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.

Congress Completes Work on FY08 Appropriations
Before adjourning for the holiday break, Congress finally completed work on the 2008 Fiscal Year Omnibus Appropriations bill to fund domestic agencies through September of next year.  The budget agreement between the White House and Congress came after Congressional leaders acknowledged that they did not have enough Republican support to override a threatened veto by President Bush for a budget proposal that would have exceeded the Administration’s target spending goals and attach conditions for funding Iraq War operations.  In order to avoid a repeat of last year’s when a long-term continuing resolution provided significantly lower funding levels then what otherwise would have been provided had a full budget been produced, Democrats opted to compromise with the President and pass a budget that contained modest increases in certain programs.  The EPA received an overall spending level of $7.5 billion, which is $262 million above President Bush’s request. However, the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program was cut substantially over what House Democrats wanted originally ($1.1 billion).  For Fiscal Year 2008, the CWSRF will receive $689 million (395 million below FY07 levels). An additional $133 million was provided for local water and wastewater earmarked projects. The Drinking Water SRF will continue to receive level funding of $842 million.  $153 million was provided for regional water quality programs, including the Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico and the Everglades.  The National Biosolids Partnership was not funded.  In addition to these spending levels, the Omnibus contains language that prevents EPA from implementing a proposed rule that would have required States to charge utilities higher permit fees to cover the costs of issuing NPDES permits, something that WEF and others opposed.

Senate Passes 2007 Farm Bill
Last Friday, December 14, the Senate passed its version of the 2007 Farm Bill by a vote of 79-14, a substantial margin that would be enough to override a possible veto.  The Senate bill contains language establishing a Regional Water Enhancement Program (RWEP) within a program called Partnerships and Cooperation.  The RWEP is a new program designed to allow non-agriculture producing entities, such as water and wastewater utilities, to partner with farmers in order to undertake on-farm projects that help reduce adverse water quality impacts from farming operations.  The Water Environment Federation helped lead an effort urging Congress and the Administration to establish such a program. The House-passed version of the Farm Bill also contains language establishing the RWEP, however it is a stand alone program in that version.  The House and Senate must now reconcile the two versions of the bill and produce a conference report that both chambers will vote on early next year.  Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and his House counterpart, Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN), indicated that they would like to complete work on a Farm Bill by early February.  President Bush has threatened a veto of the bill because of its overall price tag.  WEF will continue to track this legislation and advocate on behalf of the RWEP.

Senators Introduce Bipartisan Small System Drinking Water Act of 2007
Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), Ranking Member of the Environment & Public Works Committee, together with Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE), introduced the “Small System Drinking Water Act of 2007”.  The bipartisan bill is intended to prevent the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from levying fines on communities with subpar drinking water systems if the federal government has not provided them with “sufficient” funding to make upgrades. The legislation applies to water systems serving fewer than 10,000 individuals. The bill would amend the Safe Drinking Water Act of 2005 and if it passes the EPA would likely have to go through a rulemaking to determine what monetary level constitutes “sufficient” funding. “If the federal government is going to impose complicated requirements on water systems, we need to provide them with assistance in implementing those requirements,” said Sen. Inhofe. 

EPA Releases Guidance to Help Implement Drinking Water Regulations
EPA released six draft documents intended to assist states and public water systems with understanding revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule issued in Oct. 2007.  The draft documents include clarifications to the State Implementation Guidance, guides and fact sheets to understand the new public education and information requirements, and a Quick Reference Guide.  EPA is requesting comments by Jan. 31. The draft documents are available at www.epa.gov/safewater/lcrmr/compliancehelp_draftguidance.html. 

EPA Awards Community Grants
EPA announced on December 18 that around $3 million will be available in 2008 to support community-based partnerships to reduce pollution at the local level through the Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) program.  EPA anticipates awarding CARE cooperative agreements in two levels. Level I cooperative agreements range from $75,000 to $100,000 and will help establish community-based partnerships to develop local environmental priorities.  Level II awards, ranging from $150,000 to $300,000 each, will support communities which have established broad-based partnerships, have identified the priority toxic risks in the community, and are prepared to measure results, implement risk reduction activities, and become self-sustaining.  Applications for the CARE grants are due March 17.  Additional information about the CARE program, previous cooperative agreement recipients, and applying for the 2008 grants is available at www.epa.gov/care.

Quote of the Week:
"In the depths of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer."
- Albert Camus

TWIW Takes a Holiday Break
The next issue will be distributed on Friday, January 11, 2008.  Best Wishes to all of our readers for a safe and happy holiday season.

To receive This Week in Washington via e-mail, contact Martha Ravenhill at mravenhill@wef.org.