To: Members, Affiliates & Legal Affairs Committee From: National Office Date: December 1998 (current to January 12, 1999) The National Office is pleased to provide you with the December 1998 Legislative Update. In 1999, the Legislative Update will be forwarded to you monthly and will, as has been the case in the past, feature key legislation during the coming session of Congress. Because a limited number of bills have been introduced to date, this December issue will feature only significant recent legislative developments. The next issue of the Legislative Update will include a new feature to assist you in tracking the bills that are of highest interest and priority to your agency. The National Office will add a Legislative Reference Guide at the front of the next and future updates to provide you with a quicker glimpse of the latest legislative activity.
106th Congress Begins Work
Members of Congress returned to Washington, DC on January 6th to begin the work of the 106th Congress. The Senate and the House of Representatives will formally convene on January 19, 1999. A preliminary schedule for the 106th Congress is included below.
1999 Congressional Calendar House Senate Congress Reconvenes January 19 January 19 President's Day Recess February 13 - 21 February 15 - 19 Easter Recess March 27 - April 11 March 29 - April 5 Memorial Day Recess May 28 - June 1 May 28 - June 1 Independence Day Recess July 3 - 11 July 3 - 11 Summer Recess August 7 - September 7 August 7 - September 7 Target Adjournment October 29 October 29 Election Day November 2 November 2 AMSA's Key Congressional Committees Appoint New Members The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee has appointed four new Republican members including George Voinavich (Ohio), Michael Crapo (Idaho), Robert Bennett (Utah), and Kay Baile
Hutchison (Texas). These new appointees will replace the following outgoing senators: Dirk Kempthorne (Idaho), Tim Hutchinson (Arkansas), Wayne Allard (Colorado), and Jeff Sessions (Alabama). The Democrats have not appointed any new members at this time.
The House Subcommittee on Water Resources & Environment of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee has appointed four new Democrats as members including Brian Baird (Washington), Bob Clement (Tennessee), Jerry Costello (Illinois), and John Baldacci (Maine). The Republicans have not appointed any new members to the Subcommittee at the time of this update.
AMSA will continue to monitor the committee and subcommittee appointments as they are made. When appointments have been finalized by both parties within the Association's key committees, members will be provided with comprehensive contact information.
Legislative Policy Committee to Meet
AMSA's Legislative Policy Committee will meet on Wednesday, February 3rd from 12:15 - 1:45 pm in Phoenix, AZ at the 1999 Winter Conference. The Committee's agenda includes a discussion of AMSA's ongoing efforts to reauthorize the Clean Water Act through a municipal bill covering wet weather issues (see page 3), the outlook for other related environmental legislation, AMSA's participation in various funding initiatives (see page 4), and the introduction of AMSA's new grass roots lobbying tool operated through the internet.
Clean Water Act Reauthorization - Outlook Uncertain for 106th
Both the Senate and the House have expressed early interest in Clean Water Act reauthorization. With plans to submit a wet weather bill (see page 3) in the early months of the 106th Congress, AMSA will seek to trigger widespread interest in amendments to the Clean Water Act to address current problems. Beyond wet weather issues, AMSA will also be heavily engaged in advocacy work focused on infrastructure funding and nonpoint source pollution control issues.It is uncertain how aggressively Congress will pursue changes to the Clean Water Act. It is important to note that EPA has publicly stated that it will not be proposing changes to the Clean Water Act in the near future. The Agency's position reflects its preference to address existing problems in the Act through regulatory and policy changes.
1999 Appropriations Act Funds National Biosolids Partnership
The 1999 Appropriations Act funded the National Biosolids Partnership at $900,000, which was only $100,000 less than had been requested by AMSA and the Partnership. Congressional support for the Partnership was won through the collective efforts of the membership of AMSA and Water Environment Federation (WEF). The funding will lay the groundwork for important progress to be made in implementing the Partnership's priority projects. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was funded with $7.56 billion in 1999 - a level $192 million higher than 1998, but $230 million below the President's requested level of funding.Of the $3,386,750,000 appropriated under State and Tribal Assistance Grants, $1,350,000,000 will go to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, and $775,000,000 to the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. Section 319 nonpoint source pollution grants received $200,000,000 and section 106 state clean water program management grants received $115,529,300. A total of $301,750,000 was appropriated for special needs drinking water, wastewater and groundwater infrastructure grants, with grants ranging from $283,000 to $30,000,000.
Appropriators Urge EPA to Issue Guidance on Water Quality Criteria for CSO-Receiving Waters
The 1999 appropriations process also took significant steps in the area of wet weather discharges. In report language accompanying the 1999 VA, HUD, & Independent Agencies spending bill, congressional appropriators urged EPA to "(1) develop, after a period for public comment, a guidance document to facilitate the conduct of water quality and designated use reviews for CSO-receiving waters; (2) provide technical and financial assistance to states and EPA regions to conduct these reviews; and (3) submit a report to the relevant authorizing and appropriations committees of the House and Senate by December 1, 1999 on the progress of meeting the requirements set forth above." EPA is reportedly trying to determine how it will comply with the language amidst its other priorities and budget cutbacks imposed by the approved spending bill.
