To: Members & Subscribers
From: National Office
Date:September 26, 1997 (current to September 25, 1997)
The National Office is pleased to provide
you with the September 1997 Legislative Update. Following
are instruction on how to use this Update, as well as a
listing of those bills currently being tracked by the National
Office. To streamline the Update, we have moved all legislation
that we are tracking that hasn't seen significant action (i.e.
committee hearing, mark-up, floor debate) in the past six months
to the section of the Update labeled "Abbreviated
Listings." The Legislative Update is a monthly service
of the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies.
$1 Million Incorporated in Commerce Appropriation to Fund CZARA
During floor consideration of the appropriations
legislation for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, the Judiciary
& Related Agencies, $1 million was added to fund section 6217
of the Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990 (CZARA)
and $3 million was added to fund research on Pfiesteria piscicida,
a microbe associated with nonpoint source pollution, which is
responsible for numerous fish kills in the coastal rivers of Maryland,
Virginia and North Carolina.
AMSA played a role in ensuring funding for the program.
Earlier this week, the National Office forwarded a letter to
Representatives on the House Appropriations Committee urging their
support of an amendment to fund the CZARA program at $2.5 million
dollars. AMSA noted that CZARA offers the only national program
that reduces nonpoint source pollution through better government
coordination and, when voluntary measures are ineffective, provides
states with backup authority to require additional actions to
control polluted runoff. Prior to floor consideration, the bill
appropriating funds for the Departments of Commerce, Justice,
the Judiciary & Related Agencies did not include any money
for CZARA. The legislation is expected to go to conference early
next week and should be completed by October 1, the beginning
of the new fiscal year.
EPA Appropriations Delayed Over Housing Allocation
Legislation to fund the Environmental Protection
Agency , (H.R.2158) was passed by both the House and the Senate
prior to August recess, however, Conference Committee members
were delayed in their consideration of the legislation by a controversial
housing issue. EPA is funded through an appropriation which includes
the Veterans Administration, Housing and Urban Development and
several other independent agencies. The housing issue was resolved
earlier this week, and conferees are expected to meet today, September
26 to finalize the legislation. The Conference Committee was
allocated $90.948 billion for the entire package. This amount
is about the same as what the House was working with and more
than the Senate allocation. The increase over the Senate allocation
means that there will be more money for all of the programs funded
out of H.R.2158.
Bipartisan Endangered Species Legislation Introduced
Bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Endangered
Species Act (S.1180) was introduced on September 16 in the Senate.
The AMSA National Office is currently reviewing the legislation
to determine if provisions relating to the consultation process
(Section 7 of the current Act) require legislative remedy. The
Fish and Wildlife Service and that National Marine Fisheries Service
recently circulated a final revision draft Memorandum of Agreement
(MOA) defining specific roles of federal agencies when addressing
Endangered Species Act (ESA) issues in the context of NPDES permitting,
state NPDES program approvals and approval of state water quality
standards. Section 7 requires that all federal agencies consult
with Fish and Wildlife and National Marine Fisheries when taking
an action which may impact and endangered or threatened species.
The MOA, if finalized, could significantly impact permitting
requirements for AMSA member agencies. For additional information
on the MOA, refer to Regulatory Alert 97-23.
S.1180 was coupled with another measure, S.1181,
the Endangered Species Habitat Protection Act of 1997. S.1181
includes provisions that may have stalled or stopped altogether
consideration of the ESA reauthorization. Among those provisions
are federal tax incentives to encourage landowners to enter into
easements to protect species habitat and opportunities for landowners
who experience a 30 percent loss on the value of their property
due to ESA to seek compensation from the federal government.
For additional information on S.1180, please see page 7 of this
Update.
Superfund Consideration Continues in Both Houses
The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee
held a hearing on September 4, shortly after returning from August
recess, to hear testimony from the Environmental Protection Agency
and others on reauthorization of the Comprehensive Environmental,
Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund).
The committee had also scheduled a mark-up for S.8, the Senate
reauthorization vehicle, during which an amendment in the nature
of a substitute was expected to be introduced. During the hearing,
it became clear that additional discussion among committee members
was necessary to gain consensus on the substitute legislation
and the scheduled mark-up was canceled. Mark-up has not been
rescheduled. On the House side, reports from staff to the House
Transportation & Infrastructure Committee indicated that committee
members are moving closer to a bipartisan Superfund agreement,
but are not ready to make any announcement regarding legislation.
The two committees with jurisdiction over the statute, Commerce
and Transportation & Infrastructure agreed to work separately
on the legislation last July after months of working to produce
joint legislation.
With the House and Senate both moving to reform superfund,
AMSA has accelerated efforts to urge inclusion of an amendment
exempting publicly-owned treatment works from joint and several
liability in both bills. Meetings are being scheduled and legislative
strategy is being revisited to ensure maximum effectiveness.
Highway Funding Passed Ready for Floor Debate in the Senate
The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee
approved a federal highway funding bill on September 17. The
legislation includes the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality
Program as well as several amendments proposed to streamline environmental
projects. Among them are a Democrat-sponsored amendment that
encourages joint emphasis on environmental protections and economic
development at the local level and an amendment. The committee
also approved an amendment encouraging coordination among government
agencies on large highway projects. The bill is currently scheduled
for floor debate during the week of October 1.
On the House side, Representative Bud Shuster (R-PA),
chair of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee
announced that he will seek a full six year authorization for
the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, rather then
the short-term (six month) measure he's previously sought.
The National Office will continue to keep members
informed of all significant developments through Legislative
Alerts and monthly Updates. If you have any questions
regarding any legislative initiatives, please contact Paula Dannenfeldt
(202/833-4654) or Christy Kettell (202/833-3692).
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