Copyright 1999 Federal News Service, Inc.
Federal News Service
APRIL 28, 1999, WEDNESDAY
SECTION: IN THE NEWS
LENGTH:
3320 words
HEADLINE: PREPARED STATEMENT OF
MICHAEL
HOOKER
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ONONDAGA COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY
SYRACUSE,
NEW YORK
AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION
BEFORE THE
HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON VA, HUD, AND
INDEPENDENT AGENCIES
SUBJECT - THE FISCAL YEAR 2000 BUDGET OF
THE
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY APRIL 28, 1999
BODY:
INTRODUCTION
Good morning Mr. Chairman. I am Michael Hooker,
Executive Director of the Onondaga County Water Authority in Syracuse, New York.
The Onondaga County Water Authority provides drinking water to 335,000 people in
23 towns and 13 villages located in four central New York counties. I serve on
the American Water Works Association (AWWA) Water Utility Council and am here
today on behalf of AWWA.
AWWA appreciates the opportunity to present its
view on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) budget for fiscal year 2000
(FY 2000). AWWA and its members are dedicated to providing safe, reliable
drinking water to the American people.
Founded in 1881, AWWA is the world's
largest and oldest scientific and educational association representing drinking
water supply professionals. The association's 56,000 plus members are comprised
of administrators, utility operators, professional engineers, contractors,
manufacturers, scientists, professors and health professionals. The
association's membership includes over 3,800 utilities which provides over 80
percent of the nation's drinking water.
AWWA utility members are regulated
under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and other statutes. AWWA believes few
environmental activities are more important to the health of this country than
assuring the protection of water supply sources, and the treatment, distribution
and consumption of a safe and healthful adequate supply of drinking water. We
strongly support adequate levels of funding for EPA's drinking water, ground
water protection and clean water pollution prevention programs.
REQUEST
OVERVIEW
Adequate funding for drinking water research and for capitalization
of the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) are the two major areas of
concern to AWWA in the EPA fiscal year 2000 budget request. AWWA believes that
the FY 2000 EPA budget request for capitalizing the drinking water state
revolving fund and for drinking water research may not be adequate to meet the
needs of the drinking water program. It should be noted that these programs,
particularly drinking water health effects research, involve areas where
relatively small funding increases offer significantly great public health,
environmental and economic benefits to the nation's population. In the FY 2000
EPA budget, AWWA recommends that the following funding be specifically
appropriated for the indicated purpose:
For the drinking water state
revolving fund: $1,000,000,000 (as authorized in the SDWA).
For drinking
water research: $41,400,000 (as requested in the President's FY 2000 Budget).
Specifically designate funding for drinking water research and health effects
research in the appropriation.
For the AWWA Research Foundation (AWWARF)
drinking water research: $4,000,000 including $1,000,000 for arsenic in drinking
water research
For research on treatment technologies relating to
perchlorate within the Crafton-Redlands Plume, to be conducted through the East
Valley Water District, California: $2,000,000.
For public water system
supervision (PWSS) grants to states: $100,000,000 (as authorized in the SDWA).
For the EPA drinking water program as indicated below:
Drinking Water
Regulatory Development: $43.9 million (as requested in The President's FY 2000
Budget).
- Drinking Water Implementation Initiatives: $31.8 million (as
requested in The President's FY 2000 Budget).
- Drinking Water Consumer
Awareness: $1.5 million (as requested in The President's FY 2000 Budget).
For the EPA Clean Water Action Plan: Appropriate the additional $25.8
million in support of this plan as requested in The President's FY 2000 Budget.
DRINKING WATER STATE REVOLVING FUND (DWSRF)
AWWA believes that the FY
2000 EPA budget request for capitalizing the newly authorized DWSRF may not be
adequate to meet the nation's drinking water needs. The SDWA Amendments of 1996
authorized for the DWSRF $599,000,000 for fiscal year 1994 and $1,000,000,000
for fiscal years 1995 through 2003. The SDWA further authorizes that authorized
funds not appropriated in a fiscal year may be appropriated in subsequent fiscal
years until fiscal year 2004. Through fiscal year 1999, Congress has
appropriated approximately $2.4 billion - a shortfall of $3.2 billion from funds
authorized for the DWSRF.
