» Clean Water Current Archive

March 16, 2012

NACWA Poised to Intervene in NRDC Lawsuits on Secondary Treatment/Nutrient Control Issues

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and a large number of environmental activist groups filed two key lawsuits this week.  The first is a federal lawsuit , filed on March 13, challenging EPA’s failure to respond to a 2007 NRDC petition  requesting that the Agency add nutrient removal to the current Clean Water Act (CWA) secondary treatment requirements.  A similar group of activist organizations filed a second lawsuit  the same day in federal court in New Orleans challenging EPA’s recent denial of a 2008 petition  filed by NGO groups including NRDC  to establish numeric nutrient criteria for all waters nationwide where such criteria had not been developed but, at a minimum, to establish such criteria for all waters in the Mississippi River watershed and the Gulf of Mexico.

NACWA is currently analyzing both litigation matters and evaluating all possible legal options in response, including legal intervention in both cases.  NACWA’s Executive Committee and Board of Directors will be reviewing the situation next week, with an expectation that the Association will take the appropriate legal action to defend its members’ interests in these two critical lawsuits.

The outcome from these lawsuits could have significant impacts on NACWA members and on all publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) nationwide, including a technology-based treatment limit for every wastewater treatment plant in the nation - regardless of a demonstrated water quality need.  Such an outcome would come at an astronomical financial cost, with conservative NACWA financial estimates reaching in excess of $280 billion nationally.  An effort by EPA to establish numeric nutrient criteria for states in the Mississippi River watershed – comparable to what the Agency recently did in Florida – would have equally concerning economic ramifications for impacted POTWs.  It would also set a very negative precedent for municipal discharges in all other parts of the country.  NACWA is committed to taking whatever action is necessary to protect its members from these impacts.

NACWA also sent out a strongly worded press release today, blasting the NGO groups for focusing their lawsuits on public clean water agencies despite knowing full well that nonpoint sources, especially agricultural sources, are the primary contributors to the nutrient problem.  NACWA will respond to these lawsuits aggressively and will ensure a coordinated legal, legislative, regulatory and media response.

NACWA, AMWA to Host Congressional Briefing on Sustainability, Climate Change

NACWA, the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), and Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-Calif.) are hosting a Congressional briefing on Tuesday, March 20 to highlight the work water and wastewater utilities are doing to manage the country’s vital water resources in the wake of changing climate conditions like sea level rise, extreme flooding, and persistent drought.  NACWA members Laura Wharton from King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, Wash., and Ray Tremblay from Los Angeles County Sanitation District, Calif., will discuss the clean water challenges their utilities face and are likely to face in the future as the natural environment around them changes.

Representatives from the Las Vegas Valley Water District and New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) will also present on challenges facing the drinking water sector.  CH2M Hill will be moderating the event and discussing the 2009 report it wrote on behalf of NACWA and AMWA on water and wastewater adaptation costs associated with climate change impacts.

Last year, Congresswoman Capps re-introduced The Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Act (H.R. 2738). This legislation would encourage innovative adaptation approaches at local utilities and provide financial assistance to systems facing high adaptation costs.  This briefing is intended to make a case for this legislation and why more Congressional support for water and wastewater system adaptation and mitigation is necessary.

The event will be held Tuesday, March 20 at 2:00pm in room 121 of the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C.  Please contact Hannah Mellman at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   with any questions or if you would like to attend.

On a related note, NACWA participated in a press conference organized by the Union of Concerned Scientists to discuss their recently released report, After the Storm: The Hidden Health Risks of Flooding in a Warming World. Angela Licata with NYCDEP spoke on behalf of NACWA and discussed the many innovative methods and planning techniques her utility and utilities across the country are taking to ensure the public health, resiliency, and sustainability of their water and wastewater services.

Water Sector Associations Express Concern over EPA Decision to Make Security Information Available over the Internet

NACWA joined other water sector associations in sending a letter  to EPA and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expressing serious concerns about an EPA decision to make some security-sensitive information available on the Internet.  The December 1 decision  by EPA would allow internet access to non-Off-Site Consequence Analysis (non-OCA) sections of the Risk Management Plan (RMP) database.  The information that would be available includes chemicals used and facility safety measures and preventative programs.  Non-OCA info is not restricted by law and was available on the internet from 1999-2001, but was removed by EPA after the September 11 terrorist attacks and now can only be publicly accessed in reading rooms or through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

EPA stated that the non-OCA info would be helpful to FBI and DHS staff and to local responders.   As explained in the letter signed by NACWA, the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the National Rural Water Association (NRWA), the National Association of Water Companies (NAWC) and the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), RMP data must already be provided to local first responders and a more secure method of access should be available for government agencies to share information than over the public internet.  The House Committee on Energy and Commerce also sent a letter  to EPA about the decision, and the water sector associations will be requesting a meeting with EPA to seek a resolution to this issue.

EPA Continues Work on Post-Construction Stormwater Rule

EPA continues to craft a national post-construction stormwater rule and is expected to announce an additional delay of its deadline to release of draft of the rule for public comment.  The current deadline is March 16, but senior EPA officials stated early this week at a meeting of the Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA) that the Agency would not meet the deadline but instead were working to establish a new release date.  EPA staff confirmed previous statements that late this or early next year is the most likely timeframe for publication of the proposal.  But it is not clear at this time how close EPA is to announcing an official, revised timeline for release of the draft rule, public comment, and final rule publication.  Instead, it seems likely that EPA will announce another 6-8 week temporary delay while it works to determine a long-term schedule.  NACWA will continue to track any developments and report to the membership.

Water Sector Coordinating Council Discusses Future of Vulnerability Assessment Tools

The Water Sector Coordinating Council (WSCC) held a web meeting this week to discuss several issues, including how various vulnerability assessment (VA) tools used by utilities to assess potential vulnerabilities to threats from terror, vandalism and natural disasters will be supported in the future.  NACWA’s representatives to the WSCC, NACWA Board Member Patty Cleveland, Manager of Operations with the Trinity River Authority, Texas, and Jim Davidson, Manager of Safety & Security with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District in Cleveland, participated in the meeting.  EPA and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are considering whether existing VA tools – VSAT, ARAM-W, and SEMS – should be upgraded to comply with the J-100 Standard for Risk and Resilience Management of Water and Wastewater Systems.

AEM Corporation is developing a new open access VA tool that will be J-100 compliant.  EPA would like there to be a single, common VA tool that is J-100 compliant and would be available for use by the entire water sector.  A decision on this will be made after the AEM Corporation tool is available for demonstration and testing but keep in mind that use of this single tool or any of the other tools discussed above remains entirely voluntary and at the discretion of the individual utilities.  The WSCC will be closely involved with this issue in the coming months and NACWA will inform members of any decisions that are made.

Have You Registered for NACWA’s 2012 National Environmental Policy Forum?

Join us April 22 – 25 at the Washington Marriot in Washington, D.C for NACWA’s 2012 National Environmental Policy Forum.  The Policy Forum will feature high level policymakers and NACWA committee meetings on the country’s most urgent clean water issues, including integrated planning and affordability, controlling nutrients from agricultural run-off,  and innovative financing for clean water investments.  Online registration, an agenda , and additional information are available on NACWA’s website.  Be sure to reserve a room at the Washington Marriott before April 2.