Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - AMSA in the News
Bill includes boost for stormwater mitigation, urban planning
Brian Stempeck, Greenwire reporter
Reflecting a growing awareness in Congress of the environmental impacts of
highway construction, the Senate added provisions to the nation's six-year, $255
billion highway bill to bolster stormwater runoff programs and metropolitan
planning. But future clashes await on the Senate floor as lawmakers temporarily
pocketed amendments on issues ranging from environmental streamlining to Clean
Air Act conformity.
During yesterday's Environment and Public Works Committee markup, Sen. John
Warner (R-Va.) offered an amendment that would dedicate 2 percent of Surface
Transportation Program funding, approximately $1 billion, toward stormwater
mitigation efforts.
Stormwater runoff is the leading cause of pollution in more than half of the
country's rivers and streams, Warner said. While mitigation plans are required
for new roads, more money needs to be spent to retrofit existing roads, he said.
States can already spend money for stormwater mitigation through their
transportation enhancements accounts, used to fund a wide range of projects. But
that means mitigation programs have to compete with popular programs like bike
and pedestrian trails. "The competition for these dollars is so intense," said
Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.), a supporter of the amendment.
Adam Krantz, managing director of government affairs for the Association of
Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies, applauded the funding increase for stormwater
management. "Highway development has a direct link to water quality," Krantz
said. "It's a demonstration that we're gong to be doing things in an
environmentally aware manner."
The measure shows "a recognition of infrastructure needs that are exorbitant
nationwide for the nation's municipalities," Krantz said, adding that without
funding to deal specifically with runoff, utilities would have to pay for
cleanup efforts out of already strapped accounts. "We think it's a good first
step," he said
But opponents of the amendment argued that increasing mitigation spending would
rob dollars for highway construction. "When we set another set-aside, we're
taking money away from the specific purpose of this bill," said Sen. Kit Bond
(R-Mo.). Committee staff estimated that stormwater mitigation would receive
close to $958 million over the bill's six-year lifespan. The amendment passed on
a 10-9 vote.
Stormwater mitigation is already eligible for funding under the transportation
enhancements account, said Greg Cohen, vice president for government policy at
the American Highway Users Alliance. "The needs regarding congestion and safety
are far greater than the total amount of funding that we have," Cohen said.
Setting aside a specific percentage of funding for mitigation means that states
won't be able to set their own priorities, he said. "We were a little
disappointed that it passed."
A second amendment, offered by Warner and Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.), would
provide about $850 million more funding for metropolitan planning organizations
(MPOs), groups that are responsible for transportation planning in urban regions
of more than 50,000 people.
Currently, 1 percent of each state's core federal highway funding is dedicated
to metropolitan planning. The original bill would have continued that trend,
providing about $1.7 billion for metropolitan planning over the next six years.
Warner and Graham's amendment, however, would increase the set-aside to 1.5
percent, upping the total planning allocation to about $2.55 billion.
Bond argued against that amendment as well, noting that MPOs will soon have less
responsibility because some transportation planning procedures are simplified in
the bill.
But Warner rejected that rationale. "My Virginia MPOs tell me these regulations
nearly double their current responsibilities," he said. Furthermore, committee
staffers said 36 new MPOs will be needed in the near future as smaller cities
expand. The Warner-Graham amendment passed 12-7.
Jason Jordan, government affairs manager at the American Planning Association,
said APA was "very pleased" with Warner's amendment. "Increasing PL funding has
been one of our top priorities in reauthorization," Jordan said.
"The job we're expecting MPOs to do is increasingly complex," added Jordan.
Among other things, MPO officials have to weigh demographic changes, air quality
issues, increasing demand for civic participation and other issues.
Lawmakers often discuss ways to speed up the roadbuilding process, and APA
believes that one of the best ways to expedite projects is to "invest in the
planning up front," Jordan said.
The Warner-Graham amendment came on the heels of a recent Brookings Institution
report that recommended Congress boost funding for MPOs and shift some
decisionmaking power away from the state departments of transportation (Greenwire,
Oct. 27).
Environmental issues saved for floor battle
Though EPW members on both sides filed dozens of amendments addressing
environmental streamlining provisions in the bill, almost all opted to hold
their amendments until the bill goes to the Senate floor, probably early next
year.
Existing environmental laws guiding the construction of new roads and bridges
"strike a good balance," said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). "The bill
before us today changes that balance," she said, adding that the reauthorization
legislation takes "several backward steps."
"I think we've gone overboard," said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who held off
on several amendments dealing with Clean Air Act provisions in the bill,
professing a "deep concern" for the changes to conformity laws.
Environmentalists have criticized sections of the EPW bill they say undermine
transportation conformity plans under the Clean Air Act. State officials use
transportation plans to "demonstrate conformity," proving to the Transportation
Department and the U.S. EPA that emissions from the transportation sector will
not exceed allowable emissions under broader state air quality plans. If states
fail to demonstrate conformity, they can only use federal funding for projects
that will not adversely affect air quality, such as safety or mass transit
programs.
A proposal from EPW Committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.) would shorten
long-term transportation plans from 20 years to 10 years, with updates required
every four years instead of every two years. The bill also allows state
officials to move forward with projects during a conformity lapse, as long as
they use nonfederal funds.
Other members said the streamlining provisions do not go far enough and pledged
to improve upon them during floor debate. "I'm very disappointed with the
proposal in this area," said Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio).
Voinovich withdrew nine amendments dealing with streamlining, including
amendments to alter a mandate in current law that transportation planners avoid
historic sites and other areas when building roads and bridges. "This process
creates more delays in my state than anything else," Voinovich said.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) withdrew an amendment dealing with "early-action
compacts," which allow communities currently in compliance with the existing
one-hour ozone standard but expected to be in violation of the new eight-hour
threshold to enter a special category outside of the implementation boundaries
facing the rest of the country. Language regarding "early-action compacts" was
in earlier drafts of the EPW bill, but not in the bill approved yesterday.
An amendment from Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) to focus the project
development process on major requirements of the National Environmental Policy
Act was defeated by voice vote.