According to the EPA Drinking Water Infrastructure
Needs Survey released on January 31, 1997, $12.1 billion is needed in the
immediate future to protect drinking water supplies. Of this amount, $10.2
billion, or 84 percent, is needed to protect water from
microbial contaminants which can produce immediate illness or
death. Over the next 20 years EPA reports that $138.4 billion will be needed to
upgrade the infrastructure of the nation's water utilities and we believe that
the figure in the next needs survey will be much greater.
AWWA appreciates
that the Administration's DWSRF budget request is $50 million above the FY 1999
appropriation and that both Congress and EPA have been incrementally increasing
the appropriation each year; however, given the enormous need and that funding
for the DWSRF is already behind a continued strong commitment to appropriate the
authorized funding level is necessary. We urge Congress to appropriate at least
the $1 billion authorized for the DWSRF in FY 2000.
Although it represents
only a fraction of the need, the amount recommended by AWWA for the DWSRF will
be a start and provide a source of much needed loans for financial disadvantaged
communities which cannot obtain financing through other means. The federal funds
will leverage state resources by ultimately becoming a revolving fund that would
no longer require federal funding.
The DWSRF would partially fund the
unfunded mandates of the SDWA.
Recommended Action in the FY 2000 Budget:
Appropriate at least $1,000,000,000 for capitalization grants for the drinking
water state revolving fund as authorized in the SDWA.
DRINKING WATER
RESEARCH FUNDING
AWWA does not believe that the FY 2000 EPA budget request
for drinking water research is clear and it may not be adequate to meet the
needs of the drinking water program. The EPA budget request is displayed by
goals rather than program elements so it is difficult to determine how the
program elements will be funded. The budget display shows an apparent overall
decrease in research spending by the EPA Office of Research and Development. In
testimony before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in March
1999, EPA testified that there was no funding gap for drinking water research
for FY 2000. Yet the research for regulations which are scheduled to be
promulgated within the next few years does not appear to be completed and little
or no research has been initiated on the contaminants for the next scheduled
group of contaminants on the contaminate candidate list (CCL) which could mean
that research will not be completed in time to affect the decisions on those
regulations. We are prepared to work closely with EPA and other stakeholders to
resolve any future research resourcing gaps beginning with the FY 2001 budget
process but this year's budget cycle process has past.
Over the past several
years, public water suppliers have worked together with EPA and the Congress to
secure increased research funding for the nation's drinking water program. We
believe that through this cooperative effort needed increases in research
dollars have been obtained for drinking water over the past few years after
several years of steady decline. However, we are now uncertain how EPA is
allocating the appropriation for drinking water related research. We are
uncertain as to what portion of the agency's appropriations will be allocated
for conducting health effects research on drinking water contaminants such as
cryptosporidium, disinfection byproducts and arsenic. AWWA
supports spending at least $10 million for health effects research on these and
other contaminants on an annual basis. Because the FY 2000 EPA budget request
and future research plans are unclear, we believe that EPA should provide a
research plan (with full stakeholder involvement) on how the agency intends to
do the necessary research in a timely manner to affect the key regulatory
decisions involved in promulgating drinking water regulations for not only for
the existing listed contaminants but also for new contaminant candidates. It is
time for research strategic planning and execution within the drinking water
program to become a public process subject to public scrutiny.
The use of
good science as the foundation of the new drinking water standard-setting
process under the SDWA amendments of 1996 will require extensive drinking water
research - particularly health effects research. Funding for drinking water
research is becoming more of a critical issue. The 1996 SDWA Amendments require
EPA to develop comprehensive research plans for
Microbial/Disinfection By-Products (M/DBP) and
arsenic as well as other contaminants. An estimated total of over $100 million
is needed for the combined arsenic and M/DBP regulatory research plans alone and
this figure does not include other needed drinking water research on radon, a
whole array of other radionuclides, groundwater contamination, children's health
issues, endocrine disruptors, and other new contaminants that will require
additional occurrence, treatment, and health effects research based on EPA's
Contaminant Identification Method.
