AMSA Legislative Update June 2003

This edition of the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies’ (AMSA) Legislative Update, current through June 27, 2003, provides an overview of the disposition of bills 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 web site to congressional web sites 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” web site. To renew or bookmark the Bill Tracker, go to http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/legupdate/leg_tracker.cfm.

Wastewater Security

Floor Vote Needed for Wastewater Security Bill
The Wastewater Treatment Works Security Act of 2003 (S. 1039) won approval in the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee in May but accompanying report language has not yet been approved by Committee leadership. Report language must be approved before the bill can be sent to the Senate floor for a vote. The bill, introduced on May 12 by Chairman James Inhofe (R-OK), is nearly identical to H.R. 866, which cleared the House by a vote of 413 – 2 in early May. Committee approval of the bill came on the heels of extensive discussions between EPW senators and wastewater treatment agency executives outside of Washington, DC and between EPW Committee and AMSA staff on Capitol Hill. Committee staff have completed the report and anticipate approval later in July.

The two bills would authorize $200 million for POTWs to conduct vulnerability assessments and to pay for enhanced security at their facilities. An additional $15 million would pay for technical assistance to small POTWs. Another $5 million would be made available to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make grants to nonprofit organizations for the improvement of vulnerability self-
assessment methodologies and tools for POTWs. That provision could potentially fund upgrades to and training on AMSA’s Vulnerability Self Assessment Tool (VSAT™) software over the coming years. Before S. 1039 was approved in the EPW Committee, ranking member Senator James Jeffords (I-VT) offered an amendment to eliminate the $150,000 cap that any single facility could receive. The amendment was rejected, but Jeffords did succeed in adding an additional $15 million to the Senate bill for the EPA to research new security technologies at wastewater treatment plants. Jeffords’ staff says the Senator soon will decide whether to offer additional amendments to S. 1039 if Chairman Inhofe is successful in moving the bill to the floor.

AMSA members and staff continue to press Senators and committee staff to move the bill forward to the Senate floor. An AMSA resolution urging the Senate to pass S. 1039 was approved by the AMSA membership, signed by 54 AMSA members at AMSA’s National Environmental Policy Forum, and delivered in early June to the 100 members of the U.S. Senate. A follow-up letter will be sent to Senators on the EPW Committee after the Fourth of July recess. A copy of the resolution can be found in the Correspondence and Outreach section of the AMSA website at: http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/outreach/06-02-03Sec_Resolution.pdf. To view or download a copies of S. 1039 and H.R. 866, go to AMSA’s Bill Tracker at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/legupdate/leg_tracker.cfm.

Clean Water Funding

AMSA Urges Action on Wastewater Funding Bill
A scheduled May markup of the Water Quality Financing Act of 2003 (H.R. 1560) by House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairman Don Young (R-AK) and Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-TN) has not been rescheduled. Committee staff recently reiterated that Chairman Young does not want to mark up the measure until he has assurances from the House leadership that the bill will be moved to the floor for a final vote. At issue is a difference of opinion on the inclusion of Davis-Bacon prevailing wage provisions in the bill. Last year’s bill, H.R. 3930, was voted out of the T&I Committee with a Davis-Bacon amendment but never reached the House floor.

H.R. 1560 would, among other things: 1) authorize $20 billion over five years to capitalize the clean water state revolving funds, 2) authorize $1 billion over four years for sewer overflow control grants, 3) require states to use at least 15 percent of the state grants to provide assistance to communities with populations of less than 20,000, 4) require all loan applicants to certify to the state that they have analyzed the cost and effectiveness of alternative management and financing approaches, including rate structures, issuance of bonds, restructuring, regional alternatives, consolidation, and public-private partnerships, 5) develop and implement a fiscal sustainability plan that includes an inventory of critical assets, evaluation of the condition of assets, and a plan for maintaining and replacing assets, and 6) provide subsidization to disadvantaged communities through 30-year repayment periods, forgiveness of loan principal, and negative interest loans.

At AMSA’s May National Environmental Policy Forum, 52 AMSA members signed a resolution urging Congress to pass both H.R. 1560 and similar Senate legislation. The resolution was delivered to members of the T&I Committee and the House leadership. A House Committee staffer says the broad support that is demonstrated by the AMSA resolution will help Reps. Young and Duncan gain support for moving forward on H.R. 1560. AMSA’s funding resolution is posted in the Correspondence and Outreach section of AMSA’s web site at: http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/outreach/2003-05h2ofunding.pdf. H.R. 1560 can be found on AMSA’s Bill Tracker at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/legupdate/leg_tracker.cfm.

