The Week Ending April 7, 2000
This weekly report is written by ASCE's Government Relations staff. If you have questions or comments about any items in this report, please contact Brian Pallasch, Michael Charles, Martin Hight, Austin Fulk, or Liz Hermsen at 202/789-2200.
Inside This Week:
Senate Rejects Bill to Temporarily Repeal Gas Tax
The Senate on Thursday, April 6 rejected a bill (S. 2285) related to the federal excise tax on gasoline. The bill would have temporarily repealed, until January 1, 2001, the 4.3 cents per gallon increase that Congress approved in 1993, or if the average national price of regular gasoline were at least $2.00, it would have repealed the entire 18.4 cents per gallon federal excise tax.
ASCE opposed the bill because gas tax revenues are directly deposited into the Highway Trust Fund under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) and any cut in those taxes could reduce highway funding to all states. The 4.3 cents tax on gasoline and diesel fuel generates $7.2 billion annually for the Highway Trust Fund while the same tax on aviation fuel provides about $700 million per year for the Aviation Trust Fund. Under TEA-21, all highway programs are decreased proportionately if tax revenues fall short. Though the 18.4 cents per gallon, and the inclusive 4.3 cents per gallon increase in 1993, is labeled as a tax, it is really a user fee - it helps to ensure that highway users pay for highway programs and air travelers pay for airport infrastructure.
A special thank you to ASCE Key Contacts who contacted their Senators to oppose the bill and urge the protection of highway trust funds.
House Passes Falwed Manufactured Housing Legislation
The House of Representatives passed legislation (H.R. 1776) on Thursday, April 6, that would alter the way the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) establishes regulations for manufactured housing. The bill would form a standard-setting group that, at present, would not meet the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) requirements for standards developing groups. Therefore, ASCE opposed the bill as passed.
ASCE earlier proposed an amendment to the bill that would provide greater protections for the buyers of manufactured homes, ensure a fair rulemaking process, prevent possible industry influence over the enforcement of federal regulation and energize the long-delayed regulatory process at HUD. However, the amendment was not included in the current bill. ASCE agreed that legislation was needed to push HUD to modernize current manufactured housing regulations that have not been significantly altered in more than twenty years. Nonetheless, ASCE is concerned that the legislation, strongly backed by the manufactured housing industry, would blur the long-standing practice of developing industry safety standards apart from any consequent regulations.
Army Corps of Engineers Postpones New Reforms
On Thursday, April 6, Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera indefinitely postponed the Corps of Engineers management reforms he had implemented on March 30. The reform had been instituted after recent scrutiny of the Corps' spending and management practices (see "This Week in Washington" from Feb. 25). However, three Senators, Armed Services Committee Chair John Warner (R-VA), Appropriations Committee Chair Ted Stevens (R-AK), and Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Bob Smith (R-NH), wrote to Defense Secretary William Cohen with concern that the reform would politicize the Corps and "threaten the interests of Congress."
Caldera's reform would transfer authority of the Corps from the Chief of Engineers Lt. Gen. Joe Ballard to Presidential-appointee Assistant Secretary for Civil Works Joseph Westphal. Westphal would make final decisions regarding Corps studies, policies, and projects. However, the Senators wrote that, "the questions before the Senate are whether the proposed reforms could compromise the professional and technical analysis performed by the Corps of Engineers..." The Senators were also concerned that "the announcement also raises significant questions about the ability of the Corps to effectively execute its mission." Congress is currently assembling a task force to examine the issue.
ASCE Comments on Appropriations for USGS
ASCE has submitted comments to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies for the fiscal year 2001 appropriations for the United States Geological Survey (USGS). ASCE expressed support for the President's budget request for USGS' streamgaging and earthquake hazards programs.
ASCE is pleased that the proposed $895 million USGS budget includes a $4 million increase in funding for the USGS streamgaging network program. The FY 2001 increase in funding for streamgaging will improve the program by allowing USGS to build 25 new streamgaging stations, reactivate 25 former stations, and upgrade 100 existing stations. The need for complete basic water data is essential to proper engineering design.
ASCE also supports the Administration's proposed increase of $2.6 million in funding for the Earthquakes Real Time Hazards Program. Such information is important for civil engineers who design buildings, bridges, and other public facilities in earthquake zones.
