Bill Reauthorizing Drinking Water SRF Considered by House Committee
Representative Henry Waxman (D-30), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment released a draft of the Assistance, Quality, and Affordability Act of 2010 (AQUA), reauthorizing EPA’s drinking water state revolving fund on May 10. Following the release of the bill, the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment held a hearing on May 13.
The Drinking Water SRF provides funding for water infrastructure improvement projects to help comply with drinking water standards. Authorization for this fund expired in 2004, but it continues to be supported by EPA and funded in the yearly appropriations process. AQUA increases the funds authorization levels and adds sustainability considerations to the list of criteria for prioritizing applications. Additionally, following the promulgation of a new drinking water standard, states must provide funding to help disadvantage communities afford the capital costs associated with the new standards.
The new sustainability priority is defined to include activities such as replacing leaky pipes to conserve water, using reclaimed water, improving the energy efficiency of water systems, and generating energy on site or through the transportation of water through the system.
At the May 13 hearing, Representative Markey had to leave after giving his opening statement and Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-23) stepped in to Chair the hearing. She cited EPA’s drinking water needs survey, saying that the nation’s “drinking water infrastructure is aging and in desperate need of upgrading.”
Testimony at the hearing was provided by Cynthia Dougherty, Director of EPA’s Office of Water; Roger Crouse, Director of Maine’s Drinking Water Program, on behalf of the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators; Stephen Estes-Smargiassi, Director of Planning for the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority; Sarah Janseen, Staff Scientist for the Natural Resources Defense Council; and Steve Levy, Executive Director Maine Rural Water Association, on behalf of the National Rural Water Association; and Terry Quill, a toxicologist and attorney. Witnesses spoke favorably about the proposed bill and were supportive of more funding for drinking water infrastructure projects.
Most of the discussion at the hearing focused on the endocrine disruptor screening program. Section 16 of the bill requires EPA to conduct tests on “substances found in drinking water” to determine if they are endocrine disrupters. In her testimony, Ms. Dougherty indicated EPA is already preparing a list of at least a 100 chemicals the Agency plans to screen for their endocrine disruption potential. She noted that their list is drawn from three sources: the national primary drinking water regulations, contaminant candidate list 3, and pesticides that are on the re-registration schedule for 2007 through 2008. Legislative language in the bill provides clear direction to EPA to keep up this effort.
Congresswoman Capps said there was “troubling evidence that the chemicals EPA doesn’t regulate are polluting our water supply” and urged EPA to continue moving forward with its endocrine disrupter screening program.
The draft bill and witness testimony can be viewed here.
