Opening Statement Of The Honorable Eddie Bernice Johnson, Chairwoman of Subcommittee On Water Resources and Environment on "Progress Toward Improving Water Quality In The Great Lakes "
Today, the Subcommittee begins the second session of the 110th Congress, and we will examine what progress has been made in improving water quality in the Great Lakes.
Over the years, this Subcommittee has returned, again and again, to the issue of the ecological and environmental health of the Great Lakes . In part, this is because of the importance of the Lakes to the sustainability of the states and providences surrounding the Great Lakes basin.
However, this repeated attention is also warranted because the Lakes provide a good indicator of our efforts to protect water quality throughout the nation. The successes and challenges in improving water quality that we see in the Great Lakes can also be seen in waterbodies across the United States.
Unfortunately, the message that I am expecting to hear from today's testimony is that our nation, and the Great Lakes states, are doing a fair job in preventing water quality from getting worse, but we are far less successful in realizing significant improvements in water quality. Today, we will hear testimony that raises concern about Federal and state efforts to address ongoing point sources into the Great Lakes - conceptually the simplest of all ongoing sources of pollution to the Lakes. Many of the chemicals of concern found in these point source discharges are the same compounds that show up year-after-year in the fish advisories posted for the Great Lakes ' waters. This testimony is concerning because it calls into question the effectiveness of Federal and state efforts to address all ongoing sources of impairment to the Great Lakes .
We will also hear concerns expressed by the International Joint Commission - the bi-national organization created to oversee water quality and water quantity issues of the Great Lakes . Their concerns center around whether the authorities contained in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement are up to task to address today's water quality challenges.
I welcome all of the witnesses here this morning, and I look forward to their testimony.
As I noted earlier, the successes and challenges in addressing water quality in the Great Lakes can also be identified in efforts to protect water quality throughout the nation.
As noted in EPA's recently issued Clean Water Act Needs Survey, the gap between wastewater infrastructure needs and funding is increasing. The Great Lakes states have identified the control of discharges from combined and sanitary sewer systems as a key challenge of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration. However, states from Texas to New York to Arizona have all identified significant wastewater infrastructure needs as a water quality challenge that must be addressed.
In addition, we know that nonpoint sources of pollution continue to pose a challenge to achieving water quality standards, nationwide. Yet, we struggle with the effectiveness of current Federal, state, and local efforts to reduce the amount and concentration of nonpoint sources of pollution.
And, while we are taking steps to begin to address the contaminated sediments in the Great Lakes Areas of Concern, toxic sediments are by no means localized to the Great Lakes . In many other communities throughout the nation, the legacy of past-contamination continue to pose a human and ecological health threat that must be addressed.
I am pleased that, today, the Subcommittee begins the second session of the 110th Congress. I am hopeful that we will repeat much of the successes of the previous session. Last year, this Subcommittee moved vital legislation to address many of the water resource challenges faced by our nation.
For example, after seven years of effort, the Subcommittee was instrumental in the enactment of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007. I look forward to working with my colleagues in replicating this effort for a Water Resources Development Act of 2008.
In addition, this Subcommittee moved the first reauthorization of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund ("SRF") to pass the House in over a decade. I am hopeful that the other body will follow suit so that Congress can send a Clean Water SRF bill to the President before the end of the year.
In the months to come, the Subcommittee will continue to investigate and pursue programs and policies of importance to the nation. In the near future, the Subcommittee will begin hearings on:
- reauthorization of EPA's brownfields program,
- reauthorization of many of EPA's "place-based" programs, such as the Chesapeake Bay Program Office and the Great Lakes Program Office, and
- reauthorization of the Great Lakes Legacy Act - which is of particular importance to our hearing today.
I look forward to working with my colleagues on these and other issues of importance to the nation's water resources needs.