» Clean Water Current Archive

May 20, 2011

Senate Dear Colleague Letter on SRF Funding Gains Bipartisan Support, NACWA Urges Members to Weigh In

This week a "Dear Colleague" letter was circulated by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.).  The letter is designed to defend the Clean and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs) from additional cuts in Fiscal Year 2012 by demonstrating the strong bipartisan support that exists for the SRFs in the Senate.  The letter, which is still open for signatures, has already gained the support of 29 Senators including 4 Republicans — Sen. Inhofe, Sen. Crapo (Idaho), Sen. Snowe (Maine) and Sen.  Boozman (Ark.) — bolstered by NACWA and its members’ outreach efforts.

NACWA drafted the letter and organized a municipal coalition, including members of the Water Infrastructure Network, to support the effort.  NACWA Executive Director Ken Kirk also sent a personalized note to all Senate offices urging their support for the letter, emphasizing the importance of clean water funding to the municipal community and the economic, environmental and public health benefits such funding provides.  NACWA also sent Advocacy Alert 11-14 encouraging members to contact their Senate offices to support this effort.  There is still time to do so – and help defend the SRFs from potential additional cuts.  NACWA will continue its aggressive efforts to safeguard the SRFs and will keep members apprised of any developments as they occur.

NACWA Voices Concerns on Recreational Criteria Revisions with EPA

In advance of a June 14-15 stakeholder meeting on EPA’s effort to develop new or revised recreational water quality criteria for coastal recreation areas, NACWA wrote Ephraim King, Director of the Office of Science & Technology in EPA’s Office of Water this week to share its perspectives on the issue and highlight important considerations for the Agency as it discusses its next steps.  NACWA's letter outlined a list of comments and concerns with EPA's recently completed epidemiologic and related studies, and the potential revisions the Agency is considering to the existing recreational water quality criteria.  The Association’s top priority is ensuring that EPA’s rationale and methodology for developing new or revised recreational water quality criteria are adequately vetted with the public and that the upcoming stakeholder meeting allow sufficient opportunity for public feedback.  While NACWA plans a more detailed analysis, preliminary review of the EPA studies suggests that no new information has been revealed to indicate that the current criteria used in Clean Water Act (CWA) programs are not protective.  NACWA is, therefore, recommending that EPA make no changes to the current criteria.  NACWA is also recommending that EPA’s new rapid test method, qPCR, is not appropriate for CWA programs and should be limited to notification purposes at high-use beaches.

In December 2010, EPA announced that it had completed the last of the studies required by the Consent Decree and Settlement Agreement developed pursuant to the litigation surrounding the Beaches Environmental Assessment & Coastal Health Act (BEACH Act).  NACWA intervened in that litigation, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) v. EPA, and was actively engaged in the settlement discussions that determined the plan and schedule for conducting the recent studies and completing the Agency’s obligations under the BEACH Act.  Earlier this year, NACWA formed a workgroup to evaluate EPA’s studies, as well as the Agency’s ongoing work to use those studies as the foundation for new or revised recreational water quality criteria for coastal waters.  NACWA staff and members of the workgroup will be participating in the June 14-15 stakeholder meeting and will closely tracking EPA’s efforts as it works to meet its October 2012 deadline for publishing its final criteria recommendations.  NACWA members interested in this issue are encouraged to participate in the stakeholder meeting.  Details are available on EPA’s website.

Farm Bill Coalition Focuses on Viable Policy Solutions to Address Nutrients

On Tuesday, NACWA convened its monthly meeting of the Healthy Waters Coalition, a coalition of water, wastewater, state, conservation and sustainable agriculture organizations urging stronger links between water quality and agricultural policies in anticipation of Congress’s work on reauthorizing the Farm Bill.  Specifically, the Coalition is focused on how Farm Bill programs can more effectively be leveraged to make meaningful progress in controlling nutrient run-off from agricultural lands.  The coalition discussed specific policy proposals in support of the organizations’ shared goals, including more effectively focusing conservation programs on nutrient management, expanding conservation compliance, and strengthening monitoring and data collection programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  NACWA has also convened a workgroup of its members to provide technical expertise and input into the effort.  The workgroup met prior to the broader coalition to discuss some of these proposals.  The workgroup is also participating in a review team that had been established to oversee the development of a NACWA White Paper offering an urban water perspective on the issue of nutrient control.  This workgroup is meeting for the first time today.  The development of this White Paper has been made possible as a direct result of NACWA having applied for and received a foundation grant.  Members interested in these Farm Bill efforts should contact Pat Sinicropi, NACWA’s Legislative Director at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Deadline Extended for 2011 Financial Survey

The deadline for completing the 2011 Financial Survey has been extended until June 3.  NACWA’s public agency members received their customized Survey questionnaire in the mail in early March.  Although NACWA has already received a number of surveys, additional responses are needed.  Members wishing to complete the survey online or learn more about the importance of the survey to NACWA’s advocacy efforts — especially during this period of economic downturn where sound financial data is so critical —are encouraged to review the March 7 Member Update that released this latest triennial survey of clean water agency financial information.  If you have any questions regarding the survey questionnaire or the survey website, contact NACWA’s contractor Mark Hoeke at 202/361-7446 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Chris Hornback, NACWA’s Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs, at 202/833-9106 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Again, we urge you to complete your survey and submit it to NACWA by Friday, June 3.

