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As NACWA members gear up for the Association’s National Clean Water Policy Forum, April 22-25, in Washington, DC, this Member Update provides committee summaries from the Association’s 2012 Winter Conference in February that can serve as the building blocks for the Policy Forum’s strategic discussions.  NACWA’s committee structure forms the backbone of its advocacy efforts and the Association strongly encourages member agency participation.  Committee handouts and presentations from the Winter Conference are available on NACWA’s 2012 Winter Conference website.  A current list of the committee leadership and members is available on NACWA’s website.  To join NACWA committees, please contact Laura Cobb at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The registration information for the Policy Forum is available on NACWA’s Conferences and Professional Development webpage.  The hotel reservation deadline is April 2, 2012 and you can reserve your hotel room today by contacting the Washington Marriott at 202/872-1500 to guarantee the special conference rate of $259 single/double, plus applicable taxes.  Be sure to mention that you are attending the Policy Forum.

Biosolids Management Committee

Co-Chair, Dave Taylor, Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District, Wis.
Co-Chair, Margaret Orr, Central Contra Costa Sanitary District, Calif.

The Biosolids Management Committee meeting began with a presentation from the Inland Empire Regional Composting Authority (IERCA), the nation’s largest indoor biosolids composting facility.  IERCA produces wood- based compost made from green waste, biosolids and horse stable bedding.  Following the IERCA presentation, the Committee discussed the ongoing work to influence EPA’s regulatory approach to controlling air emissions from sewage sludge incinerators (SSIs) as well as efforts underway to prepare the clean water community to comply with the new standards.  NACWA’s legal efforts to challenge the SSI rule and the underlying solid waste definition rule continue, but the Committee was informed that NACWA’s administrative petition for reconsideration of the air standards was denied by EPA.  The Committee was briefed on proposed revisions to EPA’s Nonhazardous Secondary Materials Rule, which may make it easier for clean water agencies interested in burning their biosolids as fuel to do so pursuant to more flexible Clean Air Act standards.  The Committee discussed a recent successful petition from a community in Michigan to receive a non-waste determination from its EPA Regional Administrator.  Updates were also provided on several developments related to the list of pollutants currently regulated by the Part 503 regulations as well as the latest on the National Biosolids Partnership.

Climate & Energy Committee

Chair, Antonio Quintanilla, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Ill.
Vice-Chair, Peter Ruffier, Clean Water Services, Ore.

The Climate Change Committee began with a discussion on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the potential implications for clean water agencies of recent research and EPA actions.  EPA is still considering how biogenic emissions will be accounted for in Clean Air Act (CAA) GHG permitting.  The Agency’s current proposal would exempt biogenic emissions from wastewater treatment and combustion of biogas and biosolids, and NACWA continues to advocate for this exemption.   NACWA also continues to work with EPA on improving the emissions estimation methods used in EPA’s annual inventory of GHG emissions.  Although this inventory is used for informational rather than regulatory purposes, the methods have been cited by EPA as a reference for CAA permitting calculations and NACWA believes that it is important that the inventory estimates reflect actual emissions as closely as possible.

Patrick Griffith of the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts (LACSD) provided an overview of the GHG reporting requirements in California, as well as other local reporting efforts.  Greg Adams, also of LACSD, gave a comprehensive presentation on research currently being conducted through the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) and other groups on nitrous oxide emissions from the wastewater treatment process.  Since the body of information on nitrous oxide emissions is currently so small, the research results could significantly affect utilities if the results are used in new methods of calculating emissions for regulatory purposes.

Facility & Collection System Committee

Chair, Ben Horenstein, East Bay Municipal Utility District, Calif.

Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) issues were covered by the Facility and Collection System Committee.  The Committee discussed how NACWA’s previous work on a comprehensive SSO rule fits into EPA’s current Integrated Planning Effort and how NACWA can continue to push EPA to make progress with SSO regulations.  An update was given on Oregon ACWA’s project on SSO permit alternatives (supported by NACWA’s Targeted Action Fund), which has been received favorably by the state but not EPA.  Tony Condotti of the West Bay Sanitary District in Menlo Park, California, spoke in detail about the litigation and settlement of a SSO lawsuit at this utility.  This sparked a discussion among Committee members about the role of citizen lawsuits, their frustrations with them and how utilities can best deal with them.

