1-1 By: Brimer (Senate Sponsor - Harris) H.C.R. No. 24 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House March 1, 1995; 1-3 March 2, 1995, read first time and referred to Committee on Natural 1-4 Resources; April 28, 1995, reported favorably by the following 1-5 vote: Yeas 7, Nays 1; April 28, 1995, sent to printer.) 1-6 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-7 WHEREAS, The enactment of the Water Pollution Control Act of 1-8 1987, also known as the Clean Water Act, marked a renewed 1-9 commitment and resolve by the federal government to purify and 1-10 protect our nation's water; and 1-11 WHEREAS, While the goals of the federal Clean Water Act are 1-12 shared by the citizens of this country, a balance must be struck 1-13 between the steps to be taken to reduce water contamination and the 1-14 adverse impact those steps may have on individuals, the economy, 1-15 and government; and 1-16 WHEREAS, Under the Water Pollution Control Act, all 1-17 municipalities with populations of less than 100,000 must obtain a 1-18 permit from the Environmental Protection Agency for every 1-19 stormwater discharge point in the city; and 1-20 WHEREAS, This unfunded federal mandate on municipal 1-21 stormwater discharges is estimated to cost cities across the 1-22 country as much as $625,000 per permit; and 1-23 WHEREAS, Thousands of cities will now have to grapple with 1-24 the enormous costs, complexity, and liability of meeting this new, 1-25 unfunded federal mandate; and 1-26 WHEREAS, The failure of the United States Congress to provide 1-27 adequate funding to implement the Clean Water Act and other federal 1-28 legislation has placed state and local governments in the untenable 1-29 position of attempting to fund the federal requirements with 1-30 diminishing amounts of available revenue or, by failing to do so, 1-31 jeopardizing state and local eligibility for certain federal funds; 1-32 and 1-33 WHEREAS, The 102nd Congress of the United States previously 1-34 addressed the issue of unfunded mandates by enacting legislation 1-35 that provided a two-year moratorium on unfunded state and local 1-36 mandates, which included the municipal stormwater discharge 1-37 mandate; and 1-38 WHEREAS, The 103rd Congress adjourned without extending the 1-39 moratorium, thus triggering the municipal stormwater discharge 1-40 permit requirement; now, therefore, be it 1-41 RESOLVED, That the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas 1-42 hereby strongly urge the Congress of the United States to amend the 1-43 Water Pollution Control Act to exempt cities with populations of 1-44 less than 100,000 from obtaining permits from the Environmental 1-45 Protection Agency for stormwater discharge points; and, be it 1-46 further 1-47 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 1-48 copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to 1-49 the speaker of the house of representatives and president of the 1-50 senate of the United States Congress, and to all members of the 1-51 Texas delegation to the congress with the request that it be 1-52 officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the 1-53 Congress of the United States of America. 1-54 * * * * *