AMSA April 2004 Legislative Update

This edition of the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies’ (AMSA) Legislative Update, current through April 30, 2004, provides an overview of bills and initiatives of interest to the nation’s publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) in the 108th Congress. For more detailed information regarding AMSA activities related to specific legislation, click on the web links at the end of selected news items, or contact AMSA’s Lee Garrigan at 202/833-4655 or lgarrigan@amsa-cleanwater.org.

AMSA members can track congressional action on individual bills through AMSA’s Bill Tracker. The Tracker provides a direct link from AMSA’s website to congressional websites where bill texts and summaries are posted, allowing members to research relevant federal legislation. The site also includes the status and most recent action taken on all federal legislation through a link to the Library of Congress’ “Thomas” website. To renew or bookmark the Bill Tracker, go to http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/legupdate/leg_tracker.cfm.

Budget and Appropriations

Congressional conferees are working to resolve differences between the House and Senate budget resolutions for fiscal year (FY) 2005. The overall Senate resolution is larger than the House resolution which supported President Bush’s Budget of the United States Government, FY 2005. During negotiations, conferees will have to decide whether to include the Senate-passed budget amendment that adds $3 billion in spending authority for the clean water and drinking water state revolving loan programs.

AMSA Pushes Congress to Add Billions to SRFs in Budget Resolution
The Senate for the second consecutive year accepted by voice vote an amendment from Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) to provide $5.2 billion in budget authority for the clean water and drinking water state revolving loan funds (SRFs) in fiscal year (FY) 2005. Co-sponsors of the amendment (SA 2784) to the Senate budget resolution (S.Con.Res. 95) included Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), James Jeffords (I-VT), Susan Collins (R-ME), Harry Reid (D-NV), John Kerry (D-MA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Pete Domenici (R-NM) and George Voinovich (R-OH). The amendment sets the stage for appropriators to fund the clean water SRF at $3.2 billion and the drinking water SRF at $2 billion in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) FY 2005 budget. Failure to raise the funding allocation for the SRFs will make it nearly impossible for the appropriations committees to increase funding for the SRFs. The House budget resolution (H.Con.Res. 393) does not include the additional funds for the SRFs. AMSA has advocated support for the increase in numerous letters to budget conferees and to House and Senate members. The letters have been signed by a diverse group of environmental, municipal, state and labor organizations in support of the increased funding. AMSA member wastewater agencies also were asked in AMSA Legislative Alert 02-04 to contact the budget conferees to voice their support for the increased funding (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/legalrts/legalrts.cfm).

In an effort to raise the visibility of the issue with lawmakers, AMSA was instrumental in creating and placing a full-page ad in the special Earth Day edition of Roll Call newspaper that calls on Congressional conferees to support the Senate funding level for the SRFs. However, like last year, homeland security, defense, the Iraqi war and a record budget deficit are expected to diminish significantly the chances of the increased funding remaining in the final budget resolution. The letters of support for increased SRF funding and the Roll Call ad are posted in the Member Pipeline section of the AMSA website (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/leg_outreach.cfm). A sample letter that AMSA members could use to personalize and send to their Representative or Senator is posted on Write Congress Now, which is located on the home page of AMSA’s website at www.amsa-cleanwater.org. Budget conferees hope to come to an agreement on their outstanding issues by the first week of May.

Key House Chairs to Support Senate Efforts to Boost SRF Funding
The chairs of the two House subcommittees with jurisdiction over the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act have agreed to send a letter to House conferees asking them to support the Senate budget resolution’s $5.2 billion budget authority for the state revolving fund (SRF) programs. Representative Paul Gillmor (R-OH), chair of the Environment and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, has jurisdiction over the drinking water SRF. John J. Duncan (R-TN), chair of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has jurisdiction over the clean water SRF. The letter will be posted on AMSA’s website when it becomes available.

National Biosolids Partnership Seeks AMSA Member Support
House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on VA-HUD-Independent Agencies are expected to begin work this month on their fiscal year (FY) 2005 budgets for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including AMSA’s request of $1 million to fund the activities of the National Biosolids Partnership (NBP) for next year. AMSA member POTWs were asked to sign a funding request letter to Congress in early February at the AMSA Winter Conference in Los Angeles, Calif. This letter was sent to the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate appropriations committees and subcommittees and is posted on AMSA’s website in the Legislative Correspondence and Outreach section (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/leg_outreach.cfm).

Individual agencies that have Members of Congress on the House and Senate appropriations subcommittees have been contacted by AMSA and asked to write a letter urging their Member to request that $1 million for the NBP be included in EPA’s budget for FY 2005. A copy of the memorandum to AMSA members can be found on the AMSA website at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/leg_outreach.cfm. Members should click on the March 11 correspondence “Selected AMSA Members asked to Contact Congressional Appropriators on NBP Funding.” A sample letter that AMSA members can personalize and send to their Representative or Senator is available from Write Congress Now, which is located on the home page of AMSA’s website (www.amsa-cleanwater.org).

