NACWA September 2005 Legislative Update

This edition of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies’ Legislative Update, current through October 5, 2005, 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 at the end of selected news items, or contact NACWA’s Lee Garrigan at 202/833-4655 or lgarrigan@nacwa.org.

NACWA members can track congressional action on individual bills through NACWA’s Bill Tracker. The Tracker provides a direct link from NACWA’s website to congressional websites 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” website. To renew or bookmark the Bill Tracker, go to http://www.nacwa.org/private/legreg/legupdate/leg_tracker.cfm.

Clean Water Funding

Clean Water Trust Fund Bill Readied for Congress
Final preparations are underway to send the Clean Water Trust Act of 2005 to the leadership of the House Subcommittee on Water Resources & Environment along with a formal request to the chair and ranking member of the subcommittee to take the lead in introducing the legislation. The bill drafting phase of NACWA’s clean water trust fund effort was completed in September under the direction of the NACWA Clean Water Funding Task Force. The bill and a summary were sent to NACWA members and affiliates via Legislative Alert 05-05 (http://www.nacwa.org/private/legreg/legalrts/la05-5.cfm). Currently, member organizations of the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN), conservation organizations, and other stakeholder groups are reviewing the Trust Act, with 18 national groups already adding their names to a list of supporting organizations of the bill.

As of October 5, supporting organizations include: National Association of Clean Water Agencies, Rural Community Assistance Partnership, The Associated General Contractors of America, Ducks Unlimited, American Concrete Pressure Pipe Association, Western Coalition of Arid States, American Society of Civil Engineers, Construction Management Association of America, Design Build Institute of America, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, American Council of Engineering Companies, Association of Equipment Manufacturers, National Association of Towns and Townships, Trout Unlimited, Underground Contractors Association of Illinois, American Sportfishing Association, Plastics Pipe Institute, and the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

NACWA’s work on the trust fund bill was one of the central themes of the Fall Strategic Leadership Retreat and is the focal point of the Clean Water America grassroots campaign (http://www.cleanwateramerica.org). At the Leadership Retreat, Jack Schenendorf, of counsel for Covington & Burling and former Chief of Staff of the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure, shared his experience with trust fund legislation including an overview of the evolution of the Highway Trust Fund and the issues both Congress and supporters of the measure encountered prior to passage of the new law. Schenendorf said he believes it is time for Congress to establish a trust fund for clean water, similar to those that finance highways and aviation. Although such major legislation will prove difficult, he remarked that the effort was both worthy and doable.

Frank Luntz, President of The Luntz Research Companies, also provided his perspective on the politics of trust fund legislation in a post-Katrina legislative atmosphere. NACWA will push to get the Trust Act introduced by the end of October. Since Congress is expected to remain in session until at least the end of November, NACWA and other supporting organizations will focus on both the introduction of the bill and the recruitment of additional cosponsors.

Senate Passes POTW Loan Relief Bill for Gulf States
The Senate passed in late September the Gulf Coast Water Infrastructure Emergency Assistance Act of 2005, S. 1709 (http://www.nacwa.org/private/legreg/legupdate/leg_tracker.cfm). The bill allows Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, for a period of two years, to: (1) provide subsidies and loan extensions under the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) for projects to repair, replace, or rebuild POTWs, including privately owned utilities that principally treat municipal wastewater as well as for water quality projects in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina or a related condition; (2) provide assistance to such projects that are not included on the priority lists of such states under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; and (3) provide assistance under the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) to a public water system that is not included on the priority lists of such states under the Safe Drinking Water Act if the project involves damage caused by Hurricane Katrina or a related condition. Although there is no equivalent bill in the House, the Senate bill has been referred for consideration to both the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

EPA is reporting that 14 POTWs in Louisiana are not operational and 11 are awaiting a final assessment. In Mississippi, one POTW is not operating and in Alabama, only one facility is not functioning. In these three states, EPA estimates 1.8 million people were served by the non-operational facilities. Six POTWs in Texas are not operating and another 19 have yet to be fully assessed. Getting those facilities fully operational currently is EPA’s highest priority.

Clean Water SRF May Fall Victim to Katrina Cleanup Costs
The beleaguered Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), already suffering from a 33 percent cut over the past two years in EPA’s budget, may again be at risk as federal lawmakers look for ways to pay for the massive cleanup in the Gulf Coast states in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Congressional concern over the mounting federal deficit and the potential need for tens of billions of dollars more in federal funding to rebuild communities has committee chairmen in the House and Senate looking for ways to offset the spending through cuts to domestic agency and defense programs. Although EPA’s budget for fiscal year 2006 was signed into law this summer, it is possible the Agency’s budget could be subjected to an across-the-board government-wide cut or a rescission to specific programs. Under one scenario, entitled “Operation Offset”, a group of House conservatives proposes to totally eliminate the CWSRF in addition to a host of other EPA programs claiming savings of $25 billion over the next ten years. Congress has already given the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) more than $60 billion in emergency funding. Although FEMA has given EPA about $138 million, the Agency says it will not be enough to repair the wastewater and drinking waters systems damaged by the hurricanes. If FEMA doesn’t provide additional funds to EPA, Congress may require the Agency to use the CWSRF and the drinking water SRF to restore water and sewer services in the affected areas.

Senate Committee Finalizing Bill Report
In late July, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee unanimously passed S. 1400, the Water Infrastructure Financing Act of 2005 (http://www.nacwa.org/private/legreg/legupdate/leg_tracker.cfm). Committee staff is finalizing a report that will accompany the amended legislation when it is filed in the Senate, making it eligible for consideration on the Senate floor. The bill would provide $20 billion for EPA’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and $15 billion for the Agency’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) over five years. The legislation also includes $3 billion in grants for critical clean water and drinking water projects and a new grants program to capitalize revolving funds in eligible states to support projects to control water pollution from agricultural sources. The bipartisan bill, introduced by the chairs and ranking members of the full EPW Committee and the Fisheries, Wildlife and Water Subcommittee, emphasizes watershed planning, assistance for small and disadvantaged communities, innovative technologies, and alternative management approaches. During markup, Senator Joseph Lieberman’s (D-CT) amendment to add Davis Bacon prevailing wage provisions to the bill was accepted on a voice vote over the objections of EPW Committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-OK). Davis Bacon amendments to similar bills over the last few years have prevented the legislation from reaching the Senate floor. Committee staff reports that they will try to move the bill to the floor for a vote next year.

NACWA, in meetings with EPW Committee staff and through a press release (http://www.nacwa.org/advocacy/releases/072005.cfm), thanked the committee for taking the lead in addressing the infrastructure funding gap but expressed concern that the federal government would be unable to meet the authorized funding levels. NACWA urged the committee to consider financing its bill through a new clean water trust fund, similar to those that exist for highways and aviation, to ensure full funding for S. 1400. NACWA will be meeting with the EPW Committee over the coming months to brief them on the Clean Water Trust Act of 2005.