This Week in Washington

This weekly report is written by the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 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 by e-mail or at 202/789-2200.

Inside This Week:

• Have You Completed the Infrastructure Survey?
• Administration Approves New Wetlands Preservation Regulation
• Supreme Court Narrows Wetlands Protection Under CWA
• EPA Proposes Broad New Controls Over Sanitary Sewers
• State Government Update

1. HAVE YOU COMPLETED THE INFRASTRUCTURE SURVEY?
As our nation gets ready to welcome its new leaders in Washington, ASCE is preparing a new Report Card for America's Infrastructure. The 2001 Report Card for America's Infrastructure will re-assess the 10 infrastructure areas that ASCE graded in its 1998 Report Card (roads, bridges, mass transit, aviation, schools, drinking water, wastewater, dams, solid waste, and hazardous waste), and examine two new categories (waterways and energy transmission). As with the 1998 Report Card , ASCE will not only report on the state of our nation's infrastructure, but will also offer viable public policy solutions that can be adopted by the 107th Congress.

Of course, ASCE's assessment of our nation's infrastructure would not be complete without your input and your observations on the condition of your community's infrastructure. In order to capture your comments effectively, ASCE's Communications and Government Relations Division is conducting an on-line survey to gather information about the latest issues and concerns surrounding your local infrastructure. The survey results will be used for the release of the 2001 Report Card and as a way to illustrate the problems and the policy solutions presented in ASCE's assessment.

We appreciate your time and expertise in answering these questions. The deadline for responding to the survey is Wednesday, January 31, 2001. If you have any questions or comments, please contact ASCE's Communications and Government Relations Division at govwash@asce.org.

2. ADMINISTRATION APPROVES NEW WETLANDS PRESERVATION REGULATION
With less than two weeks before his term ends, President Clinton cleared a final regulation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on January 9 that will restrict new development in wetlands.

The new rule modifies the definition of "discharge of dredged material" to clarify what types of activities EPA and the Corps believe are likely to result in discharges that should be regulated. The Corps and EPA regard the use of mechanized earth moving equipment to conduct land-clearing, ditching, channelization, in-stream mining, or other earth-moving activity in waters of the U.S. as resulting in a discharge of dredged material, unless project-specific evidence shows that the activity results in only "incidental fallback."

Officials said the rule also provides a definition of what constitutes unregulated incidental fallback that is intended to be consistent with a 1998 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The new rule will appear in the Federal Register the week of January 14.

3. SUPREME COURT NARROWS WETLANDS PROTECTION UNDER CWA
A divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled on January 9 that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) lacks the power under the Clean Water Act (CWA) to regulate construction activities in isolated wetlands.

By a 5-4 vote, the Court said that the "migratory bird rule" adopted by the USACE in 1986 exceeds the Corps' regulatory authority under the Act. The decision effectively voided the 14-year-old regulation, which concluded that the USACE could prohibit construction activities in nonnavigable, isolated, intrastate waters based upon the presence of migratory birds.

"We find nothing approaching a clear statement from Congress that it intended [the Act] to reach an abandoned sand and gravel pit," said Chief Justice William Rehnquist in the majority opinion. "Permitting [the Corps] to claim federal jurisdiction over ponds and mudflats falling within the 'Migratory Bird Rule' would result in a significant impingement of the states’ traditional and primary power over land and water use."

"Today's ruling will make it even more difficult to effectively protect against the loss of wetlands," said EPA Administrator Carol Browner.

4. EPA PROPOSES BROAD NEW CONTROLS OVER SANITARY SEWERS
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a new regulation under the Clean Water Act that would seek to eliminate unintended pollution from failing sanitary sewers. The new "sanitary sewer overflow" (SSO) rule will appear in the Federal Register soon.

EPA has found that SSOs caused by poor sewer collection system management pose a substantial health and environmental challenge. The response to this challenge varies considerably from state to state. "Many municipalities have asked for national consistency in the way permits are considered for wastewater discharges, including SSOs, and in enforcement of the law prohibiting unpermitted discharges," the EPA said.

The proposed rule would require improved management of capacity and maintenance programs to reduce sewer overflows by strengthening current Clean Water Act permit conditions for more than 19,000 sewage treatment plants around the country. The proposal would require 4,800 "satellite" sewage collection systems to get permits for the first time.

Additionally, cities would be required to develop and implement plans to improve plant performance, encourage new investments in infrastructure, and perform a number of technical upgrades. EPA would clarify that communities have limited protection from enforcement in very rare circumstances.

5. STATE GOVERNMENT UPDATE
ASCE provides updates on individual state government matters affecting civil engineers. For more information on the following items, or any other state government relations matters, please contact Austin Fulk, ASCE’s Manager of State Government Relations, at (202) 789-2200 or via email at afulk@asce.org.

Leadership Training in Government Relations
On March 6-7, 2001, ASCE will hold its first annual Leadership Training in Government Relations in Washington, DC. Participants will learn valuable skills which will help their Sections be more effective in dealing with government and the media, and will be able to put these skills into practice by meeting with their members of Congress while in Washington. Among the topics that will be covered are sessions on the legislative process and how to run a legislative campaign, how to promote ASCE's priority issues, coalition building, and dealing with and using the media. All ASCE members are invited to attend, and expenses will be paid for some participants. If you would like more information or an application to fund your trip to the training, please email govwash@asce.org and ask for a copy of the application.

Legislation in the States
As state legislatures go back into session, a number of bills relating to engineers have already been introduced.

California: In response to concerns about water pollution, Governor Gray Davis is proposing to spend as much as $100 million to prevent beaches from being polluted by raw sewage. Also, A.B. 15 would require the state to pay capital costs for stormwater systems to prevent some discharges from reaching public beaches.

Idaho: H.B. 24 requires the licensing of all companies and engineers practicing engineering in Idaho. Currently, only Idaho-based engineers have to be licensed.

Kentucky: In an effort to deal with brownfields and other environmental hazards, S.B. 4 establishes a voluntary environmental remediation program.

Minnesota: Governor Jesse Ventura has proposed lowering the state's sales tax from 6.5 percent to 6 percent, and partially financing that reduction by expanding the tax to cover most professional services. No details are currently available, but the proposal is expected to be detailed in the Governor's state budget address on January 23.

Mississippi: In response to a shortage of engineers in the state's Department of Transportation (DOT), H.B. 247 has been introduced to provide scholarships for engineering students who commit to working for DOT for a certain amount of time after graduation.

Missouri: Several pieces of legislation have been introduced in Missouri. S.B. 206 establishes new rules for the operation of on-site sewage treatment systems. H.B. 82 allows engineers or engineering companies to obtain liens on buildings if they are not paid for design work on the structures. S.B. 108 establishes the Missouri Engineering and Science Academy for high school students at the University of Missouri-Rolla. Also, S.B. 147 exempts computer purchases from the state sales tax if they are purchased for use by architecture/engineering firms headquartered in the state.

Montana: M.D. 224 establishes a commission to examine allowing the use of design-build on public construction.

New Hampshire: L.S.R. 838 removes the continuing education requirement for renewal of PE license.

North Dakota: As in Mississippi, North Dakota needs to recruit more engineers to work for the state DOT, and H.B. 1167 establishes scholarships for engineering students who agree to work for that agency.

Ohio: H.B. 700 sets up new requirements for operating a solid waste landfill in response to pollution concerns.

Texas: S.B. 155 would allow municipalities to use design-build to construct facilities costing over $50 million. Relatively few projects would be affected, but the proposal would loosen design-build restrictions somewhat.