House Committees Eye Formal Epa Role In Compromise Security Bill

摘要

The House homeland security and energy committees are working to draft a joint chemical security bill to introduce early in the 11 lth Congress that may grant EPA a formal consultative role in new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) security rules and include water facilities currently exempt from interim DHS rules, one Hill Democrat says. Ongoing discussions between the two committees on new security legislation could break a deadlock on moving such a bill, after jurisdictional disputes between the Energy & Commerce Committee and the Homeland Security Committee stalled competing chemical security bills earlier this year - including over the issue of whether DHS should regulate drinking water and wastewater facilities currently under EPA's authority. However, the Democratic source cautions that it is unclear whether the ascension of Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) to chair the energy committee may adversely or positively impact those discussions, which have been ongoing for the past several months with staff for outgoing energy panel Chairman John Dingell (D-MI).