[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 77 (Wednesday, May 10, 1995)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D576-D578]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        House of Representatives


Chamber Action
Bills Introduced: 9 public bills, H.R. 1601-1609 were introduced.
  Page H4795
Committee Election: House agreed to H. Res. 143, electing 
Representative Deal to the Committee on Commerce of the House of 
Representatives.
  Page H4680 [[Page D577]] 
  Earlier, read a letter to the Speaker from the Chairman of the 
Democratic Caucus advising that Representative Deal is no longer a 
member of the Democratic Caucus; and
Page H4679
  Read a letter from the Speaker in which he vacates Representative 
Deal's election to the Committee on Transportation and to the Committee 
on Resources.
Pages H4679-80
Committees to Sit: The following committees and their subcommittees 
received permission to sit today during a proceedings of the House 
under the five-minute rule: Committees on Agriculture, Banking and 
Financial Services, Commerce, Economic and Educational Opportunities, 
House Oversight, International Relations, and Resources.
  Page H4680
Presidential Messages--Read the following messages from the President:
  Gun-Free school zones: Message wherein he transmits his proposed 
legislation providing the jurisdictional element for the Gun-Free 
School Zones Act of 1990 required by a recent Supreme Court decision--
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary and ordered printed (H. Doc. 
104-72); and
  Page H4680
  National emergency regarding Yugoslavia: Message wherein he transmits 
his notice stating that the emergency declared with respect to the 
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) is to continue 
in effect beyond May 30, 1995--referred to the Committee on 
International Relations and ordered printed (H. Doc. 104-73).
  Page H4680
Clean Water Act Amendments: House completed all general debate and 
begin consideration of amendments on H.R. 961, to amend the Federal 
Water Pollution Control Act; but came to no resolution thereon. 
Consideration of amendments will resume on Thursday, May 11.
  Pages H4690-H4788
Agreed To:
  The Shuster en bloc amendments that make certain technical 
corrections and provide clarifying language; lower the definition of 
``small community'' from 20,000 to 10,000 people for the purpose of 
granting permit modifications for innovative treatment technologies; 
eliminate the restriction that only 20 percent of any country, borough, 
or parish may be classified as Type A wetlands; lower the authorization 
for pollution prevention activities from $50 million per year to $21.2 
million, and stipulates that no more than $10 million may be used each 
year to provide technical assistance to small and rural water treatment 
works; require written permission from private property owners for 
Federal employees to enter their property in order to identify or 
classify wetlands; and clarify the definition of vernal ponds;
Pages H4711-16
  The Minge amendment to the rejected Saxton amendment in the nature of 
a substitute that would have authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to 
issue permits for any activity resulting from, or incidental to, normal 
farming, silviculture, aquaculture, and ranching activities and 
practices carried out on agricultural lands; and would have deemed such 
to be activity allowed by the Secretary without the necessity for 
additional requests for, or granting of permits from, other entities 
for this activity;
Pages H4751-52
  The Bachus amendment that provides that the Administrator of the EPA, 
working in conjunction with the Administrator of the Small Business 
Administration and the Small Business Ombudsman of the Environmental 
Protection Agency, propose regulations not later than 6 months after 
the date of enactment and not later than one year after the date of 
enactment, that define small businesses for storm water management 
purposes; and
Page H4781
  The Boehlert amendment that strikes provisions folding the Coastal 
Zone Management Program into State nonpoint source management programs 
and, instead, reauthorizes the Coastal Zone Act through fiscal year 
2000, amending it to require that any State that has not received 
Federal approval for its core coastal management program submit a 
coastal non-point pollution program within 30 months of such approval 
(agreed to by a recorded vote of 224 ayes to 199 noes, Roll No. 314).
Pages H4781-88
Rejected:
  The Saxton amendment in the nature of a substitute that sought to 
retain provisions regarding Clean Water Act funding authorizations, 
assistance to small and rural communities, control of water pollution 
from combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and consistency of State programs 
with the Environmental Protection Agency's Great Lakes water quality 
guidance; replace wetlands language with provisions providing 
incentives for States to assume authority over wetlands regulation 
through delegation from EPA; expedite the Federal wetlands permitting 
process; make the Agriculture Department responsible for determining 
which areas to be designated wetlands on all agriculture lands; require 
the establishment of a coordinating committee of Federal, State, and 
local officials to help develop and field-test national wetlands 
policies and a strategy for restoration of wetlands ecosystems; strike 
provisions establishing new requirements to compensate landowners for 
losses in property value resulting from Federal regulation; retain the 
special runoff control provisions currently applicable to coastal 
areas, but modify the current program in accordance with 
recommendations of the Coastal States Organization; [[Page D578]] allow 
affected States to target runoff control programs to the areas most 
threatened by pollution and give greater authority to use incentive-
based programs and planning and management measures in lieu of 
enforceable requirements; retain the existing storm water management 
program, making several changes in the program, including placing a 
ten-year moratorium on the implementation of any new storm water 
requirements for light industries or communities with a population of 
less than 100,000; and prohibit the application of numeric effluent 
limits to municipal storm water permits (rejected by a recorded vote of 
184 ayes to 242 noes, Roll No. 312); and
Page H4716-60
  The Mineta amendment that sought to strike language that would remove 
the requirement that EPA first list a pollutant before it or a State 
may allow a permit-holder to comply with Best Practicable Control 
Technology or water quality standards in lieu of Best Available 
Technology; strike language that would authorize EPA or States to 
modify effluent limitations in permits for coal remining, even if the 
operations exceed State water quality standards of the receiving waters 
did not meet water quality standards prior to remining and the 
applicant submits a plan citing specific measures that will be used to 
improve existing water quality; strike language that would stipulate 
that a coal remining operation that started prior to the adoption of 
new regulatory standards is deemed to be in compliance as long as post-
mining discharges are the same or better than before mining commenced, 
and remining was conducted under a Surface Mining Control an 
Reclamation permit; strike language that would provide flexibility for 
permit holders to undertake innovative pollution prevention measures; 
and strike language that would revise the standards and procedures for 
determining water quality standards on a State and Federal level, but 
retain language providing for a review of such proposed revisions by 
the Administration (rejected by a recorded vote of 166 ayes to 260 
noes, Roll No. 313).
Pages H4778-81
  H. Res. 140, the rule under which the bill is being considered, was 
agreed to earlier by a yea-and-nay vote of 414 yeas to 4 nays, Roll No. 
311.
Pages H4681-90
Committees to Sit: The following committees and their subcommittees 
received permission to sit on Thursday, May 11, during proceedings of 
the House under the five-minute rule: Committees on Agriculture, 
Banking and Financial Services, Commerce, Economic and Educational 
Opportunities, International Relations, Resources, Transportation and 
Infrastructure, Veterans' Affairs, and Select Intelligence.
  Page H4788
Amendments Ordered Printed: Amendments ordered printed pursuant to the 
rule appear on page H4796.
Quorum Calls--Votes: One yea-and-nay vote and three recorded votes 
developed during the proceedings of the House today and are found on 
pages H4689-90, H4760, H4780-81, and H4788. There were no quorum calls.
Adjournment: Met at 11 a.m. and adjourned at 10:43 p.m.