Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - October 11, 2002
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October 11, 2002
AMSA Testifies at Senate Hearing for Clean Water Act’s 30th
Paul Pinault, AMSA President and Executive Director of the Narragansett Bay Commission in Providence, R.I., testified this week before the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee at a hearing commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act. Pinault testified to the tremendous work that POTWS have done and continue to do to ensure water quality progress, but also cautioned the Committee that without a sustainable solution to the wastewater infrastructure funding shortfall, such progress is at risk. Two original proponents of the 1972 Clean Water Act, retired Senators George Mitchell and Robert Stafford also emphasized the need for a greater federal investment in clean water. In his testimony, G. Tracy Mehan III, EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Water, referred to the Agency’s recent “Gap Analysis”, which demonstrates a huge, potential clean water infrastructure funding shortfall, but reiterated the administration’s position that it will be left to POTWs to improve their competitive practices to overcome the funding gap.At the same October 8 hearing, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Senior Counsel for the Natural Resources Defense Council, used the opportunity to misrepresent AMSA and its members, claiming the Association was opposed to a meaningful sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) regulation. In response to these falsehoods, AMSA sent a clarifying letter this week to the members of the Senate EPW Committee that stated “[t]he discussions we [AMSA] have had with EPA on the issue of SSOs over the past year have been with an eye towards encouraging the Agency to publish the current rule, and to be open to exploring options during the public comment period that are equally protective of the environment while being cost effective in this era of limited resources.” The letter is available at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/outreach/30thAnniversary100902.pdf. Testimony from the October 8 hearing, including Paul Pinault’s, is available at http://www.senate.gov/~epw/stm1_107.htm#10-08-02.
House Passes Wastewater Security Legislation
The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday unanimously approved legislation that is aimed at increasing the security of the nation's wastewater treatment plants. The Wastewater Treatment Works Security Act, H.R. 5169, authorizes $200 million in grants to EPA for vulnerability assessments and security enhancements at POTWs. The bill also provides $15 million in technical assistance on security measures to small POTWs and $5 million over five years to guide improvements in vulnerability self-assessment methodologies and tools, such as AMSA’s VSAT™wastewater software. AMSA is working with the Senate EPW Committee to pass its wastewater security bill, S. 3037, which was introduced last week. Both House and Senate Committee staff have assured AMSA that every effort will be made to move this legislation forward in the 107th Congress.
Reserve Rooms Now for AMSA’s Law Seminar and WET Workshop
If you are planning to attend either of AMSA’s upcoming conferences — the Law Seminar or the Whole Effluent Toxicity Workshop, November 6-8 in Denver, Colo., at the Westin Tabor Center — AMSA strongly urges you to reserve your rooms today because the deadline for the special group rate is Tuesday, October 15. To ensure a hotel room at the special rate call the Westin Tabor Center at 1-800/228-3000 and indicate that you are a registrant of the AMSA Conference. For more information on these two timely conference offerings or to register for them, visit AMSA’s Conferences and Meetings web page at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/meetings/.