IV
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 403
Expressing the sense of Congress regarding combined sewer overflow control
programs.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 14, 2002
Mr. MEEHAN (for himself and Mr. QUINN) submitted the following concurrent
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress regarding combined sewer
overflow control programs.
Whereas approximately 900 communities, concentrated in the
Northeast, Great Lakes region, and Pacific Northwest,
have combined sewer systems;
Whereas combined sewer systems were among the earliest
sewers built in the United States;
Whereas these sewer systems are known as ‘‘combined sewer
systems’’ because they transport rainwater runoff, do-
mestic sewage, and industrial waste through a single pipe
to municipal treatment plants;
Whereas combined sewer overflow occurs when the capacity
of the collection and treatment system is exceeded due to
high volumes of rainwater or snowmelt;
•HCON 403 IH
Whereas in the event that the capacity of a combined sewer
system is exceeded, untreated domestic sewage, industrial
wastes, and rainwater are discharged into surface waters;
Whereas combined sewer overflow can create serious public
health and water quality concerns;
Whereas the Environmental Protection Agency has required
combined sewer overflow communities to develop long-
term control plans for combined sewer overflow;
Whereas implementation of these long-term control plans can
require extraordinarily large infrastructure investments
that may be beyond the financial means of combined
sewer overflow communities;
Whereas local government and utility ratepayers currently
shoulder over 90 percent of all spending on drinking
water and wastewater infrastructure;
Whereas the Environmental Protection Agency estimated in
its 1996 Clean Water Needs Survey Report to Congress
that it will cost $44,700,000,000 to control combined
sewer overflow nationwide;
Whereas many in the wastewater treatment sector consider
that estimate to be a gross underestimate of required
control costs;
Whereas the Federal Government has recognized that it has
an obligation to assist communities in complying with
water pollution control mandates of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.);
Whereas the construction grants program under such Act as-
sisted States and communities in modernizing their water
and sewer distribution programs;
•HCON 403 IH
Whereas the construction grants program under such Act has
been replaced by annual Federal grants to capitalize
State water pollution control revolving loan funds;
Whereas federally capitalized State water pollution control re-
volving loan funds have been increasingly used to provide
below-market and zero-interest loans to communities for
combined sewer overflow control projects;
Whereas although federally capitalized State water pollution
control revolving loan funds have assisted combined sewer
overflow control efforts, many communities cannot afford
to repay loans for 100 percent of the cost of water infra-
structure projects;
Whereas Congress has recognized that Federal grants are a
necessary component of helping communities afford com-
bined sewer overflow control;
Whereas Congress has provided earmarked combined sewer
overflow control infrastructure funding for specific com-
munities in annual appropriations Acts, accompanied by
a 45 percent local cost-share requirement;
Whereas recognizing that earmarked combined sewer overflow
infrastructure funding in annual appropriations Acts did
not fully meet the enormous needs of combined sewer
overflow communities, Congress enacted amendments to
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act in 2000 author-
izing the Environmental Protection Agency to provide
$750,000,000 in grants in each of fiscal years 2002 and
2003 to combined sewer overflow communities, either di-
rectly or through States, for planning, design, and con-
struction of combined sewer overflow treatment;
•HCON 403 IH
Whereas the combined sewer overflow grant program author-
ized in 2000 assigns financially distressed communities
priority for direct grants;
Whereas the new combined sewer overflow grant program
was not funded in fiscal year 2002;
Whereas the President’s budget for fiscal year 2003 does not
request funding for the new combined sewer overflow
grant program; and
Whereas the new combined sewer overflow grant program’s
authorization expires after fiscal year 2003: Now, there-
fore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That Congress should—
(1) commit and provide substantially increased
Federal funding and resources for combined sewer
overflow control, which commitment must include a
significant grant component;
(2) increase Federal funding for combined
sewer overflow control to levels sufficient to cover at
least 80 percent of the costs of such control incurred
by economically disadvantaged communities, particu-
larly those located in urban areas;
(3) provide the Environmental Protection Agen-
cy with additional resources to improve nationwide
tracking of progress in combined sewer overflow con-
trol programs; and
•HCON 403 IH
(4) expressly authorize the Army Corps of En-
gineers to assist municipalities with assessment and
design work associated with combined sewer system
upgrades.
Æ