Provided by the Water Environment Federation,
Alexandria, VA

Arsenic and Old Pipes: Infrastructure Hearings Take a Detour
Congress held hearings this week on the topic of water infrastructure needs, but much of the dialogue focused instead on the Bush Administration's decision to review a new regulation setting new levels for arsenic in drinking water. In separate appearances before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's Fisheries Wildlife and Water Subcommittee, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Environment and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee, EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman was forced to defend and explain the arsenic decision in the face of withering questioning from critics such as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA). Whitman denied that she had ordered the review in response to industry pressure, and that she fully expected it will result in an eventual standard that is lower than the current 50 parts per billion. Republican committee members, including Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) expressed support for the arsenic review. With regard to water and wastewater infrastructure, Whitman said that her agency would "evaluate" long-term needs and related issues such as population growth, aging infrastructure, and affordability. She said that she planned to ask for a peer review of an existing draft EPA Gap Analysis, and that in the meantime the President's budget proposal for fiscal year 2002 would maintain the existing state revolving fund (SRF) funding level of $1.3 billion, and also request an undefined amount to fund the CSO/SSO grants program authorized by Congress late last year. Several Republicans, including Sens. Christopher Bond (MO) and George Voinovich (OH), and Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (NY) urged Whitman to increase funding for water infrastructure. Also, at the hearing, representatives from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) presented a progress report of a study they are doing on water infrastructure needs. The CBO witnesses said that existing estimates of needed investment are "very uncertain and may be too large." Other witnesses included Bruce Tobey, Mayor of Gloucester, Massachusetts (representing the WIN coalition), Patrick Karney, Executive Director of the Greater Cincinnati MSD, Bill Elmore, Vice President of the Knoxville Utility Board, and Dr. Janice Beecher (representing the National Association of Water Companies). (TW)

EPA Extends Deadline for Comments on CAFO Proposal
On Monday, March 26, EPA Administrator Whitman announced a 75-day extension to the public comment period for the proposed revisions to NPDES and Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) published on January 12 in the Federal Register. The original comment period ended May 14; the extended deadline is July 30th. EPA decided to extend the deadline as a result of stakeholder feedback during the eight public hearings held across the country during March. WEF plans to comment on the proposal (SRT).

House Committee Looks at EPA Science
The House Science Committee heard testimony Thursday on whether the EPA should create a deputy administrator for science and technology to expand the role science plays in environmental policy. Witnesses at the hearing, including members of the National Academy of Sciences and EPA's Science Advisory Board, supported the new position as a way to help remove science from the political process. According to Dr. Raymond Loehr, a member of the Committee on Research and Peer Review in EPA at the National Academy of Sciences, EPA often has a conflict of interest "because it needs science to support its regulatory activities" and EPA sometimes "adjusts" its science to "fit policy." H.R. 64, legislation introduced by Representative Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) and the focus of the hearing, is designed to prevent this conflict of interest by insulating science from politics. In addition to creating a deputy administrator position, the legislation would also set a six-year term for the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Research Development who would be deemed the "Chief Scientist of the Environmental Protection Agency". EPA Administrator Christine Whitman who was not a witness at the hearing, has asked Representative Ehlers for time to review the legislation before the agency will take a position. For additional information on the hearing go to www.house.gov/science/ets_charter_032901.htm (JKS)

"The question is not whether we pay for investment in water infrastructure, or even who pays, because in some sense we all pay. The question is how we pay." - David B. Struhs, Secretary, Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection, testifying March 27 before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Water.

This Week in Washington is provided by the Water Environment Federation, Alexandria, VA. To receive This Week in Washington by e-mail, contact Lisa Scott, (703) 684-2400 ext. 7741, lscott@wef.org. For more information on this week's stories, please contact the WEF Government Affairs staff member whose initials appear at the end of the item in which you are interested. TSW - Tim Williams (703) 684-2437, twilliams@wef.org; JKS - Jim Sullivan, (703) 684-2436, jsullivan@wef.org; SRT - Sharon Thomas, (703) 684-2423, sthomas@wef.org; SJH - Sam Hadeed (703) 684-2418, mailto:shadeed@wef.org This Week in Washington is available on-line at http://www.wef.org/GovtAffairs.