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Environment Update
January 4, 2001
Volume II, Number 1a
Agenda Items for U.S. Senate Committee
Although the members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works have not been finalized, Senator Bob Smith (R-NH) has released a tentative list of priorities. This includes some unfinished business from the last Congress: 1) highway environmental streamlining; 2) brownfields revitalization; and 3) a reduction in the use of the gasoline additive methyl butyl ether (MTBE). New items for the 107th Congress include: 1) a review of EPA, including budget priorities and the agency's partnerships with states; 2) reforming the Army Corps of Engineers' water resources projects; 3) water infrastructure improvements to bridge "a trillion dollar gap between needs and funding provided"; and 4) a reduction in air emissions from electric utilities. President-elect George W. Bush has voiced support for emissions reduction. Texas was one of the first three states in the nation to require older electric utilities to reduce emissions (nitrogen oxide by 50% and sulfur dioxide by 25%, by 2003), though these utilities had been exempted under the Clean Air Act, according to a campaign statement.
Bush Names New Jersey Governor Whitman to Head EPA
President-elect George W. Bush announced New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman as his selection for Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. As Governor of New Jersey, Whitman helped secure funding to preserve 1 million additional acres of open space and farmland by the year 2010. She also helped increase state funds for shore protection, which led to New Jersey being recognized by the National Resource Defense Council for having the most comprehensive beach monitoring system in the nation. In 1998, Whitman signed major clean-water legislation to grant up to $100 million in loans to local governments and water authorities for clean water and drinking water projects. Whitman also eliminated the permitting process for minor projects and removed more than 1,000 chemicals from the state's right to know list. Prior to her service as Governor, Whitman served on the Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders, and later on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. She has a bachelor's degree in government from Wheaton College in Massachusetts. Whitman has served as Governor of New Jersey since 1993.
EPA Proposes Strict New Controls to Reduce Water Pollution from Large Industrial Feedlot Operations-Congressional Activity May Follow
On Dec. 15, 2000, the U.S. EPA proposed to revise and update two regulations-the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and the Effluent Limitations Guidelines- that address the impacts of manure, wastewater and other process waters generated by concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) on water quality. Changes include: 1) a new definition of AFO and CAFO; 2) stricter permitting requirements; 3) the elimination of the 25-year, 24-hour storm permit exemption; 4) elimination of the mixed animal type calculation; 5) imposing a duty to apply for a permit on all CAFOs; 6) the establishment of a new subcategory that applies to veal operations; 7) the inclusion of new animal types-dry manure handling poultry operations and stand-alone immature swine and heifer operations-in the NPDES program; 8) guidelines concerning animal confinement and manure storage; and 9) land application and off-site transfer of manure. EPA estimates that the proposed regulations will result in compliance costs to CAFO operators of $850 million to $940 million per year, depending on the final rule. It has been reported that the proposed rule "may be scrutinized by at least one member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee."(1) The EPA will take public comment for 120 days following the proposed rules publication in the Federal Register in early January. Additional information on the proposed rule is available on EPA's Office of Water web site at http://www.epa.gov/ovm/afo.htm.
(1) Daily Environment, Bureau of National Affairs, January 4, 2001, Washington, D.C.
NCSL Contacts:
Molly Stauffer
Committee Director
(202) 624-3584
Laurie Holmes
Staff Assistant
(202)624-8695
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