» Clean Water Current Archive

November 6, 2009

NACWA Member Testifies On SRF Stimulus Implementation

NACWA testified this week at a hearing before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment on how funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) have helped wastewater utilities and created jobs for local communities, but said some revisions were needed if Congress pursues a second stimulus bill.  Michael Gritzuk, director of the Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department in Tucson, Ariz., testified on behalf of NACWA  that his agency used $10 million in ARRA funding for its plant interconnect project, which is needed to help the county meet demands placed on the system by its growing population.

He urged the subcommittee to support more funding for the clean water state revolving fund (SRF) to address the growing infrastructure needs nationwide.  In addition, he said any future stimulus funds should be distributed to communities and utilities with projects that are “shovel ready” and that will create jobs quickly rather than basing allocation decisions on pre-existing priority criteria or single indicators.  NACWA also issued a press release on Gritzuk’s testimony, which was covered by several trade publications.  NACWA also was mentioned on National Public Radio’s Marketplace Morning Report. 
 

Oberstar Seeks Input on Trust Fund Concept; Vows to Move Ahead
During the hearing, Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn), chairman of the full House T&I Committee, committed to moving forward on the creation of a dedicated trust fund for clean water projects during the 111th Congress.

Prompted by NACWA’s testimony, Oberstar acknowledged the growing interest in a dedicated revenue source for water infrastructure projects given the significant gap between available funds and clean water needs throughout the nation.  “There is an urgency and sense of need to address clean water but also an awareness that we don’t have the ability to address this through general fund revenues,” he said.

Oberstar took a moment to poll those testifying at the hearing on their support of a trust fund and asked them to take part in the larger discussion on how a trust fund should be structured and distributed.  Specifically, the Chairman asked panelists to submit comments for the record regarding their thoughts on revenue sources and on fund distribution.  NACWA will submit comments in the coming days to satisfy this request and will continue its extensive efforts to build support among members of the House for the Water Protection and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 3202), a bill introduced by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) to create a $10-billion annual trust fund.  Should you have any thoughts you would like included in this effort please don’t hesitate to contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it at 202-833-4655.

Chemical Security Legislation Likely Headed to House Passage

The House of Representatives will likely approve this week the Chemical Facilities Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009 (H.R. 2868), which seeks to establish a security regime for wastewater treatment facilities at EPA.  The bill would reauthorize the current chemical facilities anti-terrorism standards (CFATS), which are set to expire in October 2010.  Under the new bill, facilities that treat 2.5 million gallons per day or more would be required to conduct vulnerability assessments (VA), site security plans (SSP) and emergency response plans (ERP) for all treatment facilities, conveyance systems, electronics and automated systems.  These assessments would be required every five years or when a major change is implemented at a utility that would render the old VA, SSP or ERP no longer valid.  In formulating these documents, utilities would be required to have at least one supervisory, one non-supervisory employee and one representative of each certified or recognized bargaining agent present at the utility.

In addition, the legislation would require all covered facilities utilizing a chemical of concern (gaseous chlorine) to review their treatment processes to determine if it is feasible to implement a more benign treatment method – referred to as the Inherently Safer Technology (IST) provision.  These assessments would be submitted to the state agency for review.  An appeals process is included for utilities required to implement IST.  The legislation authorizes $200 million annually over four years for wastewater treatment utilities to complete VAs, SSPs, ERPs as well as for implementing necessary security upgrades.

NACWA played a key role in ensuring the bill allowed EPA to retain jurisdiction over wastewater security.  An earlier version of the bill would have given that authority to the Department of Homeland Security—while drinking water security remained with EPA.  NACWA staff worked aggressively with the Obama administration and Congress to have security oversight for the entire water sector given to EPA to avoid a bifurcated security program for water and wastewater facilities.   Once the House gives its approval, the legislation will head to the Senate where Senate Homeland Security Committee will likely have jurisdiction over the measure.  Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), ranking member of that committee, has criticized the House bill for including IST provisions in it, which she opposes.  Please contact NACWA’s This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it at 202-833-2672 for more information.

Senate Environment Committee Passes Climate Bill

The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee approved comprehensive climate change legislation Nov. 5 without amendments by a vote of 11-1, with Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) casting the lone vote against the measure.  No Republican member of the committee attended the vote.  The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733), establishes a cap-and-trade system for reducing greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent by 2020.  In contrast, the House climate measure would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent by 2020 while President Obama has called for a 14-percent reduction by 2020.  NACWA was instrumental in successfully advocating for a water systems adaptation program that would provide drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities with funding to help them adapt to climate-related impacts on water resources.  It is unclear what the next steps are for the climate measure in the Senate.

Several other Senate committees will likely receive jurisdiction and provide their imprint on the bill before it goes to the Senate floor.  At the same time, Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) are seeking a compromise that would enable the measure to garner 60 votes when it does go to the Senate floor.  While Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chair of the Senate EPW Committee, wanted to avoid passing the bill through her committee without Republican support, she said she had little choice when it became clear that the Republicans were intent on boycotting any mark-up.  Because there were no Republicans present for the vote, the committee reported the bill out without any debate or amendments.  NACWA wrote a letter  earlier in the week noting its support for moving the measure as quickly as possible through the committee.  NACWA will continue to track this bill as it moves through the Senate and ensure strong provisions to help clean water agencies adapt to the climate change impacts.

Coordinating Council Meeting Focuses on Water Sector Security Priorities

The Water Sector Coordinating Council (WSCC) met this week to discuss drinking water and wastewater security issues, including how utilities will continue to coordinate with each other, EPA, and the Department of Homeland Security once new chemical security legislation is enacted (See related story).  However, the implications of the legislation on this coordination are not clear at this time.  NACWA was represented on the council by Patricia Cleveland, operations manager, Northern Region, Trinity River Authority of Texas, and Michael Gritzuk, director of the Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department.  The council was updated on the status of security legislation by water sector association staff.  The council also approved a new document, All-Hazard Consequence Management Planning for the Water Sector, which should be useful to utilities that are beginning or updating their emergency preparedness, response, and recovery planning.  The document, which is being overseen by Patty Cleveland, may be final and ready for distribution to NACWA members by the end of the year.