[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 309 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 309

Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the improvement of combined 
                    sewer overflow control programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 21, 2003

  Mr. Meehan (for himself, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Castle, Mr. Langevin, Mr. 
Bass, Ms. Kaptur, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Emanuel, Mr. Inslee, Ms. McCarthy 
 of Missouri, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Delahunt, Mr. Quinn, Mr. Kind, and Mr. 
   Pallone) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
     referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the improvement of combined 
                    sewer overflow control programs.

Whereas approximately 772 communities in the United States, concentrated in the 
        Northeast, Great Lakes region, and Pacific Northwest, have combined 
        sewer systems;
Whereas combined sewer systems are sewer systems that transport rainwater 
        runoff, domestic sewage, and industrial waste through a single pipe to 
        municipal treatment plants;
Whereas combined sewer systems were among the earliest sewer systems built in 
        the United States;
Whereas combined sewer overflow occurs when the capacity of the collection and 
        treatment system is exceeded due to high volumes of rainwater or 
        snowmelt;
Whereas when the capacity of a combined sewer system is exceeded, untreated 
        rainwater runoff, domestic sewage, and industrial waste is discharged 
        into surface waters;
Whereas combined sewer overflow can create serious public health and water 
        quality concerns;
Whereas the Environmental Protection Agency has required communities in which 
        combined sewer overflow is prevalent to develop long-term control plans 
        for combined sewer overflow;
Whereas implementation of these long-term control plans can require 
        extraordinarily large infrastructure investments that may be beyond the 
        financial means of communities in which combined sewer overflow is 
        prevalent;
Whereas local government and utility ratepayers are currently burdened with 
        paying more than 90 percent of all spending on drinking water and 
        wastewater infrastructure;
Whereas the Environmental Protection Agency estimated in its 2000 Clean Water 
        Needs Survey Report to Congress that it will cost $50,600,000,000 to 
        control combined sewer overflow nationwide;
Whereas experts in the wastewater treatment sector consider the Environmental 
        Protection Agency's figure to be a gross underestimate of required 
        control costs;
Whereas the Federal Government has recognized that it has an obligation to 
        assist communities in complying with water pollution control mandates of 
        the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.);
Whereas the construction grants program under that Act assisted States and 
        communities in modernizing their water and sewer distribution programs;
Whereas the construction grants program under that Act has been replaced by 
        annual Federal grants to capitalize State water pollution control 
        revolving loan funds;
Whereas federally capitalized State water pollution control revolving loan funds 
        have been increasingly used to provide below-market and zero-interest 
        loans to communities for projects to control combined sewer overflow;
Whereas although federally capitalized State water pollution control revolving 
        loan funds have assisted efforts to control combined sewer overflow, 
        many communities cannot afford to repay loans for 100 percent of the 
        cost of water infrastructure projects;
Whereas Congress has recognized that Federal grants are a necessary component of 
        helping communities afford combined sewer overflow control;
Whereas Congress has provided ``earmarked'' funding for infrastructure to 
        control combined sewer overflow for specific communities in annual 
        appropriations Acts, accompanied by a 45 percent local cost-share 
        requirement;
Whereas recognizing that ``earmarked'' funding for infrastructure to control 
        combined sewer overflow in annual appropriations Acts did not fully meet 
        the enormous needs of communites in which combined sewer overflow is 
        prevalent, in 2000 Congress passed amendments to the Federal Water 
        Pollution Control Act authorizing the Environmental Protection Agency to 
        provide $750,000,000 in grants in each of fiscal years 2002 and 2003 to 
        these communities, either directly or through States, for planning, 
        design, and construction of combined sewer overflow treatment;
Whereas the combined sewer overflow grant program authorized in 2000 assigns 
        financially distressed communities priority for direct grants;
Whereas the new combined sewer overflow grant program was not funded in either 
        fiscal year 2002 or 2003; and
Whereas the new combined sewer overflow grant program's authorization expires 
        after fiscal year 2003: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) should commit and provide substantially increased 
        Federal funding and resources for combined sewer overflow 
        control, which commitment must include a significant grant 
        component;
            (2) should increase Federal funding for combined sewer 
        overflow control to levels sufficient to cover at least 80 
        percent of the costs of such control incurred by financially 
        distressed communities, particularly those located in urban 
        areas;
            (3) should provide the Environmental Protection Agency with 
        additional resources to improve nationwide tracking of progress 
        in combined sewer overflow control programs; and
            (4) should expressly authorize the Army Corps of Engineers 
        to assist communities with assessment and design work 
        associated with upgrades of combined sewer systems.
                                 <all>