AMSA Leads Development of Urban Wet Weather Watershed Bill
AMSA is taking a lead role in the development of a targeted wet weather bill to amend the Clean Water Act. The draft bill, entitled Urban Wet Weather Watershed Act of 1999, focuses on one of AMSA's highest legislative priorities during the upcoming session: the control of urban wet weather flows. The purpose of the bill is to amend the Clean Water Act to provide for an optional unified mechanism for management of urban wet weather flows, including combined sewer overflows (CSOs), sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs), and municipal separate stormwater discharges. There is currently a strong interest in both the Senate and House of Representatives in reauthorization issues, heightening the need to move forward quickly with this critical legislative issue.Copies of the draft bill were sent to the full membership, as well as the Wet Weather Committee and the Water Quality Committee, on December 4, 1998 for review (see Legislative Alert LA 98-6). To lay the groundwork for continuing municipal support, AMSA engaged numerous national municipal and other stakeholder organizations, including the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), American Public Works Association (APWA), CSO Partnership, National League of Cities (NLC), National Association of Counties (NACo), U.S. Conference of Mayors, National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies (NAFSMA), and Water Environment Federation (WEF) in crafting the draft legislation. After we have received and incorporated comments from the AMSA membership, a meeting of the above groups will be reconvened to work towards the goal of unanimous municipal support of the bill prior to the 106th Congress in late January or early February 1999. A briefing will also be held in conjunction with AMSA's Legislative Policy Committee on February 3, 1999 during the Winter Conference in Phoenix, AZ on February 2-5, 1999.
The following is a highlight of the bill's main features:
- The establishment of an optional unified wet weather permitting program that addresses the combined effects of all wet weather flows in an individual watershed;
- The development of wet weather criteria that are reflective of the episodic character of urban wet weather discharges;
- The revision of the total maximum daily load (TMDL) provisions to reflect the need to control nonpoint sources according to their relative contribution to watershed impact;
- The codification of the Combined Sewer Overflow Control Policy of April 1994.
- The development of a regulatory program to address the control of sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs);
- The modification of the municipal stormwater permitting requirements to encourage application of stormwater management measures and prohibiting the application of numeric effluent limitations in municipal stormwater permits; and
- The creation of a new grant program to supplement the state revolving fund (SRF) loans to provide grant funding for municipal wet weather control projects.
A copy of the draft bill is located in the Legislative Alert section of the Member Pipeline on AMSA's web site at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org.
AMSA to Showcase Infrastructure Funding in New Initiatives
A number of initiatives are under way or nearly completed which seek to raise awareness on the widespread need for greater Federal infrastructure funding, one of AMSA's key legislative priorities for the 106th Congress. AMSA is finalizing the draft text for The Cost of Clean¼ Meeting Water Quality Challenges in the New Millennium (working title). This joint project of AMSA and the Water Environment Federation (WEF) will document the need for increased federal investment in the control of the next generation of water quality challenges, such as the control of combined sewer overflows, sanitary sewer overflows, stormwater and nonpoint source pollution, and will serve as an outreach vehicle to support AMSA's legislative agenda. Plans call for the report to be released at a Washington, DC, press conference this spring.In a related development, AMSA's Executive Director has been asked to serve as Chair for the Rebuild America Coalition's (RAC) water/wastewater financing issues task force. The formation of this RAC task force marks the first time the Coalition has focused attention specifically on water and wastewater infrastructure. RAC is currently conducting a nationwide survey to assess how Americans value infrastructure, the ideal role for the Federal government, and whether the public would support paying higher taxes to finance infrastructure projects. A press briefing announcing the results of the survey is scheduled for late January in Washington, DC.
AMSA is also participating in a three-month study by EPA's Office of Water to develop a comprehensive estimate of state, federal, and municipal resources required for both implementing and managing water programs to effectively meet fundamental state and national water quality goals. AMSA will be participating in a work group focusing on the development of a consistent approach which may be utilized at both the state and federal level in costing programs and justifying resources. EPA will be examining capital costs, operation and maintenance expenditures and needs, and will attempt to develop alternatives on how to meet these needs, such as the implementing a user charge system. The kick-off meeting was held on December 14-15 in Washington, DC.
1998-1999 Position Statements to Introduce AMSA to New Congress
AMSA's 1998-1999 Position Statements will serve the Association well as it introduces itself to the new 106th Congress in January. The 1998-1999 Position Statements will be forwarded, with a letter of introduction, to the new Congress in the near future. Additionally, they will be an important tool as AMSA continues its close working relationship with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and other clean water stakeholders in the year ahead.The AMSA National Office will continue to provide members with monthly Legislative Updates and as- needed Legislative Alerts. If you have any questions about the legislation profiled in this Update or would like additional information on AMSA legislative issues, please contact either Sam Hadeed (202/833-4655) or Greg Schaner (202/296-9836) at the National Office.
