AMSA Legislative Update October 2003

This edition of the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies’ (AMSA) Legislative Update, current through November 6, 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

Senate Chairman Calls for Passage of Wastewater Security Bill
Senator James Inhofe, (R-OK), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), urged his colleagues in October to pass the Wastewater Treatment Works Security Act of 2003 (S. 1039), which won EPW approval in May. The committee report (Senate Report No. 108-149), which must accompany the bill to the floor, contains both supporting and minority views. Chairman Inhofe tried unsuccessfully in September to place the bill on the consent calendar for a floor vote. Committee Democrats, led by EPW Ranking Member James Jeffords (I-VT), refused to agree that the bill should be placed on the calendar for reasons outlined in the minority views of the committee report.

AMSA responded with an October 1 letter to the nine Senators who are opposing the bill and issued a ‘Call to Action’ to AMSA public agency members in these Senators’ nine states. Other municipal organizations and interested stakeholders also were asked to phone and email the Senators in an effort to break Jeffords’ unofficial hold on the bill. A joint municipal letter urging a Senate vote was signed by the National League of Cities (NLC), the National Association of Counties (NACo), the National Association of Towns and Townships (NATaT), the American Public Works Association (APWA), the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), and AMSA and was delivered to the full Senate on September 10.

AMSA has been working to pass the legislation into law for over two years and is encouraged by Senator Inhofe’s continuing commitment to move the bill to the Senate floor as soon as possible. AMSA believes a vote this month is critical to securing the necessary appropriations in fiscal year 2004 to fund S. 1039. The Senate bill is nearly identical to H.R. 866, also titled the Wastewater Treatment Works Security Act of 2003, which cleared the House by a vote of 413 – 2 in early May.

The two bills would authorize $200 million for POTWs to conduct vulnerability assessments and 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 by the EPW Committee, Senator Jeffords succeeded in adding an additional $15 million to the Senate bill for EPA to research new security technologies at wastewater treatment plants.

To view or download copies of S. 1039, H.R. 866, and the committee reports, go to AMSA’s Bill Tracker at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/legupdate/leg_tracker.cfm. A copy of the October 1 AMSA letter and sample POTW letter are in the Legislative Correspondence and Outreach section at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/leg_outreach.cfm.

Committee Approves Chemical Security Bill
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) approved October 23, the Chemical Facilities Security Act of 2003 (S. 994). The bill requires vulnerability assessments by as many as 15,000 chemical facilities that currently are required to submit to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Risk Management Plans (RMPs) under Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act. According to an AMSA member survey in 2002, approximately 30 percent of AMSA member agencies would be subjected to the requirements of a chemical security bill.

The bill requires affected facilities to conduct vulnerability assessments and develop and implement site security plans. An earlier version of the bill would have required chemical facilities to certify in writing to the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that the owner or operator has complied with the requirements of the legislation. However, the bill as approved on October 23 was strengthened to require facilities to submit their plans to DHS and to consider alternative safer technologies.

The Secretary of DHS is given discretion in the bill to accept vulnerability assessments and plans prepared under other laws. This could allow chemical facilities that previously completed and submitted assessments to other government agencies to receive an exemption from having to repeat the process under the new chemical security law. If the Senate passes the Wastewater Treatment Works Security Act of 2003 (S. 1039), AMSA members that complete vulnerability assessments under that bill might be able to submit the same assessment to DHS to satisfy the requirements of S. 994.

EPW Chairman James Inhofe (R-OK) decided to move the bill after reaching agreement on language that would encourage facilities to consider the use of less toxic alternatives or safer technologies with committee member Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-RI). Among the amendments adopted by the committee are a clarification that security measures in site security plans would have to reduce significantly the vulnerability of chemical sources and a requirement that five-year reviews of the adequacy of the vulnerability assessments and site security plans be submitted to DHS.

The bill is not expected to be taken to the Senate floor for a vote this year. There is no companion legislation in the House to S. 994, which was backed by the Bush Administration. To read a copy of S. 994, please go to AMSA’s Bill Tracker at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/legupdate/leg_tracker.cfm.

