» Clean Water Current Archive

November 2, 2012

NACWA Sends Thoughts to Victims of Hurricane Sandy; Seeks to Ensure Key Lessons Are Learned and Shared

NACWA sends its thoughts out to the many victims of Hurricane Sandy and also thanks its Member Agencies and their staffs for their tireless efforts in the face of the most difficult circumstances.  As we have seen with Katrina and Irene in the past, it takes a crisis to remind the Nation just how critical wastewater, stormwater, and drinking water services are – and how critical it is to invest in the infrastructure that ensures public health, protects the environment, and makes a stable economy possible.  

NACWA will work to ensure that Congress and the Administration, as they return from the election recess, will consider policies that will assist our communities in becoming more resilient in the face of such extreme storm events in the future.  As part of the Association’s advocacy work related to climate change adaptation and wet weather management, NACWA will be asking members impacted by Hurricane Sandy to provide us their insights as to the storm’s impact on their utilities, ways their utilities can prepare for the next extreme storm event, and how wet weather and other policy reforms can assist them to more effectively prepare for and manage events of this nature. The responses will be compiled, synthesized and provided to the Association’s members, Congress and the Administration in order to ensure that lessons learned are shared and policy recommendations that can help communities become more resilient in the future are advanced.

NACWA Raises Concerns as EPA Works to Finalize Recreational Water Quality Criteria

While generally supporting the approach EPA used in its December 2011 proposed recreational water quality criteria (RWQC), NACWA wrote to Nancy Stoner, Acting Assistant Administrator for Water, this week to express concerns about new analyses the Agency was conducting to evaluate potential changes to the criteria values.  In its letter NACWA stressed that EPA’s methodology for proposing the RWQC was reasonable given the information the Agency was able to collect in the time it had available.  For five years now NACWA has been engaged in the underlying lawsuit related to the Beaches Environmental Assessment & Coastal Health (BEACH) Act that is driving EPA’s work on the RWQC (Natural Resources Defense Council v. EPA).  The timeframe that EPA eventually agreed to when it settled the lawsuit was very aggressive and tied the Agency’s hands in many ways with respect to data collection and analysis.

In response to its December 2011 proposal, EPA received a record number of comments, including many that were critical of the proposed criteria levels – which were nearly identical to the existing 1986 criteria.  EPA redoubled its efforts over the last several months to review its data using different analytical approaches to see what, if any, changes from the proposal could be supported.  EPA specifically was analyzing the data to determine whether a criterion more stringent than the current enterococcus geometric mean of 35 cfu/100 ml could be supported.  NACWA’s letter stressed that implementation of the criteria would be further complicated by any changes: “Widespread adoption of criteria based on enterococcus will have a major impact…and lowering the criteria below the 1986 values – which EPA has shown to be protective – will further complicate implementation with no evidence that there will be a commensurate increase in public health protection.”  EPA is now facing a November 30 deadline to finalize the criteria.  NACWA will keep members apprised of any further developments.

NACWA Gears Up for Elections, Prepares Advocacy Letters to Congress and Next Administration

With the elections only days away, NACWA is preparing a series of letters to the next Administration and to Congress which will highlight the Association’s current clean water agenda.  The letters will focus on the Money Matters...Smarter Investment to Advance Clean Water™ campaign, including the need for policies that promote greater regulatory flexibility and innovative utility management.   While it is unclear what Congress will accomplish during the Lame Duck session, budgetary issues and dealing with the so-called “fiscal cliff” are certain to be a central focus.  NACWA is preparing two letters to Congress that urge support for continued robust investments in water infrastructure as a proven means to stimulate economic growth and job creation while helping communities struggle to meet their mounting Clean Water Act obligations.  In addition, at the end of next week, NACWA will provide members with a comprehensive election recap, including an analysis of what the elections might mean for the clean water community moving forward.  Copies of the advocacy letters will be shared as soon as they become available.

NACWA Issues Healthy Waters Update on Nonpoint Nutrient Pollution

NACWA sent out its first Healthy Waters Update this week to members of the Healthy Waters Coalition, a diverse group of municipal and state water and wastewater organizations, as well as conservation and sustainable agriculture groups from across the country.  The Coalition is focused on strengthening links between working agricultural lands and the quality of our Nation’s waters with a specific focus on agricultural nutrient run-off.  The first Update provides members with an overview of related press coverage during the month of October and is organized in the following topics: Studies and Research, Federal/State/Local Activities, Litigation Activities, and other miscellaneous significant articles.  NACWA intends to distribute these Updates on a monthly basis to keep the Coalition and NACWA members up-to-date on important activities and press coverage with respect to this issue.