[House Report 110-36]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                     110-36

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PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 720--WATER QUALITY FINANCING ACT OF 
                                  2007

                                _______
                                

   March 8, 2007.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

    Ms. Castor, from the Committee on Rules, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                       [To accompany H. Res. 229]

    The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration 
House Resolution 229, by a nonrecord vote, report the same to 
the House with the recommendation that the resolution be 
adopted.

                SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF THE RESOLUTION

    The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 720, the 
Water Quality Financing Act of 2007, under a structured rule. 
The rule provides one hour of general debate equally divided 
and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of 
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The rule 
waives all points of order against consideration of the bill 
except clauses 9 and 10 of Rule XXI. The rule provides that the 
amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure now printed in 
the bill, modified by the amendment printed in Part A of the 
Rules Committee report, shall be considered as adopted. The 
bill as amended shall be considered as an original bill for the 
purpose of amendment and shall be considered as read. The rule 
waives all points of order against provisions in the bill as 
amended.
    The rule makes in order only those further amendments 
printed in Part B of the Rules Committee report accompanying 
the resolution. The further amendments made in order may be 
offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered 
only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered 
as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the 
report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an 
opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be 
subject to a demand for a division of the question in the House 
or in the Committee of the Whole. All points of order against 
the amendments except for clauses 9 and 10 of Rule XXI are 
waived. Finally, the rule provides one motion to recommit with 
or without instructions.

                         EXPLANATION OF WAIVERS

    The waivers of all points of order against the bill and 
against its consideration (except for clauses 9 and 10 of Rule 
XXI) includes a waiver of clause 5(a) of Rule XXI (prohibiting 
tax or tariff provisions in a bill not reported by a committee 
with jurisdiction over revenue measures).

               SUMMARY OF AMENDMENT CONSIDERED AS ADOPTED

    Oberstar (MN) Manager's Amendment. The manager's amendment: 
clarifies the types of activities that can be undertaken to 
address stormwater issues; provides clarification of the types 
of innovative and alternative processes, materials, techniques, 
and technologies that should be considered for additional 
subsidization; reauthorizes an existing Environmental 
Protection Agency program that collects and disseminates 
information on alternative wastewater treatment technologies 
and processes; makes other technical changes.

           SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER UNDER THE RULE

    1. Stupak (MI): The amendment would require the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in consultation with the 
State Department and Canadian government, to study wastewater 
treatment facilities that discharge into the Great Lakes and 
provide recommendations to improve monitoring, information 
sharing, and cooperation between the U.S. and Canada. The 
amendment would also require the EPA to consult with the 
International Joint Commission, the bi-national organization 
created to protect the boundary waters between the U.S. and 
Canada. (10 min.)
    2. Baker (LA)/King, Steve (IA): The amendment would strike 
the Davis-Bacon section of the bill. (10 min.)
    3. Hall, John (NY)/Blumenauer (OR): The amendment requires 
that states, in the development of their priority list under 
section 606(g) of the Clean Water Act, consider whether the 
project or activity proposed for funding would first address 
the repair and replacement of existing wastewater 
infrastructure. (10 min.)
    4. Platts (PA): The amendment would extend the application 
of the full-and-open competition requirements of Title II of 
the Clean Water Act, found at Title 33, Section 1284(a)(6) of 
the United States Code, to bid specifications for projects 
funded in whole or in part with monies provided through the 
State Revolving Funds. (10 min.)
    5. Hirono (HI): The amendment would authorize technical 
assistance and grants for the development of integrated water 
resource plans. (10 min.)
    6. Whitfield (KY): The amendment establishes a two-year 
pilot program to test under normal weather conditions what an 
extended summer pool lake level would mean to enhanced boating 
safety, recreation, navigation, fishing, and tourism 
activities, while also enabling us to gauge the economic impact 
of longer and higher water levels. (10 min.)

