Senators Request Information on EPA’s Plans to Address Pharmaceuticals in Water
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Security, and Water Quality, wrote to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson on March 18 requesting more information about the agency’s plans for regulating the presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in drinking water supplies.  Specifically, the letter asked EPA to provide by April 4 a "detailed summary" of its plans for researching, monitoring, and requiring public disclosure of levels of these products in water. The letter also asked whether the agency will set new standards for testing, use, and disposal of these products, as well as regulate the treatment of related sewage and sludge.  The letter was sent in response to a recent Associated Press investigation which found pharmaceuticals at the parts per billion or parts per trillion levels in drinking water in 24 cities.

WEF Co-hosts a Capitol Hill Briefing on Water Availability
Yesterday, WEF, the Environmental Energy Study Institute (EESI), the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program, and Chairwoman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power, Grave Napolitano (D-CA), hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill to examine the connections between water use and water quality and how they can ultimately affect water availability for critical uses.  Speakers included David Anning, NAWQA scientist from Flagstaff, Arizona; David Kanzer, Senior Water Resource Engineer for the Colorado River Water Conservation District; Robert Hirsch, Associate Director for Water at USGS; and Claudia Copeland, Specialist in Resource and Environmental Policy at Congressional Research Service.  Briefing presentations will be posted soon on WEF’s Legislative Affairs webpage. 

Bush Nominates David Hill for EPA General Counsel
President Bush withdrew the nomination of David R. Hill to lead EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation March 13 just before nominating Hill to replace Roger R. Martella Jr. as the agency's general counsel.  In an e-mail announcing the nomination to EPA employees, Administrator Stephen Johnson said, "David's strong legal background, extensive policy and management expertise, and knowledge of the issues facing EPA, will be tremendous assets to OGC and the entire Agency."  Martella announced his resignation, effective April 18, in February.  Hill is currently serving as general counsel at the U.S. Department of Energy, where he has also served as the deputy general counsel for energy policy.  He was unanimously confirmed for the DOE general counsel position in July 2005.

Progress on Farm Bill Funding
After months of gridlock, House of Representatives and Senate negotiators have reached an agreement on how to allocate money for farm, energy, and conservation programs in the multibillion-dollar Farm Bill.  If accepted, the new framework will provide a “road map” for budget resources, according to Senate Agriculture Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA). The framework has elicited strong objections from the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, one of the committees that is expected to help pay for the bill.  In addition, the new framework includes tax increases, which will likely trigger a White House veto.  The new plan would increase spending for conservation programs by almost $5 billion over the next ten years, which Martha Noble of the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition said would be necessary to continue conservation programs that would otherwise expire, such as the Wetlands Reserve Program. 

Quote of the Week:
Human potential, though not always apparent, is there waiting to be discovered and invited forth.
William W. Purkey

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