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.

House Passes 2007 Farm Bill
The House Agriculture Committee approved the 2007 Farm Bill on July 27 (H.R. 2419) with a 231 to 191 vote.  The $286 billion, five-year bill now heads to the Senate, where it will not see action until after the August recess.  The bill included amendments on conservation and renewable energy that would increase funding for research on pollinator decline, establish grants for organic gardens or greenhouses in urban areas, establish a grant program for state and local governments to use low-grade wood biomass in community wood energy systems, and make certain forest land eligible for disaster funding.  The House rejected an amendment, offered by Representative Ron Kind (D-WI), that would establish farmers' savings accounts and allow for greater conservation spending in the place of direct payments and subsidies.  Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) is expected to offer a similar amendment when the Senate Agriculture Committee takes up its bill in September.

EPA and U.S. Business Council Commit to Sustainable Green Projects in China
On July 31, EPA and the U.S. Business Council for Sustainable Development (US BCSD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on international sustainable development projects in China and other parts of the world.  According to an EPA press statement, the initial focus will be on China, where EPA and the BCSD, working with agencies in China, will collaborate to create a sustainable strategy for cement production, expand the use of clean technologies to convert waste to renewable energy, and implement by-product synergy, a system that allows companies from one industrial sector to use their waste as raw input materials for production in another sector. "Promoting clean power solutions and clean energy innovations both domestically and internationally is an EPA commitment," said EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson. Additional information on sustainability programs at EPA is available at www.epa.gov/sustainability.  Information on the US BCSD is available at www.usbcsd.org. 

EPA Announces Chemicals for First Phase of ToxCast Program
On August 2, EPA's National Center for Computational Toxicology released a list of 340 chemicals that will be evaluated under Phase I of the ToxCast research program. ToxCast is a program to help the agency set priorities for toxicity testing of environmental chemicals.  Under Phase I of ToxCast, the chemicals will be examined in hundreds of different rapid computer tests referred to as high throughput screening (HTS) bioassays. Phase I will be used to create chemical signatures of compounds that will then be compared to known toxicity data. EPA expects patterns will emerge that are predictive of compounds that could cause harm to people and the environment. Results of Phase I are expected in 2008. Phase II will involve a larger, more diverse set of chemicals to test the predictability of patterns identified in Phase I. In Phase III, ToxCast will expand the list to thousands of environmental chemicals, “delivering an affordable, science-based system for decision-makers,” according to an EPA press statement.

"When complete, the ToxCast Program will allow EPA to test thousands of environmental chemicals quickly for harmful effects. EPA will enter a new era of environmental chemical testing, which will allow the agency to better protect human health and the environment," said Dr. George Gray, assistant administrator for the Office of Research and Development.  In May 2007, the National Academy of Sciences released a report calling on EPA and other federal scientific agencies to use advances in computers, genomics, and cellular biology to speed up toxicity testing. Additional information on ToxCast is available at www.epa.gov/ncct/toxcast/news.html.

EPA Releases Draft Report on the Environment
On August 3, EPA released the draft 2007 Report on the Environment (ROE): Highlights of National Trends for public comment. First issued in 2003, ROE is designed to help the average citizen follow national trends in the condition of the air, water, and land. ROE includes a subset of findings from the more comprehensive report, EPA's 2007 Report on the Environment: Science Report, which was released in May 2007 as a draft for public comment. The final 2007 ROE report will consist of both the science and highlights documents. The draft ROE is available at www.epa.gov/roe/.

OMB Gives EPA High Marks on Scorecard
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) gave EPA high marks July 30 on the latest Executive Branch Management Scorecard, which tracks how well departments and major agencies are executing government wide management initiatives. According to OMB, EPA has met all of the standards for success that were developed by the President's Management Council in the areas of human capital, competitive sourcing, financial management, e-government, and performance improvement. OMB also praised EPA's "ConservE" program, which is aimed at reducing energy usage at its facilities. The latest scorecard is available at www.whitehouse.gov/results/agenda/scorecard.html.

Quote of the Week:
“The more the wealthy opt out of drinking tap water, the less political support there will be for investing in maintaining America’s public water supply. That would be a serious loss. Access to cheap, clean water is basic to the nation’s health.”
 - New York Times Editorial, August 1

To receive This Week in Washington via e-mail, contact Sharon Thomas at sthomas@wef.org.