         PART A--TEXT OF AMENDMENT TO BE CONSIDERED AS ADOPTED

  Page 4, line 7, strike ``wastewater infrastructure 
assistance'' and insert ``eligible projects described in 
section 603(c)''.
  Page 5, after line 9, insert the following:
  (c) Small Flows Clearinghouse.--Section 104(q)(4) (33 U.S.C. 
1254(q)(4)) is amended--
          (1) in the first sentence by striking ``$1,000,000'' 
        and inserting ``$3,000,000''; and
          (2) in the second sentence by striking ``1986'' and 
        inserting ``2009''.
  Page 5, line 10, strike ``(c)'' and insert ``(d)''.
  Page 6, strike lines 14 through 16 and insert the following:
                  (B) in paragraph (2) by striking ``in 
                reducing such pollutants'' and all that follows 
                before the period at the end and inserting ``to 
                manage, reduce, treat, or reuse municipal 
                stormwater, including low-impact development 
                technologies''; and
  Page 11, lines 9 and 10, strike ``has considered'' and all 
that follows through ``alternative management'' and insert the 
following: ``has considered, to the maximum extent practical 
and as determined appropriate by the recipient, the costs and 
effectiveness of other design, management,''.
  Page 14, strike lines 1 and 2 and insert the following:
          ``(6) for measures to manage, reduce, treat, or reuse 
        municipal stormwater;''.
  Page 18, line 3, insert ``low-impact technologies,'' before 
``nonstructural''.
  Page 18, line 5, insert ``nutrient'' before ``pollutant 
trading''.

        PART B--TEXT OF AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER UNDER THE RULE

1. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Stupak of Michigan, or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  At the end of title V of the bill, add the following (and 
conform the table of contents accordingly):

SEC. 503. GREAT LAKES WATER QUALITY.

  (a) Study.--The Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the 
Government of Canada, shall conduct a study of the condition of 
wastewater treatment facilities located in the United States 
and Canada that discharge into the Great Lakes.
  (b) Contents.--In conducting the study, the Administrator 
shall--
          (1) determine the effect that such treatment 
        facilities have on Great Lakes water quality; and
          (2) develop recommendations--
                  (A) to improve water quality monitoring by 
                the operators of such treatment facilities;
                  (B) to establish a protocol for improved 
                notification and information sharing between 
                the United States and Canada; and
                  (C) to promote cooperation between the United 
                States and Canada to prevent the discharge of 
                untreated and undertreated waste into the Great 
                Lakes.
  (c) Consultation.--In conducting the study, the Administrator 
shall consult with the International Joint Commission and 
Federal, State, and local governments.
  (d) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to 
Congress a report on the results of the study, together with 
the recommendations developed under subsection (b)(2).
                              ----------                              


2. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Baker of Louisiana, or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 12, line 9, insert ``and'' after the semicolon.
  Page 12, line 20, strike the semicolon and all that follows 
before the first period on page 13, line 3.
  Page 25, line 3, strike ``(6), (15), and (17)'' and insert 
``(6) and (15)''.
                              ----------                              


 3. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Hall of New York, or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 23, line 9, strike ``and whether such'' and insert ``, 
whether such''.
  Page 23, line 11, insert before the period at the end the 
following: ``, and whether the proposed projects and activities 
would address water quality impairments associated with 
existing treatment works''.
                              ----------                              


4. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Platts of Pennsylvania, 
               or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 12, line 7, insert ``204(a)(6),'' before ``204(b)(1),''.
                              ----------                              


 5. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Hirono of Hawaii, or 
                 Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

    Page 6, line 21, strike the closing quotation marks and the 
final period.
    Page 6, after line 21, insert the following:
          ``(4) Integrated water resource plan.--The 
        development of an integrated water resource plan for 
        the coordinated management and protection of surface 
        water, ground water, and stormwater resources on a 
        watershed or subwatershed basis to meet the objectives, 
        goals, and policies of this Act.''.
                              ----------                              


6. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Whitfield of Kentucky, 
               or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  At the end of title I insert the following (and conform the 
table of contents accordingly):

SEC. 104. POOL ELEVATION PILOT PROGRAM.

  (a) Pilot Program.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
Federal law, beginning in the first July after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Army Corps of Engineers, together 
with any other Federal agency that has the authority to change 
the pool elevation of Lake Barkley, Kentucky, shall establish 
and conduct a pilot program that, under normal weather 
conditions, extends the summer pool elevation of 359 feet on 
such lake from the current draw down date of July 1 until after 
the first Monday in September.
  (b) Pilot Program Duration.--Except as provided in subsection 
(d), the pilot program shall terminate on the first Monday in 
September two years after the pilot program begins.
  (c) Evaluation and Recommendations.--Not later than 60 days 
after the first Monday in September two years after the pilot 
program begins, the Chief of Engineers of the Army Corps of 
Engineers shall evaluate the effectiveness of extending the 
pool elevation on Lake Barkley, Kentucky, under subsection (a) 
and report to the appropriate committees of Congress their 
findings, including any recommendations, regarding the 
extension of time for such lake elevation.
  (d) Continuation.--If the Army Corps of Engineers determines 
that the pilot program under this section is effective, the 
Corps shall continue the summer elevation of 359 feet on Lake 
Barkley, Kentucky, through the first Monday in September each 
year.

                                  
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