Water Quality

House Panel Hears from Water Utilities on Aging Pipes
The House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment held an April 28 hearing entitled ‘Aging Water Supply Infrastructure’. The timing of the hearing was due in large part to the heightened lead levels in D.C.’s drinking water due to aging service lines, but testimony and questions addressed the broader issue of the drinking water infrastructure funding gap, as well as the clean water funding gap. Jerry N. Johnson, General Manager of the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority, testified on behalf of the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies; Howard Neukrug, Director of the Office of Watersheds, Philadelphia Water Department, Pa., testified on behalf of the American Water Works Association; The Honorable David G. Wallace, Mayor of Sugarland, Tex., testified on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Mayors; and Ralph McCarter, P.E., General Manager, First Utility District of Knox County, Tenn., testified on behalf of the National Rural Water Association. Their testimony will be made available on the Subcommittee’s website (http://www.house.gov/transportation/water/04-28-04/04-28-04memo.html).

The testimony was consistent in describing a national water infrastructure crisis, both in rural and urban areas, that demands a federal recommitment. The nature of this recommitment, however, differed significantly among those testifying. Various methods to overcome this gap were mentioned, including increased federal grants, increased SRF funding, federal support for rate increases, extended repayment for bond issues, as well as a trust fund. Congressional members focused on the need for the national, regional and local organizations to do a better job of educating and energizing the public on the infrastructure funding gap, re-emphasizing the often-heard point that they are not hearing from their constituents on this issue. AMSA provided reporters at the hearing a press release in support of increased SRF and long-term funding (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/advocacy/releases/042604.cfm). Also, as AMSA seeks to garner expanded coalition support for long-term, dedicated funding, a critical objective will be to activate the grassroots capabilities of these groups to ensure that members of Congress hear from their constituents on the importance of clean water funding legislation.

Confirmation on Hold for EPA Nominees
President Bush’s nominee for Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water, Ben Grumbles, is among four EPA nominees being opposed for confirmation by a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee. Grumbles is a former House staffer to the Water Resources Subcommittee and to Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY). EPW Ranking Member James Jeffords (I-VT) is waiting for information he requested from EPA back in October 2003. Although Jeffords is the only Senator that has placed a formal ‘hold’ on a confirmation vote on the EPA candidates, other Senators agree that the agency should respond to the request before the nominees are voted into office. The other candidates are Stephen Johnson for the deputy administrator’s job, Ann Klee for the general counsel’s position and Charles Johnson for chief financial officer.

Clean Water Funding

Transportation Conferees Will Consider Stormwater Amendment
By a vote of 410-0, the House on April 28 adopted a motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 4219, to provide a two-month extension of highway, highway safety, motor carrier safety, transit, and other programs funded out of the Highway Trust Fund pending enactment of a law reauthorizing the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA 21). The extension was necessary as House, Senate and the White House continue discussions on a new six-year highway bill.

The House approved April 2 a six-year, $284 billion highway and transit funding bill (H.R. 3550) by a 357 to 65 vote. Among the amendments denied by the Rules Committee for permission to be considered was by Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD) to dedicate two percent of surface transportation fund to help states construct stormwater runoff mitigation projects in relation to road construction.

The Senate previously completed work on the Safe, Affordable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2003 (SAFETEA) (S. 1072) in March, retaining the AMSA-supported amendment sponsored by Senators John Warner (R-VA) and Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) to set-aside 2 percent – approximately $958 million over six years – for states to mitigate stormwater runoff from highways. The amendment to the Senate’s $318 billion highway construction and repair package received bipartisan support and would provide funds for projects such as stormwater retrofits, the recharge of groundwater, natural filters, stream restoration, minimization of stream bank erosion, and innovative technologies. AMSA sent several letters to EPW Senators urging their support for the amendment (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/advocacy/releases/2003-11-11-03cornyn.pdf).

Although Members have not yet been appointed to the conference committee, the negotiations are expected to be lengthy as lawmakers attempt to reconcile the cost difference between the $284 billion House bill and the Senate’s $318 billion bill. Meantime, the White House has renewed its veto threat for anything costing over $256 billion. The nation’s highway programs will continue to operate under the two-month extension of the old highway bill, TEA 21, after the Senate passes an extension of the law before it expires April 30. A Senate vote was tentatively scheduled for April 29. Once the conferees are chosen, AMSA will seek public agency member support in urging them to include the stormwater funding provision in the transportation package.