By Brett Rosenberg
September 29, 2008

In a marathon mark-up session, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on September 17 reviewed, sometimes amended and ultimately reported 19 bills, including several that address climate change and water infrastructure, among other environmental concerns. For much of the session, the ten-member quorum required for a vote on a particular bill was not present, but per Committee rules, the members who were in attendance at those times were able to review bills and vote on amendments. Votes on bills occurred sporadically throughout the session as sufficient numbers were present.

At the onset of the markup session, ranking committee member Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe, in his opening statement, suggested it was disingenuous of the Committee to hold this particular meeting, based on the relative short time remaining in the 110th Congress, and the small likelihood of any floor action. Committee Chairwoman California Senator Barbara Boxer countered that the bills that passed the markup would soon become “the laws of the land.”

For the time being, however, several bills passed with implications or of interest to local governments, including S. 1387, the National Greenhouse Gas Registry Act of 2007; S. 1828, a bill to require that the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a study of the feasibility of increasing the consumption in the United States of certain ethanol-blended gasoline; S. 2080, the Sewage Overflow Right-to-Know Act; S. 2970, the Climate Change Drinking Water Adaptation Research Act; S. 3489, a bill to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a study on black carbon emissions; and S. 3500, the Water Infrastructure Financing Act.

With regard to climate legislation, S. 1387, sponsored by Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN), provides guidance for the new U.S. EPA greenhouse gas registry required by last year’s energy bill. Congress required EPA last December to start writing the rules for the registry, and the agency is supposed to finish proposed regulations this month. Inhofe, who voted no on the bill, claimed the EPA was moving ahead with its registry effort, so any legislation would be duplicative and unnecessary.

S. 2970, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV), Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA) and Boxer would establish a ten-year $250 million program to fund research to help drinking water utilities understand and adapt to the effects of climate change. The legislation directs EPA and the Commerce, Energy and Interior departments to establish and provide funding for a research program to be conducted by a nonprofit water research water research foundation and sponsored by drinking water utilities, especially those that currently rely on snowmelt for their water supplies.

S. 3489, a black carbon research bill by Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY), Tom Carper (DE) and John Kerry (MA) passed the committee easily. The bill would direct EPA to study whether black carbon emissions, which can come from old diesel engines and the burning of firewood, play a role in global climate change and help develop technology that might reduce them.

S. 1828, sponsored by Inhofe, would require that the EPA conduct a study looking at the feasibility of increasing consumption of ethanol-blended gasoline in the United States. An amendment by Boxer taking out part of the bill related to ethanol waivers also passed. Inhofe, who emphasized that the ethanol study is not a partisan issue, said, “It will help resolve the [ethanol] debate on the Senate floor.”

The Committee addressed water and other infrastructure in several bills. S. 3500, co-sponsored by Boxer and Senator Frank Lautenberg (NJ), would provide nearly $20 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, a low-interest wastewater loan program that helps states construct water treatment facilities; $15 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund; and $3.5 billion for other infrastructure and technology projects. The bill made it through committee despite controversial, pro-labor Davis-Bacon wage requirements attached to it. An amendment by ranking member Inhofe kept funding at $38.5 billion.

Lautenberg also sponsored S. 2080, which would force wastewater treatment plant operators to keep the public informed of raw sewage discharges into rivers and streams; the bill passed by voice vote. A manager’s amendment to the bill, clarifying legal liability for accidental overflows, also passed by voice vote.

The Committee also passed bills that would authorize funds and provide incentives for the San Joaquin Valley area in California to tackle its air quality problems; increase EPA’s estimate of the value of a human life when deciding whether the lifesaving benefits of a regulation outweigh the economic costs of a proposed rule; require EPA to implement additional regulations aimed at protecting pregnant women and children from lead exposure; and strengthen clearance testing provisions and expand lead-based paint training opportunities.

The senators addressed transportation infrastructure, passing bills that would authorize $1 billion for repair and replacement of the nation’s aging bridges, and creating a $200 million emergency fund for dam repair nationwide.