Kelly-Tauscher Bill Gains More Co-Sponsors
Support for the Clean Water Infrastructure Financing Act of 2003 (H.R. 20) by Reps. Sue Kelly (R-NY) and Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) now totals 139 House Members. The bill includes an authorization of $25 billion for the clean water state revolving fund (CWSRF) over a five-year period, Davis-Bacon Act wage provisions, and language on asset management. Reps. Kelly and Tauscher are trying to get 218 co-sponsors on the bill to demonstrate to Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Don Young (R-AK) and Water Resources Subcommittee Chairman John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-TN) that H.R. 20 has the enough support to be marked up with the Chairmen’s bill, H.R. 1560. A final legislative vehicle then would have the necessary votes to pass on the House floor. AMSA members and staff met with Rep. Kelly again in June to encourage her efforts to obtain over 218 cosponsors on the bill. Look for H.R. 20 on AMSA’s Bill Tracker at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/legupdate/leg_tracker.cfm.

Senate Discussions Underway to Write Bill
Majority and minority staff of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) met in mid-June to discuss moving forward with a new water and wastewater infrastructure funding bill to amend the Clean Water Act’s state revolving fund program. EPW Chairman James Inhofe (R-OK) would prefer to work in a bipartisan manner to introduce new wastewater infrastructure funding legislation in the 108th Congress but his legislative goals appear to differ significantly from those of EPW Ranking Member James Jeffords (I-VT). Work on a new bill is expected to remain slow until Sen. Inhofe addresses the reauthorization of federal highway, transit, safety, research and motor carrier programs for the next six years. Inhofe recently introduced and began hearings on the Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2003 (S. 1072).

Of interest to AMSA members is a preliminary proposal recently advanced by supporters of the Chesapeake Bay, with the support of Maryland Senator Charles Sarbanes (D), to add up to $16 billion over six years to S. 1072 to address stormwater problems that are linked to federal highways. The money could be used by states to plant meadows in highway medians, rebuild aging stormwater drainage systems, restore stream beds and redesign roads so they no longer channel pollution into waterways. AMSA staff continues to meet with EPW Committee staff to advocate for both short-term and long-term funding legislation and will closely follow the stormwater initiative as the highway bill moves forward. Because AMSA members have expressed an interest in reviewing the new highway trust fund bill, S. 1072 has been posted on the AMSA Bill Tracker at: http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/legupdate/leg_tracker.cfm.

House Democrats Introduce Infrastructure Jobs Bill
U.S. Congressmen Jerry Costello (D-IL), James Oberstar (D-MN), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), and other Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee introduced on June 26 a $50 billion public works bill that includes funding for wastewater infrastructure. The members claim the legislation would create 2.3 million jobs and $310 billion in economic activity over the next two years. The legislation gives priority to projects that can award bids within 90 days of enactment to inject money into the economy quickly. The Rebuild America Act of 2003 (H.R. 2615) includes nearly $13 billion for wastewater, drinking water, wet weather overflow and Army Corps of Engineers projects. A companion bill is expected to be introduced in the Senate after the July 4th recess.

AMSA Supports Extension of Wet Weather Law
The Water Quality Investment Act of 2003 (H.R. 784), sponsored by Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), would authorize $1.5 billion in grants over 2004 and 2005 to help communities invest in their wastewater systems. The bill would extend by two years a law which was enacted in 2001 and that provided $1.5 billion in grants over two years for planning, design, and construction of treatment works to control or treat municipal combined and sanitary sewer overflows. An identical bill (S. 567) was sponsored in the Senate by Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME). AMSA supports both the extension of the authorization and the appropriation of funding for the grants. The texts of the two-page bills, which amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, are available through AMSA’s Bill Tracker: http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/legupdate/leg_tracker.cfm.

Budget and Appropriations

AMSA’s Funding Request for NBP Pending in Appropriations Committees
The House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on VA-HUD & Independent Agencies could begin work in late July on the fiscal year (FY) 2004 budget 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. Historically, the VA-HUD spending bills are the last to be approved by the full Appropriations Committees, which means approval of the VA-HUD bills could be delayed until after the Labor Day recess.

AMSA members have written letters urging their Members of Congress to request that $1 million for the NBP be included in EPA’s budget for FY 2004. In the House, two formal requests to include the funding in the VA-HUD bill have been sent to the Appropriations Chairman Bill Young (R-FL). A copy of the AMSA memo to its members can be found on the Association’s web site at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/leg_outreach.cfm. 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 at www.amsa-cleanwater.org.