Dental Amalgam Separators Major Topic of Discussion at NACWA Pretreatment Workshop

EPA’s upcoming proposal to require amalgam separators at dental facilities generated lots of discussion at NACWA’s National Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Workshop this week in St. Louis.  This topic was featured in a panel presentation with two EPA Regional Pretreatment Coordinators, Jay Pimpare from Region 1 and Al Garcia from Region 8, as well as Jeff Troupe from the American Dental Association (ADA) and Kerry Britt from the Narragansett Bay Commission (NBC).  The rule will require separators as pretreatment standards, leaving utilities responsible for implementation of the standard and enforcement.  Martie Groome, NACWA Pretreatment & Pollution Committee Vice Chair and Laboratory and Industrial Waste Supervisor at the City of Greensboro Water Resources Department, moderated the panel and opened by questioning the need for one more regulation for utilities, especially for utilities that are meeting their mercury requirements without an amalgam separator program.

Tim Potter of Central Contra Costa Sanitary District asked EPA to "break the mold" with this rule and to provide local utilities with flexibility in how they implement the rule.  Pimpare responded with "We are looking to have a giant sledgehammer to break the mold,” but noted that some key oversight and tracking components would be necessary in the rule.  Pimpare assured the Workshop participants that the EPA workgroup for the amalgam separator rule understands the potential burdens that could be placed on utilities with the rule.  “We get it, we get it, we get,” Pimpare said. “We are very, very sensitive to the implementation and enforcement concerns that have been raised by local programs… We are looking at costs as we go forward.”  Garcia outlined the various regulations, such as the Pretreatment Streamlining rule, that could affect how the amalgam separator rule is written, and Britt discussed the NBC’s mandatory amalgam separator program.  Britt emphasized the need to cooperate with dental offices, such as by conducting scheduled inspections at dental facilities, rather than unannounced inspections, to prevent disruption of patient care.  Troupe expressed the ADA’s support for the rule, as long as it follows the nine principles that ADA submitted to EPA.  The upcoming rule was also discussed during several breakout sessions and during the meeting of the Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Committee, with utilities echoing the concerns previously expressed by NACWA to EPA about the financial and staffing burdens on utilities that could be created by this rule.  EPA is planning to propose the rule in October 2011 and to finalize the rule in October 2012.  NACWA will be closely following developments with the rule.

EPA Highlights Pretreatment 101 Webinars, Addresses ELG Program

EPA Headquarters staff also provided updates for the Workshop participants.  Jan Pickrel, National Pretreatment Program Coordinator, discussed issues related to hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”, used in natural gas extraction and said that EPA is “having lots of conversations with Pennsylvania” about regulations in that state.  Pickrel also provided information about the Agency’s Pretreatment 101 webinars that are providing training to thousands of pretreatment personnel, and encouraged utilities to take advantage of these webinars.  Carey Johnston, Environmental Engineer in the Office of Science & Technology, talked about the Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELG) program.  Johnston emphasized the need for individual utilities to comment on the ELG plan in addition to NACWA’s comments, since the number of comments that EPA receives can help determine which categories and issues are addressed in the ELG plan.

Other panel presentations focused on the use of take-back programs to properly dispose of unused pharmaceuticals and the beneficial use of food wastes in the wastewater treatment process.  Both topics generated significant interest from Workshop participants.  Carey Johnston of EPA assured participants that EPA is not planning regulations of health care facilities, and is only developing voluntary best management practices to help these facilities properly dispose of unused drugs.  Many utilities are looking at possible use of food wastes to save supply costs and enhance generation of methane for energy use, and the case studies presented by utilities that are already doing this were informative.

The Workshop concludes today with presentations on the San Francisco Bay area’s regional mercury control program, development of a regional fats, oil, and grease (FOG) program, and case studies of pretreatment investigations of mysterious discharges.

NACWA’s Summer Conference in Chicago to Feature Unique Sustainability Workshop

Join us July 19-22, 2011 at the Westin Chicago River North in Chicago, Illinois for NACWA’s 2011 Summer Conference, Engineered for Success. . .Creating a First Class Public Utility.  The conference will explore cutting-edge efforts underway at utilities to evaluate and enhance the sustainability of management practices and overall operations.

William McDonough, internationally renowned designer and architect – and co-author of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things – will join us for both a keynote address and afternoon workshop.  Clean water agencies will have an opportunity to exchange ideas on practices that are transforming public clean water agencies into agents of resource recovery in the areas of water reuse, energy capture and production, and nutrient and biosolids providers.  In addition to this workshop, panels will further explore the roles of energy recovery, water efficiency and other issues that are re-defining the way utilities do business.

Registration is now open and a preliminary agenda is now available.   As an added feature, NACWA is offering a discounted registration to Gen X/Gen Y staff (defined for this purpose as individuals born 1970–1990) attending with their NACWA Member Agency representative.  As you make your plans to attend, please contact the Westin Chicago River North to secure your hotel accommodations.  Reservations must be made by June 27 to receive the special group rate of $189/night.  Don’t delay . . . register now for what is certain to be an exceptional conference.