In August 2001 -just 27 months from now -
EPA will select at least five contaminants from the Contaminant Candidate List
(CCL) and determine whether to regulate them. This process will be repeated
every five years. To determine whether to regulate a contaminant and establish a
maximum contaminate level (MCL) or another regulatory approach, EPA will need
good health effects research. Recognizing the serious burden this regulatory
mandate presents, the drinking water community has offered its time, resources
and expertise to work with EPA to develop a research plan for the contaminants
on the CCL. We have volunteered to cooperatively sponsor a workshop to produce a
coordinated report and research strategy. If EPA agrees to our offer, and all
indications are that they will, we anticipate returning to this Subcommittee
with EPA to jointly recommend appropriate drinking water research funding levels
for the next fiscal year.
Given that drinking water research has long been
underfunded and the enormous need for immediate research to meet the deadlines
of the SDWA amendments of 1996, AWWA urges Congress to appropriate at least
$41,400,000 for drinking water research and specifically "earmark" it in the
appropriation.
Continued underfunding drinking water research will result in
either delayed regulations or regulations promulgated without the necessary
research.
- Recommended Action in the FY 2000 Budget: Appropriate at least
$41,400,000 for drinking water research (as requested in the President's FY 2000
Budget). Specifically designate funding for drinking water research and health
effects research in the appropriation.
AWWA RESEARCH FOUNDATION
In a
separate statement, the AWWA Research Foundation (AWWARF), (an organization
independent of AWWA), requested that $6 million in drinking water research funds
be designated specifically for AWWARF for drinking water research which includes
$1 million for arsenic research and $2,000,000 for perchlorate treatment
research. AWWARF and public water suppliers will match the unallocated
$3,000,000 portion of the grant dollar-for-dollar. AWWA strongly believes that
tiffs kind of local/federal research partnership is a wise and cost effective
use of public funds and the only way to secure science based drinking water
regulations in these difficult budgetary times. The AWWARF funds are being used
to support priority drinking water research needs including disinfection
by-products and cryptosporidium as well as arsenic.
The
regulation of arsenic, which occurs naturally at low levels in some drinking
water supplies, presents a unique regulatory situation. While the effects of
arsenic at levels in excess of those typically found naturally in the nation's
water supplies are well studied, there is a lack of data and serious scientific
debate on the effects of the naturally occurring low levels of arsenic in
drinking water.
Recommended Action in the FY 2000 Budget: Appropriate
$4,000,000 specifically designated for the American Water Works Association
Research Foundation, including $1,000,000 for arsenic research.
PERCHLORATE
TREATMENT RESEARCH
In separate statements, AWWARF and others requested
$2,000,000 for research technologies to remove perchlorate (a rocket fuel
component) from drinking water supplies within the Crafton-Redlands Plume in
California. The research is to be conducted through the East Valley Water
District in San Bernadino, California. AWWARF is managing the previous research
funds provided by the subcommittee for the East Valley Water District. AWWA
believes that perchlorate contamination of drinking water may be of concern in
other parts of the country and that this research will allow early corrective
action. There is no known treatment to remove perchlorate from drinking water so
this research is crucial for public water systems, especially those communities
which have lost their entire drinking water supply because of the presence of
perchlorate contamination in the water.
Recommended Action in the FY' 2000
Budget: Appropriate $2,000,000 for research on treatment technologies relating
to perchlorate within the Crafton-Redlands Plume, to be conducted through the
East Valley Water District, California.
PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM SUPERVISION
GRANTS
To comply with the SDWA, Congress intended that EPA develop drinking
water regulations and that the states implement and administer the program to
ensure compliance with and enforcement of its provisions. Implementation,
administration, compliance and enforcement activities are collectively known as
"primacy" requirements and federal grants to the states are known as Public
Water System Supervision (PWSS) grants. The massive demands on states arising
from the SDWA have become increasingly apparent because of the dramatic increase
in the number of regulated contaminants over the past few years.
As each
regulation is added, state resource shortfalls become more acute. Additional
regulations are scheduled to be promulgated over the next few years and the SDWA
Amendments of 1996 added new responsibilities for the states such as source
water assessments, a consumer confidence report program and alternative
monitoring programs.