Cathy Caldwell of Renewable Water Resources, Greenville, S.C., provided an update on the results of her utility’s infiltration and inflow (I/I) reduction programs, and Andy Lukas of Brown & Caldwell gave a presentation on how an innovative technique, flood grouting, is being used to control I/I in King County, Washington.  Finally, Nick Arhontes of the Orange County Sanitation District spoke about the activities of members of the NACWA-WEF workgroup on flushable wipes and other non-dispersible products, including research being conducted with manufacturers of these products and local efforts to keep inappropriate items out of the sewer system.

Legal Affairs Committee

Chair, Lisa Hollander, Sanitation District No. 1, Ky.
Vice Chair, Hilary Meltzer, NYC Department of Law, N.Y.

The Legal Affairs Committee kicked off with an update on NACWA’s ongoing litigation activities.  The main focus was on the Association’s current legal challenge to EPA’s final sewage sludge incinerator (SSI) rule, where briefing has been delayed by a few months to account for EPA’s recent decision to deny NACWA’s administrative request for reconsideration of the rule.  The committee was also updated on a number of other litigation matters, including developments in the Upper Blackstone and Chesapeake Bay cases involving nutrient/nonpoint issues, NACWA’s participation in two different cases involving payment of municipal stormwater fees, and the recent Supreme Court case addressing judicial review of Clean Water Act administrative orders.  Following this, committee members engaged in a discussion of legal issues related to EPA’s recent clean water integrated planning effort.  Of particular interest to the committee were the various advantages and disadvantages of implementing an integrated plan through a permit-based approach as opposed to an enforcement order-based approach.  Although the committee did not come to any definitive conclusion on this issue, there was a very productive dialogue on factors that should be considered when evaluating implementation options.  The meeting then wrapped up with a presentation on current citizen suit issues in California and how those trends may start to impact utilities in other parts of the country.  Committee members were encouraged to report any increases they may notice in citizen suits involving municipal clean water utilities.

Legislative Policy Committee

Chair, Karen Pallansch, Alexandria Sanitation Authority, Va.

NACWA’s Legislative Policy Committee discussed three main issues:  legislation addressing affordability and integrated permitting matters, policy recommendations for the Farm Bill to address nutrient run-off from agricultural lands, and legislation that would enable wastewater treatment agencies to qualify for a national Clean Energy Standard.  The Committee was briefed on S. 2094, The Clean Water Affordability Act which Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) introduced the week prior to the Conference.  The legislation would do several things to help communities tackle wet weather challenges related to control combined sewer overflows (CSOs), including provide federal grant assistance, extend the amount of time allowed for implementing CSO Long-Term Control Plans to 30 years, enable utilities to reopen CSO Consent Decrees to incorporate green infrastructure and energy efficiency technologies, and require EPA to revise its outdated financial capability guidance.  Senator Brown’s legislation would also require EPA to move forward with an integrated planning framework and to extend permit terms to help communities meet all of their Clean Water Act obligations.

The Committee was also briefed on the work of NACWA’s Healthy Waters Coalition Initiative and policy recommendations for Congress to consider as it undertakes reauthorization of the Farm Bill.  The recommendations focus on targeting conservation investments on agricultural lands located in nutrient impaired watersheds, linking agricultural safety net programs to nutrient managements practices, and establishing better tools to monitor and track agricultural nutrient run-off.  Finally, the Committee discussed pending legislation that was recently introduced by Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that would establish a national Clean Energy Standard and NACWA’s efforts to ensure that electricity generated from biogas and biosolids produced by the municipal wastewater treatment process qualifies for credits under the program.  NACWA’s Legislative Policy Committee will meet again during NACWA’s Policy Forum in Washington, DC in April.   For more information, please contact Patricia Sinicropi, NACWA’s Legislative Director, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Regulatory Policy Committee

Chair, Steve Pearlman, Metro Wastewater Reclamation District, Colo.
Vice Chair, Adel Hagekhalil, City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation, Calif.

