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o 0 I :J 3'. . THE OS l:lIO ER OF THE WESTERN STATES WATER COUNCIL October 13, l-ECEIVED Issue No. 11'" ft OCT 1 6 1995 ta, Colorado Water Conservation Board recycled paper conserves water Creekview Plaza, Suite A-201/942 East 7145 So, / Midvale, Utah 84047 / (801) 561-5300 / FAX (801) 255-9642 Chairman - Larry Anderson; Executive Director - Craig Bell; Editor - Tony Willardson; Typist - Alona Banks CONGRESSIONAL UPDATE Budget Reconciliation/EPA Appropriations . On October 12, the House Budget Committee approved a reconciliation bill, but Chairman John Kasich (R-OH) says some changes may be made before it gets to the House floor (WSW #1114). Next, it goes to the House Rules Committee. The individual committees are responsibie for preparing and reporting different parts of the package, which will be considered together by each House. Potential amendments are limited (WSW #1115). Once approved by the House and Senate, a joint conference committee will meet to resolve differences between the two bills. Of note, no language regarding the sale of federal power marketing administrations is in the Senate bill (WSW #1116). On September 27, the Senate passed an FY96 appropriations bill providing $5.66B for the EPA. This represents a $1B reduction (15%) from FY95 levels, but a 16% increase over the House bill's $4.89B. The cuts come primarily from Superfund and sewage treatment programs. Last year's funding bill earmarked $800M for publicly-owned treatment works construction in specific cities...all of which are eliminated in the FY96 bill, which would appropriate $1.5B for SRFs to finance wastewater treatment facilities across the Nation. These monies are to be distributed among the states according to an equitable formula. Also, action was taken to prevent EPA from access to these funds to finance other EPA activities. The bill authorizes grants totaling $2.34B to help states meet environmental mandates. This is a $310M increase over last year, and represents 40% of EPA's total budget (WSW # 1115). . The Senate bill expressly includes a limitation against EPA mandating car pooling, one of the "riders" on the House appropriations bill. Two other riders were modified. One prohibits EPA from mandating centralized car inspection and maintenance facilities. The second rider suspends EPA's veto authority over the Army Corps of Engineers wetlands delineation decisions. Two other riders related to drinking water were combined in the Senate bill. They would prohibit drinking water standards for arsenic, radon, sulfates, ground water disinfection, and other substances until the Safe Drinking Water Act is reauthorized. ENVIRONMENT Endangered Species Act Efforts to reauthorize the Endangered Species Act may be accelerating. The House Resource Committee adopted Chairman Young's (R-AK) bill, H.R. 2275, on Thursday, October 12. The 27-22 vote essentially followed party lines. The so-called Young-Pombo bill was criticized in several particulars by authors of competing bills, Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ) and Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD), and others (WSW #1116). However, only three Republicans voted against the bill. Majority staff assert that the Young-pombo bill incorporates nearly 80% of the recommendations of the Western Governors' Association. However, they have not claimed an endorsement. Among its major changes, H.R. 2275 would reportedly: (1) eliminate protection of a species habitat and reverse the Sweet Home decision (WSW #11 03); (2) give states a greater role in listing and protection efforts; and (3) ease requirements for protection of imperiled species prior to full recovery. The bill also eases regulations of hydroelectric dams for species, particularly salmon. Indeed, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) claimed the bill would end protection for the Columbia River salmon by narrowing the definition of an endangered species. While clearing the first major hurdle on the House side, the fate of reauthorization legislation is still quite uncertain. A bill similar in several respects to the Young-Pombo bill was introduced earlier this year by Senator Slade Gorton (R-WA), but no action