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.

AP Reports on Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water; Senate and House Leaders Respond
This week the Associated Press (AP) published a three-part series on pharmaceuticals in source water and drinking water.  According to the AP, the articles were the result of a 5-month long investigation in urban and rural areas in all fifty states.  The first article reported that the AP found “minute concentrations of a vast array of pharmaceuticals” in the drinking water supplies of 24 of the 28 tested major metropolitan areas.  Subsequent articles in the series discussed potential harm to animals and aquatic life and the lack of a federal strategy or mandates to regulate pharmaceuticals in water.  The AP cited wastewater treatment plant discharges as well as failing septic systems and feedlots as sources of pharmaceuticals.  The AP reports led Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) to ask EPA to establish a national task force, and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee leaders Barbara Boxer (D-CA), the committee chair, and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) announced they will hold oversight hearings in early April.  After the first article, WEF released a media advisory listing resources for information on microconstituents, which is the term WEF uses to define substances like pharmaceuticals that are found at low levels in the environment.  WEF has established a page on its website to share information on microconstituents, available here.

Blumenauer Plans Water "Trust Fund" Proposal as Part of Larger Infrastructure Offensive
Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) confirmed this week that he will draft and introduce a water “trust fund” proposal in this Congress.  Although the legislation would not be expected to pass, Blumenauer sees its introduction as one part of a larger offensive to raise public and legislative awareness about the need for greater investment in public infrastructure.  In addition to the water bill, the Oregon Democrat is drafting legislation to create a U.S. Commission on Infrastructure Investment, charged with conducting public hearings and producing a national assessment of infrastructure problems within 4 months, and a report with recommended solutions within 9 months.  Blumenauer also hopes to hold in infrastructure “Summit” in Washington prior to the November elections.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) appeared with Blumenauer at a March 12 Capitol Hill briefing attended by WEF to express her support for the Commission legislation and to praise Blumenauer for his efforts. Pelosi agreed with the characterization of adequate public transit, clean water, and modern highways as a “civil rights issue” and, in a veiled reference to Iraq war spending, said that the U.S. needs to “create the future by investing in our own country.”

Blumenauer previously distributed a one-page outline describing a potential Water Trust Fund bill that would be deficit-neutral and raise $10 billion annually for grants and loans to support activities currently eligible under the Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) Programs.  New priorities, including security, conservation, energy efficiency, green infrastructure, non-point source pollution prevention, and correction of failing septic systems would also be eligible, and the grants portion of the new program would require a 35 percent match.   According to the Blumenauer outline, new projects that contribute to urban sprawl would not be eligible. 

Revenue sources under consideration by Blumenauer, who recently moved from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee,  include a per container fee on bottled beverages, a tax on some “flushable” products, higher penalties for industrial discharges, taxes on fertilizers and pesticides, and a reinstatement of the Corporate Environmental Income Tax (CEIT).  Blumenauer said that he understands that introduction of a bill that includes potential taxes or user fees could stir early opposition to the opposition to the trust fund concept, but that he is willing to “take the hit” in order to get the debate started.  Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN), chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has signaled his support for a trust fund and in January he joined Blumenauer and Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), who chairs the key clean water subcommittee in Oberstar’s committee, asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to produce a report on potential revenue sources that would raise at least $10 billion annually.  That report is due in January 2009.   More information:  http://blumenauer.house.gov/.

Governor Rendell Describes New Bi-Partisan Infrastructure Coalition
Governor Edward Rendell (D-PA) was in Washington on March 10 to brief leaders of national organizations, including WEF, on a new initiative that aims to make infrastructure investment a higher national priority.  In January, Rendell joined Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R-NY) and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) in announcing the new effort, called Building America’s Future.  Since then the three leaders have been joined by a score of other Governors and Mayors, and their hope to enlist the support of many more.  One early goal is to present recommendations to the platform committees of the two major political parties, and urge the Republican and Democratic nominees to support increased investment in highways, bridges and water systems.  WEF has communicated its support of this new effort to Governor Rendell and will track activities as they develop. More information:  http://www.investininfrastructure.org/.

Competing Chemical Security Bill Introduced; Water Sector Survey Finds Most Facilities Have Plans in Place
 Rep. Albert Wynn (D-MD), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Environment and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee, introduced a new chemical security bill March 5 that directly challenges chemical security legislation marked up last week by the House Homeland Security Committee.  H.R. 5533, the Chemical Facilities Security Act of 2008, was referred to the Energy and Commerce Committee, which is asserting jurisdiction over this legislation.  The Wynn bill, with some minor changes, essentially authorizes the chemical security program currently in existence and removes the sunset date of October 2009.  It also continues an exemption for drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities, which the House Homeland Security legislation, H.R. 5577, would eliminate.  It is unclear when the Energy and Commerce Committee will act on this new legislation. Meanwhile, a group six of water sector associations, including WEF, provided U.S. EPA with the results of a summary of security practices and measures to secure onsite hazardous materials at drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities.  Almost 1200 drinking water utilities and over 950 wastewater treatment utilities participated in the survey.  Approximately 95 percent of the respondents had evaluated their disinfection methods in light of public health, environmental, and security concerns, and 94 percent had emergency response plans in effect.  WEF will continue to track legislative developments related to infrastructure and chemical security and provide updates as warranted.  More information:  http://energycommerce.house.gov/Subcommittees/ehm.shtml.