The Regulatory Policy Committee meeting focused on EPA’s new integrated municipal planning initiative, feedback from the EPA workshops held across the country, and NACWA’s list of issues and concerns with EPA’s draft integrated planning framework.  The discussion of EPA’s framework highlighted the many questions that remain about how and if EPA’s proposal will work.  Those in attendance generally agreed that, despite any reservations, NACWA and the clean water community should attempt to put the framework to the test to see how much flexibility would really be provided.  The Committee also discussed a proposal relating to nutrient controls and the need to collect additional water quality monitoring across the country.   NACWA staff will be developing some options for a potential NACWA resolution on the importance of effluent and water quality monitoring for nutrients.  The Committee did not have any Targeted Action Fund (TAF) requests to consider.

Stormwater Management Committee

Chair, Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Ohio
Vice Chair, Jill Piatt Kemper, City of Aurora Water Department, Colo.

Leading off the agenda for the Stormwater Management Committee was an update on EPA’s progress in developing a national post-construction stormwater rule.  The Agency was originally scheduled to publish a draft rule last year but delayed that action twice due to continued technical and economic challenges in drafting the regulation, and is now expected to release a draft for public comment in late 2012.  The committee also reviewed a number of other ongoing stormwater regulatory issues, including continued review by EPA of the Agency’s November 2010 stormwater memo, reaction and legal challenges to the recent municipal stormwater permit for Washington, D.C., and the emerging trend of nutrient regulations in stormwater permits.  Committee members then viewed an extremely informative presentation was then provided by Matt Millea, Deputy County Executive for Physical Services for Onondaga County, N.Y., about the innovative approaches the county is using to address urban stormwater and combined sewer overflow (CSO) issues.  Millea outlined how the county is using a combination of both grey infrastructure and green infrastructure solutions to reduce water quality impacts from wet weather flows, while at the same time increasing the overall livability and sustainability of Syracuse and its surrounding communities.

Utility Management Committee

Chair, Kurt Egelhofer, Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility, Alaska
Vice Chair, Tom Sigmund, Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage District, Wis.

NACWA’s Utility Management Committee continued its ongoing dialogue on sustainable utility management with discussions on two hot issues – workforce turnover/staff development and the increasing trend toward resource recovery within the clean water community.  Workforce issues continue to present challenges and participants in the meeting shared their utilities’ perspectives.  Pension reform was cited as one of the biggest drivers leading to gaps in the workforce, but many utilities have put into place apprentice programs and other development strategies to attract and groom the next generation.  On resource recovery, while some utilities have changed their vision statements to include resource recovery as an expressed element of their mission, others have found it difficult to make a business case for resource recovery initiatives during the economic downturn – with the risks associated with some of the projects just too high given current budgets.  Still, there was general consensus of a growing trend that would be bolstered by improved economic conditions.

The Committee discussed a new effort to rebrand wastewater ‘operators’ to better attract qualified candidates, but cautioned that the national effort should coordinate with state certification groups and labor unions.  The Committee also reviewed preliminary results from the 2011 NACWA Index Survey – which will be released in April – and the improvements made to the survey form and results table.  Updates were also provided on a range of other utility management efforts.

Water Quality Committee

Chair, Barbara Biggs, Metro Wastewater Reclamation District, Colo.
Vice Chair, James Pletl, Hampton Roads Sanitation District, Va.

The Water Quality Committee meeting began with an update on several water quality standards issues, including the forthcoming release of revised water quality criteria for ammonia.  The new criteria will be significantly more stringent than the current criteria and committee members were urged to begin evaluating how their utilities might be impacted.  The Committee discussed EPA’s draft recreational water quality criteria, NACWA’s ongoing efforts to provide the clean water community perspective, and the Association’s draft comments  on the criteria (submitted to EPA on February 21).  A number of other water quality criteria and proposed revisions to EPA’s water quality standards regulations are also expected in the coming months.  On nutrients, the committee discussed recent developments in Florida, signaling increased flexibility in EPA’s stance on independently applicable numeric nutrient criteria, and developments from Montana, where EPA has approved a statewide variance to address affordability concerns surrounding the state’s numeric criteria for nutrients.  The Committee learned that despite several years of work and engagement by NACWA and other stakeholders, EPA had largely abandoned work on revising its procedures for establishing detection and quantitation levels.

The Committee meeting concluded with a roundtable discussion on water quality standards and the importance of reviewing and revising these standards to ensure that clean water agency investments target the right water quality goals.