Environmental Protection Agency

Leavitt Sworn In to EPA Position after Senate Confirmation
Utah Governor Mike Leavitt (R) was sworn in November 6 as the new Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Gov. Leavitt was nominated in August by President George W. Bush to replace former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman who resigned the post on June 27. The former Utah Governor’s confirmation hit a serious roadblock October 1 when James Jeffords (I-VT), ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, and the rest of the minority democrats blocked a vote by boycotting the committee’s business meeting. The unprecedented move came after the Democrats expressed concern that they did not receive answers to all of nearly 400 questions submitted to Governor Leavitt prior to his confirmation. The two previous EPA Administrators, Carol Browner, President Clinton’s nominee and Christine Todd Whitman, President Bush’s first Administrator, received only 67 and approximately 100 questions, respectively.

The concerns of the boycotters were addressed and the full EPW committee voted in favor of Gov. Leavitt’s nomination by a 16-2 vote. Several lawmakers, however, then proceeded to block a floor vote on the Governor’s confirmation. The objections were eventually dropped and the Senate voted 88-8 to confirm Gov. Leavitt to the top EPA job and to oversee the agency’s 18,000 employees. In an October 29, letter to Gov. Leavitt AMSA congratulated the new Administrator and offered to work closely with him and his staff on a host of water quality issues. A copy of the letter can be found at AMSA’s website at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/outreach/2003-10-29leavittltr.pdf.

AMSA Calls for Mercury Removal Strategy at House Hearing
Norm LeBlanc, Chair of AMSA’s Water Quality Committee and Chief of Technical Services at Hampton Roads Sanitation District, Virginia Beach, Va., testified October 8 before the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Wellness and Human Rights on AMSA’s initiatives on mercury.

In testimony that focused on mercury in dental amalgam, LeBlanc discussed the 2002 AMSA study, Mercury Source Control and Pollution Prevention Program Evaluation. The study found that 35 – 40 percent of mercury entering publicly owned treatment works (POTW) comes from dental offices – an estimate that also is bolstered by the American Dental Association’s (ADA) statistics. LeBlanc noted that mercury entering POTWs is a de minimis part of the national mercury problem and urged Congress to develop a national mercury strategy that looks holistically at mercury sources, from coal-fired plants to abandoned mines. LeBlanc added that pollution control programs alone will not fully remove mercury entering POTWs because pretreatment programs apply only to commercial and industrial sources, not domestic mercury sources. LeBlanc also detailed AMSA’s Technical Action Fund project that will determine the effectiveness of amalgam separators in reducing the mercury loads to POTWs from dental offices.

The hearing received significant media attention, which can be viewed on AMSA’s Newsroom site at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/advocacy/news.cfm. To read AMSA’s testimony, please visit http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/advocacy/testimony/10-08-03wtestimony.cfm. To read the testimony of all witnesses, go to http://reform.house.gov/WHR/Hearings/EventSingle.aspx?EventID=494.

Clean Water Funding

Davis-Bacon Sidelines Wastewater Funding Bill
Action has been delayed indefinitely on the Water Quality Financing Act of 2003 (H.R. 1560) which was passed by the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee in July. The bill, introduced by T&I Chairman Don Young (R-AK) and Subcommittee Chairman John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-TN), received unanimous approval by the panel. Although H.R. 1560 was scheduled a week later for mark-up in the full T&I Committee, it was pulled from the agenda after Chairman Young instructed staff to ask interested parties to work out their differences over a Davis-Bacon Act prevailing wage provision that was expected to be added to the bill during the markup. Committee staff say 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. Last year’s bill, H.R. 3930, was voted out of the T&I Committee with a Davis-Bacon Act amendment but the prevailing wage provision prevented it from reaching 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.
AMSA staff, along with other members of the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN), continues to meet with Representatives and their staff to reinforce the importance of the bill to the creation of jobs, the environment and the health and safety of the nation’s communities. AMSA and other stakeholder organizations are hopeful that on-going efforts in the T&I Committee to rally House Republicans around the bill because it would create jobs will be successful in the coming weeks. H.R. 1560 can be found on AMSA’s Bill Tracker at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/legupdate/leg_tracker.cfm.

