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Eye
on Washington: Issue 29 Will & Carlson's Weekly Newsletter Volume V, Issue 28, September 11, 2003 |
| CONGRESS | |
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House Defeats Motion, Names Members to Conference Committee Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, offered a "motion to instruct" conferees on Sept. 5 that would have split electric reliability provisions from the omnibus energy bill, but the motion was defeated 176-211, permitting the start of the House-Senate Conference Committee on comprehensive energy policy to go ahead as planned.
The House then named the following Republican conferees from the Energy and Commerce Committee: the Chairman, Rep. Tauzin (La.), Rep. Bilirakis (Fla.), Rep. Barton (Texas), Rep. Upton (Mich.), Rep. Stearns (Fla.), Rep. Gillmor (Ohio) and Rep. Shimkus (Ill.). Five Democrats from the Committee were also named: Rep. Dingell, Rep. Waxman (Calif.), Rep. Markey (Mass.), Rep. Boucher (Va.) and Rep. Rush (Ill.). |
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| EPA | |
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New Task Force For Water Security The EPA has created a new Water Security Division, announced on Sept. 9, that will continue and build on the work already undertaken by the Water Protection Task Force which was established in October, 2001. EPA's Assistant Administrator for Water, G. Tracy Mehan III, said the Agency is committed to taking “strong steps to further protect and safeguard the nation's drinking water and wastewater systems from terrorist acts.” He added that "We are working closely with our stakeholders coast to coast to provide them with the resources and support they need as they find themselves facing increased responsibilities to protect the water supplies of their customers." |
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New SRF Guideline
In Funding Water Efficiency Through the State Revolving Loan Fund Program, a fact sheet published on Aug. 29, the EPA reminds utilities that Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs) may be used to finance water efficiency projects such as improving wastewater infrastructure, subsidizing projects that reuse water for public purposes, or merely for the installation of water meters. As of June 2002, according to the EPA, the SRF program for drinking water utilities had made 2,500 loans totaling $5.1 billion, and the clean water SRF had made about 12,500 loans totaling $42.4 billion for wastewater projects. |
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Water Efficiency Labels
G. Tracy Mehan announced on Sept. 4. that a new voluntary labeling system that will bring water-efficient products to the attention of consumers and businesses will appear sometime this Fall. The Agency will begin meetings with environmental, industry, and other stakeholders starting Oct. 9 in Washington, D.C., to develop widespread agreement and support for the program’s objectives. |
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| APPROPRIATIONS | |
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VA-HUD Legislation Sets EPA Spending The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the VA-HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill on Sept. 4, providing almost $8.2 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency and increasing the Clean Water State Revolving Fund from $850 million proposed by the Administration, to $1.35 billion. Funding for “brownfields” would be set at $160.5 million, $20 million less than the request and, according to the Committee summary, "This reduction reflects concerns that the state revolving loan fund component of the program has been virtually unused.” |
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| INFRASTRUCTURE | |
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New Study Outlines U.S. Infrastructure Crisis
According to 2003 Progress Report: An Update to the 2001 Report Card for America's Infrastructure, released by the American Society of Civil Engineers on Sept. 4, the condition of critical U.S. infrastructure, such as drinking water and wastewater facilities, has shown no significant improvement in over two years.
The report evaluated 12 categories of vital infrastructure, giving both drinking water and wastewater infrastructure grades of D. “While drinking water quality is good,” the report says, “infrastructure of the nearly 54,000 utilities is aging rapidly and faces an annual funding shortfall of $11 billion.” It added that “the 16,000 wastewater systems in the United States face enormous needs and many are past their recommended life expectancy.” Use this link to go to the ASCE report: http://www.asce.org/reportcard |
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| INTERIOR | |
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DOI Publishes Updated Procedures For Its Own NEPA Compliance In an attempt to "update our policies order to stay current with changing environmental laws and programs of the Federal government," the Interior Department released on Sept. 4 a revised version of its internal procedures for complying with the National Environmental Policy Act. According to Terence Martin, of Natural Resources Management in Interior’s Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance, their revised procedures represent the culmination of over a decade of updating and modernization. |
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| WATER RESOURCES | |
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Agreement Reached on Colorado River Share
The third attempt at a quantitative settlement agreement may have been reached on Sept. 5 between the four Southern California water agencies that are trying to bring the state within the limits of its allotment of Colorado River resources. The plan is still subject to the approval of the water agencies’ respective Boards, but the largest hurdle for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has been cleared – that of financial responsibility for possible environmental damage to the Salton Sea.
