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.

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January 26, 2007

Provided by the Water Environment Federation, Alexandria, VA

House and Senate Committee Assignments Announced
On January 24, House Committee on Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) officially announced the full committee membership, subcommittee chairmen and subcommittees for the 110th Congress.  Research and Science Education Subcommittee:  Brian Baird (D-WA) chair, Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) ranking member; Energy and Environment Subcommittee: Nick Lampson (D-TX) chair, Bob Inglis (R-SC) ranking member; Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee: Mark Udall (D-CO) chair, Ken Calvert (R-CA) ranking member; Technology and Innovation Subcommittee: David Wu (D-OR) chair, Phil Gingrey (R-GA) ranking member; and the new Subcommittee on Investigations & Oversight: Brad Miller (D-NC) chair, F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI) ranking member.
 
House Natural Resources Committee ranking member Don Young (R-AK) finalized his list of Republicans to head the panel's five subcommittees.  Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee: Steve Pearce (R-NM); Water and Power Subcommittee: Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA); National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee: Rob Bishop (R-UT); and Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans Subcommittee: Henry Brown (R-SC); and Subcommittee on Insular Affairs:  Res. Com. Luis Fortuno of Puerto Rico.  Subcommittee chairmen and Democratic members have not been announced, and a full committee organizational meeting is not expected until next month.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee announced its selections for subcommittee leadership on January 24.  Energy Subcommittee: Byron Dorgan (D-ND) chairman, Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) ranking member; National Parks Subcommittee: Daniel Akaka (D-HI) chairman, Craig Thomas (R-WY) ranking member; Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee: Ron Wyden (D-OR) chairman; Richard Burr (R-NC) ranking member; and Water and Power Subcommittee: Tim Johnson (D-SD) chairman, Bob Corker (R-TN) ranking member.

On January 19, chairman Boxer (D-CA) and ranking member Inhofe (R-OK) announced Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee Assignments as follows:  Public Sector Solutions to Global Warming, Oversight, and Children’s Health Protection: Barbara Boxer chair, Lamar Alexander (R-TN) ranking member; Transportation and Infrastructure: Max Baucus (D-MT) chair, Johnny Isakson (R-GA) ranking member; Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection: Joe Lieberman (D-CT) chair, John Warner (R-VA) ranking member; Clean Air and Nuclear Safety: Thomas Carper (D-DE) chair, George Voinovich (R-OH) ranking member; Superfund and Environmental Health: Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY) chair, Larry Craig (R-ID) ranking member; and Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Security, and Water Quality: Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) chair, David Vitter (R-LA) ranking member. (SRT)

EPA Denies Petition to Reconsider Exclusion of Sewage Sludge Incinerators from Regulation Under CAA Section 129
EPA announced in the January 22 Federal Register that it will not change the standards of performance rule for other solid waste incineration (OSWI) units, specifically the exclusion of sewage sludge incinerators (SSI).  On December 16, 2005, EPA promulgated a final rule that excluded SSI units from regulation under section 129 of the Clean Air Act as a type of OSWI.  The Sierra Club petitioned EPA to reconsider this decision and claimed that there was no opportunity for public comment on EPA's decision.  As a result, on June 28, 2006, EPA issued a notice of reconsideration and request for comments on the exclusion of SSIs from the OSWI rule.  After carefully considering all of the comments and information received, EPA concluded that no additional changes are necessary to the final OSWI rules and denied the request for reconsideration for all other issues raised by the Sierra Club.  The Federal Register notice of the final decision is available at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-AIR/2007/January/Day-22/a820.htm.  (SJH)

