HLS 18RS-268 ENGROSSED
2018 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 1
BY REPRESENTATIVE HOLLIS
WATER/SEWER OPERATORS: Creates the Sanitary Sewer Systems Overflows
Commission
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To create the Sanitary Sewer Systems Overflows Commission to study and make
3 recommendations on actions necessary to timely report, reduce, and eliminate
4 sewage overflows.
5 WHEREAS, a sanitary sewer overflow occurs when there is an overflow, spill, or
6release of raw or partially treated sewage from a sanitary sewer collection system out of
7manholes and onto city streets, playgrounds, and into streams, before it reaches a sewage
8treatment plant; and
9 WHEREAS, the federal Clean Water Act and the Louisiana Environmental Quality
10Act prohibits such discharges of pollutants and also requires proper operation and
11maintenance of sewage collection systems and treatment facilities; and
12 WHEREAS, people may come into contact with released raw sewage through
13swimming and fishing, in neighborhoods from flooding streets, and through contaminated
14drinking water; and
15 WHEREAS, contact with raw sewage exposes people to a variety of pathogenic
16microorganisms, viruses, and intestinal worms and can lead to illnesses such as cholera,
17dysentery, hepatitis, and gastroenteritis; and
18 WHEREAS, the United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates that there
19are twenty-thousand separate sanitary sewer systems in this country with thousands of
20overflows occurring each year; and
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HCR NO. 1
1 WHEREAS, plans for all sewage systems are approved by the state health officer in
2the Louisiana Department of Health prior to construction; and
3 WHEREAS, permit terms and conditions require wastewater treatment systems to
4report such overflows to the Department of Environmental Quality.
5 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
6create the Sanitary Sewer Systems Overflows Commission to study and make
7recommendations on actions necessary to timely report, reduce, and eliminate sewage
8overflows.
9 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the commission shall be comprised of the
10following members:
11 (1) One member shall be a member of the House of Representatives appointed by
12the speaker of the House and who shall serve as chairman of the commission.
13 (2) One member shall be a member of the Senate appointed by the president of the
14Senate and who shall serve as vice chairman of the commission.
15 (3) One member shall be the secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality,
16or his designee.
17 (4) One member shall be the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, or her
18designee.
19 (5) One member shall be the executive director of the Louisiana Rural Water
20Association, or his designee.
21 (6) One member shall be the executive director of the Louisiana Municipal
22Association, or his designee.
23 (7) One member shall be the executive director of the Police Jury Association of
24Louisiana, or his designee.
25 (8) One member shall be the executive director of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin
26Foundation, or his designee.
27 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the commission shall not be
28compensated for their service on the commission but may seek travel reimbursements from
29their respective agencies. A majority of the membership is necessary for a quorum.
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HCR NO. 1
1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the commission shall submit recommendations
2to the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment, the House Committee on
3Health and Welfare, the House Committee on Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs, the
4Senate Committee on Environmental Quality, the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare,
5and the Senate Committee on Local and Municipal Affairs no later than March 1, 2019.
6 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
7to the secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality, the secretary of the Louisiana
8Department of Health, the executive director of the Louisiana Rural Water Association, the
9executive director of the Louisiana Municipal Association, the executive director of the Lake
10Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, and the executive director of the Police Jury Association
11of Louisiana.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 1 Engrossed 2018 Regular Session Hollis
Creates the Sanitary Sewer Systems Overflows Commission to study and make
recommendations on actions necessary to timely report, reduce, and eliminate sewage
overflows. Requires recommendations be submitted to oversight committees no later than
March 1, 2019.
Summary of Amendments Adopted by House
The Committee Amendments Proposed by House Committee on Natural Resources and
Environment to the original bill:
1. Add the executive director of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, or his
designee, as a member.
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