Phillip J. Pace, Metropolitan Water's Board Chairman, said of the new agreement that “No one agency will be able to go home and say they got everything they wanted," but the plan “should be acceptable to the Boards of all four agencies." The quantitative settlement agreement is an arrangement not only between the four water agencies, but with the Federal government and neighboring states in an attempt to lower California's share of Colorado river water over a 15-year period. |
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Quantitative Settlement Agreement Got a Lift from Nevada
In an attempt to help reach a quantitative settlement agreement plan, the Southern Nevada Water Authority had announced on Aug. 26 that it offered to buy $82 million worth of water to try to bridge the gap between the negotiating agencies. The talks had been long-stalled over the possible costs of mitigating environmental damage which could result from a water transfer between the Salton Sea and San Diego, and on Aug. 20, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California announced it would not contribute $82 million toward any environmental mitigation costs. The Board’s Chairman saying "The only way California will be able to establish and maintain a fair and balanced water market is for the parties involved in each transfer to be responsible for the costs of their own deal, without subsidies from third parties or the State.” |
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Final, Final Determination
The Bureau of Reclamation has added 11,400 acre-feet of Colorado River water to their final determination for beneficial use needs for the 2003 delivery to Imperial Irrigation District’s network of agribusinesses. The increase came after an earlier objection by Imperial Irrigation to the Bureau’s earlier determination of 2.82 million acre-feet. |
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Perchlorate Contaminated Water to be Cleaned, Returned
On Aug. 28, the Sacramento County Water Agency negotiated a $25 million settlement with Aerojet General Co. and the Boeing Co. in order to replace contaminated water supplies due to perchlorate from a rocket manufacturing plant 15 miles east of Sacramento, sidestepping the possibility of litigation. The two companies agreed to clean up the tainted water and then transfer ownership of it to the County, which in turn would transfer the water to various purveyors in the area. |
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| DESALINATION | |
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Forthcoming Regulations For Brine Disposal at Desalination Plants The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will soon publish regulations for desalination plant operators aimed at streamlining the permitting process for brine disposal in deep-underground injection wells. Gov. Rick Perry (R) signed H.B. 2567 on June 20 that required desalination plants to obtain permits meeting the current requirements for disposal of hazardous waste in Class I injection wells (regulated under the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act) although brine from desalination operations is not generally considered to be hazardous waste. |
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| INVASIVE SPECIES | |
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CWAs Not Needed for Ballast Dumps On Sept. 2, the EPA rebuffed a petition by several environmental groups (Northwest Environmental Advocates, the Ocean Conservancy, and WaterKeepers Northern California, and others) stating that ships will not be required to obtain Clean Water Act (CWA) permits under NPDES regulations for their ballast discharges in U.S. waters. The Agency said other activities undertaken by the Federal government will control the introduction of invasive species, "many of which are likely to be more effective and efficient than reliance on NPDES permits." |
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| OMB | |
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OMB Recommends Changes, Standardization for Peer Review Process
If the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has its way, all Federal agencies will be putting their scientific studies through an independent peer-review process to better support the major regulatory proposals based upon them. On Aug. 29 the OMB made public several proposals suggesting that inadequacies exist in some Federal agencies’ current peer-review efforts, and suggested a government-wide standard for such reviews, hinting at the need for a central body to vet and appoint peer reviewers themselves.
The OMB points out there are no government-wide minimum standards for the process, no guarantee that peer reviewers are not financially dependent on the agency that hires them, or that the agency’s own standards are at all transparent to the public. Paul Gilman, the EPA Assistant Administrator for Research and Development, said the OMB's draft guidance could refocus the Agency's attention onto their peer review process but that it was already consistent with the guidance, and it would not “create any new burdens or significant changes" at the Agency. |
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“Water sharing
project on agenda”. Sept 4,
2003. The Sacramento Bee.
www.sacbee.com.
