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.

December 8, 2006

Provided by the Water Environment Federation, Alexandria, VA

Congress Reconvenes for Lame Duck Session
Congress returned to Washington, D.C. this week for a lame duck session that may not conclude until this weekend, without accomplishing much of a legislative agenda and punting FY07 spending decisions to next year. House and Senate members returned to Washington with the hope of accomplishing at least a tax package containing extensions on many expiring tax benefits for corporations and individuals, though last minute objections to the package jeopardizes chances that Congress will complete it before it adjourns. By midnight tonight, Congress is expected to pass a continuing resolution to fund the federal government through February 15^th, the deadline it has given itself to complete work on nine FY07 spending bills that fund all domestic agencies with the exception of Defense and Homeland Security. Although the 2007 fiscal year began on October 1, most Federal agencies have operated under a continuing resolution that provides funding at last year’s budget levels. The Senate was able to confirm Robert Gates to replace Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense, and House Republicans chose ranking member leadership for their standing committees. Republicans chose John Mica (R-FL) as ranking member for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Joe Barton (R-TX) as ranking member for the House Energy and Commerce Committee. (PS)

Senate Committee Approves Beehler Nomination as EPA Inspector General
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved the nomination of Alex Beehler to be the next Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency. Beehler’s nomination was approved on a party line vote, after it had been delayed several times over concerns with his background and other issues. Beehler has been assistant deputy undersecretary of the Department of Defense's Environment, Safety, and Occupational Health Division since 2004. Before joining the government, Beehler worked for Koch Industries, a petroleum refining and petrochemical company. Incoming Chairperson of the Senate EPW Committee, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), has pledged to place a hold on his nomination, preventing him from being approved by the full Senate. Also this week, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) announced that he intends to block all White House nominees for EPA posts until the EPA agrees to study the dangers of asbestos in Libby, Montana, as recommended by the agency’s Inspector General’s Office. Libby is a town in northwestern Montana that was designated a federal superfund site in 1999 because of contamination by tremolite asbestos, a byproduct of W.R. Grace & Co.’s vermiculite processing from 1963 until 1990. Other nominees pending Senate approval are Roger Martella, nominated for position of General Counsel; and, Molly O’Neill, nominated for assistant administrator for environmental information. (PS)

EPA Announces Plans to Survey Condition of Nation's Lakes
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is undertaking a three-year study to determine the state of America's lakes. The Survey of the Nation's Lakes is the Agency’s first attempt to assess real-world conditions by studying 909 lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. EPA hopes that the survey project, a joint effort among EPA, the states and some tribes, will determine the ecology of the lakes and the factors which influence their condition, stimulate and implement ideas within all levels of government, build state and tribal capacity for monitoring and analyzing lake water quality data, collect a set of lake data for better management of lakes, and develop baseline information to evaluate progress. Survey samples will be taken from natural and human-made freshwater lakes, ponds, and reservoirs during the summer of 2007. Bodies of water included in the survey will be a minimum of 10 acres in area and at least 39 inches deep. EPA last catalogued the status of lakes in 1972-1976, when 815 lakes were evaluated nationwide. The new study will resample 113 lakes from the earlier survey for comparison. Researchers will examine water chemical quality, nutrient concentration, turbidity, color, conditions of shoreline habitat, pathogen indicators, and other conditions. Consistent sampling techniques will be used among all lakes to provide uniform results and facilitate comparisons across the country. EPA plans to release the results in a report in 2009. Additional information about the survey is available at www.epa.gov/owow/lakes/lakessurvey. (SRT)

Source Water Collaborative Launches Web Site
The Source Water Collaborative recently launched a new website that serves as a portal to existing web-based information on source water protection. The site, www.protectdrinkingwater.org, will network source water advocates across the U.S., providing guides and materials for policymakers, developers, farmers, and others. Created in February 2006, the Source Water Collaborative is designed to share information; develop recommendations, and promote the protection of the lakes, streams, rivers, and aquifers used as drinking water sources. For more information, contact EPA's Tracy Hudak at hudak.tracy@epa.gov. (SRT)

EPA Challenges Fortune 500 Companies to Increase Use of Green Power
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is asking Fortune 500 companies to double their current level of green power purchasing. Green power is environmentally friendly electricity obtained from renewable sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biogas and low-impact hydro. The goal of the green power challenge is to exceed 5 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of green power purchases among participating companies. According to EPA, five billion kilowatt hours could power more than 400,000 average American homes or avoid the equivalent carbon dioxide emissions associated with more than 680,000 passenger cars each year. There are currently over 40 Fortune 500 companies participating in the Green Power Partnership, as well as local, state, and federal governments, trade associations, and colleges and universities. EPA hopes the 13-month effort will raise awareness of green power options and help stimulate the development of new green power resources nationwide. Electricity generation from non-hydro renewable sources currently account for just over two percent of America's electricity supply. Information about EPA's Fortune 500 Green Power Challenge is available at www.epa.gov/greenpower/partners/fortune500.htm. (SRT)

Nominations Open for 2007 WEF Public Officials Award
WEF members, Member Associations and Committees are invited to submit nominations for the 2007 Water Environment Federation’s Public Officials Award. This award will be presented at the 2007 National Clean Water Policy Forum, to be held May 6-9 at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C. The deadline for nominations is March 1, 2007.

The Federation Board of Trustees established this new award in 2005 to recognize public officials who have made an outstanding contribution to improvement of the water environment. The Public Officials Award is presented to an elected or appointed public official that has made a documented, significant contribution in the areas of clean water legislation, public policy, government service, or another area of public prominence that resulted in improvements to the water environment. The award can be presented to a local, state or federal public official. Nominations should be submitted no later than March 1, 2007 to Lisa Jones, Government Affairs Office Administrator, ljones@wef.org. If you have questions, please contact Lisa at (703) 684-2400, ext. 7741. Please see attached notice for more details. (PS)

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/.