Clean Water Act Issues in the 109th Congress

Publication Date: May 2006

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Environment

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Abstract:

Legislative initiatives to comprehensively amend the Clean Water Act (CWA) have stalled for some time as interested parties have debated whether and exactly how to change the law. Congress has recently focused legislative attention on narrow bills to extend or modify selected CWA programs, rather than taking up comprehensive proposals. For example, the 108th Congress enacted one bill amending the CWA: legislation to reauthorize the National Estuary Program (H.R. 4731, P.L. 108-399). In the 109th Congress, Congress passed legislation to extend authorizations for the Long Island Sound Program (H.R. 3963, P.L. 109-137). The House has passed H.R. 1721, a bill to reauthorize coastal water quality programs. Also, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has approved S. 1400, a bill authorizing $20 billion in federal grants to capitalize state clean water infrastructure loan programs. A House committee has approved bills to reauthorize other Clean Water Act programs: H.R. 624 would provide $1.5 billion in grants over six years for sewer overflow projects; and H.R. 1359 would extend a pilot program for alternative water source projects.

Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Senate has passed legislation to streamline delivery of funds to repair storm-damaged sewage treatment plants (S. 1709). Other bills intended to simplify environmental review of recovery and rebuilding projects also have been introduced (S. 1711, S. 1765/S. 1766).

For several years, the most prominent legislative water quality issue has concerned financial assistance for municipal wastewater treatment projects, and it has received attention in the 109th Congress as well. At issue is how the federal government will assist states and cities in meeting needs to rebuild, repair, and upgrade wastewater treatment plants, especially in light of capital costs that are projected to be as much as $390 billion over the next two decades. This issue received attention in the 108th Congress, as House and Senate committees reported legislation, but no further action occurred on either bill.

Several other Clean Water Act issues could receive congressional attention. Programs that regulate activities in wetlands, especially CWA Section 404, have been criticized by landowners for intruding on private land-use decisions and imposing excessive economic burdens. Environmentalists view these programs as essential for maintaining the health of wetland ecosystems. These groups are concerned about a 2001 Supreme Court decision, the SWANCC case, that narrowed regulatory protection of wetlands, and related administrative actions, including 2003 policy guidance intended to interpret the case. Legislation to reverse the SWANCC ruling has been introduced in the 109th Congress (H.R. 1356, the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act), as has a bill to narrow the government’s regulatory jurisdiction (H.R. 2658, the Federal Wetlands Jurisdiction Act).

Also of interest is whether and how the Administration will revise the current program for restoration of pollution-impaired waters (the Total Maximum Daily Load, or TMDL, program), in view of continuing controversies.