» Clean Water Current Archive

December 5, 2013

Utility of the Future Congressional Clean Water Caucus Established

The Congressional Clean Water Caucus was officially established  at the end of November in the 113th Congress by Representatives John Duncan (R-TN) and Timothy Bishop (D-NY). Rep. Duncan is a former chair of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources & Environment and Rep. Bishop is the Subcommittee’s current Ranking Member. As called for in the NACWA/Water Environment Federation/Water Environment Research Foundation publication The Water Resources Utility of the Future. . . A Blueprint for Action  and in NACWA’s Water Resources Utility of the Future . . . A Call for Federal Action, the bipartisan Caucus will bring focus to Water Resources Utility of the Future (UOTF) priority issues and spotlight cutting-edge technologies and innovative techniques and approaches in the clean water sector.

NACWA appreciates the leadership of Representatives Duncan and Bishop on the formation of the Caucus, and will be working with them to circulate a “Dear Colleague” letter to encourage additional Members of Congress to join the Caucus. NACWA expects this letter to be circulated before the end of December and will circulate it to the membership as soon as it is available to help ensure that a broad, bipartisan array of Members of Congress join the Caucus.

EPA Targets Wet Weather in Enforcement Goals, Acknowledges Need for Affordable Solutions

EPA’s Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance (OECA) released an updated list this week of the Agency’s current Enforcement Goals. Municipal sewer and stormwater discharges continue to top the list of key enforcement priorities; however, in a blog post accompanying the new goals, EPA’s top enforcement official also acknowledged the importance of pursing “affordable and innovative” enforcement actions with municipal governments.

Wet weather issues have long been a focus of EPA’s enforcement efforts, including being a central focus of the Agency’s current 2014 – 2016 National Enforcement Initiatives. Their inclusion in the updated goals list only reinforces the fact that municipal clean water utilities will continue to face an aggressive wet weather enforcement agenda in the coming years. At the same time, OECA’s director Cynthia Giles noted in the blog post announcing the new goals that “using affordable and innovative approaches that improve communities and save money” is an important element of EPA’s clean water enforcement agreements with municipal governments.

This acknowledgement by EPA of the need for smarter and more affordable enforcement efforts is a welcome development, and is one that NACWA has long advocated for through a variety of efforts, including its Money Matters … Smarter Investment to Advance Clean Water™ campaign – as well as in previous comments  on EPA’s enforcement priorities. EPA’s new integrated planning approach, initiated as a result of the efforts by NACWA and others, can be a key tool in helping to achieve the innovative and cost-effective enforcement approach that EPA now acknowledges.

While NACWA is pleased with EPA’s recognition of the need for more innovative and affordable wet weather enforcement, the Association also realizes that the Agency’s position can often be very different in the trenches of wet weather enforcement negotiations. NACWA understands the significant challenges the municipal clean water community faces on the enforcement front and will continue to provide its members with aggressive advocacy and resources on this issue going forward.

NACWA Sends Letter to WRDA Conferees

NACWA sent a letter to House and Senate members who are part of a conference committee negotiating out the final details of the Water Resource Development Act (WRDA – the bill that authorizes funding for Army Corps of Engineers projects). The Senate version of the bill contained a new $250 million Water Infrastructure Finance & Innovation Act (WIFIA) pilot program to provide financing for both flood control projects and regionally significant water and wastewater projects. NACWA’s letter encourages the conferees to support the WIFIA pilot program as an additional tool to help communities meet their safe and clean water goals. With that said, NACWA stressed that the WIFIA pilot program should be complementary to the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs, and that an SRF reauthorization bill is also needed. Conferees are hoping to complete the WRDA conference by the end of the year, but with Congress only in session one more week, they are in a serious race against the clock. NACWA will continue to provide updates on the WRDA bill as they occur.

EPA, USDA Release Partnership Agreement on Water Quality Trading

EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a partnership agreement  on Tuesday to support water quality trading and other market-based approaches for ecosystem services. The expanded partnership is intended to improve the credibility, integrity, and transparency of U.S. water quality trading programs, as well as to support states, interstate agencies, and tribes as they develop and implement water quality trading programs for nutrients, sediments, and other pollutants where opportunities exist to achieve water quality improvements at reduced costs. As stated in NACWA’s press release, NACWA is pleased to see this collaboration and will be working closely with EPA and USDA as these efforts unfold.

NACWA, Other Associations Urge EPA to Apply Blending Decision Nationwide

NACWA joined with other municipal organizations – including the National League of Cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the National Association of Counties – to send a letter to EPA requesting clarification on how the Agency will implement the March 2013 decision by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in Iowa League of Cities v. EPA. The Court found that EPA’s blending prohibition, which restricted how municipalities could design facilities to address peak flow processing, exceeded the Agency’s statutory authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and was inconsistent with both EPA’s secondary treatment rule and bypass rule.

At NACWA’s National Clean Water Law Seminar, November 20-22, EPA’s Acting Assistant Administrator for Water Nancy Stoner stated that EPA believes the decision only has binding legal effect within the geographic area covered by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. This includes the states of Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, which are in four different EPA Regions. Stoner indicated that outside of the Eighth Circuit, EPA will evaluate the use of blending on a case-by-case basis. Stoner further noted that EPA will consider a permittee’s unique circumstances – as well as all other applicable legal decisions – when determining what is appropriate for CWA compliance regarding blending in states outside the Eighth Circuit.

