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# Legislative Bulletin..........................................March 7, 2007

**Contents:**

> **H.R. 569 ---** Water Quality Investment Act of 2007

H.R. 569 --- Water Quality Investment Act of 2007 *(Pascrell, D-NJ)*

**[Order of Business]{.underline}**: The bill is scheduled for
consideration on Wednesday, March 7, 2007, likely subject to a modified
open rule requiring pre-filing of all amendments in the *Congressional
Record* by close of business on Tuesday, March 6, 2007.

**[Summary]{.underline}**: H.R. 569 would reauthorize an expired federal
program that provides grants to states to for the purpose of providing
grants to a municipality for planning, design, and construction of
treatment works to intercept, transport, control, or treat municipal
combined sewer overflows and sanitary sewer overflows. This federal
grant's authorization expired in 2003, and **this bill would authorize
the grant program through FY2012 at \$1.8 billion over the five-year
period**. Specifically, the bill would annually authorize the following
amounts:

-   FY 2008: \$250 million

-   FY 2009: \$300 million

-   FY 2010: \$350 million

-   FY 2011: \$400 million

-   FY 2012: \$500 million

H.R. 569 would also amend the Water Pollution Control Act to require
that projects receiving federal sewer overflow control grants are
subject to the same requirements applicable to projects receiving
assistance from a state water pollution control revolving funds, except
to the extent that the governor of the state in which the project is
located determines that a revolving fund requirement is inconsistent
with the purposes of the sewer overflow control grant program.

Finally, the bill extends until December 31, 2010 (from 2003), the
deadline for the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) to submit a report to Congress containing recommended funding
levels for these grants. Current law requires that these recommendations
"be sufficient to ensure the continued expeditious implementation of
municipal combined sewer overflow and sanitary sewer overflow controls
nationwide." It is unclear if the 2003 report was ever submitted by the
EPA to Congress.

**Some conservatives may be concerned that this bill authorizes \$1.8
BILLION in federal grants for [local]{.underline} sewage treatment
infrastructure.**

**[Additional Information]{.underline}**: According to Committee Report
[110-16](http://www.congress.gov/cgi-lis/cpquery/R?cp110:FLD010:@1(hr016)),
"Combined sewer systems, which carry both storm water and sanitary
(sewage) flows, and separate sanitary sewer systems can overflow with
untreated waste during wet weather episodes such as rainfall or snow
melts. These combined sewer overflows and sanitary sewer overflows may
also occur outside of precipitation events because of insufficient
system capacity, poor system design, inadequate maintenance, inflow from
improper connections to the system, and infiltration from groundwater
into deteriorated pipes, among other factors." The grants authorized in
H.R. 569 are designed to provide funding to cities to redesign their
sewer systems in order to manage sewage overflow issues.

**[Committee Action]{.underline}**: H.R. 569 was introduced on January
18, 2007, and referred to the House Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure, which held a mark-up and reported the bill by voice
vote, as amended, on February 16, 2007.

**[Cost to Taxpayers]{.underline}**: CBO confirms that H.R. 569 would
authorize \$250 million in FY2008 and a total of \$1.8 billion over the
FY2008-FY2012 period.

**[Does the Bill Expand the Size and Scope of the Federal
Government?]{.underline}**: Yes. The bill reauthorizes an expired grant
program.

**[Does the Bill Contain Any New State-Government, Local-Government, or
Private-Sector Mandates?]{.underline}**: No.

**[Does the Bill Comply With the House Earmark Rule?:]{.underline}**
According to Committee Report 110-16, H.R. 569 does not contain any
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits.

**[Constitutional Authority]{.underline}**: The Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee, in Committee Report 110-16 cites
constitutional authority in Article I, Section 8, but fails to cite a
specific clause.

House Rule XIII, Section 3(d)(1), requires that all committee reports
contain "a statement citing the *specific* powers granted to Congress in
the Constitution to enact the law proposed by the bill or joint
resolution" *(emphasis added).*

**[RSC Staff Contact:]{.underline}** Joelle Cannon;
<joelle.cannon@mail.house.gov>, 202.226.0718.

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