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To:
Members, Affiliates & Legal Affairs Committee
From:
National Office
Date:
July/August 2000
The National Office is pleased to provide you with the August 2000 Legislative Update. The update will provide you with a comprehensive overview of AMSA's recent legislative initiatives and the general outlook on Capitol Hill current to August 31, 2000. The attached Bill Digest provides an abbreviated summary of pertinent legislation that AMSA is currently tracking. If you have any questions or comments, please contact the National Office.
Water Infrastructure Caucus Continues to Grow
Members of the associations and organizations belonging to the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN) took advantage of the summer congressional recess to encourage their Members of Congress to join the House Water Infrastructure Caucus (WIC). The Caucus is a bipartisan congressional coalition chaired by House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chair Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Ranking Member Robert Borski (D-PA), Health and Environment Subcommittee Chair Michael Bilirakis (R-FL), and Ranking Member Sherrod Brown(D-OH). New recruits to the Caucus should contact John Mimikakis in Rep. Boehlert's office at (202)225-3665. Over sixty members have signed on to the caucus; the WIC chairs recently sent a new 'Dear Colleague' letter to all lawmakers in the House. Copies of WIN's report, Clean and Safe Water for the 21st Century: A Renewed National Commitment to Water and Wastewater Infrastructure, are available on-line at AMSA's website. A glossy tri-fold of the Executive Summary amended with several of the most revealing charts is available from the National Office (call Robin Davis at (202)833-3280). The report finds that the funding shortfall in America's water infrastructure sector is due to a decades-long slide in the federal financial commitment to the infrastructure necessary to achieve the goals of the Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water Acts. For more information on WIN or WIC, call Lee Garrigan at (202)833-4655.Congress Readies for Efforts to Overturn Final TMDL Rule
On July 11, U.S. EPA issued its final, sweeping changes to its total maximum daily load (TMDL) program. EPA issued the rule despite a legislative rider passed as part of the Military Construction Appropriations bill which bars the Agency from using FY 2000 and FY 2001 funds to implement the new revisions. Some members of Congress immediately expressed their disapproval of the Agency's action by introducing several resolutions in the House and Senate (S.J. Res. 50, H.J. Res. 105, H.J. Res. 106) to overturn the rule under the Congressional Review Act. When Congress returns from the Labor Day recess, the showdown over EPA's new TMDL rule is expected to resume in both the House and the Senate.In addition to the rider in the Military Construction Appropriations bill, the House VA-HUD & Independent Agencies Appropriations bill (H.R. 4635) for fiscal year 2001 also blocks EPA from implementing the new TMDL regulations. The House passed the bill on June 21, and the provision was included in both the bill and the accompanying committee report. Senate appropriators have not yet taken up their version of the VA-HUD spending measure. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has, however, referred a bill from Committee that was introduced earlier this year by Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho). S. 2417 would increase funding for state nonpoint pollution control programs. A provision to delay the TMDL rule was ultimately dropped from the bill.
AMSA's Board of Directors endorsed a resolution on July 21 which calls for immediate implementation of EPA's final TMDL rule. In addition to Board approval, the resolution was reviewed and approved by AMSA's Legislative Policy Committee on July 19 at AMSA's Summer Meeting in Louisville, KY. AMSA's resolution urges Congress to remove the rider barring implementation of the new rule, and to move forward with a program that offers the best chance to date of addressing the nation's remaining water quality challenges. The National Office distributed the resolution to all members of Congress on July 25.
Latest TMDL Bill Would Reopen Final Rule
Just prior to the August recess, H.R. 4922, the TMDL Regulatory Accountability Act of 2000, was introduced in the House by Rep. Stenholm (D-TX) and Rep. Dickey (R-AR) along with 8 other House Agriculture Committee members. The bill would require EPA to re-open the rule for public comments for 120 days, in addition to holding public meetings. EPA also would be directed to get additional input from each State regarding the rule's impact on existing State programs. EPA then would have 180 days to publish a response to the public comments in the Federal Register. Other provisions would compel EPA to submit to Congress, within 120 days, an analysis of monitoring data needed for development and implementation of TMDLs, address data collection costs, and solicit input from each State for analysis. A $3 million, 240-day, National Academy of Science study is recommended, as well as a cost-benefit analysis that would be published in the Federal Register for a 60-day comment period. The bill nearly made it directly to the House floor, bypassing the committee process, during the week preceding the August recess.House Democrats Stand Up for EPA's TMDL Rule
In an August 4 letter to their Democratic colleagues, several influential House Democrats declared their support for EPA's embattled rule on TMDLs. House Minority Whip David Bonior (D-MI), Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member James Oberstar (D-MN), and Ranking Member Robert Borski (D-PA) of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee were among the Members that circulated the letter. The lawmakers are encouraging other Democrats to sign a letter to President Clinton in support of EPA's revisions to the TMDL program. The letter speaks specifically to the need to address nonpoint sources of pollution and supports additional funding for states for water cleanup programs "without disproportionately burdening any one segment of the population." The letter also asks Clinton to oppose attempts to weaken EPA's efforts or any other attempts to undermine the Clean Water Act.Draft House Wet Weather Bill Mirrors AMSA-Supported Legislation
Majority staff of the House Water Resources & Environment Subcommittee have circulated among key stakeholders a discussion draft bill, the Wet Weather Water Quality Act of 2000, which embraces many of the critical provisions of the AMSA-led Urban Wet Weather Water Quality Act of 2000 (H.R. 3570). The bill language borrows heavily from H.R. 3570, most notably in the area of sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) control, urban stormwater management, urban watershed pilot projects, and wet weather grants. In its most prominent features, the draft bill would make the CSO Policy national law, provide an affirmative defense for sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) discharges, indefinitely prohibit the use of numeric effluent limits in stormwater permits, require EPA to conduct wet weather watershed pilot projects, and establish a multi-year grants program for CSO and SSO communities.The National Office believes that the passage of Wet Weather Water Quality Act of 2000 in its current form would represent major achievement for the membership as it addresses AMSA's most serious concerns. In that regard, AMSA, and its municipal wet weather coalition, responded to the draft legislation with a letter of support and several recommended technical corrections. EPA and the Association of State & Interstate Water Pollution Control Authorities (ASIWPCA) offered constructive comments on the current language and appeared to take a neutral stand on most of the provisions, except for expressing concerns over the prohibition on the use of numeric effluent limitations for stormwater permits. Despite numerous attempts to address the concerns of the environmental groups through the introduction of improved public notice and environmental impact studies, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has indicated that it opposes the bill.
The window for action on wet weather legislation in this Congress continues to be narrow. However, by floating this draft bill for consideration, the Subcommittee staff are signaling their interest in attempting to move a bipartisan package and their commitment to addressing a critical municipal issue. The majority staff has indicated to AMSA that movement of this legislation will depend most significantly on bipartisan support. While the minority staff have previously indicated their general support for the objectives of municipal wet weather legislation, the Democrats on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee may also be interested in linking other issues to the wet weather package. Depending on the level of controversy associated with those issues, the inclusion of additional issues at this time could threaten the chances for serious movement on this bill.
AMSA, the National League of Cities, U.S. Conference of Mayors, National Association of Flood & Stormwater Management Agencies, American Public Works Association, and Water Environment Federation, sent a letter to each member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee urging their support for holding a mark-up on the draft bill as soon as possible. AMSA members with Representatives on the Committee are being urged to call and/or write letters as soon as possible to convey the same message.
