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.

White House Releases Budget, Cuts for EPA and USGS
This week the White House released its budget requests for fiscal year 2009, and although it is the first U.S. budget to crack the $3 trillion mark, it cuts the EPA budget by $330 million to a total of $7.14 billion compared to the enacted fiscal year 2008 budget. Clean and Safe Water, which represents 36.1% of the proposed EPA budget, is reduced by $274,078 million.  The President’s FY09 budget would reduce spending for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) by $134,080 million to a total of $555,000, and provide $13,138 million more for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.  The proposed budget also decreases funding for categorical state water program grants, such as Non-Point Source Program Grants and Water Pollution Control Grants, by a total of $22.2 million.  The following table provides additional budget highlights for EPA’s programs:

Dollars in Thousands

Not all programs are to be cut, as the President’s 2009 EPA spending plan proposes the largest enforcement budget ever: an increase of $9 million for a total budget of $563 million.  An increase of $2.4 million for criminal enforcement will make this the largest criminal enforcement budget ever.  A proposed budget increase of $8.2 million for the USGS program, Water for America, will allow USGS to conduct the first nationwide assessment of water availability, water quality, and water use. 

Congress is beginning to gear up for its final budget battle against President Bush and is likely to restore some cuts, at least partially, as it has in past years. 

House Subcommittee Approves $6 Million for Green Infrastructure Research
On Feb. 7, the House Science subcommittee on Technology and Innovation approved a bill that would provide $6 million in grants to develop materials and methods for reducing runoff from roads and parking lots.  Sponsored by Rep. David Wu (D-OR), the Green Transportation Infrastructure Research and Technology Transfer Act (H.R. 5161) was cleared by the subcommittee following the adoption of an amendment introduced by Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI).  The amendment directed the bill to authorize $6 million in fiscal year 2009 and fiscal year 2010 to establish a grant program for the 50 existing university transportation research centers across the country. The bill directs the transportation secretary to provide grants to conduct research and development of green infrastructure technologies and practices; set up technology transfer programs; assess the impact of regulations on adopting green practices at the local level; and educate the public about these efforts. 

The bill defines green transportation infrastructure as methods and materials that preserve and restore natural processes, using natural design techniques.  “Green transportation infrastructure is a simple and exciting set of technologies that can help solve substantial pollution problems in our communities, while increasing energy efficiency,” said Chairman Wu in a subcommittee press release.  The bill now heads to the full committee for a vote sometime soon, according to a committee aide. 

EPA Issues Guidebook to Help Water Utilities Improve Energy Management
EPA announced on Feb. 1 that it has released a new guidance, Ensuring a Sustainable Future: An Energy Management Guidebook for Wastewater and Water Utilities, intended to help utilities systematically assess their current energy costs and practices, set measurable performance improvement goals, and monitor and measure their progress over time.  Steadily rising energy costs and associated environmental effects have made energy use one of the most pressing challenges facing water utilities. Energy management is also at the heart of efforts across the industry to ensure that water and wastewater systems are operated in a sustainable way.  The guidance follows the Plan-Do-Check-Act methodology embodied in environmental management systems and other utility management tools.  In developing the guidance, EPA consulted with utilities that are successfully confronting energy challenges using this approach.  An electronic copy of the handbook is available at www.epa.gov/waterinfrastructure/bettermanagement_energy.html.

EPA Releases Municipal Wastewater Technology Fact Sheets
EPA’s Office of Water has developed four new fact sheets on innovative municipal wastewater technologies.  The fact sheets are part of a continuing EPA effort to provide municipal utilities and state regulators with information on a variety of innovative or cost-effective technologies and best management practices.  The new fact sheets, Denitrifying Filters, Side Stream Nutrient Removal, In-Plant Wet Weather Peak Flow Management, and Membrane Bioreactors, along with others previously released by EPA, are available at http://www.epa.gov/OW-OWM.html/mtb/mtbfact.htm.

EPA Public Meeting of the Total Coliform Rule Distribution System Advisory Committee
EPA announced that a public meeting of the Total Coliform Rule Distribution System Advisory Committee will be held on Feb. 20.  The committee advises and makes recommendations to the Agency on revisions to the rule, and on what information should be collected, research conducted, and/or risk management strategies evaluated to better inform distribution system contaminant occurrence and associated public health risks.  Topics to be discussed in the meeting include possible options for revising the rule, performance of analytical methods, EPA's plans for compliance with the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act, and topics for upcoming meetings.  Additional information and registration are available by contacting Kate Zimmer at (202) 965-6387 or kzimmer@resolv.org.  The Federal Register notice is at www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-MEETINGS/2008/February/Day-04/m1954.htm.

Quote of the Week:
"There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there."
- Indira Gandhi

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