NACWA believes the ruling does have national applicability and will strongly resist any efforts by EPA to limit the case only to the Eighth Circuit. As stated in the letter from NACWA and the other municipal associations, “Congress expressly granted the circuit courts original jurisdiction to review the NPDES regulations at issue under Section 509 of the CWA to ensure nationwide uniformity and ... EPA regulations provide for only one circuit to render an opinion on a petition for review. Consequently, we believe there is no legal basis to assert that the Eighth Circuit decision does not apply nationwide... The issues in this case have been causing delay and confusion for municipal entities throughout the country in addressing wet weather compliance and have greatly increased local costs, unnecessarily.”

In order to help inform NACWA’s advocacy on this issue, the Association would like to hear from any members who have been told verbally or in writing by state or EPA regional officials that the decision does not apply in their particular state or region.

NACWA to Comment on EPA Draft Strategic Plan

EPA published its Draft FY 2014-2018 Strategic Plan on November 19 and is seeking public comment. In terms of water priorities, the Agency’s main goal areas for the FY 2014-2015 timeframe remain unchanged from FY 2012-2013 – improved public health for communities served by small drinking water systems and enhanced nonpoint source program leveraging, accountability and effectiveness. NACWA will submit comments prior to the January 3 deadline. Please submit any feedback or comments you would like included by December 13 to Chris Hornback at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

NACWA Requests Stakeholder Input on Stormwater RDA Petitions

NACWA, the National Association of Flood & Stormwater Management Agencies (NAFSMA) and the American Public Works Association (APWA) submitted letters to the EPA Regional Administrators of the three regions petitioned by environmental groups regarding their Residual Designation Authority (RDA) to permit individual institutional, commercial and industrial stormwater discharges into impaired waters. The letters, submitted to Regions 1, 3 and 9, the week before Thanksgiving, request that NACWA and other stakeholder groups be given the opportunity to provide input as the Regions and EPA Headquarters evaluate the petitions. NACWA will update the members as this comment period is established.

NACWA, ACWA Collaborate on Energy Assessments for Water, Wastewater Facilities

The Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA) is convening a call on January 29, 2014, from 2:00 -3:30 pm Eastern, to discuss a state effort to provide free energy assessments for clean water agencies. NACWA is collaborating with ACWA’s Energy Task Force on the call and all NACWA members are invited to participate. The call will feature a presentation from Jennifer Dodd, Deputy Director of the Tennessee Division of Water Resources, on the formation of the Tennessee Water & Wastewater Energy Efficiency Partnership, and how it could serve as a model in other states. The Partnership is a collaboration among EPA Region 4, the Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the University of Memphis, University of Tennessee – Municipal Technical Advisory Service, the Environmental Finance Center (University of North Carolina) and Schneider Electric. Patterned after an EPA Region 7 initiative, the Tennessee program consisted of an individual energy assessment for each water or wastewater facility and a series of four workshops that facilitated action plans and funding options for capital improvements. The participants in the program, including several NACWA members, projected annual savings per facility ranging from $15,750 to $210,000. If you are interested in participating in the call, please contact Chris Hornback at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to obtain the dial-in details.

NACWA Index Offers Invaluable Information – Complete Your Survey by Dec. 31

NACWA has published the Index annually since 1992 to track the average annual single-family residential service charge increases as measured against the rate of inflation. It has been a cornerstone of NACWA’s advocacy efforts and an invaluable resource to Member Agencies. Data collection for the 2013 NACWA Index survey is now underway. NACWA sent out the Survey to all of its public agency members in November, requesting responses by December 31. The results of the survey will be distributed to the NACWA membership in spring 2014 and will compare national service charge changes on an annual basis from the mid-1980s – 2013. I also includes information on service charges by geographic region.

NACWA encourages all Member Agencies to participate and complete the survey by December 31. An individualized one-page questionnaire, which should take less than 15 minutes to complete, was emailed to each NACWA public agency member primary contact. The survey can be completed online (http://www.cleanwatercentral.org/logon.asp) or via hard copy. For more information on the survey and directions for submitting your response, contact Chris Hornback at 202/833-9106 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Cost, Collaboration & Compliance to be Examined at 2014 Winter Conference

Plans are underway for NACWA’s 2014 Winter Conference, Compliance, Collaboration & Cost . . . Critical Drivers for Clean Water, February 2 – 5, 2014 in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico. The conference agenda will focus on a number of the regulatory and technical challenges – and opportunities – facing the clean water community today, including: nutrient control, integrated planning, resiliency, and inappropriate products flushed into the sewer system. Speakers will highlight successful approaches and new opportunities for collaboration. Continued concerns about the incremental costs of further water quality progress will also be featured. Please visit NACWA’s website for detailed information on the 2014 Winter Conference.

NACWA Blog of Week:
Advocating for Our Future: Thoughts from NACWA’s Law Seminar

With aging infrastructure; drastically changing wet weather patterns due to climate change; diminishing funding sources and options; more costly regulations on the horizon in areas like nutrients and stormwater; a growing population; and, a rigid and outdated regulatory framework the challenges facing the water sector in the future are daunting. As Abraham Lincoln said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” We must shape the regulatory landscape aggressively and proactively in line with our vision. With a new posting each Wednesday, The Voice of Water Blog is the perfect way to receive overviews and opinions on issues of importance to the clean water community. Subscribe today!