The SDWA authorizes a federal share of up to 75
percent, but federal funding has approximated only 35 percent. The difference
between state and federal shares of the program has become so great that,
according to the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators ASDWA),
states are concerned that without the infusion of additional resources, they may
be unable to successfully meet these requirements and will be forced to
prioritize future workload effortas stated that even with he infusion of funds
from the Drinking Water State Revolving fund set-asides, the current PWSS
funding level is inadequate to accomplish Congressional goals for comprehensive
national public drinking water system oversight. Should this occur, public
health protection will suffer a major setback.
EPA's budget request for FY
2000 would not raise PWSS funding for states from its present level of
$90,000,000. We strongly urge Congress to appropriate the $ 100,000,000
authorized for PWSS grants to states as the minimum necessary.
Recommended
Action in the FY 2000 Budget: Appropriate $100,000,000 for Public Water System
Supervision (PWSS) grants to states.
EPA DRINKING WATER PROGRAM
EPA's
drinking water program took on greatly increased responsibilities in the 1996
SDWA amendments. These responsibilities included developing a new regulatory
process requiring additional science and risk analysis for regulations, create a
contaminant occurrence data base and methodology to select contaminants for
regulation, promulgate microbial and disinfectant/disinfection
by- products regulations, identify new treatment technologies
for small systems, administer the newly created drinking water state revolving
fund, and develop regulations and guidelines for consumer confidence reports,
operator certification programs, source water assessment and monitoring relief.
In satisfying these requirements, EPA has involved the public in the
regulatory process to an extent not equalled by another federal agency and
stands as a model for federal rule making. EPA has involved private citizens,
scientists, drinking water professionals, medical professionals, public health
officials, economists, and environmental and consumer advocacy representatives,
as well as other experts in providing recommendations and how to carry out these
new regulatory responsibilities. EPA and the Office of Drinking Water and Ground
Water are to be commended for taking this new approach which should result in
better regulations that protect public health.
The President's FY 2000
Budget requested the following funding for the EPA drinking water program: $43.9
million for Drinking Water Regulatory Development; $31.8 million for Drinking
Water Implementation Initiatives; and $1.5 million for Drinking Water Consumer
Awareness. Because of its exemplary approach to reforming the regulatory
process, the EPA drinking water program budget request should not be cut to meet
overall federal budget constraints. AWWA believes that funding the EPA drinking
water program is vital to continue this new regulatory approach and urges
Congress to appropriate the funds requested in The President's FY 2000 for the
drinking water program to continue to implement the new provisions of the SDWA.
- Recommended Action in the FY' 2000 Budget: Appropriate funding for the EPA
drinking water program as requested in The President's FY 2000 Budget including:
Drinking Water Regulatory Development: $43.9 million. Drinking Water
Implementation Initiatives: $31.8 million. Drinking Water Consumer Awareness:
$1.5 million.
CLEAN WATER ACTION PLAN
The protection of drinking water
source supplies is one of the key elements in providing safe drinking water to
the American people. It is safer and cheaper to prevent the contamination of
drinking water supplies than to undertake expensive efforts to treat it after it
has become contaminated. The Clean Water Action plan focuses on source water
protection for safe drinking water, preventing polluted runoff, promoting a
state-led watershed approach to restore and sustain watershed health and
assisting states with reducing nonpoint source pollution by expanding state
grant assistance. The agency is requesting an additional $25.8 million to build
on the foundation of last year' s appropriation and the existing clean water
program. AWWA urges the Congress to fund to the maximum extent possible, EPA
initiatives to address source water protection for safe drinking water. However,
AWWA does not support the reduction in other clean water programs such as the
Clean Water Act State Revolving Fund to fund this initiative and hopes that
funding for this action plan in other agencies will be supported by members of
this subcommittee when considering other appropriations in full committee
deliberations.
- Recommended Action in the FY 2000 Budget: Appropriate the
additional $25.8 million in support of the EPA Clean Water Action Plan as
requested in The President's FY 2000 Budget without decreasing support to other
clean water or drinking water programs.
This concludes the AWWA statement on
the FY 2000 EPA budget. I would be pleased to answer any questions or provide
additional material for the subcommittee.
END
LOAD-DATE: May 5, 1999 
