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.

April 18, 2008

Senate Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water
On April 15, Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Chair of the Subcommittee on Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Security, and Water Quality, held a hearing to review the federal response to recent Associate Press (AP) news articles that documented the presence of pharmaceuticals in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans.  During the first panel, Robert Hirsch, Associate Director for Water with the U.S. Geological Survey, described the work of the agency’s water quality monitoring program, which was the source of information for the AP story.  EPA Assistant Administrator for Water, Benjamin Grumbles, emphasized that while EPA is not “alarmed,” by the presence of pharmaceuticals in water supplies, the agency is addressing “emerging contaminants,” which are defined as contaminants of concern but about which little health effects information is known.  EPA, he says, plans to strengthen the science to better understand and prioritize action on these contaminants.  EPA will also improve risk communication to the public, build partnerships with industry to ensure proper stewardship of pharmaceuticals (such as through drug take-back programs), and use existing regulatory tools under the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act.  He emphasized, however, that EPA must prioritize listing of new chemicals under the Safe Drinking Water Act based on relative risk to public health and the environment and that hundreds of chemicals are under review.  Lautenberg criticized EPA for failing to regulate 140 chemicals under the Safe Drinking Water Act and for cutting funding for the State Revolving Fund for wastewater and drinking water treatment facilities and for water quality monitoring.  Senator Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, blamed the presence of pharmaceuticals in water supplies on runoff from farms, “sewage sludge” and wastewater treatment plants.   She called on the Administration to release proceedings of an inter-agency working group to review pharmaceuticals in the water supply and to speed up progress in testing and regulating endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

A representative of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America claimed that the pharmaceuticals found in the water supply are at such low concentrations as not to be a threat to public health, while a representative of the Natural Resources Defense Council countered that scientific studies show that there are long-term health effects from exposure to many of these chemicals.  Dr. Shane Snyder, representing the American Water Works Association, cautioned that regulatory decisions on chemicals in the water supply should be based on the ability to protect public health, not simply on detection alone.  A webcast of the hearing and copies of written testimony are available at http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Home.

Beach Monitoring Bill Sails through House
The House passed a bill on April 16 that would require EPA to help states utilize the latest technology to test beach waters for contaminants and increase the amount of money available to states for water quality monitoring.  H.R. 2537, approved by voice vote, would reauthorize the BEACH Act of 2000 and require EPA to approve rapid contaminant testing methods so authorities can quickly close beaches when necessary.  The legislation would increase money for state water quality grants from $30 million to $40 million through 2012 and expand the scope of the grants to include pollution source tracking and prevention efforts.  An amendment by Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) requiring EPA to conduct a study on the long-term effects of climate change on the pollution of coastal recreation waters also passed by voice vote.  Other amendments passing by voice vote included one by Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA) that would utilize molecular diagnostics to monitor and assess coastal recreation waters and another by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) that would require state or local governments to make information on pathogenic contamination available on the Internet within 24 hours of discovery.  The House also approved amendments mandating mercury be treated as a pathogen indicator and creating a national list of beaches.  To view H.R. 2537, visit: www.eenews.net/features/bills/110/House/270607142124.pdf.  (Please note: You will be prompted to login with a username and password; if you do not have an account then you may not be able to view the document.)

House Committee Holds Briefing on Clean Water Restoration Act
On Wednesday, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held a briefing on a controversial wetlands protection bill, H.R. 2421, the Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007.  The bill, introduced by Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN), has sparked a battle in Congress over whether it expands or preserves wetlands protections in the Clean Water Act (CWA) by replacing the phrase “navigable waters” with “waters of the United States.”  The Committee received testimony from EPA; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; the U.S. Department of Justice; the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service; representatives of state and local governments, environmental, agricultural, and industry interests; legal practitioners; and other stakeholders.