“No rain, no sprinklers”. Sept 9, 2003. The Argus Leader. www.argusleader.com “Drought may force SRP to extend ration”. Sept. 8, 2003. The Arizona Republic. www.arizonarepublic.com “A river to save”. Sept. 2, 2003. The Arizona Republic. www.arizonarepublic.com “Stations to resume selling of clean gas”. Sept. 4, 2003. The Arizona Republic. www.arizonarepublic.com “Corps defends water plan”. Sept 3, 2003. The Bismarck Tribune. www.bismarcktribune.com ”River counties look at concept plan”. Sept. 3, 2003. The Bismarck Tribune. www.bismarcktribune.com “Healing Through Unity: Paddling to Tulalip”. Aug 25, 2003. News From Indian Country. www.indiancountrynews.com “Nebraska, other states, sign on for Missouri River summit”. Sept. 9, 2003. The Lincoln Journal Star. www.journalstar.com “Wildlife on Tahoe parcels to be studied”. Sept 3, 2003 Las Vegas Review-Journal. www.reviewjournal.com ‘Critic accuses DOE of using “junk science” Sept 4, 2003 Las Vegas Review-Journal. www.reviewjournal.com “Court backs water transfer”. Sept 5, 2003. Las Vegas Review-Journal. www.reviewjournal.com “Colorado River: Possible water deal has officials hopeful”. Sept 5, 2003 Las Vegas Review-Journal. www.reviewjournal.com “State, foundations appeal approval of water facility”. Sept 3, 2003 The Sacramento Bee. www.sacbee.com |
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EPA’s Strategic Plan for Homeland Security EPA is committed to helping the water sector: (1) understand and utilize the best scientific information and technologies for water security; (2) support assessment of utilities’ vulnerabilities to possible attack; (3) take action to improve security; and (4) respond effectively and efficiently in the event that an incident occurs. For more information go to www.epa.gov. |
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NOAA
Awards $200,000 to Ocean Trust For Major Texas Estuary Restoration
The Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awarded $200,000 to Ocean Trust for a community-based restoration project designed to restore 11,000 acres of once-productive fishery habitat in the Bahia Grande, between Brownsville and Port Isabel, Texas. Although the Bahia Grande estuary restoration is single largest in the U.S., the project is funded by the community-based Restoration Program within the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries). For more information, go to: www.publicaffairs.noaa.go |
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U.S. EPA Orders Groundwater Cleanup Design for Del Amo Site LOS ANGELES -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that it has issued a unilateral administrative order to Shell Oil Company and the U.S. General Services Administration to begin initial design work on a system to clean up contaminated groundwater at the Del Amo Superfund Site and at the adjacent Montrose Superfund Site in Los Angeles County, Calif. For more information, go to: http://yosemite.epa.gov |
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EPA awards $970,000 to the County of Hawaii for Drinking
Water System Upgrades.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded a $970,000 grant to the County of Hawaii for drinking water system upgrades that include providing water spigot sites on the Big Island and improvements to North Kona water lines. For more information, go to: http://yosemite.epa.gov |
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Bills Introduced in the Senate: |
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Friday, Sept. 5 S.
1584 BOND S.
1585 GREGG |
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Wednesday, Sept. 3
H.R. 2991
DREIER
Friday, Sept. 5
H.R. 3028
ROHRABACHER
H.R. 3032
WALSH |
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Federal Register Notices: September 1-5, 2003 |
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EPA. Investigator Initiated Grants for Fellowships: Request for
Applications. Notice of
requests for applications. Receipt
dates vary depending on the specific research areas within the
solicitations. FR
9/3/03 p.52394
DOE. BPA. Availability of the Bonneville Purchasing Instructions (BPI) and Bonneville Financial Assistance Instructions (BFIA). FR 9/04/03 p.52581 AGRICULTURE. Farm Service Agency. Beginning Farmer and Rancher Land Contract Guarantee Pilot Program--Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA). Notice. FSA will begin accepting applications on September 4, 2003. Comments on the information collection associated with this notice must be received on or before November 3, 2003, to be given full consideration. FR 9/04/03 p.52557 COMMERCE. NOAA. NMFS. Fisheries Off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Amendment 17. Final rule. Effective October 6, 2003. FR 9/04/03 p.52519 INTERIOR. Bureau of Reclamation. Transfer of Title to Facilities, Works, and Lands of the Gila Project, Wellton-Mohawk Division to the Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District, Yuma County, AR (Wellton-Mohawk Title Transfer). Notice of availability, Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Wellton-Mohawk title transfer. The public review period shall close on October 29, 2003. Public hearings will also be held to accept oral and written comments on the DEIS on October 1 and 2, 2003. FR 9/04/03 p.52613 DOD. Army Corps of Engineers. Estuary Habitat Restoration Council; Open Meeting. Notice of open meeting. The meeting will be held on September 25, 2003. FR 9/04/03 p.52758 DOD. Army Corps of Engineers. Inland Waterways Users Board. Notice of open meeting 9/24/03. FR 9/05/03 p.52758 INTERIOR. FWS. Notice of Meeting of the Klamath Fishery Management Council. Notice of meeting October 15-16, 2003. FR 9/05/03 p.52786 AGRICULTURE. Forest Service. Forest Inventory and Analysis Data Management. Notice of issuance of agency interim directive. This interim directive is effective September 5, 2003. FR 9/05/03 p.52739 COMMERCE. NOAA. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Fisheries Off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Amendment 16-1. Proposed rule; request for comments. Comments must be submitted in writing by October 6, 2003. FR 9/05/03 p.52732 |
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