owned or operated municipal landfills or sent garbage or sewage sludge to landfills that were also used by generators and transporters of industrial hazardous wastes. It is also anticipated that EPA will support inclusion of the final version of the policy in any Superfund reauthorization passed by Congress.
On the House side, discussions aimed at crafting Superfund legislation between members of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and Commerce Committee broke off because little progress was being made. It was reported that Representative Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Chair of the Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources & Environment would introduce a Superfund bill shortly after Labor Day. As of this writing, he has yet to introduce legislation.
Democrats Release Superfund Reform Goals
Democratic members of the House Commerce Committee released their suggestions for reform in a document titled "Superfund Reform, 105th Congress: Goals for Progress." The reforms include: increased public participation; restriction of lawsuits; allocation of cleanup responsibility where liability is clear; remedy selection to ensure the greatest risk reduction per dollar spent; assistance to states in cleaning up state listed sites; reform to protect buyers and encourage cleanup and development of Brownfields; Resource Conservation & Recovery Act reforms; reform of the Natural Resources Damages title. During the press conference to release the document, legislators stated that their goal was to create momentum, rather than spell out legislation.
At the National Office . . .
AMSA National Office staff met with staff for the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee late last month to discuss the Association’s recommendation for addressing POTW liability associated with Superfund. In late 1995, AMSA crafted legislative language that would protect POTWs from Superfund’s standard of strict, joint and several liability under the statute by amending the definition of "owner or operator" to exclude POTWs under circumstances that are not negligent on the part of the municipality owning the facility. POTWs would still be held to the standards of state and local cleanup laws. Last year, the Association was supported by a number of municipal groups during a hearing held by the House Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources & Environment. The National Office will continue to work with staff on both the House and Senate sides to address this issue.
Although response to AMSA’s proposal from staff to the Water Resources & Environment Subcommittee has been encouraging, continuing efforts to win additional committee staff support appear to be at an impasse. AMSA’s National Office and Counsel are currently engaged in a reassessment of all potential remedy options to ensure that the strategy undertaken by the Association both meets our members needs and has a significant likelihood of success on the Hill. Any recommendation resulting from this analysis will be brought before AMSA’s Legislative Policy Committee at the appropriate juncture. In the meantime, the National Office will continue to work with both the House and the Senate to address this issue.
Legislative Working Group on Watershed Management
The first meeting of AMSA’s newly formed Legislative Working Group on Watershed Management will take place on September 30 and October 1 in Washington, DC, following AMSA’s Fall Leadership Meetings. This Working Group was formed to finalize the Association’s recommendations for integrating watershed management into the Clean Water Act. It is hoped that the newly formed Legislative Working Group on Watershed Management will, using the significant body of work that has already been developed (by both AMSA and others), provide focus and clarity to AMSA’s proposal for reauthorization of the Clean Water Act.
Return to MU97-23