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.

WEF Hosts Meeting on Future of Wet Weather Management
This week, the National Policy Forum on Wet Weather Management Futures, sponsored by WEF, brought together a diverse group of individuals to explore options for improving water quality through better management of wet weather flows.  The Forum was designed to encourage national policy opinion leaders and decision-makers to envision a long-term wet weather management vision for the country and discuss how to make it a reality.  At the Forum, participants engaged in active discussion about the possibilities for a preferred wet weather management future and discussed issues such as public outreach and education on water as a valuable resource, the use of green infrastructure, the importance of integrated water management and land use planning, and opportunities for progress under the current legal and regulatory framework.  Participants included representatives of state and regional environmental agencies; utility executive directors; national environmental advocacy organizations; EPA Office of Water and Office of Compliance and Enforcement; academics/consultants focused on green infrastructure, land use planning, watershed management, and architecture; national water sector associations; and key local/county executives.  A summary of the Forum will be available in a few weeks on WEF’s website.  WEF will also feature a session on the Forum and resulting activities at the WEF 2008 Sustainability Conference, scheduled for June 23 – 25.

House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Water Quality in the Great Lakes
On Wednesday the Government Accountability Office (GAO) testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure’s Resources and Environment Subcommittee regarding EPA’s ability to monitor pollutants in accordance with the Great Lakes Initiative (GLI).  In l995, EPA and eight Great Lakes states agreed to the GLI, which includes criteria for states to use when setting water quality standards for 29 pollutants, including bioaccumulative chemicals of concern (BCCs).  In 2005, GAO wrote a report evaluating EPA’s progress towards implementing the GLI and made several recommendations.  David Maurer, acting director for GAO’s natural resources and environment division, gave testimony based on the 2005 report.  According to GAO, EPA has yet to approve reliable measurement methods for seven of the nine established BCCs, making it difficult to determine whether a facility is exceeding the discharge limits in its permit.  Mercury and lindane are the only BCCs with EPA-approved measurement methods below the criteria levels.  “EPA can’t regulate what it cannot measure,” said Maurer.  Maurer testified that EPA has begun to implement some of the recommendations in the 2005 report, Great Lakes Initiative: EPA Needs to Better Ensure the Complete and Consistent Implementation of Water Quality Standards (GAO-05-829), such as reviewing the efforts and progress made by municipal wastewater treatment plants to reduce their mercury discharges into the Great Lakes Basin.

Ben Grumbles, EPA Assistant Administrator for Water, testified that, “while significant and emerging challenges remain, the Great Lakes have made a dramatic comeback from severely polluted conditions.”  Grumbles highlighted partnerships, such as the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force and the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration, that are working together to restore water quality in the Great Lakes, as well as recent accomplishments.  Testimony from the hearing is available at http://transportation.house.gov/hearings/hearingdetail.aspx?NewsID=393.

New Coalition to Rebuild Ailing U.S. Infrastructure
On Tuesday California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell, and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the formation of a non-partisan national coalition that will advocate for federal investment in America’s eroding infrastructure.  The coalition, called Building America’s Future, will be made up of elected and executive officials serving at the state and local levels of government.  In the immediate future the coalition will work with presidential candidates and platform committees to ensure that the next president understands the extent of the infrastructure crisis and is willing to increase federal funding.  In the long-term the coalition hopes to acquire $1.6 trillion dollars for infrastructure over the next five years. “We have an infrastructure crisis,” said Mayor Bloomberg, who used leaky sewage plants and crumbling water lines as an example.  Also present at the announcement was the Rockefeller Foundation.  The Foundation has already offered its support by committing funding for staffing and resources.

EPA Local Government Advisory Committee Meeting
EPA announced in the Jan. 22 Federal Register that the Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC), the Small Community Advisory Subcommittee (SCAS), and workgroups will meet on Feb. 5-6 in Washington, DC.  The focus areas of the meeting will be green buildings, small communities, and other environmental issues potentially affecting local governments.  The meeting is open to the public.  In addition to public comments, written comments can be submitted electronically to Eargle.Frances@epa.gov.  Details on the meeting are available at www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-MEETINGS/2008/January/Day-22/m991.htm.   

Quote of the Week:
“Mankind must remember that peace is not God's gift to his creatures; peace is our gift to each other.”
- Elie Wiesel

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