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This edition of NACWA’s Legislative Update, current through June 1, provides information on the activities of the 111th Congress of interest to the nation’s public clean water agencies.   For more detailed information regarding NACWA activities related to specific legislation, click on the web links in selected news items, visit NACWA’s website, or contact Pat Sinicropi at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or John Krohn at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

During May, NACWA pressed forward in a number of areas of critical importance to our members including the related arenas of funding and financial capability.  NACWA was also active in raising Congress’ awareness of emerging stormwater management issues and in seeking funding for clean water utilities in dealing with challenges that climate change may bring to their operations.

Funding

NACWA Continues Push for Legislation Providing Increased Funds for Clean Water

During May, NACWA continued to advance legislation to provide greater funding for clean water investments.  In support of this effort, NACWA, through the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN), helped to broker a compromise on the long-stalled Water Infrastructure Financing Act (S.1005).  The legislation, which seeks to reauthorize the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), has been stalled in the Senate following an impasse on Davis-Bacon prevailing wage coverage applied by the Fiscal Year 2010 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies appropriations bill.  At the urging of NACWA and WIN, majority and minority leadership on the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee came to an agreement on the application of Davis-Bacon that would apply only to federal funds appropriated during fiscal year 2010.  With this agreement in place, Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the EPW Committee, is pressing Senate Republican leadership to work with Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to bring the legislation to the Senate floor for consideration.

NACWA believes this compromise could have spurred the introduction and markup of the Assistance, Quality, and Affordability Act of 2010 (H.R. 5320), in the House legislation reauthorizing the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Program, indicating that progress is building for Senate consideration.  If the House passes H.R. 5320, it will then have passed reauthorization legislation for both the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs enabling a more efficient conference to occur with the Senate, should S. 1005 pass that chamber.  NACWA will continue to press for Senate floor consideration in the coming weeks and will keep the membership informed of developments as they occur.

Trust Fund Garners Additional Support
At the same time, NACWA continues to build support for legislation that will provide a dedicated revenue source for the CWSRF.  During May, NACWA added Congressman Steve Rothman (D-N.J.), Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Congresswoman Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) as co-sponsors of the Water Protection and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (H.R. 3202).  This brings the total number of co-sponsors to 39, including 13 members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee.  At the same time, the bill enjoyed media exposure from Boston Globe’s article on the city’s massive water main break.  The article highlighted the need for a water trust fund and provided quotes from U.S. Congressional Members from Massachusetts who are also co-sponsors of the bill.  NACWA is also planning a Congressional briefing on funding issues this summer and will announce details once they are in place.

Affordability

NACWA Continues to Press EPA for an Affordability Criteria Review

While NACWA continues to press for increased clean water investments, the Association is also working to ensure that federal policies recognize the financial constraints facing clean water utilities and that clean water projects remain affordable to ratepayers.  To this end, NACWA continues to build support for a fiscal year 2011 appropriations request to  require EPA to update, with stakeholder input, its 1997 guidance document “Combined Sewer Overflows-Guidance for Financial Capability Assessment and Schedule Development”.  The request is being made in the Senate by Ohio Senators George Voinovich (R) and Sherrod Brown (D) and in the House by Ohio Congressmen Steven LaTourette (R) and Tim Ryan (D).  Because this provision is viewed as establishing policy for the agency, appropriators are reluctant to attach the language to appropriations legislation without the approval of the authorizing committees.  Therefore, NACWA has reached out to the Chairs of both the Senate and House authorizing committees – Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Chair of the Senate EPW Committee and Congressman James Oberstar, Chair of the House T&I Committee– to gain their support.  Senator Boxer is reluctant to support inclusion of the measure in an appropriations bill given that pending Senate SRF reauthorization legislation (S. 1005– see related story) contains a similar provision and she would prefer to see that vehicle used.  NACWA is still in discussions with Mr. Oberstar’s staff.

