Water Well Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/643500
The bill highlights many of the adverse impacts drought has had on groundwater resources—increased pumping costs, subsidence, and the in- creased concentration of contaminants in groundwater where overdrafting has occurred. To combat these impacts, the legisla- tion provides $150,000 for water storage projects, including support for ground- water recharge, and authorizes water re- cycling and reuse projects throughout the West. Feinstein plans to meet with House of Representative leaders in the coming weeks to restart negotiations on a com- prehensive drought package that stalled over the holidays. Comprehensive drought legislation like Feinstein has proposed would provide critical funds for groundwater recharge projects. In addition, the legis- lation provides a national platform for congressional discussion on ground- water impacts from drought. Senate Pushes Forward on Energy Bill U.S. Senate leaders signaled they in- tend to move quickly to take up compre- hensive energy legislation that passed out of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee last summer. Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mc- Connell (R-Kentucky) views this as an opportunity to gain another legislative victory and is willing to have an open amendment process to stimulate the type of bipartisan support needed. NGWA has advocated "geothermal" be included in the definition of "renew- able energy," but the bill that passed out of committee did not do so. NGWA will continue to work with allies in the Senate to promote the addition of geothermal in order to align the definition with lan- guage in the House-passed energy bill. Promoting geothermal heat pumps as a renewable technology will help stimu- late markets for their use. Moving a comprehensive energy bill would likely contain multiple provisions, such as en- ergy efficiency, to boost consideration of geothermal heat pumps. EPA Releases Clean Watersheds Needs Survey I n January, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its 2012 Clean Watersheds Needs Survey report to Congress, citing a total capital need of $271 billion over the years 2012 to 2031. The report is an assessment of capital investment needed nationwide for pub- licly-owned wastewater projects to meet the water quality goals of the Clean Water Act. The total need decreased by 9% from the reported capital need in 2008. This decline was attributed to reduced report- ing by states, completed projects, and changes in costs. About 75% of the nation's needs are for wastewater infrastructure—treat- ment plant improvements, conveyance system repairs, new conveyance sys- tems, and recycled water distribution. About 18% are for "combined sewer overflow" correction. About 7% are for stormwater management. Significant opportunity exists for NGWA members who are involved in the planning, engineering, and construction of projects for wastewater management. Legislation Is Introduced on Abandoned Mines Cleanup A bipartisan group of legislators re- leased a discussion draft of legislation aimed at cleaning up abandoned mine sites, like the site of the Animas River Gold King Mine release last fall in Silverton, Colorado. The discussion draft aims at striking a balance—removing regulatory hurdles that may prevent abandoned mine sites from being dealt with, while keeping environmental protections in place. The draft calls on states, local gov- ernments, and outside groups to apply for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cleanup approval permits in exchange for liability protection. The groups that could apply for the permits range widely and could include associa- tions, non-profit organizations, corpora- tions, tribes, and interstate entities. The discussion draft was scheduled to be marked up at a hearing before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Cleaning up abandoned mine sites would afford important protections of groundwater resources. In addition, new permits for remediation work would be made available to a range of commercial and non-profit entities, which would increase demand for scientists and engineers. Obama Vetoes WOTUS Rule I n an effort to take legislative action to halt implementation of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate voted to use the Congressional Review Act resolution to halt the rule's implementation. The rule, which expands the U.S. En- vironmental Protection Agency's juris- diction over waters covered under the Clean Water Act, has drawn resistance from Congress and industry groups since it was made final last summer. President Barack Obama vetoed the rule shortly after it reached his desk, marking just the eighth bill the president has vetoed. The WOTUS rule does expand some jurisdiction that could work to protect groundwater in a limited capacity. How- ever, the rule does not specifically regu- late groundwater. It may also complicate processes for disposing of wastewater and could harm markets for irrigation wells. Senate Holds Nomination Hearing for FMCSA Head Scott Darling, nominated to be in- coming head for the Federal Motor Car- rier Safety Administration, faced tough questions from U.S. Senators when his nomination was brought before the Senate Commerce Committee. During the hearing, he was ques- tioned on the flexibility of compliance with the recent electronic logging de- vice rule. The committee did not hold a vote on his nomination, and it is unclear when one might take place. If confirmed, Darling would lead FMSCA for the remainder of the Obama administration, which would oversee the recently passed FAST Act (Fixing America's Surface Transportation), including the electronic logging device rule and a driver fitness study. NEWS from page 15 16 March 2016 WWJ waterwelljournal.com