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Or:. 41' ~.q" d lJ !,) July 2, 1993 Issue No. 998 WESTERN STATES WATER . TIIE WEEKLY NEWSLETfER OF THE WESTERN STATES WATER COUNCIL Creekview Plaza, Suite A-201/942 East 7145 Soot Midvale, Utah 84047 / (801) 561-5300 / FAX (801) 255-%42 editor - Tony Willardson typist - Carrie Curvin WATER QUAUTY EPA-Appropriations . The House passed its Veterans' Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies' FY94 Appropriations Bill (H.R. 2491) on June 29. No bill has been passed by the Senate. In H.R. 2491, EPA's total appropriation is $6.68, down $259M from current spending levels but up $269M from President Clinton's budget proposal. EPA's operating budget is $2.64B of the $6.6B total, which is about the same as FY93. The water quality portion of the appropriation is $2.488, down $73M from current spending levels. The water quality funding will be spread between a wider variety of projects than under the current program. . The water quality spending under H.R. 2491 breaks down as follows: (1) $1.218B for the state revolving loan fund (SRF) for sewage and water treatment plants; (2) $599M for a proposed SRF for drinking water projects; (3) $500M for grants to hardship communities; (4) $100M for projects under Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 319 to control rainwater runoff pollution; (5) $25M for Section 104 (b)(3) water quality agreements; and (6) $35M for wastewater treatment in San Diego. Only a small portion of the SRF funding 'lost' with the defeat of the President's original stimulus package (WSW #992) was restored in the streamlined stimulus package (as this newsletter went to press, sources differed concerning whether $35M or $70M was restored). The $500M for hardship communities is for construction of wastewater treatment facilities which are authorized before April, 1994. If the money is not spent by then, it reverts to the SRF. Essentially, this means that a total of some $1.8B would be appropriated for wastewater construction in FY94, which is down from the approximate $1.9B appropriated in FY93. chairman - Dave Kennedy executive director - Craig Bell WATER RESOURCES Publications The Environment and Energy Study Institute (EESI) has recently published two reports relating to western water management. One is entitled 'New Policy Directions to Sustain the Nation's Water Resources.' According to EESI, it is based on a series of Congressional briefings 'focused on the need for a holistic water policy which takes into account the interconnections between groundwater and sur1ace waters and the interrelationships between water use, water quality and related concerns. The briefings did not advocate enactment of an omnibus federal water law or creation of a super federal water agency or establishment of a top-down federal water policy. Instead, the series explored a number of policy options to maximize the effectiveness of existing laws and programs at all levels of government....' Among the issues the report discusses are pollution prevention, nonpoint sources of contamination, and watershed approaches to water management and protection. The second report, 'EPA's Role in Water Use Efficiency in the Western States,' was prepared for EESI by Bruce Driver, a water lawyer and consu~ant. It summarizes findings from interviews and discussions with 60 representatives of western states, local governments and interest groups. EESI notes, 'Competitive pressures on U.S. water resources are growing.... Increasing the efficiency of water use and management is often seen as a cost-effective means to help meet all of these needs. Water use efficiency also can contribute to the attainment of water quality objectives; reduce water supply and wastewater treatment costs; and reduce energy use associated , with the pumping, treatment and heating of water.'