Advocates for the bill say the Supreme Court decisions in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County and Rapanos-Carabell improperly narrowed the meaning of “navigable water” under the CWA.  “The ability of the Clean Water Act to ‘restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters’ has been undermined by two misguided decisions of the Supreme Court,” said Chairman Oberstar in his opening statement.  “[H.R. 2421] would restore the Clean Water Act protections that were in place before the two Supreme Court decisions.”  Opponents of H.R. 2421 expressed concerns about how the bill could affect private property rights, extend federal powers, and have economic ramifications.  Rep. John Mica (R-FL) said, “The bill is far from being a simple restoration.  The legislation represents a hallmark example of pushing an agenda item that could be very disastrous for the economy.”  Testimonies given at the hearing are available at http://transportation.house.gov/hearings/hearingDetail.aspx?NewsID=486.  

Farm Bill Negotiations Continue—New Water Quality Programs Likely Included in Final Bill
House and Senate Agriculture Committee conferees have spent most of the spring working to resolve differences between their separate versions of a 5-year, $280 billion farm bill, which funds a wide range of programs to assist the agricultural sector.  Both bills (H.R. 2419 and S. 2302) would renew conservation programs that pay farmers to implement environmental improvements on farms or to keep sensitive lands out of production.  New funding would be available under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) for farmers and ranchers to protect surface and ground water and for nutrient management of livestock operations.  A new program championed by WEF would provide grants to “partner” wastewater utilities and other entities with farmers to address regional water quality problems within watersheds.  Both bills would also extend loans and grants to construct wastewater treatment facilities in rural areas.  Conservation Innovation Grants would also be renewed—in 2007, the Conservation Technology Information Center, in partnership with WEF, was awarded a CIG to provide training on water quality trading for agriculture and wastewater facilities.  Congress has already enacted two short-term extensions of the current farm programs as conferees continue to deal with disagreements over offsets, tax provisions, and issues unrelated to the bill.  The current extension expires on April 25.

EPA Releases New Guidance on Watershed-Scale Ecological Risk Assessment
On April 14, EPA announced the availability of a final report, Application of Watershed Ecological Risk Assessment Methods to Watershed Management (EPA/600/R-06/037F).  Prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment within EPA’s Office of Research and Development, the report addresses issues unique to watershed-scale ecological risk assessment.  Each activity and phase of the watershed ecological risk assessment process is explained.  Guidance on stakeholder involvement is also provided.  According to EPA, the report will be useful to risk assessors, watershed associations, landscape ecologists, and others seeking to increase the use of environmental assessment data in decision making.  The report is available at http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=162845.

EPA Announces New Chief Scientist
EPA announced this week that Pai-Yei Whung, Ph.D., has accepted the Chief Scientist position in the Office of the Science Advisor (OSA).  As the Chief Scientist, Dr. Whung will provide program management and technical support to the EPA Science Advisor both independently and by leading the OSA staff.  The Chief Scientist reports to the EPA Science Advisor and collaborates with the Science Advisor in planning, policy development and implementation, oversight, and direction of all cross-Agency scientific efforts.  Dr. Whung has a doctoral degree in climate change and marine and atmospheric chemistry, and a master’s degree in oceanography.  She has fifteen years of field research experience, and eight years of program and office leadership in air quality, water quality, weather, sustainable ecosystems, climate change, and agricultural research.  Dr. Whung comes to EPA from the Agricultural Research Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).  Additional information on the Office of the Science Advisor is at www.epa.gov/osa/.

EPA Makes Information on Regulatory Development More Available
On April 14, EPA announced that it will make information on the development of new rules available on-line using Action Initiation Lists (AILs) posted on the EPA web site at the end of each month.  Each AIL will describe actions that were approved for commencement during the given month.  In the past, the public had to wait for EPA's Semiannual Regulatory Agenda, which is updated only every six months, to learn about new regulatory actions.  The AILs provide summaries, agency contacts, and other information about the rules EPA has approved for development.  The February and March AILs are now available at www.epa.gov/lawsregs/search/ail.html.  EPA expects to release the April AIL around April 30.

Register for the National Clean Water Policy Forum
WEF and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) will host the 2008 National Clean Water Policy Forum on May 4 – 7 in Washington, DC.  The Forum will cover the latest federal legislative and regulatory developments, including Clean Water Act jurisdiction, sewer overflow notification, clean water funding, and climate change.  An agenda and additional details are available at www.wef.org/GovernmentAffairs/GAEvents/  or www.nacwa.org.

Quote of the Week:
"The moment one give close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself."
~Henry Miller

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