CONGRESSWOMAN ELISE STEFANIK
CHAIRWOMAN
On Wednesday, December 7, 2016, the House will begin consideration of the House Amendment to S. 612, the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, under a closed rule. S. 612 was introduced on February 27, 2015, by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), to designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 1300 Victoria Street in Laredo, Texas, as the “George P. Kazen Federal Building and United States Courthouse” and was referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. The bill passed the Senate on May 25, 2015 by unanimous consent. S. 612 was referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
The Rules Committee Print strikes all after enacting clause and inserts the text of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, as recently negotiated between the House and Senate.
The Rules Committee Print addresses the needs of America’s harbors, locks, dams, flood protection, and other water resources infrastructure. The measure includes the Water Resources Development Act of 2016, which passed the House in September, in addition to provisions to improve drinking water infrastructure, address control of coal combustion residuals, improve water storage and delivery to drought-stricken communities, address federal dam maintenance backlogs, and approve longstanding water settlement agreements.
Title I: Water Resources Development Act (WRDA)
Title II: Water and Waste Act of 2016
Title III: Natural Resources
A full section-by-section can be found here.
The Army established the Corps as a permanent branch in 1802[1] and since that time, its civil works mission has evolved significantly. An overview of the Corps’ regulatory jurisdiction is available here.[2] “Under its civil works program, [the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers] plans, builds, operates, and maintains a wide range of water resource facilities. Its civil works responsibilities are principally to support navigation, reduce flood and storm damage, and protect and restore aquatic ecosystems.”[3] Corps activities require congressional authorization, which can be project-specific, programmatic, or general. However, authorizations are insufficient for a Corps study or project to proceed; and “action on an authorization requires funding.”[4]
Authorizations for Corps activities traditionally have been provided in WRDAs, “making certain projects and activities eligible for receiving federal funding.”[5] WRDAs also establish policies for Corps civil works activities.[6] “Historically, water resources legislation has been enacted every two years to provide oversight of and policy direction to the Administration and the Corps of Engineers.
In April 2014, the city of Flint, Michigan changed its water source from water provided by the Detroit water system to water treated by Flint and sourced through the Flint River. This issue has received significant public attention in recent months as reports indicated residents began complaining that water looked dirty, tasted bad, and was causing rashes.[7] According to reports, by the fall of 2015, the number of children with above-average levels of lead in their blood doubled.[8] On December 15, 2015, the Mayor of Flint declared a state of emergency, and on January 5, 2016, the Governor declared a state of emergency for the Flint area and surrounding county.[9] On January 16, 2016 President Obama signed an emergency declaration ordering federal assistance to support state and local response efforts in Flint.[10] The city has since reverted to using treated water from Detroit, but testing still reveals elevated levels of lead in Flint’s water due to corrosion damage in piping.[11]
The Environmental Protection Agency is the primary federal agency charged with ensuring Americans are protected from significant risks to human health and the environment where they live and work.[12] Federal drinking water regulations apply to the approximately 152,700 privately and publicly owned water systems that provide piped water for human consumption to at least 15 service connections or that regularly serve at least 25 people. These water systems vary greatly in size and type, ranging from large municipal systems to homeowner associations, schools, and campgrounds.
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) establishes standards and treatment requirements for public water supplies, promotes compliance capacity of public water systems, directs EPA to provide technical assistance to water systems, as well as protect sources of drinking water. Congress has amended the SDWA on 11 occasions since its original enactment in 1974. In 1988 Congress amended the Act with the Lead Contamination Control Act of 1988 (P.L. 100-572). Provisions within the Act were intended to reduce exposure to lead in drinking water by requiring the recall of lead-lined water coolers and requiring the EPA to issue a guidance document and testing protocol for states to help schools and day care centers identify and correct lead contamination in school drinking water. [13]
The SDWA requires the EPA to promulgate national primary drinking water regulations for contaminants that may pose health risks and are likely to be present in public water supplies. The EPA has issued regulations for more than 90 water contaminants, including regulations setting standards or treatment techniques for drinking water disinfectants and their byproducts, microorganisms (e.g., Cryptosporidium and Legionella), radionuclides, organic chemicals (e.g., benzene and many pesticides), and inorganic chemicals (e.g., arsenic and lead).[14]
The SDWA created a federal-state arrangement in which states may be delegated primary implementation and enforcement authority (primacy) for the drinking water program and the underground injection control (UIC) program. The state-administered Public Water Supply Supervision (PWSS) Program remains the basic program for regulating the nation’s public water systems, and 49 states have assumed this authority, including Michigan.[15]
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[1] U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Mission Overview.
[2] U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Regulatory Jurisdiction Overview.
[3] CRS: Army Corps of Engineers: Water Resource Authorizations, Appropriations, and Activities (Oct. 18, 2013) at 1.
[4] Id.
[5] Id. at 1-2.
[6] Id. at 2.
[7] See Committee on Energy and Commerce letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy January 15, 2016
[8] See Washington Post article “This is how toxic Flint’s water really is” January 15, 2015
[9] See Committee on Energy and Commerce letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy January 15, 2016
[10] See EPA’s “Flint Drinking Water Response”
[11] Id.
[12] See EPA’s “Our Mission and What We Do”
[13] See CRS Report “Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA): A Summary of the Act and its Major Requirements,” January 6, 2016.
[14] Id.
[15] Id.
An official Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate for the Rules Committee Print is not currently available.
However, CBO previously estimated that implementing H.R. 5303, the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 would cost $2.8 billion over the 2017-2021 period and $6.3 billion over the 2017-2026 period. In addition, CBO previously estimated enacting H.R. 4470 triggers no direct spending, no new revenues, and discretionary spending levels scored at less than $500,000.
For questions or further information please contact Jake Vreeburg with the House Republican Policy Committee by email or at 6-1828.