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.

November 17, 2006

Provided by the Water Environment Federation, Alexandria, VA
 
Democrats Elect House and Senate Leaders, Some Committee Posts Decided
The House and Senate Democrats elected their caucus leaders this week, selecting Nancy Pelosi as the first woman Speaker of the House and Steny Hoyer (D-MD) to the post of House Majority Leader.  Senate Democrats elected Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) as their Majority Leader and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) Majority Whip.  Senate Republicans also elected their leaders, awarding the post of Minority Leader to Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and the post of Minority Whip to Senator Trent Lott (R-MS).  Senator Reid also indicated that Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) will become Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee when the 110th Congress convenes next year, and that Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) will likely take over as Chair of the Senate Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee.  With the Democratic House leadership race decided, Congressman John Murtha (D-PA) will likely remain Chair of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and Congressman Norm Dicks (D-WA) will likely remain Chair of the House Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, with jurisdiction over EPA’s budget.  There was speculation that if Murtha was elected House Majority Leader, Dicks would move into the post of chair of the defense appropriations panel.
 
Today, Senator Boxer announced the re-organization of the Senate EPW Committee, expanding the number of subcommittees from 4 to 6.  The subcommittees and their chairs will be:  Subcommittee on Public Sector Solutions to Global Warming, Oversight, Children's Health Protection, and Nuclear Safety, chaired by Boxer herself. Joseph Lieberman (I/D-CT) will head the Subcommittee on Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) will chair the Subcommittee on Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Security, and Water Quality. Among other things, that subcommittee has jurisdiction over drinking water, chemical, and wastewater security. Tom Carper (D-DE) will chair the Subcommittee on Clean Air, Nuclear Plant Security, and Community Development. Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) will chair the Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) will head the Subcommittee on Superfund and Environmental Health. (PS)

EPA Releases Memo on Establishing TMDL “Daily” Loads
In response to a U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decision in April that the word "daily" means "every day" in the Clean Water Act for total maximum daily loads (TMDLs), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a memo on November 15 clarifying their expectations for TMDL time increments.  In the memo, EPA states that all TMDLs should contain daily limits, but that there is flexibility in how these limits are implemented.  “EPA recommends that all future TMDLs and associated load allocations and wasteload allocations be expressed in terms of daily time increments.  However, EPA does not believe that the Friends of the Earth decision requires any changes to EPA’s existing policy and guidance describing how a TMDL’s wasteload allocations are implemented in NPDES permits.”   In the memo, EPA provides examples demonstrating flexibility in how daily time increments may be expressed in TMDLs. EPA also makes it clear that the development of future TMDLs according to state schedules is the highest priority at this time, not revising already approved TMDLs.  EPA expects to release three draft fact sheets on how to apply the flexibility outlined in the memo to actual TMDL development methods sometime next week.  WEF has met with EPA to discuss their approach to the court decision and its implications on the TMDL program and has a work group ready to comment on the fact sheets.  If you would like a copy of the EPA memo, please e-mail your request to sthomas@wef.org. (SRT)

Three Leading Democrats Call for Action on Climate Change
Three Senators wrote to President Bush this week urging the Administration to work with Congress on a bi-partisan basis to pass meaningful climate change legislation in 2007.  Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), and Joseph Lieberman (I/D-CT) authored the letter, and each will chair a Senate committee with important jurisdiction over climate change issues.  Boxer is in-coming chair of the Environment and Public Works, Bingaman is in-coming chair of Energy and Natural Resources, and Lieberman is the in-coming chair of Homeland Security and Government Affairs.  All three have either authored or co-sponsored legislation that would place a cap on greenhouse gas emissions.  The current chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) has called climate change a hoax and has refused to take action on the issue.  President Bush opposes mandatory regulations to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, preferring instead to encourage voluntary measures.  During debate on comprehensive energy legislation last year, the Senate voted 53-44 to pass an amendment offered by Bingaman that put the Senate on record that Congress should enact mandatory, market-based greenhouse gas limits. Referring to this amendment, the Nov. 15 letter said, "We have good reason to believe that the number of Senators in support of such legislation is now even larger than that vote demonstrated." (PS)

