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Orn56'! WESTERN TATES ATER . THE WEEKLY NEWSLETfER OF THE WES1ERN STATES WATER COUNCIL Creekview Plaza, Suite A-201/942 East 7145 So. 1 Midvale, Utah 84047 1 (801) 561-5300 1 FAX (801) 255-9642 Chairman - Dave Kennedy; Executive Director - Craig Bell; Editor - Norm Johnson; Typist - Carrie Curvin WESTERN STATES WATER COUNCIL Quarterly Meetings . The 114th Quarterly WSWC meetings were held on April 13-15, at the Edgewater Inn in Seattle. The Council approved two external policy posttions and amended an existing policy statement. The Council modilied tts position on reauthorization of the Clean Water Act (CWA) to endorse the concept of using risk assessment and management in CWA implementation, to call for $5B in annual appropriations for the state revolving loan fund (SRF), and to request broad authority for the federal government to deal wtth trans- border areas. . The Council also approved a letter to Senator Max Baucus (D-M1) commenting on S. 1114, to reauthorize the CWA. It asserts that the bill's section on watershed management is a posttive step, but is too prescriptive in approac/'l, The letter suggasts changes to improve this section, It endorses S. 1114 Section 602, clarifying that the state's scope of authority under Section 401 to certify that any federally licensed activity will . comply wtth water quality Standards includes the protection, attainment and maintenance of designated and existing uses included in the standards. It calls for "state savings clause" language to be added to CWA Section 510, and opposes the presumptive applicability of federal water quality crtteria. It suggests that S. 1114 be amended to require that any federal promulgation of standards be subject to replacement by state standards when those standards are adopted, and opposes including ground water quality crtteria in the CWA. It suggests that the subsection of S. 1114 on outstanding natural resource waters be replaced by language requiring each state to designate, protect and maintain ONRWs. The letter on S, 1114 also acknowledges that the . "Reid Amendment" added to the bill concerning intermittent and effluent-doniinated streams is a step .in the right direction. It notes that the bill's provisions on non-point source. pollution control .are overly restrictive, and suggests ideas for improvement.. It asserts qualilied support for S. 1114 Trtle VII, on wetlands, noting that the bill could be enhanced by greater emphasis on recognizing regional differences in wetlands delineation and protection. It calls for SRF capitalization at $5B annually, and notes that the EPA Administrator's role in implementing.QWA programs should be based on risk assessment and management. The posttion asserts no conceptual difficulty wtth according Indian tribes the same opportunity as states to assume primacy over tribal lands wtthin their reservations, but opposes language in S. 1114 that could leave some areas wtthout environmental protection. The posttion calls for a . stronger role by the federal government in trans- border issues. and requests protection from liability in abandoned mine cleanup by creation of a "good Samarttan" status. The third posttion statement endorses a letter sent by Western Attorneys General to Interior Solicttor Leshy regarding the assertion of federal reserved water rights for some wilderness areas (ytISWC #1023). The letter is based on the premise that the Untted States' earlier decision not to assert such rights is legally and practically correct, and that the states and the federal government should work together to protect the values associated wtth wilderness areas under state legal systems, The Water Resources Committee reviewed a number of issues and subcommittee reports. The Council will complete by June a draft report for the