EPA Authority Upheld to Identify Waters Polluted by Runoff
A federal judge in San Francisco has upheld the Environmental Protection Agency's longstanding practice requiring EPA and states to identify which U.S. waterways are polluted by runoff from urban areas, agriculture and timber harvesting -- "nonpoint sources" of pollution - and to identify the maximum amount of pollutants that may enter these waterways.
"This important decision allows us to build on our successes of completing the task of cleaning our nation's waters," said EPA Administrator Carol Browner.
The March 30 opinion affirms the comprehensive scope of the Clean Water Act's Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program. In the first decision to squarely address the issue, Judge William Alsup found that Congress intended to include nonpoint source pollution in the Clean Water Act's water quality standards program.
The court heard a challenge to an EPA decision to put the Garcia River on a list of impaired waterways in California and define the amount of sediment that should be allowed to enter the river from land along its banks. Although salmon and steelhead once flourished in the Garcia River, excessive sediment from forestry operations now prevents the river from supporting healthy fish.
In March 1998, the EPA developed a TMDL for sediment for the river. A TMDL defines the greatest amount of a particular pollutant that can be introduced into a waterway without exceeding the river's water quality standard. The agency also defined the reductions in sediment that are necessary for the river to attain the water quality standard set by the state of California.
The ruling was a defeat for the American Farm Bureau Federation and other agriculture and timber groups who argued that the EPA and the states should calculate TMDLs only for pollutants that are discharged from pipes, or specific point sources. The court rejected this argument, holding that the Clean Water Act is designed to provide a comprehensive solution to the nation's water quality problems, "without regard to the sources of pollution."
Supreme Court Rejects Appeals of Wetlands Takings Claim
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal of a Florida developer who sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for denying him a permit to fill in a wetlands area in the Florida Keys.
The Supreme Court declined this week to review a 1999 decision of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which held that the developer lacked a reasonable, investment-backed expectation when he purchased land in the Florida Keys in 1973 that he would obtain the regulatory approval needed for a residential development.
Thus, the Court of Appeals determined, the Corps' 1994 denial of a permit to fill wetlands did not cause a taking of a private-property right in violation of the Fifth Amendment. This was true, said the Federal Circuit, notwithstanding that the denial was based on the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which did not exist in 1973. The Court of Appeals stated that the developer could not have been oblivious in 1973 to rising environmental awareness translating into ever-tightening land use regulations.
House Makes NSF Funding a Budget Priority
The House of Representatives on March 24 passed the Fiscal Year 2001 budget resolution with language noting the importance of funding for the National Science Foundation. The resolution states that, "It is the sense of the Congress that the function 250 (Basic Science) levels assume an amount of funding which ensures that the National Science Foundation is a priority in the resolution; recognizing the National Science Foundation's critical role in funding basic research, which leads to the innovations that assure the Nation's economic future, and in cultivating America's intellectual infrastructure." ASCE supported including this NSF funding language in the budget resolution.
State Legislative Update
ASCE continues to provide updates on state legislation affecting civil engineers as state legislative sessions progress. For more information on the following bills, or any other state legislative matters, please contact Austin Fulk, ASCE's Manager of State Government Relations, at (202) 789-2200 or via email at govwash@asce.org.
Infrastructure in California
California Governor Gray Davis recently unveiled a $15 billion proposal for new state transportation spending. Of that amount, $2.8 billion would be diverted from the state's budget surplus, $2.2 billion would come from the sale of new bonds, and the remainder is expected to be in the form of matching spending by the federal government and localities. The proposal would fund numerous highway, rail, and bus projects around the state, including an extension of commuter rail service from the east San Francisco Bay to San Jose, a light rail line for east Los Angeles, carpool lanes for the San Diego, San Bernardino, and Golden State Freeways, and major improvements to the Santa Ana Freeway. As an additional funding mechanism, Davis has indicated that he is open to the idea of requiring all state sales taxes paid on gasoline to be used for transportation projects. Also, to speed the completion of projects, Gov. Davis has endorsed the idea of contracting out for some of the design services necessary for these projects. Both the California Business Roundtable and the California Chamber of Commerce have endorsed the plan, but critics charge that the plan, while a good first step, does not go far enough in addressing California's estimated $100 billion worth of transportation needs.
Mediation in California
A hearing is currently scheduled for Tuesday, April 11, on AB 2833. The proposal, if passed, would require the State Contractor's Licensing Board to adopt a mediation process to resolve disputes between contractors and consumers.
