Key provisions led by U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Rob Portman (R-OH) were included in the final water resources bill agreement that supports U.S. economic growth through addressing water infrastructure needs.
A conference report for the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN), which includes the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), was approved on Monday and is slated for votes in the House and Senate this week.
Capito and U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) worked to include a provision that would address an Environmental Protection Agency rule regulating the disposal of coal combustion residuals from utilities under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
As it stands, the EPA rule is not enforceable through federal permit programs, and Capito led efforts to include new permitting authority for the disposal of coal residuals in the WIIN conference report.
“We’re pleased that the final WIIN package builds off he Senate passed provision and provides the authority that states have been seeking to regulate coal ash through authorized state permit programs,” Capito and Manchin said.
“This new permitting authority fixes the main problems with the recent coal ash regulation issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, by removing citizen suits as the sole means of enforcement and allowing states to tailor permit requirements on a case-by-case basis,” the senators said in a joint statement.
Portman, meanwhile, worked to include provisions in the conference report that would ensure dredged materials could not be dumped into Lake Erie without EPA approval. His other initiatives would reauthorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and would provide $170 million for states to address lead in water supplies.
Protecting Lake Erie and ensuring access to clean drinking water are two goals the bill would help meet.
”I’m glad my bipartisan initiatives were included in the final package that was announced (on Monday). I look forward to the Senate passing this important legislation and the president signing it into law as quickly as possible so we can protect our Great Lakes and ensure that every American has access to clean water,” Portman said.
Another provision advocated by Portman would reform his bipartisan Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act to provide resources needed to restore fish and wildlife populations in the Great Lakes.