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. THE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER OF THE WESTERN STATES WATER COUNCIL Creekview Plaza, Suite A-201/942 East 7145 So. 1 Midvale, Utah 84047 1 (801) 561-5300 1 FAX (80l) 255-9642 Chairman - Larry Anderson; Executive Director - Craig Bell; Editor - Tony Willardson; Typist - Carrie Curvin CONGRESSIONAL UPDATEIWATER QUALITY Clean Water Act (CWA) CWA reauthorization legislation will die without a floor debate, and will have to been reintroduced next year. The Senate Environment Committee reported S. 1114, then it was amended imd reported as S. 2093. While easing regulatory burdens on farmers and developers, unresolved concerns remained regarding watershed and wetlands protection and other issues. The bill would have authorized $2.5B annually for state revolving loan funds for FY95-2000. The House only held hearings on H.R. 3948, which addressed agricultural and stormwater run-off from tarms, streets and construction sites, as well as watersheds and wetlands. It would have authorized $3B for state revolving loan funds for FY95, increasing by $500M a year through FY2000. The bill was similar to the Clinton Administration's proposal, but again the House's members could not. re.ach a cQnsenSus. . Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) The House and Senate have been unable to reach agreement on SDWA reauthorization bills. Therefore, $599 million conditionally appropriated for new SDWA state revolving loan funds in FY 1994 will not be realized (WSW#1061, #1064). The Senate passed S. 2019 last spring. On September 27, after months of negotiations, the House passed H.R. 3392. However, differences between the two bills could not be resolved satisfactorily. S. 2019 would have elevated the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the Cabinet level, required EPA to weigh the costs and benefits of existing and new regulations, and cut back on any regulations that reduce the value of private property. H.R. 3392 would have relaxed testing and monitoring standards for drinking . water contaminants, exempting small public water systems serving fewer than 10,000 people from certain requirements and allowing them to adopt less expensive alternatives to substantially comply with 9iher .rules. Further, it would have authorized $~.6 billi9n..oVer four years for a new state reyolving loan fund to help states and municipalities improve drinking water treatment. The House bill also contained a hard-won provision requiring EPA to weigh the costs and benefits of new drinking water regulations. .. . ENVIRONMENT Endangered Species Act- Symposium . . , . . The Western States Water Council, together with the Western Governors' Association and the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, cosponsored a water management symposium on "The Effect of the Endangered Species Act oR':.Western Water Management: ImprovingESA Implementation." The symposium was held on October 5-7, in Grand Junction, Colorado. State representatives organized a field trip of structures and facilities on the Colorado River for the protection and recovery of endangered fishes in the Upper Basin along a fifteen-mile critical reach. The field. . trip included reports regarding their significance, and: provided a useful context for later discussions. Colorado and the cosponsoring organizations welcomed participants, and the symposium began with a useful overview of the 'Endangered Species Act and some persistant misperceptions. Subsequent speakers discussed both the challenges and opportunities that the Act provides affected state agencies. Chuck DuMars, Professor of Law at the University of New Mexico and a WSWC member, led a discussion to identify group perceptions on challenges to implementing the Act, particularly for states.