To:
Members & Affiliates
From:
National Office
Date:
January 28, 1999
Reference:
LA 99-1
ACTION PLEASE BY: February 15, 1999
AMSA is already busy engaging the 106th Congress in a campaign to obtain additional funding support for the National Biosolids Partnership (NBP), a joint initiative of AMSA and the Water Environment Federation (WEF), and your participation is pivotal in successfully obtaining additional funding from Congress. We have asked the Appropriations Subcommittees for a total of $1.775 million for fiscal year 2000, following up on last year's successful bid for $900,000 for fiscal year 1999. It is critically important that each of you participate in this lobbying effort.
As key municipal players in your State, you have the unique ability to inform and influence your Senator and/or Representative about this project and the importance of it to the wastewater industry. In order to convince Congress of the need to provide increased support to this project, we will need to win the support of each individual Senator or Representative on the respective VA, HUD and Independent Agencies Subcommittee (see attached list) of the full Appropriations Committee. It is this Subcommittee which decides on the level of funding for various projects under the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) budget.
We ask that you send a letter, using the attached sample letter as a model (see attachment), to your Senators and Representatives in Congress to express support for continued funding of the NBP. This letter is designed to capture the attention of your Senators and Representatives and to inform them of your support for the project. The sample letter contains instructions suggesting how to revise the text depending upon the member of Congress you will be addressing. If your Senator or Representative is on either the House or Senate VA, HUD and Independent Agencies Subcommittee, it is especially important that you forward a letter in support of additional NBP funding. It is also important for those Members and/or Affiliates whose Senators and Representatives do not serve on one of these subcommittees to write and register their support for additional funding.
Time is of the essence. The Subcommittees have already begun to consider requests for project funding for fiscal year 2000. In order to ensure that AMSA's voice is heard at the earliest possible time, please prepare and send your letter of support based on the attached sample letter by Monday, February 15. If you are unable to send a letter by February 15th, we encourage you to still send one at your earliest convenience. Addresses, including fax and phone numbers e-mail, and internet addresses, can be found on AMSA's web page (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org) in the Member Pipeline under Congressional Connection and in the Subcommittee attachment. For tracking purposes, please send, fax, or email your letter to Greg Schaner, Manager of Government Affairs. The fax number is 202/833-4657 and the e-mail address is gschaner@amsa-cleanwater.org.
Building On The Success of 1998 ...
Last year, AMSA and the Water Environment Federation (WEF) successfully lobbied Congress to provide fiscal year 1999 funding for the NBP. The FY 1999 funding provided an invaluable spark to our industry's efforts to inform the public and fellow industry representatives about the safety of biosolids storage and application. We have attached a promotional brochure on the NBP initiative for your reference. The project attracted Congress' attention because of its unique adherence to non-regulatory approaches, choosing instead to establish a strictly voluntary approach to certification and quality verification. Congress provided $900,000 as seed money for a number of critical initiatives which are right now being successfully carried out. We have attached NBP pamphlet to provide further background on the project.In order to achieve the next phase of the National Biosolids Partnership initiative, this year, are urging Congress to provide $1.775 million of additional funding to continue the NBP project. The second phase of the project will be devoted to completing work on the Environmental Management System (EMS) and pilot testing at 100 representative POTWs. An additional year of funding will help further solidify the impact of this project on the nation's outlook on biosolids which is the end goal of the National Biosolids Partnership.
Thank you in advance for your valued participation in this campaign! Please feel free to contact Greg Schaner at 202/296-9836 if you should have any questions.
ATTACHMENTS: