By

John Peterson, Chair of Government Relations Committee

The House Appropriations Committee has passed just 5 of 12 spending bills.  The Senate Appropriations Committee has passed 9 of the 12 bills.  Only the Military/Veterans Bill has passed the full House by floor vote.  All 12 bills are supposed to be passed by the end of the fiscal year, September 30^th.  That will not happen again this year.

Since no more bills were sent to the President by October 1^st, there will be another Continuing Resolution (CR).  The current CR runs until 3/6/09, and then we will likely see an Omnibus spending Bill.  I also dislike Omnibus Bills.  They are so large no-one really knows what has been included in them, including those voting on them.  The recent bailout money will likely be found by rescissions in discretionary and mandatory programs, not entitlements, which is not good.

I do not want to see a CR for the full fiscal year.  This would allow OMB to dictate how the federal funding is spent, rather than Congress.  That should be the role of Congress, NOT OMB.

The President’s budget proposed $4,741,000,000 for civil works, $130,000,000 less than last year.  Even though the House had $5.333 billion and the Senate had $5.300 billion, more funding than the President proposed, they are both approximately $300,000,000 less than what was appropriated last fiscal year.  These programs provide many jobs, something needed at this time.

A comparison of funding for the NRCS conservation programs is shown below.  I am thankful that both the House and senate have major increases for some programs.  While the Farm Bill programs are important, so are the traditional NRCS programs that provide technical assistance for our nation’s farmers and ranchers.  It seems the Administration is trying to eliminate the most effective delivery system ever developed for getting conservation on the land.  This is the same approach this and many previous Administrations have taken with the Watershed Program.  Sad.

Natural Resources Conservation Service Funding (NRCS)

FY08 Appropriations ($000)

Program                                  FY06 Approp.    Pres. Budget    House Markup    Senate Markup

Conservation Operations       840,326                   794,773                   None*                866,899

Watershed & Flood Prev. Opns.  30,000              190,000                   None                   29,790

Watershed Rehabilitation              20,000                65,000                   None                  20,000

Watershed Surveys & Planning          0                      0                        None                    0

Resource Cons. & Development     51,088                0                        None                  50,730

Healthy Forest Reserve Program           2,000            0                       None                   1,986

*  The House has not completed a markup as of this time.

However, the Department’s construction projects require specific standards more particularly adapted to roadway construction. The Department certifies soil erosion and sediment control plans in conformance with vegetative and engineering standards developed jointly by the State Soil Conservation Committee and the Departments of Agriculture, Environmental Protection and Transportation. These standards are contained in a manual entitled “Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Standards.” A copy of these standards are available for review here. By using these standards as the technical basis for the Department’s certification, the Department ensures that the appropriate standards are included, and used, in each Department of Transportation construction project, and that proper steps are being taken to protect the environment from the effects of soil erosion and sedimentation. The proposed amendments correct erroneous titles and dates, add contact information and update the Standards table.

The proposed rule appears in the August 18, 2008 issue of the New Jersey Register. The public has until October 17, 2008 to comment on the proposal.

Please click here for the full story and details on how to provide your comments: http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/about/press/2008/082108.shtm

Source: State of NJ Dept. of Transportation press release, Aug. 21, 2008

The 2006 Consent Decree was the result of CWA violations by ITD and its contractor from 2001 to 2003, committed during the “Mica to Bellgrove” Highway 95 realignment project in northern Idaho. In that case, EPA fined ITD and its contractor a total of $895,000 for numerous storm water management problems and resulting discharges that harmed the Mica Creek watershed and violated the terms of EPA’s national Construction General Permit.

“The provisions spelled-out in the Consent Decree were meant to correct the fundamental, systemic problems that led to our initial case,” said Elin Miller, EPA’s Regional Administrator in Seattle. “The Construction General Permit for storm water is a key tool to preventing water pollution and protecting Idaho’s lakes, rivers and streams from polluted construction site runoff.”

Under the existing Consent Decree, ITD is required to provide storm water training to its personnel, implement new self-inspection protocols, improve communication with its contractors and submit an annual report to EPA detailing its compliance. In its first annual report submitted in 2007, ITD disclosed a large number of violations from 2006.

The additional penalties are largely related to failure by ITD and its contractors to train environmental personnel in a timely way, failure to conduct self-inspections as required, and failure to document compliance with storm water requirements.

ITD claims it has recently taken corrective actions to try to prevent a repeat of the violations.

