ARCHIVE SITE - Last updated Jan. 19, 2017. Please visit www.NACWA.org for the latest NACWA information.
News & Media
Congress Passes Bill To Make Feds Pay Up on Local Stormwater Fees
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Environment & Energy Congress sent a bill up for the president's signature yesterday that would put the federal government on the hook to pay local fees associated with the stormwater pollution that runs off parking lots, runways and other impervious surfaces. The House passed the bill by unanimous consent yesterday, a day after the Senate signed off. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) introduced the Senate bill (S. 3481), while Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) offered up the companion legislation in the House (E&ENews PM, June 11). The bill aims to dispel ambiguities over whether the feds should be forced to pay. The question arose when the Department of Defense objected to paying a stormwater fees in Washington, D.C. The Government Accountability Office weighed in on the side of DOD in April, ruling that federal facilities in the District are not required to pay such charges, since they amounted to a tax on the federal government and were thus unconstitutional. Cardin said a subsequent letter from the White House Council on Environmental Quality failed to clarify the issue. "At stake has been a fundamental issue of equity: polluters should be financially responsible for the pollution that they cause, including the federal government," Cardin said in a statement yesterday. Several state, county and local government associations supported the bill, as did the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, which noted that the federal environmental regulators were pushing local governments to make expensive upgrades to their stormwater systems, then being asked to absorb the cost of their systems' federal users. "We agree with Congress that it is unfair for the federal government to require cities and utilities to undertake these investments and then exempt themselves from payment." said NACWA executive director Ken Kirk. "Today's action will help communities in 15 states currently dealing with this issue and will lay a foundation for a stronger partnership moving forward." Outgoing Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, praised the bill in prepared remarks. "This is a simple effort to clarify, again, that the Federal Government bears a proportional responsibility for addressing pollution originating from its facilities, and should remain an active participant in improving the nation's water quality and the overall environment," Oberstar said. |
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