[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 69 (Monday, May 23, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1054-E1055]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 19, 2005

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union for the consideration of the bill, H.R. 2361.
  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Chairman, more than ever before, our wastewater 
treatment systems are failing. Effluent from wastewater treatment 
plants is contaminating our rivers with chemicals like Triclosan--a 
germ toxin added to countless consumer products; hormones such as the 
active ingredient in estrogen therapy; the insect repellant DEET; and 
an anti-epileptic drug (Environmental Science and Technology, 36 (6), 
1202-1211, 2002 http://pubs.acs.org/cgibin/jtextd?esthag/36/6/html/
es011055j.html).
  As these chemicals are released from treatment plants into our 
rivers, lakes and oceans, they are finding their way into the natural 
resources on which we heavily depend. New studies show that they are 
starting to show up in our drinking water (``Pollutants in New Jersey's 
Drinking Water,'' Environmental Science and Technology, December 8, 
2004 (http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2004/dec/
science/pt_nj.html); ``Pharmaceutical Data Eludes Environmental 
Researchers,'' Environmental Science and Technology, March 16, 2005). A 
Baylor University study in Texas found a prescription drug in fish 
tissues (``Frogs, fish and pharmaceuticals a troubling brew'' November 
14, 2003 (http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/11/14coolsc.frogs.fish/
).
  At the same time that these new challenges are emerging, we are still 
trying to overcome the well-established wastewater contaminants from 
aging and broken sewer systems that continue to contaminate water with 
E. coli and other water borne diseases. By EPA's 2003 estimate, the 
need for sewer upgrades alone is so great and so widespread that the 
funding required to alleviate it is $181 billion (``Wastewater 
Treatment: Overview and Background,'' Congressional Research Service, 
February 7, 2005). In fact, the infrastructure is so old in many places 
that when it rains, wastewater treatment plants can't handle the 
increased volume. The result is that untreated or poorly treated sewage 
flows into our waters, causing our beaches to be closed in order to 
protect public health. Forty three percent of the communities dealing 
with this are on the Great Lakes, which holds 20% of the world's fresh 
water supply.
  So what is the solution proposed by this Administration and 
Republican leadership in Congress? Reduce funding for wastewater 
infrastructure by $350 million. Ohio alone would lose $20 million in 
revenue and roughly 650 jobs from FY 05 if the proposed cuts to the 
Clean Water State Revolving Fund come to pass.
  While the need to upgrade our wastewater infrastructure to deal with 
emerging problems increases, the proposed cuts in this bill take us in 
the opposite direction. Lets improve our health and the environment, 
not make it

[[Page E1055]]

worse. I urge my colleagues to support the Clean Water State Revolving 
Fund and the Obey amendment.

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