Date: 2010-12-22
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I rise in strong support of S. 3481. a bill that would clarify Federal responsibility for stormwater runoff from buildings. facilities. and lands owned or operated by the Federal government. This commonsense bill ensures that the Federal Government maintains its equitable responsibility for stormwater pollution runoff originating or emanating from its property. I applaud the outstanding work of the sponsors of this legislation. the distinguished Senator from the State of Maryland . as well as the sponsor of the House companion for this bill. the Delegate from the District of Columbia . for their efforts to move this legislation so quickly to the Presidents desk. Madam Speaker. simply put. this legislation clarifies that Federal agencies and departments are financially responsible for any reasonable Federal. State. or locally derived charges for treating or otherwise addressing stormwater pollution that emanates from Federal property. Existing section 313 of the Clean Water Act states that "Each department. agency. or instrumentality . . . of the Federal Government � . . shall be subject to. and comply with. all Federal. State. interstate. and local requirements . . . including the payment of reasonable service charges." Unfortunately. over the past few months. Congress has learned of several Federal agencies. including some here in the Nations Capital. that have made the determination that stormwater management fees are "taxes" for which the agencies have claimed sovereign immunity and have refused to pay. This has left several State and local municipalities with the financial responsibility of addressing ongoing sources of pollution to the Nations waters that any other private business. landowner. or homeowner would otherwise be responsible for paying. Polluted runoff from urban areas is the fastest growing source of water pollution in America. As urbanization increases. impervious surfaces such as highways. roads. parking lots. and buildings replace nonimpervious surfaces that absorb stormwater. Runoff from impervious surfaces is a central cause of pollution for the Nations waters. and is estimated to be the primary source of impairment for 13 percent of rivers. 18 percent of lakes. and 32 percent of estuaries in the United States. These are significant figures. especially given that urban areas cover only 3 percent of the land mass of the country. Even here. in the Nations Capital. pollution from stormwater runoff poses a significant challenge to the quality of local receiving waters. and negatively impacts the overall environmental health of the Chesapeake Bay. According to the Environmental Protection Agency. stormwater runoff from urban and suburban areas is "a significant source of impairment to the Chesapeake Bay." According to Agency statistics. 17 percent of phosphorus. 11 percent of nitrogen. and 9 percent of sediment loads to the Bay come from stormwater runoff. In addition. chemical contaminants from runoff can rival or exceed the amount reaching local waterways from industries. Federal facilities. and wastewater treatment plants. Several states and municipalities. including the District of Columbia. have taken aggressive action to address these ongoing sources of pollution. Yet. when a significant percentage of property owners take the position that they cannot be held responsible for their pollution. it places a greater financial burden on our States. cities. communities. and localratepayers. and makes it less likely that significant reductions in stormwater pollution can be achieved. S. 3481 amends section 313 of the Clean Water Act to clarify that "reasonable service charges" for addressing pollution from Federal facilities includes reasonable nondiscriminatory fees. charges. or assessments that are based on the proportion of stormwater emanating from the facility and used to pay (or reimburse) costs associated with any stormwater management program. Madam Speaker. in the amendment to section 313 of the Clean Water Act. a provision was included to rectify a specific problem in the District of Columbia. where the U.S. Department of the Treasury has been paying some stormwater fees. The provision simply says that agencies and departments should use their annual appropriated funds to pay for stormwater fees. This is exactly what they all do today in paying for their drinking water and wastewater bills or any other utility bill. This new language requires that Congress make available. in appropriations acts. the funds that could be used for this purpose. It should not be interpreted as requiring appropriations act to state specifically or expressly that the funds could be used to pay these charges. The statutory language does not require this. and such a restrictive reading is not intended. Madam Speaker. this legislation is a simple effort to clarify. again. that the Federal Government bears a proportional responsibility for addressing pollution originating from its facilities. and should remain an active participant in improving National water quality and the overall environment. I urge passage of this bill. The bill was ordered to be read a third time. was read the third time. and passed. and a motion to reconsider was laid on the table.