{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2010-12-29-pt1-PgE2258-3", "2010-12-29", 111, 2, null, null, "CLARIFYING FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITY TO PAY FOR STORMWATER POLLUTION", "HOUSE", "EXTENSIONS", "ALLOTHER", "E2258", "E2259", "[{\"name\": \"Eddie Bernice Johnson\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", null, "156 Cong. Rec. E2258", "Congressional Record, Volume 156 Issue 174 (Wednesday, December 29, 2010)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 174 (Wednesday, December 29, 2010)]\n[Extensions of Remarks]\n[Pages E2258-E2259]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n   CLARIFYING FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITY TO PAY FOR STORMWATER POLLUTION\n\n                                 ______\n\n                               speech of\n\n                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON\n\n                                of texas\n\n                    in the house of representatives\n\n                      Wednesday, December 22, 2010\n\n  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong\nsupport of S. 3481, a bill that would clarify Federal responsibility\nfor stormwater runoff from buildings, facilities, and lands owned or\noperated by the Federal Government. This common sense bill ensures that\nthe Federal Government maintains its equitable responsibility for\nstormwater pollution runoff originating or emanating from its property.\n  I applaud the outstanding work of the sponsors of this legislation,\nthe distinguished Senator from the State of Maryland (Mr. Cardin), as\nwell as the sponsor of the House companion for this bill, the Delegate\nfrom the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), for their efforts to move\nthis legislation so quickly to the President's desk.\n  Madam Speaker, simply put, this legislation clarifies that Federal\nagencies and departments are financially responsible for any reasonable\nFederal, State, or locally-derived charges for treating or otherwise\naddressing stormwater pollution that emanates from Federal property.\n  Existing section 313 of the Clean Water Act states that ``Each\ndepartment, agency, or instrumentality . . . of the Federal Government\n. . . shall be subject to, and comply with, all Federal, State,\ninterstate, and local requirements . . . including the payment of\nreasonable service charges.''\n  Unfortunately, over the past few months, Congress has learned of\nseveral Federal agencies, including some here in the Nation's Capital,\nthat have made the determination that stormwater management fees are\n``taxes'' for which the agencies have claimed sovereign immunity and\nhave refused to pay.\n  This has left several State and local municipalities with the\nfinancial responsibility of addressing ongoing sources of pollution to\nthe nation's waters that any other private business, landowner, or\nhomeowner would otherwise be responsible for paying.\n  Polluted runoff from urban areas is the fastest growing source of\nwater pollution in America. As urbanization increases, impervious\nsurfaces such as highways, roads, parking lots, and buildings replace\nnon-impervious surfaces that absorb stormwater.\n  Runoff from impervious surfaces is a central cause of pollution for\nthe nation's waters, and is estimated to be the primary source of\nimpairment for 13 percent of rivers, 18 percent of lakes, and 32\npercent of estuaries in the U.S. These are significant figures,\nespecially given that urban areas cover only 3 percent of the land mass\nof the country.\n  Even here, in the Nation's Capital, pollution from stormwater runoff\nposes a significant challenge to the quality of local receiving waters,\nand negatively impacts the overall environmental health of the\nChesapeake Bay.\n  According to the Environmental Protection Agency, stormwater runoff\nfrom urban and suburban areas is ``a significant source of impairment\nto the Chesapeake Bay.'' According to Agency statistics, 17 percent of\nphosphorus, 11 percent of nitrogen, and 9 percent of sediment loads to\nthe Bay come from stormwater runoff.\n  In addition, chemical contaminants from runoff can rival or exceed\nthe amount reaching local waterways from industries, federal\nfacilities, and wastewater treatment plants.\n  Several states and municipalities, including the District of\nColumbia, have taken aggressive action to address these ongoing sources\nof pollution.\n  Yet, when a significant percentage of property owners take the\nposition that they cannot be held responsible for their pollution, it\nplaces a greater financial burden on our States, cities, communities,\nand local-ratepayers, and makes it less likely that significant\nreductions in stormwater pollution can be achieved.\n  S. 3481 amends section 313 of the Clean Water Act to clarify that\n``reasonable service charges'' for addressing pollution from Federal\nfacilities includes reasonable nondiscriminatory fees, charges, or\nassessments that are based\n\n[[Page E2259]]\n\non the proportion of stormwater emanating from the facility and used to\npay (or reimburse) costs associated with any stormwater management\nprogram.\n  This is a simple effort to clarify, again, that the Federal\nGovernment bears a proportional responsibility for addressing pollution\noriginating from its facilities, and should remain an active\nparticipant in improving National water quality and the overall\nenvironment."]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2010-12-29-pt1-PgE2258-3"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8321760687977076, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}