In succeeding hearings at the Capitol Annex on Wednesday, lawmakers will consider whether to again side with the Idaho Association of Realtors and reject rules toughening standards for septic systems.

The pending Department of Environmental Quality rule has received extra attention with news that a lobbyist withdrew a promised campaign contribution to DEQ board member Joan Cloonan after she joined a 6-1 vote for the rule in October. The lobbyist, John Eaton, told the DEQ board that if they approved the rule he would once again overturn it in the Legislature.

Eaton pulled a $500 contribution to Cloonan, a GOP candidate for the House, and told her that decision was connected to her vote for the septic rule. The incident has prompted GOP Rep. Raul Labrador of Eagle to work on amending Idaho's bribery law to criminalize such a practice.

The test of Eaton's clout begins at 1 p.m. in the House Environment, Energy and Technology Committee. Next up is the Senate Health and Welfare Committee at 3 p.m. To reject an administrative rule both houses must vote to kill it.

Testimony is expected from the Panhandle Health District, which initiated a similar rule in the name of protecting the region's big lakes and streams. Eaton helped kill that measure in 2007. Lawmakers agreed the standards were too strict and asked DEQ to write a rule for the whole state. The new rule is less stringent and was drafted during three days of negotiated rule-making.

Testimony also may come from Cloonan, a Ph.d. chemist, lawyer and former top environmental official at J.R. Simplot Co. Cloonan has vowed to fight to preserve the rule and has been visiting with lawmakers in recent days.