» Clean Water Current Archive

March 23, 2012

NACWA Board Unanimously Approves Intervention in Nutrient Lawsuits

The NACWA Board of Directors this week approved intervention by the Association in two recent lawsuits involving nutrient issues that could have significant impacts on NACWA members and clean water utilities nationwide.  This action on Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) et al. v. EPA and Gulf Restoration Network (GRN) et al. v. EPA paves the way for the Association to move forward aggressively and defend its members’ legal interests in these two critical cases.  NACWA anticipates filing its intervention papers within the next few weeks.

The two lawsuits were filed last week by a coalition of environmental activist organizations.  NRDC et al. v. EPA deals with potential changes to EPA’s secondary treatment regulations to require nutrient removal, and GRN et al. v. EPA seeks to establish federal nutrient criteria for the Mississippi River basin and northern Gulf of Mexico.  Additional information on the cases is available in last week’s Clean Water Current.  NACWA will keep the membership updated on developments.

NACWA Helps Secure U.S. Supreme Court Victory in CWA Case

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week that EPA-issued administrative orders (AOs) that require compliance with the Clean Water Act (CWA) are entitled to pre-enforcement judicial review, notching an important legal victory for NACWA and the municipal clean water community.  The High Court’s unanimous March 21 decision  in Sackett v. EPA mirrors many of the arguments made in a joint brief  filed last September by NACWA and a number of coalition partners encouraging the Court to allow for immediate judicial review of AOs.  Additional information on this week’s decision is available in Advocacy Alert 12-05.

In finding that CWA AOs are entitled to pre-enforcement judicial review, the Court noted that “there is no reason to think that the Clean Water Act was uniquely designed to enable the strong-arming of regulated parties into ‘voluntary compliance’ without the opportunity for judicial review.”  The decision is important because it will allow utilities that receive AOs, and have concerns about the underlying validity of the order, to now move for immediate judicial review of the AO – before EPA begins formal enforcement proceedings.   The ability of clean water utilities to now immediately challenge these compliance orders should help to curb EPA’s use of AOs to coerce action from public water agencies.

The municipal coalition brief filed in this case included NACWA, the Wet Weather Partnership, the City of New York, and state wastewater associations from South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia, and Virginia.  NACWA is pleased with this week’s decision and believes that it will benefit members who are currently dealing with federal AOs or will be in the future.  Additional information on the case is available on NACWA’s Litigation Tracking webpage.

Water Sector Coalition Urges Congress to Reject Reductions to the SRFs

A coalition of water sector groups, including NACWA, sent a letter  urging Congress to maintain funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SDWSRF) at the Fiscal Year 2012 levels of $1,468 million and $919 million respectively.  The Obama Administration has requested a combined $328,269,000 decrease in funding for the SRF programs for FY13.  The other groups joining the coalition include the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA), the American Public Works Association (APWA), the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), the American Water Works Association (AWWA), and the Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA).

In a statement following the letter’s release, Ken Kirk, NACWA’s Executive Director said, “Sustained and increased investment in our water infrastructure is critical for economic growth and public health and welfare.  By EPA’s own estimates water and wastewater facilities will need a half of trillion dollars over the next two decades to ensure these systems continue to provide clean and safe water to the American public.  Communities can’t do this alone; the federal government must remain a partner in meeting these needs.”

Both the House and Senate have begun to hold hearings on the Administration’s budget requests for all the federal agencies, including EPA.  NACWA will continue to advocate against any decrease in SRF funding levels and urges utilities to weigh in with Members of Congress to express support for these critical programs.  If you have questions regarding this issue and would like to discuss how your utility could help with this effort, please contact Hannah Mellman, NACWA’s Legislative Manager at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

NACWA, AMWA Speak to Adaptation Needs at Capitol Hill Climate Briefing

NACWA, the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), and Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) hosted a Congressional Briefing on Tuesday to highlight how drinking water and wastewater systems across the country are impacted by, and are responding to, changing hydrological conditions related to climate change.

Rep. Capps opened the Briefing by discussing her legislation, The Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Act (H.R. 2738), which NACWA and AMWA helped craft.  This legislation encourages innovative adaptation approaches at local utilities and provides financial assistance to systems facing high costs.

Following Rep. Capps’ opening remarks, several NACWA and AMWA members participated in a panel discussion, including Laura Wharton from the King County Department of Natural Resources & Parks, Wash., Ray Tremblay from Los Angeles County Sanitation District, Calif., Angela Licata from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, N.Y., and Pat Mulroy, Director of Las Vegas Valley Water District.  The panelists discussed how their utilities are spending millions of dollars annually on additional operation and maintenance costs to become more resilient and better respond to things like salt water intrusion, more intense storms, and persistent drought conditions.

Kathy Freas with CH2M Hill moderated the event and discussed the 2009 NACWA/AMWA report on water and wastewater adaptation costs.  Freas suggested the biggest adaptation challenge is the cost, which could be up to $1 trillion for water and wastewater utilities.  The report, Confronting Climate Change:  An Early Analysis of Water and Wastewater Adaptation Costs, is available on NACWA’s website .

