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 Committee Clears Reauthorization of BEACH Act
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on voice vote passed legislation to reauthorize the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000 (BEACH Act) on Oct. 31.  H.R. 2537 would reauthorize the BEACH Act and provide $40 million in grants for states to conduct water quality monitoring during fiscal years 2008 through 2012.  The bill is co-sponsored by Reps. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Brian Bilbray (R-CA).  The legislation would continue to require water pollution control monitoring and reporting along coastal beaches, including the Great Lakes, and require EPA to develop criteria for rapid testing methods.  It would also direct states and localities to provide same-day notices at beaches in instances where even one water quality sample is found to exceed water quality standards.  In addition, it would direct EPA to develop revised water quality criteria for pathogens and publish a list of all pathogens and pathogen indicators the agency has studied and observed in the course of developing those criteria.  It is unclear when the legislation may be voted on by the full House, where it is not expected to face significant opposition. 

Ninth Circuit Rules EPA Must Account for New Technology in Setting Effluent Guidelines
On October 29, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that EPA must take into account new water pollution control technology on an annual basis when setting effluent discharge limits.  In the case, Our Children’s Earth Foundation v. EPA (9th Cir., No. 05-16214, 10/29/07), Our Children's Earth Foundation and Ecological Rights Foundation sued EPA for abandoning technology-based review in favor of hazard-based review, neglecting to identify new sources, and failing to publish timely plans for future reviews. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California sided with EPA, saying the agency had not violated the Clean Water Act (CWA) because it has discretion in making decisions on revising the guidelines.  The environmental advocacy groups appealed to the circuit court, which ruled in their favor.   The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said that while EPA has the discretion to revise effluent guidelines under the CWA, it does not have the discretion to ignore technology-based criteria in its periodic review of the guidelines.  Since the CWA was enacted, EPA has issued effluent guidelines for 56 categories of industries that discharge water pollutants.  The Act requires EPA to annually review existing effluent guidelines and, if appropriate, revise the regulations to reflect changes in the industry and/or changes in available pollution control technologies.  The appeals court sent the case back to the district court of Northern California for further proceedings to determine if EPA is in violation of the CWA. 

Congress Struggles Over Spending Bills; Senator Allard Named Subcommittee Ranking Member
Congress is struggling over how to conclude the fiscal year 2008 (FY08) budget process without President Bush vetoing all twelve spending bills.  Currently the government is operating under a continuing resolution through November 16th; however, a new continuing resolution is expected through December because Congress has been unable to agree on spending limits that meet the Administration’s targets.  While the House has completed its work on all twelve appropriations bills that control discretionary spending for federal agencies, the Senate has only been able to complete seven, excluding bills that provide budgets for the Departments of Agriculture, Interior, and EPA.  Overall, the Administration and Congressional Democrats are approximately $22 billion apart on spending targets, and the Administration has refused to negotiate, preferring instead to veto spending bills.  Congressional Republicans claim they have the votes to sustain a veto.  In a related matter, retiring Senator Wayne Allard (R-CO) has been appointed Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees the Department of Interior, EPA, and related agencies.  Allard replaces Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) and will maintain this post until he retires after next year’s election. 

House Science Panel Addresses Water Efficiency and Conservation
On Oct. 30 the House Committee on Science Subcommittee on Energy and Environment held a hearing on H.R. 3957, The Water-Use Efficiency and Conservation Research Act of 2007.  The hearing evaluated the need for research and development of technologies and processes to enhance water-use efficiency and water conservation.  The bill was introduced last week by Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) and would establish a research and development program and a technology transfer program within EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) to promote water-use efficiency and conservation.  Under the bill, EPA's program would be tasked with looking at rainwater collection and reuse technologies, storage and distribution systems, and behavioral, social and economic barriers to achieving greater water use efficiency.  The bill also requires ORD to carry out at least four demonstration projects for use in a model home and a model commercial building.  Dr. Glen Daigger, Senior Vice President at CH2M HILL and co-chair of the WEF Sustainability 2008 conference testified, “The United States led the world in developing and implementing revolutionary water management systems throughout the 2nd half of the 20th century.  The question before us is whether the U.S. is going to give up its leadership in this critical area.  This is the path we are on, but it can be reversed with a fairly modest set of actions by the federal government.”   To view H.R. 3957, and information from the hearing, visit http://science.house.gov/legislation/leg_highlights_detail.aspx?NewsID=2024.  

Senate Subcommittee Approves CO2 Emissions Bill
On Nov. 1, the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection approved legislation that would establish an economy-wide emissions trading program to cap U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at 2005 levels by 2012 and cut them nearly 70 percent by 2050.  The bill, drafted by Sens. Joseph Lieberman (I/D-CT) and John Warner (R-VA) to require greenhouse gas reductions in the transportation, manufacturing, and electric power industries, was approved as amended on a 4-3 vote. S. 2191, America’s Climate Security Act of 2007, now goes before the full Senate environment committee.  The House has not produced similar legislation. 

EPA Issues Preliminary 2008 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan
EPA is requesting public comments on its Preliminary 2008 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan which identifies any new or existing industrial categories selected for effluent guidelines rulemaking.  The plan was announced in the Oct. 30 Federal Register.  EPA is also requesting comments on its 2007 annual review of existing effluent guidelines and those industrial categories not currently regulated.  EPA establishes national, technology-based regulations known as effluent guidelines and pretreatment standards to reduce pollutant discharges from categories of industry discharging directly to waters of the U.S. or discharging indirectly through publicly owned treatment works. The CWA sections 301(d), 304(b), 304(g), and 307(b) require EPA to annually review these effluent guidelines and pretreatment standards. Comments are due by Dec. 31.  The Federal Register notice is available at www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-WATER/2007/October/Day-30/w21310.htm.

NOAA Launches Drought Monitoring Web Site
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) launched a web site on Nov. 1 to help state and local water managers monitor conditions in the Southeast and across the United States.  The U.S. Drought Portal collects data from across the federal government on current drought, water quality and wildfire conditions, and links to forecasts that draw on precipitation records and measurements of soil moisture to project drought conditions more than a year in advance.  The site is part of the National Integrated Drought Information System, which Congress formally authorized last year.  NOAA serves as the lead agency on the project, with contributions from the National Science Foundation, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Geological Survey, EPA, and the Agriculture Department.  According to NOAA estimates, drought costs the nation between $6 billion and $8 billion per year.  The U.S. Drought Portal is at: www.drought.gov.    

Quote of the Week:
“Every man has his price. This is not true. But for every man there exists a bait which he cannot resist swallowing.”
- Friedrich Nietzsche