00                      HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 17                                                                     
01 Urging the United States Congress to pass legislation concerning regulation of drinking                                 
02 water and wastewater treatment by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.                                    
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has had the                                         
05 primary enforcement responsibility for regulating public drinking water systems since 1978;                             
06 and                                                                                                                     
07       WHEREAS the United States Environmental Protection Agency approved the                                          
08 Department of Environmental Conservation's program for primacy on regulating wastewater                                 
09 discharge and drinking water; and                                                                                       
10       WHEREAS it is the policy of the state to conserve, improve, and protect its natural                             
11 resources and environment and to control water, land, and air pollution to enhance the health,                          
12 safety, and welfare of the people of the state and their overall economic and social well-being;                        
13 and                                                                                                                     
14       WHEREAS, on January 18, 2011, President Barack Obama signed Executive Order                                     
15 13563 to improve regulation and regulatory review in government, which directs federal                                  
16 agencies to identify the best, most innovative, and least burdensome tools for achieving                                

01 regulatory ends while taking into account the benefits and costs; and                                                   
02       WHEREAS, in 33 U.S.C. 1251 - 1387 (Federal Water Pollution Control Act) (Clean                                  
03 Water Act), as amended, the United States Congress declared that it is the policy of the                                
04 United States Congress to recognize, preserve, and protect the primary responsibilities and                             
05 rights of states to prevent, reduce, and eliminate pollution and to plan the development and                            
06 use of land and water resources; and                                                                                    
07       WHEREAS over-regulating and using unnecessary standards by the United States                                    
08 Environmental Protection Agency in the state will create an increased cost of living for the                            
09 residents of small communities in the state, where the cost of living is already burdensome;                            
10 and                                                                                                                     
11       WHEREAS the United States Environmental Protection Agency has adopted                                           
12 regulations and established policies relating to the treatment of drinking water and wastewater                         
13 that will have a major effect on the economies of and jobs in small communities in the state                            
14 and will limit the ability of small communities to address other priorities; and                                        
15       WHEREAS federal funding for state village sanitation projects declined by more than                             
16 $49,000,000 between 2004 and 2011; and                                                                                  
17       WHEREAS the President's proposed budget for the federal fiscal year starting                                    
18 October 1, 2011, reduces nationwide funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and                                
19 the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund by nearly $950,000,000; and                                                     
20       WHEREAS the Republican caucus in the United States House of Representatives has                                 
21 proposed to cut an additional $950,000,000 in funding for the Clean Water State Revolving                               
22 Fund and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund;                                                                       
23       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                        
24 Congress to pass legislation that provides reasonable standards for the treatment of drinking                           
25 water and wastewater treatment for communities in different regions of the country and with                             
26 different population sizes; and be it                                                                                   
27       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                      
28 Congress to pass legislation imposing a moratorium that prohibits the United States                                     
29 Environmental Protection Agency from adopting a new policy or adopting new regulations                                  
30 concerning drinking water and wastewater treatment for a period of at least two years except                            
31 to directly address an imminent health or environmental emergency; and be it                                            

01       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                      
02 Congress to pass legislation requiring the United States Environmental Protection Agency to                             
03 identify all regulatory activity concerning drinking water or wastewater treatment that the                             
04 United States Environmental Protection Agency plans to undertake during the next 10 years                               
05 and, using multiagency expertise and objective cost-benefit analyses, to describe the                                   
06 cumulative effect that the planned United States Environmental Protection Agency regulation                             
07 will have on state and local governments.                                                                               
08       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of                             
09 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and                          
10 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable John Boehner, Speaker of the U.S. House of                                  
11 Representatives; the Honorable Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental                                 
12 Protection Agency; the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Mark Begich, U.S.                                     
13 Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska                                       
14 delegation in Congress; and the presiding officers of the legislatures of each of the other 49                          
15 states.