Here is an update on dirty water bills in Congress.



Wally Taylor



 
  
  
1. H.R. 2354 - House  Appropriations Bill for Energy and Water Development for FY 2012: The House began  debating H.R. 2354 last week and is scheduled to continue debating later  thisafternoon.  A final House vote on the bill is likely early this  week.  As you recall, there is languagein this appropriations bill that  would eliminate the administration's ability to finalize new clean  waterguidance and undertake a rule-making in the future.     
  
2. H.R.  2018 - The "So-Called" Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of  2011: This bill passed the House Transportation &  Infrastructure Committee on June 22, 2011.  The 
  House Rules Committee has a hearing on H.R. 2018 for tomorrow, July 12, 2011  at 3pm.  The full House is expected to vote on the bill later this  week.  Essentially this bill would take the "federal" out of  the federal Clean Water Act and overturn almost 40 years of Federal  legislation by preventing EPA from protecting public health and water  quality.      
  
3. FY 2012  Interior-EPA Appropriations Bill + Dirty Water Riders: This bill  passed an appropriations subcommittee on Thursday, July 7th.  The full  House Appropriations Committee will be voting on the measure tomorrow,  Tuesday, July 12th. We expect this bill to be come up on the House floor for  a vote the week July 26th.  In addition to slashing EPA's budget by 18%,  this Appropriations bill contains a number of dirty water riders that  threaten to prohibit oversight of mountaintop removal mining, exempt  stormwater runoff from logging roads and pesticide discharges into waterways  from Clean Water Act permits, and prevent EPA's ability to update or  implement regulation for coal ash, stormwater, and small streams threatened  by mountaintop mining among others.
  
4. H.R. 2273:  McKinley's Coal Ash Bill: Congressman David McKinley (R-WV) has  introduced a dangerously weak bill for "regulating" coal ash  disposal that would defy logic by allowing States to continue operating every  leak-prone and high hazard toxic coal ash dump without requiring basic  safeguards and virtually blocking EPA from stepping in to protect  communities.  Passage of this bill would endanger the health and safety  of thousands of communities, fail to stimulate coal ash recycling, and disrupt  the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) public rulemaking process  that has been underway for over two years and has attracted a record 455,000  comments. This bill is scheduled to be marked up this afternoon (July 11)  before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
  
 

 

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