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.

Congress Approves Farm Bill Conference with Veto-Proof Majorities
This week, both the House and Senate overwhelmingly approved the conference report to the $307 billion farm bill that authorizes dozens of agricultural, nutrition, energy, rural development, trade, and research programs for 5 years.  The bill now goes to President Bush, who has threatened a veto because of the continuation of huge subsidies in the form of commodity price supports.  The House and Senate are both expected to override a veto should one occur.

Conservation programs received $17.1 billion, instead of $18.1 billion provided by the Senate and $12.5 billion in the House bill.  This is a $7.9 billion increase over the 2002 Farm Bill and a measure of the overwhelming support for governmental incentives to steer more farmers to be good stewards of the environment.  Congress increased funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Conservation Innovation Grants, and Chesapeake Bay and Great Lakes Basin protection.

The Farm Bill includes an Agriculture Water Enhancement Program (AWEP) that was crafted by a coalition including WEF.  The program will provide $73 million in FY 2009 and 2010, $74 million in FY 2011, and $60 million in FY 2012 for partnerships to address specific local and regional watershed problems.  Wastewater utilities are eligible to partner with farmers under this program.  Priority is given to projects that include high percentages of agricultural land and producers in a region; result in water quality improvements and water conservation activities; significantly enhance agricultural activity; allow for monitoring and evaluation; and help producers meet a regulatory requirement that reduces the economic scope of the producer’s operation.  USDA may also give priority to proposals from partners that include the conversion of agricultural land from irrigated farming to dry land farming, leverage federal funds provided under the program with funds provided by partners, and assist producers in states with water quantity concerns.

The conferees also included a new requirement for USDA to establish technical guidelines that outline science-based methods to measure the environmental services benefits from conservation and land management activities in order to facilitate the participation of farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners in emerging environmental services markets. 

House Committee Passes Sewage Notification Bill and Other Water-Related Bills
On Thursday, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved H.R. 2452, the Sewage Overflow Community Right to Know Act. The legislation requires publicly owned treatment works to monitor systems for overflows and notify the public and regulatory agencies when they occur.  The legislation is sponsored by Congressmen Tim Bishop (D-NY) and Frank LoBiondo (R-NH) and supported by the Water Environment Federation, National Association of Clean Water Agencies, and American Rivers.  The White House has expressed support for the legislation, although EPA opposes the use of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, a low-interest wastewater loan program that helps states construct water treatment facilities, to pay for the monitoring.  The full House is expected to consider the legislation within the next several weeks.

In addition to the notification bill, the committee also approved H.R. 135, the Twenty-first Century Water Commission Act of 2007, which authorizes $9 million to establish a commission to provide for water assessments to project future water supply and demand, review current water management programs at each level of government, and develop recommendations for a comprehensive water strategy.  The committee approved another bill, H.R. 5770, to provide $1.5 million for a National Academy of Sciences study on the potential effects of climate change on water resources and water quality.  Finally, the Committee passed H.R. 5949, the Clean Boating Act of 2008, which restores a Clean Water Act exemption for recreational boaters.  None of these bills are expected to face opposition during full House consideration.

EPA Proposes 2008 Stormwater Construction General Permit
On May 15, EPA proposed to reissue its stormwater Construction General Permit (CGP) for a two-year time period.  The permit would apply in the five states, territories, and tribal lands where EPA is the permitting authority.  The proposed permit utilizes the same terms and conditions as EPA's 2003 CGP, which will expire on July 1.  EPA is accepting public comments on the proposed 2008 CGP through June 16.  More information on the proposed permit, including instructions on submitting comments, is available at http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/cgp.cfm.

House Committee Hearing Focused on Water Supply Challenges
On Wednesday, the House Science and Technology Committee held a hearing to discuss the challenge of managing water supplies to meet social, economic, and environmental needs in the U.S.  “Recent droughts experienced in the west and the southeast and increased competition for water supplies suggest that we must take a closer look at how we are managing our water resources,” said Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN).  According to a 2000 report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, eight water shortages from drought or heat waves each resulted in $1 billion or more in monetary losses over the past 20 years.  Witnesses for the hearing included:  Dr. Robert Wilkinson, Director, Water Policy Program, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California-Santa Barbara; Dr. Stephen Parker, Director, Water Science and Technology Board, National Research Council; Mr. Marc Levinson, Economist, US Corporate Research, JPMorgan Chase; and Dr. Roger Pulwarty, Director for the U.S. National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) and Physical Scientist in the NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Climate Program Office.  For more information visit: http://science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.aspx?NewsID=2187.

Levin, Voinovich Propose Phosphate Reductions to Combat Nutrient Pollution
Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) and Senator George Voinovich (R-OH), co-chairmen of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, introduced legislation this week aimed at reducing nutrient pollution by limiting the use of phosphates in automatic dish detergents.  The legislation would require EPA to ban the sale of residential dishwashing detergent with more than 0.5 percent phosphorous beginning in 2010. "This mandated nationwide change to a household product Americans use everyday will make a difference in the health of the nation's most important natural resources from this day forward," Voinovich said. "By limiting phosphates that enter Lake Erie, we will reduce harmful algal blooms and the dead zone that emerges every summer in the lake."  Thirteen states and the District of Columbia already have passed legislation or have bills pending that would ban phosphates in automatic dish detergent in 2010.

Polar Bear Added to Threatened Species List
Secretary of the Interior, Dirk Kempthorne, held a press conference on Wednesday to announce that he would accept the recommendation of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Director Dale Hall to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  The listing decision, first proposed by USFWS in December 2006, was based on findings that the loss of sea ice threatens polar bear habitat.  "While the legal standards under the ESA compel me to list the polar bear as threatened," said Kempthorne, "I want to make clear that this listing will not stop global climate change or prevent any sea ice from melting.”  Kempthorne announced that administrative guidance and a rule will be forthcoming that defines the scope of impact of the listing decision, "in order to protect the polar bear while limiting the unintended harm to the society and economy of the United States.”  For more information, visit www.doi.gov/issues/polar_bears.html.

Improvements Announced for Stormwater BMP Database
Improvements in the International Stormwater BMP Database (www.bmpdatabase.org) were unveiled this week by the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) and its partners. The BMP database provides information to improve the design, selection, and performance of BMPs.  The upgrades better enable BMP searches, data collection and uploading, and access to BMP performance analyses.  With the recent addition of 65 new BMP studies, the database now includes over 300 studies.  A new analysis of all the BMPs in the database identifies how different BMP types performed in removing a variety of pollutants. The performance descriptions can assess achievable effluent concentrations, assess effects of BMPs on total loadings, and identify the frequency of potential exceedances of water quality criteria or other targets. The project is working with large data providers to "open the pipeline" of BMP study submissions.  If you have data that you are interested in submitting, please contact Jane Clary at clary@wrightwater.com.

Quote of the Week
"The squirrel that you kill in jest, dies in earnest."
- Henry David Thoreau

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