By Brimer, Wohlgemuth, et al. H.C.R. No. 24 74R2394 MPC-D CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, The enactment of the Water Pollution Control Act of 1-2 1987, also known as the Clean Water Act, marked a renewed 1-3 commitment and resolve by the federal government to purify and 1-4 protect our nation's water; and 1-5 WHEREAS, While the goals of the federal Clean Water Act are 1-6 shared by the citizens of this country, a balance must be struck 1-7 between the steps to be taken to reduce water contamination and the 1-8 adverse impact those steps may have on individuals, the economy, 1-9 and government; and 1-10 WHEREAS, Under the Water Pollution Control Act, all 1-11 municipalities with populations of less than 100,000 must obtain a 1-12 permit from the Environmental Protection Agency for every 1-13 stormwater discharge point in the city; and 1-14 WHEREAS, This unfunded federal mandate on municipal 1-15 stormwater discharges is estimated to cost cities across the 1-16 country as much as $625,000 per permit; and 1-17 WHEREAS, Thousands of cities will now have to grapple with 1-18 the enormous costs, complexity, and liability of meeting this new, 1-19 unfunded federal mandate; and 1-20 WHEREAS, The failure of the United States Congress to provide 1-21 adequate funding to implement the Clean Water Act and other federal 1-22 legislation has placed state and local governments in the untenable 1-23 position of attempting to fund the federal requirements with 1-24 diminishing amounts of available revenue or, by failing to do so, 2-1 jeopardizing state and local eligibility for certain federal funds; 2-2 and 2-3 WHEREAS, The 102nd Congress of the United States previously 2-4 addressed the issue of unfunded mandates by enacting legislation 2-5 that provided a two-year moratorium on unfunded state and local 2-6 mandates, which included the municipal stormwater discharge 2-7 mandate; and 2-8 WHEREAS, The 103rd Congress adjourned without extending the 2-9 moratorium, thus triggering the municipal stormwater discharge 2-10 permit requirement; now, therefore, be it 2-11 RESOLVED, That the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas 2-12 hereby strongly urge the Congress of the United States to amend the 2-13 Water Pollution Control Act to exempt cities with populations of 2-14 less than 100,000 from obtaining permits from the Environmental 2-15 Protection Agency for stormwater discharge points; and, be it 2-16 further 2-17 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 2-18 copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to 2-19 the speaker of the house of representatives and president of the 2-20 senate of the United States Congress, and to all members of the 2-21 Texas delegation to the congress with the request that it be 2-22 officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the 2-23 Congress of the United States of America.