Coalition Urges Congress to Ensure FY 07 Funding for Agricultural Conservation Programs
On January 24, a group of 20 organizations, including WEF, sent a letter to leaders of the House and Senate appropriations committees urging them to fund the Conservation Security Program (CSP) and Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) at levels consistent with the President’s FY 07 budget request and the Senate FY 07 appropriations bill.  The groups argued that it is a critical time for the CSP, with 16 million acres enrolled since implementation began in 2004.  “Funding at either the 2006 level, or the level provided by the House bill in the last Congress, would stop the program in its tracks, forcing USDA to cancel or drastically scale back the already announced 2007 sign-up and the already committed contract upgrades.”  The WRP is in a similarly vulnerable position.  “Because of three consecutive years of deep cuts to the mandatory funding of WRP, farmer and rancher interest in the program greatly exceeds the availability of funds.  For every acre that is enrolled in the program, three acres are turned away due to a lack of funding.”  Congress is expected to take up the issue of spending levels for non-defense and non-security federal programs for the remainder of the current fiscal year in a Continuing Resolution that could go the floor of both chambers as early as next week.  The current Continuing Resolution, made necessary because the previous Congress did not finish work on regular appropriations bills, expires on February 15.   In addition to WEF, organizations signing the letter included American Farmland Trust, National Audubon Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Soil Science Society of America.  (SRT)

Sen. Harkin Wants $20B Set Aside for Biofuels
With the next farm bill budget up for debate this year, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) this week said he wants to create a separate $20 billion fund for biofuels crops in an attempt to override a potential budget crunch.  Harkin and other key farm legislators said funding for farm programs is a key factor if Congress and the Bush administration want to reach the alternative fuel goal set by President Bush in his State of the Union address.  Harkin thinks the alternative fuels goal would require major funding increases in next year's agriculture budget and in the next farm bill. Some of that cash might be drawn from a separate $20 billion fund that he said would pay for energy crops in the next five years of the farm bill.  Agricultural analysts have identified two stages of debate as Congress sets out to draft the 2008 farm bill -- the first over the amount of money in the bill's baseline and the second over how to distribute the cash.  The budget is expected to be contentious. The last farm bill saw big increases for energy and conservation, but it was written in a time of budget surpluses. Many agriculture experts are concerned that high crop prices could lower the overall baseline for the next farm bill when the Congressional Budget Office scores the measure. (SJH)

Water Conservation is Focus of Two New Federal Announcements
On January 24, President Bush issued an Executive Order requiring Federal agencies to increase their efforts to conserve water.  Using 2007 as the baseline, each agency must, through life-cycle cost-effective measures, reduce its water consumption by 2 percent annually through the end of fiscal year 2015 or 16 percent by the end of fiscal year 2015.  To read the Executive Order visit, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070124-2.html.  Also on the 24th, EPA released final specifications for water-saving, high-efficiency toilets (HETs) to qualify for EPA's WaterSense label.  Toilets that use less than 1.3 gallons per flush, meet certain performance standards for quality, and pass a third-party certification process can now earn the label.  "The WaterSense label will help consumers identify high performing, water efficient products," said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water, Benjamin H. Grumbles. "By purchasing WaterSense labeled plumbing fixtures, consumers can help protect the water supply and their wallets."  According to the EPA, toilet usage accounts for nearly one-third of home water consumption.  More information about the HET Specification is available at http://epa.gov/watersense/partners/specs/het.htm. (SRT)

WEF Acquires World Water & Environmental Engineering 
WEF announced last week the acquisition of World Water & Environmental Engineering from Faversham House Group Ltd., and the subsequent formation of WEF Publishing UK Limited (WEFP). A wholly-owned and for-profit subsidiary of WEF, WEFP will begin publishing the magazine in March 2007 and eventually expand into a full-service publishing company to produce and market WEF technical and educational products in Europe.  "The acquisition of World Water & Environmental Engineering and the establishment of WEF Publishing UK Limited is a major step in fulfilling WEF's mission to be a leading resource to the global water community," said WEF Executive Director Bill Bertera.  World Water is a bi-monthly international water quality magazine published in London and distributed to over 10,000 water quality professionals throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and North and South America.  The magazine will couple with WEF’s flagship publication, Water Environment & Technology, to provide up-to-date technical and educational resources to the growing global water quality community.  More information about World Water can be found here.  (SRT)

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/.