This Week in Washington is a weekly publication of the Water Environment Federation’s Government Affairs department. It provides updates on the latest legislative and regulatory developments that affect the water and wastewater communities.

May 9, 2008

WEF and NACWA Host Clean Water Policy Forum
This week, WEF and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) hosted over 200 attendees at the fourth annual National Clean Water Policy Forum.  Forum speakers included Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR); Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment; and EPA Assistant Administrator for Water, Benjamin Grumbles.  Reps. Blumenauer and Johnson both stressed the importance of federal funding for water resources and infrastructure improvements.  As a former nurse, Johnson explained that she views clean water as paramount to human health and stated the Committee’s support for passage of a Water Resources Development Act in 2008.  Blumenauer, who supports a water trust fund, strongly urged WEF and NACWA to be ready to act on water infrastructure issues in Congress during the two-year window between the beginning of a new administration and the start of the next election cycle.  Blumenauer supports a water trust fund and has asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to produce a report on potential revenue sources, along with Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN), chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Rep. Johnson.  Blumenauer mentioned his plans to hold an infrastructure summit in Washington D.C. prior to the November elections and invited WEF and NACWA to collaborate.

Ben Grumbles spoke to a select group of utility executives on Monday, thanking them for their leadership and for “changing the way America views water infrastructure.”  He stressed that EPA initiatives and activities will continue into the next presidential administration and urged WEF and NACWA to work with career agency staff to advance current water management policies, like the watershed approach.  Grumbles also highlighted the Effective Utility Management Collaboration of which EPA, WEF, and NACWA are a part, and EPA's WaterSense program, a voluntary water conservation initiative.  

Conferees Reach Farm Bill Agreement, But Presidential Veto Looms
House and Senate Agriculture Committee conferees completed work on a 5-year, $300 billion farm bill that funds a wide range of programs to assist the agricultural sector.  The agreement includes $4 billion for conservation programs that pay farmers to implement environmental improvements on farms or to keep sensitive lands out of production.  The largest conservation program increase is for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) for farmers and ranchers to protect surface and ground water and for nutrient management of livestock operations.  The bill funds $120 million for pending water and wastewater construction applications in rural communities.  Further details of the agreement were not made available.  The House is scheduled to take up the conference report on Wednesday, May 14, but the Senate has not yet scheduled a vote.  A Presidential veto still remains possible due to the overall cost of the bill and its failure to reduce payment limits to anyone making more than $200,000 annually.

House Subcommittee Approves Sewage Overflow Legislation
On Wednesday, the House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee approved H.R. 2452, the Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act.  The legislation, sponsored by Congressmen Tim Bishop (D-NY) and Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), would require wastewater treatment plants to provide public notification within 24 hours when sewer overflows occur that have the potential to adversely affect human health.  The legislation would also require utilities to install feasible methods, technology, or management programs to monitor their collection systems and provide reports on overflows to state and federal regulators on a regular basis.  Similar legislation is pending in the Senate; however, no action has been taken and prospects for enacting the legislation this year remain unclear. 

WEF submitted comments on the proposed legislation last year and worked with American Rivers, the primary organization pushing for the legislation, to make it more effective for our members.  The legislative language approved by the subcommittee this week reflected changes for which WEF advocated, and WEF endorsed the legislation.  The legislation is currently scheduled to be approved by the full House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee next week.  WEF continues to meet with committee staff to seek additional clarification on how communities that operate under combined sewer overflow long term control plans would be affected by the legislation. 

The Subcommittee approved two additional bills: H.R. 5770 and H.R. 135.  H.R. 5770 allocates $1.5 million for a National Academy of Sciences study on the impacts of climate change on hydrology, water quality, and the implementation of the Clean Water Act.  H.R. 135, the Twenty-First Century Water Commission Act of 2007, would establish a presidential commission to provide for water assessments to project future water supply and demand, review current water management programs at each level of government, and develop recommendations.

Subcommittee Passes Legislation to Increase Water Supply
This week, the House Committee on Science and Technology’s
Subcommittee on Energy and Environment passed two bills aimed at increasing water supply through research and new technologies: H.R. 3957, the Water Use Efficiency and Conservation Research Act, and H.R. 2339, the Produced Water Utilization Act of 2007.  The Water Use Efficiency and Conservation Research Act, authored by Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT), establishes a research and development program within EPA’s Office of Research and Development to promote water-use efficiency and conservation.  According to a Committee press release, the program is meant to help spur innovation in the collection, treatment, and reuse of rainwater and grey water -- the waste water from sinks, baths, and kitchen appliances. The Produced Water Utilization Act creates a research, development, and demonstration program to promote the beneficial reuse of water produced in connection with oil and gas extraction. The legislation was introduced by Ranking Member Ralph Hall (R-TX). 

USGS Associate Director for Water Returns to Research
After leading U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) water science programs for over 14 years, Robert Hirsch announced this week that he will be leaving his post as Chief Hydrologist and Associate Director for Water and returning to full-time research.  "Nineteen years as a Senior Executive in the USGS has been great," said Hirsch, "but it has been enough, and I have science and public policy issues I really want to tackle."  Hirsch is credited for developing important USGS programs such as the National Streamflow Information Program, the National Water-Quality Assessment Program, the Global Change Hydrology Program, and the National Water Information System Web.  In an all-staff memo, USGS Director Mark Myers praised Hirsch's "great leadership in fostering new ways of doing our science, bringing multiple talents from across the USGS to solve the complex environmental and resource problems our Nation faces today."  Hirsch will join USGS's National Research Program to focus on issues of climate change and long-term trends in water resources.  Matthew Larsen, Chief Scientist for Hydrology, will become Acting Associate Director for Water.

Alexandria Sanitation Authority in Alexandria, VA Receives NBP EMS Certification
The National Biosolids Partnership (NBP) announced on May 5 that the Alexandria Sanitation Authority (ASA) in Alexandria, VA is the 20th wastewater agency in the nation to be certified and admitted to the Partnership's environmental management system (EMS) for biosolids program.  ASA is one of 100 wastewater agencies currently participating in the NBP EMS program.  As the 20th wastewater agency certified and admitted into the NBP EMS program and the first in Virginia, ASA's achievement recognizes that the agency has been independently verified as having an effective biosolids environmental management system.  The ASA biosolids EMS was independently verified on April 29 by the audit firm NSF-International Strategic Registrations.  ASA is planning an EMS celebration in early-July.  For more information on the Alexandria Sanitation Authority's biosolids program, visit: www.alexsan.com/info_center.htm.  To view the ASA audit report, visit: www.biosolids.org.

EPA Issues Spring Regulatory Agenda
On May 5, EPA published the semiannual regulatory agenda online at www.reginfo.gov.  The agenda includes information on regulations and major policies currently under development, reviews of existing regulations and major policies, and rules and major policy-makings completed or canceled since the last agenda.

Quote of the Week
“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.  One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise.”
 - F. Scott Fitzgerald

To receive This Week in Washington via e-mail, contact Martha Ravenhill at mravenhill@wef.org.