	Most Recent Developments

Before adjourning sine die in December 2006, Congress passed legislation to reauthorize the Clean Water Act's Lake Pontchartrain Basin program ( H.R. 6121 ). Two other bills reported by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee dealt with security of wastewater treatment facilities ( S. 2781 ), and incentives to promote remediation of inactive and abandoned hardrock mines ( S. 1848 ). Authorizations for wastewater treatment funding expired in FY1994. Criticism also has come from developers and property rights groups who contend that federal regulations (particularly the act's wetlands permit program) are a costly intrusion on private land-use decisions. Congress passed a bill to strengthen protection of coastal recreation waters through upgraded water quality standards and coastal waters monitoring programs ( P.L. Congress also passed a bill ( P.L. The House passed H.R. 109-166 ), to reauthorize Section 221 of the act and provide $1.5 billion over six years for sewer overflow projects (identical to H.R. 109-167 ), to extend Section 220 of the act, authorizing a pilot program for alternative water source projects. Other bills concerned with specific CWA programs received attention; two were enacted. 109-137 ). 109-392 ). Other bills were considered but not enacted. In particular, S. 1709 , passed by the Senate on September 27, 2005, would have modified the revolving loan provisions of the Clean Water Act to provide favorable treatment (such as forgiveness of loan principal and extended repayment) for sewage treatment repair or rebuilding projects in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Several bills with provisions intended to do so were introduced ( S. 1711 , S. 1765 / S. 1766 ) but received no further congressional consideration. H.R. For some time, efforts to comprehensively amend the act have stalled as interests have debated whether and exactly how to change the law. These factors partly explain why Congress has recently favored focusing legislative attention on narrow bills to extend or modify selected CWA programs, rather than taking up comprehensive proposals. These include a general reluctance by most Members of Congress to address controversial environmental issues in view of the slim majorities held by political parties in the House and the Senate; lack of presidential initiatives on clean water issues (neither the Clinton nor the Bush Administration proposed CWA legislation); and, since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, more prominent congressional focus on security, terrorism, and Iraq war issues than on many other topics, including environmental protection. At issue today is how the federal government will assist states and cities, especially in view of the high projected funding needs that exist. Legislative Responses

Congress has actively considered water infrastructure funding issues since the 107 th Congress, when House and Senate committees approved bills to extend the act's SRF program through FY2007 and increase federal assistance ( H.R. A report on H.R. In addition, separate bills to reauthorize funding for sewer overflow grants (CWA Section 221) were introduced ( H.R. The bill was similar to S. 2550 in the 108 th Congress; it would have authorized $20 billion for grants to capitalize the Clean Water Act SRF program and $15 billion for Safe Drinking Water Act SRFs through FY2010. 1356 / S. 912 , the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act of 2005). Other legislation to narrow the definition of "waters of the United States" also was introduced ( H.R. 2658 , the Federal Wetlands Jurisdiction Act of 2005). It was a free-standing bill and would not have amended any of these laws.
Legislative initiatives to comprehensively amend the Clean Water Act (CWA) have stalled for some time as interested parties have debated whether and exactly how to change the law. Congress has instead focused legislative attention on narrow bills to extend or modify selected CWA programs, but not any comprehensive proposals. In the 109th Congress, two such bills were enacted: a bill extending authorizations for the Long Island Sound program (H.R. 3963, P.L. 109-137), and another concerning the Lake Pontchartrain Basin (H.R. 6121, P.L. 109-392). The House also passed H.R. 1721, a bill to reauthorize coastal water quality programs, and several other CWA bills were reported by House and Senate committees (including H.R. 4126, concerning the Chesapeake Bay; and S. 2781, concerning wastewater facility security). A free-standing bill intended to promote remediation of abandoned hardrock mines (S. 1848), which would have affected CWA requirements for such projects, also was reported but not passed.
Following Gulf Coast hurricanes in 2005, the Senate passed legislation to streamline delivery of funds to repair storm-damaged sewage treatment plants (S. 1709). Other bills intended to simplify environmental review of recovery and rebuilding projects also were introduced (S. 1711, S. 1765/S. 1766). None of these was enacted.
For several years, the most prominent legislative water quality issue has concerned financial assistance for municipal wastewater treatment projects. At issue is how the federal government will assist states and cities in meeting needs to rebuild, repair, and upgrade wastewater treatment plants, especially in light of capital costs that are projected to be as much as $390 billion over the next two decades. In the 109th Congress, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved S. 1400, a bill authorizing $20 billion in federal grants to capitalize state clean water infrastructure loan programs. A House committee approved bills to reauthorize other Clean Water Act programs: H.R. 624 would have provided $1.5 billion in grants over six years for sewer overflow projects; and H.R. 1359 would have extended a pilot program for alternative water source projects. None of these bills was passed.
Other Clean Water Act issues have received attention from numerous stakeholders, but were not considered by the 109th Congress. In particular, programs that regulate activities in wetlands, especially CWA Section 404, have been criticized by landowners for intruding on private land-use decisions and imposing excessive economic burdens. Environmentalists view these programs as essential for maintaining the health of wetland ecosystems. These groups are concerned about a 2001 Supreme Court decision, the SWANCC case, that narrowed regulatory protection of wetlands, a 2006 Court ruling that also addressed the regulatory jurisdiction of Section 404, and related administrative actions, including 2003 policy guidance intended to interpret the SWANCC case. Legislation to reverse the SWANCC ruling (H.R. 1356/S. 912, the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act), and another bill to narrow the government's regulatory jurisdiction (H.R. 2658, the Federal Wetlands Jurisdiction Act), were introduced but were not enacted.