If the Chairs of the authorizing committees do not support this effort, NACWA may need to pursue an amendment during committee consideration of the appropriations bill.  To that end, NACWA is meeting with members of both the Senate and House appropriations committee.  Having met with a majority of Senate offices on the subcommittee, NACWA has gained broad support in the event an amendment is needed: Senators Collins (R-Maine), Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Nelson (D-Neb.) indicated they would support the measure.  We are undertaking outreach to House offices of key appropriators.  While it remains unclear whether Congress will complete all appropriations bills this year, NACWA continues to push this issue on a number of fronts to increase the likelihood of success during the 111th Congress.

Stormwater

NACWA Gains Momentum on Stormwater Issue

As part of NACWA’s efforts to help ease financial pressures facing utilities, we are also working to ensure that federal facilities pay fees for clean water services.  NACWA recently sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in support of the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC WASA) following a determination that the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) would not authorize payment for the District’s recently enacted impervious surface area charge.  In this letter, NACWA urged the Attorney General to require federal facilities in the District, and nationwide, to pay appropriate fees for service.  NACWA will meet with Department of Justice (DOJ) staff on June 4 to discuss the matter further.  During the past month, NACWA has surveyed members on their experiences with this issue and preliminary findings show that the majority of federal facilities are paying the amounts charged but a growing number are refusing to pay.  Seeing this trend, NACWA has met with Representatives Norman Dicks (D-Wash.), likely incoming chair of the House Appropriations Committee in January, and James Moran (D-Va.), Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees EPA’s budget, as well as professional staff on the House T&I Committee and Water and Power subcommittee to discuss possible legislative solutions.  NACWA will continue to advocate for our members on stormwater disputes and will keep you informed of any progress as it occurs.  Members that have not yet responded to the brief survey (see related article), please send any information regarding your utilities’ experience with federal payment of stormwater or wastewater fees to Thea Graybill, NACWA’s Government Affairs Assistant, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  For more information on NACWA’s stormwater activities, please visit the Stormwater Management section of our website and check your inbox for NACWA’s monthly electronic newsletter, the Stormwater Advocacy Outlook.

Climate Change

Senators Kerry and Lieberman Release Climate Change Proposal

Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) released their reworked climate change bill, the American Power Act, after lengthy negotiations to encourage bipartisan support for passage.  The legislation would require wastewater treatment utilities that incinerate biosolids and emit a certain threshold (25,000 tons of CO2 equivalency) of greenhouse gases to reduce those emissions beginning in 2016.  The new bill does not include the Water Systems Mitigation and Adaptation Program NACWA worked hard to have included in the original Senate legislation, though it does authorize the EPA Administrator to establish the program at her discretion.  NACWA is working to have the program included in the bill when it reaches the Senate floor and will be pursuing this matter aggressively in the coming weeks.  NACWA members are encouraged to reach out to their Senators to urge them to support inclusion of a strong adaptation program for water and wastewater systems in comprehensive climate change legislation, should the Senate take up the measure.

Prospects for passing comprehensive climate and energy legislation remain uncertain.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) plans to meet with the Democratic Caucus after the Memorial Day recess to discuss a strategy for going forward.  On June 10, the Senate will consider a measure by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) that requires EPA to reverse its ruling on the endangerment finding under the Clean Air Act that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes adverse public health impacts.  The measure is designed to prevent EPA from regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act and would need the support of at least nine Democrats in order to pass the Senate– currently only three publically support it.  The outcome of the vote will likely be a significant factor in determining whether the Senate moves forward on comprehensive climate and energy legislation.  Another complicating factor is the oil spill in the Gulf Coast and how oil drilling in general would be handled in the package.  The Senate is likely to decide how to proceed on these issues in June; NACWA will keep you informed of any progress as it occurs.

Recently Introduced Legislation of Interest

Each month the Legislative Update will include a brief list of legislation of interest that has been recently introduced and which is not referenced in the articles above.

• Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010 (S. 3397): A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to provide for take-back disposal of controlled substances in certain instances, and for other purposes.  The bill was introduced by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and has three co-sponsors.