Session of 1998
                   
House Concurrent Resolution No. 5048
         
By Committee on Environment
         
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            9             A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION urging the United States Environ-
10             mental Protection Agency to perform uniform assessments of water
11             quality and urging the Congress to modify the Clean Water Act.
12            
13           WHEREAS, The Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251-1387, requires the
14       United States Environmental Protection Agency and the various states to
15       perform biennial assessments of water quality, known as the 305(b) re-
16       port; and
17           WHEREAS, The current approach to preparing 305(b) reports allows
18       extreme variations among states in stream use designations, and in mon-
19       itoring, evaluating and reporting water quality conditions; and
20           WHEREAS, The 305(b) reports have been used to make inappropri-
21       ate interstate comparisons of water quality, and the current approach to
22       preparing 305(b) reports punishes states with more comprehensive water
23       monitoring programs and rewards states with less comprehensive pro-
24       grams; and
25           WHEREAS, Kansas maintains a comprehensive program to monitor
26       water quality across the state but has been incorrectly identified as having
27       the poorest water quality in the United States due to rigorous scientific
28       assessments beyond the minimum required by the United States Envi-
29       ronmental Protection Agency; and
30           WHEREAS, State-to-state comparisons of waters not meeting desig-
31       nated uses are frequently misrepresented as comparisons of actual water
32       quality: Now, therefore,
33           Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Kansas,
34       the Senate concurring therein: That the Legislature urges the United
35       States Environmental Protection Agency to perform a uniform assess-
36       ment of water quality that: (1) Uses all information available from federal,
37       state and private sources; (2) eliminates the willful ignorance approach
38       inherent in the current system; (3) bases all interstate comparisons of
39       water quality on the result of the uniform assessment methodology ap-
40       proach; (4) identifies and addresses data gaps due to inadequate moni-
41       toring; (5) rewards states for performing comprehensive monitoring and
42       assessment through enhanced funding and program flexibility; and (6)
43       modifies all national water quality databases maintained by the United

HCR 5048

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  1       States Environmental Protection Agency to implement and publicize the
  2       uniform assessment methodology; and
  3           Be it further resolved: That the Legislature urges the Congress to
  4       modify the Clean Water Act to change the assessment time frame from
  5       two years to five years to allow for long-term trend analysis; and
  6           Be it further resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send
  7       enrolled copies of this resolution to Carol M. Browner, Administrator,
  8       United States Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, S.W.,
  9       Washington, D.C. 20460; Dennis Grams, Regional Administrator, Region
10       7, United States Environmental Protection Agency, 726 Minnesota Ave-
11       nue, Kansas City, Kansas 66101; the President and Minority Leader of
12       the United States Senate; the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United
13       States House of Representatives; and each Member of the Kansas Con-
14       gressional Delegation.
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