NACWA Legislative Update February 2006

This edition of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies’ Legislative Update, current through February 16, 2006, provides information on the activities of the 109th Congress of interest to the nation’s publicly owned treatment works (POTWs). For more detailed information regarding NACWA activities related to specific legislation, click on the web links in selected news items, or contact NACWA’s Lee Garrigan at 202/833-4655 or lgarrigan@nacwa.org.

NACWA advocates on behalf of its members before Congress. You can find individual bills through NACWA’s Bill Tracker (http://www.nacwa.org/private/legreg/legupdate/leg_tracker.cfm), which provides a direct link to congressional websites where bill texts and summaries are posted. You can find NACWA letters, statements, alerts, updates and related documents under Legislative (http://www.nacwa.org/private/leg_index.cfm) in the Member Pipeline section of the NACWA website.

FISCAL YEAR 2007 BUDGET

Federal Funding for CWSRF on Track to End in Five Years
The fiscal year (FY) 2007 White House budget for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes another round of cuts to the clean water state revolving fund (CWSRF) program, fulfilling the Administration’s promise to end Federal capitalization of the program in FY 2011. The nearly $200 million budget cut would reduce the nation’s primary infrastructure program for water quality projects by 23 percent (from $886.8 million in the current fiscal year to $687.6 million). Federal funding for the CWSRF has been slashed nearly 50 percent from the $1.35 billion annual appropriation it received up until FY 2004.

EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson appeared before the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee February 15 to defend the Administration’s proposal but was widely criticized by Senators from both parties. EPW Chairman James M. Inhofe (R-OK) stated that the “cuts will not be sustained throughout the process” and that “Congress would be justified in restoring many of the cuts you proposed. There is a nationwide crisis and need for more water infrastructure money. It is clear from the cuts you have proposed that the Administration does not fully understand this crisis.” Other Committee members had similar objections to the CWSRF cuts.

The proposed budget also would delete $280 million that Congress added to the FY 2006 budget for more than 330 specific earmarked projects in local communities. The budget proposes to increase funding for the drinking water SRF by $4 million over FY 2006, increasing the proposed budget to $841.5 million. Also on the chopping block is the Wastewater Operator Training program which EPA proposed to zero out in FY 2007. The program received nearly $1.2 million in FY 2006.

National Biosolids Partnership Seeks FY’07 Funding
NACWA members had an opportunity to sign a letter during the NACWA 2006 Winter Conference in Palm Desert, California that requests members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies to renew federal funding assistance for the National Biosolids Partnership (NBP). The letter supports at least $1 million for the NBP’s environmental management system (EMS) for biosolids program in EPA’s FY 2007 budget.

Individual agencies that have Members of Congress on the House and Senate appropriations subcommittees received a Special Legislative Alert (http://www.nacwa.org/private/leg_outreach.cfm) in which they were asked to write a letter urging their Members to request that $1 million for the NBP be included in EPA’s budget for FY 2007. A sample letter that NACWA members can personalize and send to their Representative or Senator also is available from Write Congress Now, which is located on the homepage of NACWA’s website (www.nacwa.org).

Following a congressional recess to mark President’s Day, the House and Senate Budget Committees will convene to mark up their budget resolutions which will set funding allocations for agencies. The allocations then are used by the appropriations subcommittee chairs to draft their appropriations bills. In the House Subcommittee on Interior, Environmental and Related Agencies, Member Requests for earmarks (specific programs and local projects), including the NBP request, are due the Subcommittee by March 16.

DHS Budget Includes Money for New Chemical Security Office
The FY 2007 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) includes a request for $10 million to establish a new office to administer a chemical site security program. The establishment of the new office closely tracks bipartisan legislation introduced late last year that would require DHS to regulate the security of thousands of chemical facilities nationwide. The Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2005 (S. 2145) (http://www.nacwa.org/private/legreg/legupdate/leg_tracker.cfm#2) would provide broad new authority to DHS to establish risk-based criteria to determine which chemical facilities are vulnerable to terrorist attack and to establish security standards for those facilities. Chemical facilities would be required to conduct vulnerability assessments and create site security and emergency response plans based on their specific vulnerabilities, subject to approval by the Secretary of Homeland Security. Facilities that fail to comply with the security standards would be subject to fines and penalties.

Senate Homeland and Government Affairs (HGA) Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins (R-ME) and Ranking Member Joe Lieberman (D-CT) introduced the bill following a year of negotiations with DHS and the chemical industry. As a starting point, the bill directs DHS to consider all facilities on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Risk Management Program (EPA RMP) list under Clean Air Act §112(r), which includes more than 15,000 facilities which store, produce, or use greater than threshold quantities of hazardous chemicals. Introduction of S. 2145 was the result of a series of hearings in 2005 and a Senate-passed resolution calling for federal security standards for chemical facilities. The bill also gives DHS the authority to cover facilities not on the EPA RMP list. Facilities would be assigned by DHS to a security tier based on risk.

NACWA will use comments received on S. 2145 from member POTWs in response to Legislative Alert 06-02 (http://www.nacwa.org/private/legreg/legalrts/la06-2.cfm) in upcoming meetings with HGA staff and in discussions with other municipal groups interested in the legislation. Hearings on the bill are anticipated to be scheduled this spring.