In the Senate, EPW Committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-OK) has directed his staff to take a new approach in writing a water and wastewater infrastructure funding bill that will amend the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act state revolving fund programs. According to committee staff, a new bill will not be introduced until next year. Although Chairman Inhofe is striving for a bi-partisan bill, Ranking Member James Jeffords (I-VT) is considering writing a bill of his own for introduction next year.

Budget and Appropriations

The House and Senate are expected to approve by November 7, a fourth continuing resolution (CR) to fund federal government agencies at fiscal year (FY) 2003 levels through November 21. Although the House approved all 13 of its FY 2004 appropriations bills by early September, the Senate still must vote on four of its bills. Lawmakers are under a strict deadline, imposed by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), to move the remaining bills by Veterans Day. If progress is not made next week, the remaining bills could be bundled together into a massive omnibus spending package, allowing members to go home for the year.

EPA Funding Awaits for Senate Floor Action
The Senate Appropriations Committee in early September approved the VA-HUD & Independent Agencies appropriations bill (S. 1584) for FY 2004, including $8.18 billion for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The bill and report (S. Rpt.108-143) are last in line to go to the Senate floor for full debate. The bill is tentatively scheduled for floor action on November 10. The bill is expected to fund the Clean Water State Revolving Fund at $1.35 billion, the same as fiscal year 2003 and $500 million more than the Bush Administration request. Funding for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund is expected to remain constant at $850 million. An additional $130 million was tacked onto the measure to fund 187 targeted grants for specific water, wastewater and stormwater grants. As in years past, the Senate Appropriations Committee declined to include in the bill $1 million for the AMSA-supported National Biosolids Partnership. AMSA does not expect the exclusion to prevent the funding from being included in a final House-Senate conference report that would accompany the legislation to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

In the bill’s report, Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski, ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Veteran's Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies included a requirement for EPA to complete a study on “jobs created by water infrastructure funding.” Labor unions and others have reported in the past that up to 42,000 jobs are created for every $1 billion invested in infrastructure.

If the bill makes it to the floor for debate in the next two weeks, Sen. Mikulski is expected to offer an amendment that would boost funding for the two revolving loan funds to a total of $5.2 billion. AMSA sent an October 24 letter to Sen. Mikulski in support of her amendment to increase the Clean Water State Revolving Fund from its current funding level of $1.35 billion to $3.2 billion in fiscal year 2004. Approval of the Mikulski amendment would mark a step toward recognizing the nation's long-term clean water infrastructure funding needs, help local communities repair and replace old pipelines and plants, and protect public health and the environment. The Water Infrastructure Network (WIN) also sent a letter of support to the Senator. AMSA’s letter is posted on its website at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/outreach/2003-10-24srf.pdf. WIN’s letter can be downloaded from the WIN website at http://www.win-water.org/win_legislative/win_cando/cando.html.

House Bill Has $1 Million for the National Biosolids Partnership
The House approved $8 billion for the EPA in its FY 2004 bill (H.R. 2861) funding the Veteran’s Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies (VA-HUD). The EPA budget is about $100 million less than the current fiscal year. The largest cut was made to the clean water state revolving loan fund, which will receive $1.2 billion, down from $1.35 billion in recent years. Language in the accompanying House report (H. Rpt. 108-235) further instructs EPA to direct the states to make $68 million of the $1.2 billion available for interest-free loans for nonpoint and non-structural, decentralized alternatives to conventional treatment options.

Lawmakers successfully included in the bill AMSA’s request for $1 million to fund the activities of the National Biosolids Partnership (NBP) for next year. AMSA members were instrumental in obtaining the funding through the letters they wrote urging their Members of Congress to support another $1 million for the NBP. Other funding includes $850 million for the safe drinking water revolving loan fund, $2 million for the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Water ISAC), run by the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), and $180 million for 376 special targeted grants to communities for the construction of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure and for water quality protection.

To review the funding levels for EPA programs for FY 2004, please read the House and Senate Reports that accompany H.R. 2861 and S. 1584. You can access them through AMSA’s Bill Tracker at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/legupdate/leg_tracker.cfm.