Source: EPA press release, July 5, 2008

On Thursday, May 22^nd , Congress passed the Farm Bill overriding a Presidential Veto signed just days before.  Acting quickly, the Senate passed the bill with an 82-13 bi-partisan vote.  In a recent Press Release, the National Association of Conservation District (NACD) President, John Redding, stated the bill includes significant funds for locally based conservation programs and “… also includes important provisions on technical assistance and additional opportunities for technical service providers”

Read the full story at NACD Press Release

Source:  National Association of Conservation Districts

EPA is the permitting authority in five states and most territories and Indian Country lands.

This proposed permit is available for public comment for 30 days. To find the proposed permit, information on submitting comments, and more information on the relationship of this permit to the Effluent Guideline, please visit www.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/cgp

Source: EPA Media Release

Read more at the EPA website

The EPA collects data about publicly owned wastewater treatment facilities, stormwater and Combined Sewer Overflows control facilities (Coos), Nonpoint Source Pollution (NPS) controls, decentralized wastewater management, and estuary management.  The final CWNS Report to Congress provides valuable information about budgetary needs and is also used measure environmental progress. The EPA is currently collecting information for the 2008 Clean Watersheds Needs Survey (CWNS).  To participate in the 2008 survey, visit http://www.epa.gov/cwns/cwns2008.htm .  Source: US EPA

(Denver, Colo., Dec. 27, 2007) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has fined and Hunt Building Co. of El Paso, Tex., has paid $39,000 for stormwater violations at the Buckley Housing Project on Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colo.

EPA inspections of the Hunt construction project during 2006 and 2007 revealed sediment loading into detention ponds that discharge into area waterways. Sediment was also observed on Buckley Road/Airport Boulevard. The EPA inspections found that stormwater inspections had not been conducted as frequently as required by the site permit.

Michael Risner, EPA Region 8 Legal Enforcement Director, said, “EPA is taking this action to prevent stormwater pollution and to deter future violations of federal laws designed to protect valuable water resources.”

Stormwater run-off can carry high levels of pollutants such as sediment, oil and grease, suspended solids, nutrients, and heavy metals into waterways.

EPA found that Hunt’s stormwater pollution prevention plan did not adequately describe the best management practices that would be implemented at the site and did not contain all of the required information as outlined in the permit including total area of soil disturbance, best management practices being implemented and an updated sequence of activities.

EPA and City of Aurora inspections revealed that numerous best management practices were not in place or were not being maintained. This lack of best management practices resulted in the cited sediment loading.

EPA took this action because it retains authority to implement the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System program at federal facilities in Colorado.
Contact Information: Darcy Oconnor 303-312-6392, oconnor.darcy@epa.gov Lorraine Ross 303-312-6888, ross.lorraine@epa.gov Amy Clark 303-312-7014, clark.amy@epa.gov

For more information, go to the EPA web page: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/civil/cwa/index.html

Help EPA protect our nation’s land, air and water by reporting violations: http://www.epa.gov/tips/

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

According to the American Public Works Association, the $23 billion WRDA authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to complete more than 900 projects related to flood control, navigation, water supply, environmental restoration, and infrastructure projects. It also includes significant funding for projects related to hurricane damage along the Gulf Coast and new independent review requirements for projects costing more than $45 million. It also outlines the process for de-authorizing un-built projects that are obsolete or no longer necessary. The WRDA creates a Committee on Levee Safety to make recommendations for a national levee safety review of construction activities for flood and storm damage projects under the Corps’ discretion.

President Bush vetoed the WRDA on Nov. 2, citing a lack of fiscal discipline and priorities. “This authorization bill makes promises to local communities that the Congress does not have a track record of keeping,” Bush said. “The House of Representatives took a $15 billion bill into negotiations with a $14 billion bill from the Senate and instead of splitting the difference, emerged with a Washington compromise that costs over $23 billion. This is not fiscally responsible, particularly when local communities have been waiting for funding for projects already in the pipeline. The bill’s excessive authorization for over 900 projects and programs exacerbates the massive backlog of ongoing Corps construction projects, which will require an additional $38 billion in future appropriations to complete.”

Citizens Against Government Waste says the WRDA’s distribution of earmarks, including what it calls “450 pork-barrel projects,” does not match national priorities. The Heritage Foundation calls the WRDA “a pork fest for wealthy beach-front property owners.” The group cites more than $378 million in earmarks in the bill to replenish beaches, many in wealthy beach communities.

However, the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) says the cost of the WRDA reflects many backlogged projects resulting from the seven-year delay in enacting it. “Passage of WRDA was a priority for the engineering industry,” says Michael Smith, executive director of ACEC/Utah.

Summaries and the full text of the bill are available here

Source: Civil Connection