» Clean Water Current Archive

April 20, 2012

NACWA Files Brief in Chesapeake Bay TMDL Case

NACWA filed a brief  today in litigation over the total maximum daily load (TMDL) for the Chesapeake Bay, defending the use of a holistic watershed approach – and the inclusion of nonpoint source agricultural dischargers in the TMDL to address the Bay’s water quality impairment issues.  The municipal brief, filed jointly by NACWA along with the Virginia Association of Municipal Wastewater Agencies (VAMWA) and the Maryland Association of Municipal Wastewater Agencies (MAMWA), argues that the watershed approach embodied in the TMDL program is both lawful and necessary to restore water quality.  It further argues that EPA’s inclusion of both nonpoint sources discharges and upstream discharges was legal and appropriate.  The brief highlights the significant investments and achievements municipal clean water utilities have made to improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay, particularly with regard to nutrient impairments.  It further argues that additional restrictions on point source dischargers without addressing the significant nonpoint contributions would be inequitable.

The litigation, American Farm Bureau Federation, et al. v EPA, stems from an attempt by the American Farm Bureau, and a host of other agriculture groups, to challenge the final TMDL and limit EPA’s ability to regulate nonpoint agricultural dischargers as part of the TMDL implementation.  NACWA and its municipal partners moved to intervene in the litigation last year to protect the interests of its municipal clean water agency members and defend EPA’s ability to address all sources of water quality impairment.  While the specific facts of the case deal with the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the issue of defending a comprehensive watershed approach is one that has national implications.

Additional information on the case is available on NACWA’s Litigation Tracking webpage.

NACWA Highlights Advocacy Agenda in Tennessee, Kansas and California

With collaboration and coordination at the state and regional levels becoming increasing important, NACWA continued its efforts to bring the Association’s advocacy messages to key audiences around the country this week.  As EPA works to revise its integrated planning framework – with release of the final framework expected in early to mid-May – NACWA shared its Money Matters…Smarter Investment to Advance Clean Water™ message with more than 200 members of the wastewater engineering community at the 62nd Annual Environmental Engineering Conference at Kansas University.  Noting that EPA’s framework represents a ‘good start’ toward providing local governments with more flexibility on making needed water quality investments, NACWA continues to advocate for broader change to enable better targeting of the largest remaining sources of water pollution, including agriculture, and to ensure that limited resources are used to maximize environmental benefit.

NACWA also participated in the Wet Weather Partnership’s annual conference in Tennessee this week, providing an analysis of the key legislative issues currently facing the clean water community.  NACWA noted that while the current political climate in Washington is a challenging one, the Association continues to advocate aggressively on issues such as integrated planning and clean water funding with an eye toward setting the stage for the 113th Congress.  The Association provided a more targeted presentation at the California Water Environment Association’s (CWEA) annual conference on EPA’s development of a federal rule that would create a pretreatment standard requiring amalgam separators for all dental offices.  The Agency has drafted, but not yet published, the rule.  NACWA discussed both potential costs, and benefits, for utilities – and Association members provided important feedback about the burden the rule would place on them, questioning the environmental benefits that would be achieved.  NACWA’s Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Committee will discuss this issue at the 2012 Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Workshop, May 9-11, in Pensacola, Florida.

NACWA Uses Social Media to Reach Out to Member Agencies

NACWA is now on Twitter and Facebook and will be tweeting live from the National Environmental Policy Forum, April 22-25, 2012, in Washington, DC. Staff also will be posting photos and other information from next week’s Policy Forum on Facebook.

Twitter and Facebook provide a great way for members to stay in touch with NACWA and learn about the Association’s activities in real time throughout the year. To find us on Twitter, search for @NACWA and “Follow” us.  For Facebook, go to www.facebook.com/nacwaorg and “Like” NACWA.

If you need help setting up your own accounts on these social media platforms, which you will need to access NACWA’s profiles, then feel free to contact Elizabeth Striano, Director of Social Media & Communications at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 202-530-2758.

We look forward to seeing many Association members in Washington, DC next week for the Policy Forum.