WEF Announces Congressional Briefing on Water Availability
Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), and WEF are sponsoring a briefing on water availability issues in the U.S.  The briefing will cover the connections between water use and water quality and how they can ultimately affect water availability for critical uses.  Held in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program, the briefing will highlight a new USGS study on salinity in the Southwest and provide examples of how agricultural practices, pumping, and other water uses have impacted water quality in New Jersey and California.  The briefing, Water Availability:  A Matter of Quantity, Quality, and Use, is scheduled for March 20 at 10:00 am in room HC 5 of the U.S. Capitol Building.  Additional information is available here.

NRC Reports on Impacts of Climate Change on Transportation Infrastructure
The greatest impact of climate change on transportation systems will be flooding of roads, railways, transit systems, and airport runways in coastal areas because of rising sea levels and surges brought on by more intense storms, says a new report from the National Research Council released March 11.  The committee identified five climate changes of particular importance to U.S. transportation: increases in very hot days and heat waves, increases in Arctic temperatures, rising sea levels, increases in intense precipitation events, and increases in hurricane intensity.

"The time has come for transportation professionals to acknowledge and confront the challenges posed by climate change, and to incorporate the most current scientific knowledge into the planning of transportation systems," said Henry Schwartz Jr., past president and chairman of Sverdrup/Jacobs Civil Inc., and chair of the committee that wrote the report.  The report also recommends that transportation providers focus on evacuation planning and work more closely with weather forecasters and emergency planners.

The report calls for the federal government to have a strong role in implementing many of its recommendations, such as the creation of a clearinghouse for information on transportation and climate change; the establishment of a research program to re-evaluate existing design standards and develop new standards for addressing climate change; creation of an interagency working group on adaptation; changes in federal regulations regarding long-range planning guidelines and infrastructure rehabilitation requirements; and re-evaluation of the National Flood Insurance Program and updating flood insurance rate maps with climate change in mind.

Copies of Potential Impacts of Climate Change on U.S. Transportation are available at www.TRB.org.  A press release and summary of the report are at http://nationalacademies.org/morenews/20080311.html.

Advisory Committee on Agriculture Holds First Meeting; Work on Farm Bill Continues
The Federal Advisory Committee on Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities met on March 13, for the first day of a two-day meeting.  Jim Moseley, owner of Ag-Rich Farms, IN, was selected by EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson to chair the Committee.  Mr. Moseley is the former Deputy Secretary of Agriculture.  The Committee attracted a standing-room-only crowd of listeners at the Madison Hotel in Washington DC.  The 32-member Committee represents groups that include farmers, ranchers, and rural communities as well as environmental and conservation groups, local government, and the academic/research community.  In his opening statement, Chairman Moseley emphasized the importance of the individual in affecting governmental decisions.  “The role of the Committee is to help EPA develop a greater awareness of agricultural practices through communication,” explained Moseley, “to reap the environmental and economic benefits for the American people.” 

EPA Deputy Administrator Marcus Peacock emphasized the Agency’s desire to use the guidance of the Committee in making better decisions on cross-media environmental issues.  Mr. Peacock’s presentation was followed by Office of Water Deputy Assistant Administrator Mike Shapiro and other EPA Program Officers, each giving a brief overview of their program areas.  Panel discussions by EPA and USDA leaders completed Day 1 and Day 2 presentations.  Committee and Workgroup assignments and schedules will be made available by Alicia Kaiser, (kaiser.alicia@epa.gov). 

In related news, the House and Senate each passed a month-long extension of the farm bill on March 12, giving negotiators until April 18 to reach agreement on how to fit the more expensive farm bill proposals the House and Senate passed last year into a leaner conference agreement.

New EPA Report on Wastewater Treatment and In-Plant Wet Weather Management
This week EPA made available the third in a series of reports on municipal wastewater collection and treatment technologies.  Emerging Technologies for Wastewater Treatment and In-Plant Wet Weather Management provides municipal wastewater treatment system owners and operators with the latest information on emerging technology options.  The report includes technical data and cost information for over 60 innovative technologies and over 25 embryonic technologies, which EPA defines as technologies in the development stage and/or those that have been tested at a laboratory or bench scale only.  The new report is available at www.epa.gov/owm/mtb/index.htm. The previous two reports, Emerging Technologies for Biosolids Management and Emerging Technologies for Conveyance Systems: New Installations and Rehabilitation Methods, are also available on the website.

Quote of the Week:
Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.
-Marie Curie

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