[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 175 (Tuesday, November 7, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2122]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RECOGNITION OF AMSA ON THE OCCASION OF ITS 25TH ANNIVERSARY

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                            HON. BUD SHUSTER

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 7, 1995

  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of myself and Jim Oberstar, the 
ranking Democrat of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I 
wish to take this opportunity to congratulate the Association of 
Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies [AMSA] on the occasion of its 25th 
anniversary. AMSA is the only national trade association exclusively 
representing the unique interests of our country's largest wastewater 
treatment agencies. As the first line of defense in our national 
campaign against water pollution, AMSA members are responsible for the 
high degree of water quality that we now enjoy in the United States.
  The emergence of AMSA as a nationally recognized leader in 
environmental policy and a sought-after technical resource on water 
quality and ecosystem protection issues has paralleled the maturation 
of the Nation's most successful environmental law--the Clean Water Act. 
AMSA was established in 1970 by representatives of 22 municipal sewage 
agencies to secure Federal funding for municipal wastewater treatment 
and serve as a forum to discuss emerging national interest in improving 
the quality of the Nation's waters. Based upon the shared goal of 
effectively representing the interests and priorities of publicly owned 
treatment works, they formed AMSA.
  In the quarter century that followed, the association grew and its 
interests diversified. Today, AMSA is a dynamic national organization 
involved in all facets of water quality protection and representing 
over 160 municipalities. Viewed as a key stakeholder in both the 
legislative and regulatory arenas, AMSA has built credible and 
collaborative relationships with Members of Congress, Presidential 
administrations and the Environmental Protection Agency. Recent years 
have reflected heightened involvement for the association in a 
broadening array of environmental laws and regulations, including the 
gamut of ecosystem issues encompassed under the umbrella of watershed 
management, among them nonpoint source pollution control and the 
protection of air quality and endangered species. As chairman of the 
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I am in a good position to 
observe that AMSA has met the goal of its founders and continues to 
pursue every opportunity to develop and implement scientifically based, 
technically sound and cost-effective environmental programs.
  AMSA's active membership, prominence as a nationally recognized 
leader in environmental policy, and a close working relationship with 
Congress and EPA, will undoubtedly allow it to help shape the course of 
environmental protection into the next century.

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