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Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - April 21, 2006

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April 21, 2006

NACWA Urges Senate
to Take Sound Approach on Wastewater Security
NACWA sent a letter (http://www.nacwa.org/private/leg_outreach.cfm) to the leaders of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs — Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) and Ranking Member Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) — alerting them to the clean water community’s concerns with the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act (S.2145). Currently, S.2145 would apply to publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) covered under section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act — over 30% of NACWA members — subjecting them to potentially onerous security planning and reporting requirements intended to address private sector chemical plant security. Presently, most clean water utilities have implemented security programs under the direction of EPA, which has been working closely with the wastewater sector on security issues and has a deep understanding of how clean water agencies operate, as well as the security challenges they face.

The Association’s letter points out that EPA, not the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), should continue to retain authority over security programs for wastewater utilities. Also, wastewater security legislation has traditionally been under the jurisdiction of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, where a new bill is expected to be introduced shortly by Chairman James M. Inhofe (R-OK) to address wastewater system security issues. Given the direct application of the EPW legislation to POTWs, NACWA has urged Senators Collins and Lieberman to modify S. 2145 so that it removes clean water utilities from the definition of covered facilities. The Association will continue to work with Congress as well as EPA and DHS to ensure a reasonable approach to wastewater utility security issues that addresses the needs of POTWs.

NACWA Urges
Representatives to Co-Sponsor Clean Water Trust Fund
NACWA this week has begun to send letters (http://www.nacwa.org/private/leg_outreach.cfm) and e-mails to every Member of the U.S. House of Representatives seeking their support as co-sponsors of The Clean Water Trust Act of 2005 (H.R. 4560). In its letter, the Association outlines the pressing need the nation faces in terms of funding for clean water infrastructure and the ramifications in the coming years if this current shortfall is not addressed. Additionally, the letter points to H.R. 4560 as a vehicle that would help guarantee a meaningful local-state-federal partnership to address the growing clean water infrastructure funding gap, while also spurring improved utility management, as well as new technologies and research. Accompanying the letter is a one-pager outlining the benefits of the legislation, the programs it would fund, as well as a list of supporting organizations.

The upcoming NACWA/Water Environment Federation (WEF) 2006 National Clean Water Policy Forum provides a perfect opportunity for Association members to set up meetings with their Representatives and discuss H.R.4560. At the Forum, attendees will receive packets that will include information on key clean water issues, including H.R. 4560, which you can leave behind with your Members of Congress. NACWA and WEF have also secured several key Representatives to attend the Capitol Hill Reception on Tuesday, May 2, including Chairman John J. Duncan (R-TN) and Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), of the House Water Resources & Environment Subcommittee. Rep. Johnson will be accepting NACWA’s National Environment Achievement Award for Federal Public Service. Also confirmed for the May 2 Reception are Representatives Henry Brown (R-SC), member of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, and Charles Taylor (R-NC), Chairman of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee. For more information on the Forum, visit NACWA’s Conferences & Meetings webpage (http://www.nacwa.org/meetings/06may/).