U.S. Water News
WASHINGTON -- The potential for a flood of citizen suits against virtually any business that releases effluent should force reauthorization of the federal Clean Water Act in the current 104th Congress, according to Capitol Hill observers.
Under the existing Clean Water Act, a provision allows the filing of suits against any alleged polluter, with potential fines of up to $25,000 per day for proven violation of federal wastewater standards. This possibility of litigation is "unthinkable and unconscionable to small businesses, particularly in agriculture," noted Greg Ruehle, a spokesman for the Clean Water Coalition.
At least one official of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has suggested that the potential green light for citizen pollution suits is, in effect, a "poison pill" in the existing law to force the issue of revision this year.
Nonpoint source pollution, runoff from streets and farmland that accounts for at least half of the nation's remaining water pollution problems, is expected to be a major issue any renewal of federal clean water law. The failure during the last days of Congress last year was in large part due the unresolved issue of unfunded federal mandates, and the topic is likely to be mentioned repeatedly during upcoming Congressional debat
"We anticipate significant revisions to the bill provisions on unfunded mandates, risk assessment and cost benefit analysis, nonpoint source pollution, and stormwater," stated House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bud Shuster of Pennsylvania, who has introduced H.R. 961, the Clean Water Act Amendments of 1995. "We plan to review more comprehensive proposals to overhaul the programs, remove red tape and unnecessary requirements, and increase flexibility for state and local governments," added Shuster.
Although the 142-page bill contains eight titles, including one on wetlands conservation and management, Shuster emphasized that the legislation is "only a starting point." Markup of the bill is expected early this month, and already Shuster's committee has conducted over a half-dozen hearings. The bill is similar to a draft Shuster circulated but did not introduce last year as a "discussion alternative" to H.R. 3948, the ill-fated bill introduced by then-Committee Chairman Norman Mineta of California. Reflecting the current emphasis in Washington on cutting budgets, H.R. 961 includes a reduction in the amount of federal funding to state revolving loan funds.
The federal Clean Water Act, originally passed in 1972, was comprehensively reauthorized in 1987 but authorization of many of its programs has since expired. Efforts to reauthorize the law during the past two sessions of Congress ended in failure.
Return to the U.S. Water News' Archives page Or Return to the U.S. Water News Homepage
Editor@uswaternews.com
*Your Name:
*Your Email:
*Friend's Email:
Use a comma to separate e-mail addresses:
*Your Comments:
Hi, I thought you might like to read this article.
*Required Fields