NACWA will continue to work with AMWA and Rep. Capps’ to help mobilize bipartisan support for her bill.  We will keep members apprised of any updates on this legislation as they occur.

EPA Briefs NACWA on Integrated Planning Framework Progress

Key EPA water and enforcement officials briefed NACWA this week on the Agency’s efforts to revise and release a new version of its municipal integrated planning framework.  Since the close of the public comment period on February 29, EPA has been working to review the input it received during five regional workshops and through written comments.  Agency staff indicated that they will not be making wholesale changes and that the framework will only be tweaked to acknowledge and address some of the comments received.  The revised framework will be presented for senior management review by the end of March, and will be released publicly in early to mid-April.  When released, the framework will not be considered ‘final’, but instead will be viewed as a living document that could be further modified in the future.  EPA expects to add additional discussion about how drinking water-related issues can be considered,  as well as language acknowledging the importance of adaptive management and existing watershed-based planning efforts including the Clean Water Act section 208 planning process.  The Agency is encouraging any clean water agencies interested in pursuing an integrated plan to begin using the draft framework and to not wait until the next version is available.

In the enforcement context, EPA is already seeing communities take advantage of the concepts in the integrated planning framework during ongoing negotiations with the Agency and the Department of Justice.  EPA is hoping that, by recognizing integrated planning efforts in future consent decrees, it can reach resolution more quickly on the terms of the decrees with the understanding that investments and remedies will be continually evaluated through the ongoing planning process.  The Agency also expressed a willingness to work with communities currently under decree that are interested in exploring an integrated plan.  EPA is interested in hearing from communities that want to proactively pursue integrated planning through the permitting process.  Agency representatives went on to indicate that they hope to facilitate implementation of the framework by providing states with any tools or guidance they need – and by engaging with regional offices to ensure their actions are consistent with Headquarters.  NACWA will alert the membership when the new framework is released.  If your community is exploring an integrated plan, please contact Chris Hornback, NACWA’s Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it so that all ongoing activities can be tracked.

Controversial Stormwater Memo at OMB for Review

NACWA learned this week that a controversial EPA memo on stormwater issues is now at the Office of Management & Budget (OMB) for review, indicating that there have likely been some revisions made to the document.  The original memo , issued in November 2010, dealt with changes to EPA’s policies on total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) and permitting issues for stormwater discharges.  It sparked a significant outcry due to its suggestion that stormwater flow could be used as a surrogate for pollutant parameters when establishing TMDL loading capacity – and for suggesting that numeric end-of-pipe limits are appropriate in municipal stormwater discharge permits.  NACWA joined with a number of other municipal groups to express significant concerns  with the memo, and as a result EPA agreed to take public comment last year and consider revisions.  While it is unknown at this time what changes may have been made to the document, NACWA will be meeting with OMB soon to further discuss the memo.  We will keep the membership updated on developments.

NACWA Policy Forum Hotel Cut-Off is April 2

NACWA's April 22-25 National Environmental Policy Forum is well-timed, as election season is in full swing and the nation's policy makers are seriously considering important clean water issues – including integrated planning and affordability, controlling agricultural run-off, opening renewable energy markets for utilities, and innovative financing for clean water investments.  Association members are encouraged to make their plans to attend today.

The Forum will take place at Washington Marriott, and includes visits on Capitol Hill.  High level policymakers and NACWA committee meetings on the country’s most urgent clean water issues will be part of the dynamic agenda.  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.

Deadline Nears for NACWA’s Peak Performance Awards Applications: April 6, 2012

There are just two weeks left to apply for NACWA’s 2011 Peak Performance Awards.  Public agency members with treatment facilities that have achieved outstanding compliance with their National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits are encouraged to apply for national recognition.  Your facilities may receive recognition at the Platinum, Gold or Silver Level - details regarding this Awards program are available on the Awards Page of the NACWA website.  The Award application deadline is April 6, 2012.

Role of Pretreatment in the “Utility of the Future” to be Explored at April Workshop

Pretreatment professionals at all NACWA Member Agencies should not miss the only conference designed especially for them – NACWA’s 2012 National Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Workshop.  This year’s Workshop, Pretreatment and the Utility of the Future: Where We Are Going and Where We Have Been, April 9-11, will provide a look back at 30 years of Pretreatment Program accomplishments, and focus on the important role that pretreatment and pollution prevention programs will play as utilities move from simply treating wastewater to recovering vital resources – including nutrients, biosolids, energy, and reclaimed water.  Presentation topics will include the role of pretreatment in hydraulic fracturing, bio-cremation and funeral homes, and other relevant new industries.  Legal pretreatment case studies will also be presented in the always-popular Law & Order panel.  Significantly, key program staff from EPA will be on hand to engage and update participants on the current status of effluent guidelines development and the National Pretreatment Program.

For over two decades, pretreatment professionals from across the country have benefited from the utility-focused speakers and panels – and the unique networking opportunities the Workshop offers.  Make your plans for your key pretreatment staff to attend today by reserving a room at the Hilton Pensacola before April 17.