Congress Returns for Lame Duck Session with Work Remaining on Appropriations
Congress returned to Washington for a lame duck session with several pieces of unfinished business.  Among the unfinished business is completion of ten appropriations spending measures to fund government operations during the current FY07 fiscal year. Most federal agencies, with the exception of the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, are operating under a continuing resolution which, after Congress extended it this week, will keep the government open through December 8th.  Among the spending bills still left unfinished is the measure that funds the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Interior.  The Democrats have indicated that they prefer to complete all remaining FY07 appropriations bills before Congress adjourns this year so that when they take over the majority in the new Congress, they can work with a clean budget slate. However, Senate conservatives have voiced their opposition to completing the remaining appropriations bills this year and prefer to have the government operate under a continuing resolution through next year so that earmarks would not be funded.  Congress will recess for two weeks for the Thanksgiving holiday and return December 4th.  (PS)

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Delays Vote on EPA Nominee
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee again postponed a vote on Alex A. Beehler, nominated to the post of Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency.  This is the second time his nomination has been postponed.  Currently, Beehler is the head of environmental programs at the Department of Defense, a post he was appointed to after his tenure as director of environmental and regulatory affairs for Koch Industries.  A vote on his nomination was postponed to give members more time to review information on his tenure at the Defense Department.  Incoming EPW Chairperson, Barbara Boxer (D-CA) is opposed to his nomination to the inspector general position. (PS)

Chesapeake Bay Water Quality Better but Still in Jeopardy
The vital signs of the Chesapeake Bay improved slightly this year, probably because of environmental cleanup efforts and variations in weather, but the estuary remains deeply troubled by pollution, unhealthy wildlife and low-oxygen "dead zones," according to the nonprofit Chesapeake Bay Foundation.  In its annual "State of the Bay" report, issued on November 13, the Annapolis-based foundation gave the bay's health a score of 29 out of 100. That was its highest score since the reports began in 1998 and a two-point improvement over the previous three years.  A major reason for the improvement was a decline in the amount of two key pollutants, nitrogen and phosphorus, being washed downstream into the Chesapeake.  Despite this progress, the foundation's report describes a bay ecosystem that still needs attention. The brightest spot was rockfish, which have recovered so well after a fishing moratorium in the 1980s that they scored 71 out of 100. But other living things were in worse shape: underwater grasses scored an 18; shad got a 10; and the bay's native oyster scored only a 4. To view the 2006 State of the Bay Report, visit: http://www.cbf.org/site/DocServer/SOTB_2006.pdf?docID=6743.  (SJH)

Smart Growth Award Winners Announced
On November 15, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presented its 2006 National Awards for Smart Growth Achievement.  EPA recognized the cities of Chicago, Illinois; Wichita, Kansas; and Winooski Vermont; and the states of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania for their innovative approaches to development that strengthen community identity and protect the environment.  “President Bush and EPA see smart growth as smart for our environment, smart for our economy and smart for our quality of life,” EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson said in an EPA statement.  Now in its fifth year, the competition is open to state, regional, and local governments and other public sector entities.  In 2006, EPA received 50 applications from 22 states.  For more information about the National Award for Smart Growth Achievement and this year’s winners, visit http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/awards.htm. (SRT)

EPA Fines Euclid of Virginia $3.1 million for Underground Storage Tank Violations
On November 16 the U.S. EPA announced that an EPA Administrative Law Judge assessed a $3.1 million penalty against Euclid of Virginia, Inc. for not taking required measures to detect and prevent leaks from underground storage tanks at 23 gas stations in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.  This is the largest penalty ever assessed by an EPA Administrative Law Judge for violations of any federal environmental statute. The judge ruled that Euclid failed to maintain required leak detection and control equipment, and perform required leak detection activities for 72 underground storage tanks at 23 gas stations.  In addition, Euclid did not maintain required financial assurances to respond and clean up potential fuel leaks or spills for its facilities in the District of Columbia.  The gas stations involved included 14 in Maryland, two in Virginia, and seven in the District of Columbia. The full text of the decision is available at http://www.epa.gov/oalj/orders/euclidof-va-id-110906.pdf. (SRT)

NOTE:  This Week in Washington will not be issued on November 24.

This Week in Washington is provided by the Water Environment Federation, Alexandria, VA. To receive This Week in Washington by e-mail, contact Lisa Jones, (703) 684-2400 ext. 7741, ljones@wef.org. For more information on this week's stories, please contact the WEF staff whose initials appear at the end of the item in which you are interested. TW –Tim Williams (703) 684-2437, twilliams@wef.org; SRT - Sharon Thomas, (703) 684-2423, sthomas@wef.org; SJH - Sam Hadeed (703) 684-2418, shadeed@wef.org; PS-Patricia Sinicropi (703) 684-2416, psinicropi@wef.org. This Week in Washington is available on-line at http://www.wef.org/GovernmentAffairs/TWIW/.