» Clean Water Current Archive

May 2, 2014

Municipal Groups Meet to Discuss EPA Affordability Framework

NACWA met with the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), the National League of Cities (NLC), the National Association of Counties (NACo), and several water sector groups including the Water Environment Federation (WEF), this week to discuss the latest draft of EPA’s affordability framework. Intended as a complement to the Agency’s 2012 Integrated Planning Framework, the affordability framework provides EPA’s latest thinking on how it will assess the financial capability of communities to pay for certain Clean Water Act (CWA) mandates.

The March 4 draft reflects the discussions among the key groups and EPA from at a December 2013 meeting and was crafted by a working group of EPA, USCM, NLC, and NACo representatives over the last several months. The changes that were made in the new draft, while minor, are improvements and help to clarify several key issues. The foundation of EPA’s approach to financial capability, however, remains its flawed and outdated 1997 guidance. The new framework is intended only as a supplement to that guidance and EPA continues to believe that the two part test in the guidance provides a sound and consistent way of evaluating financial capability for communities across the country.

While the affordability framework, when finalized, will be a significant step forward and help to address many of NACWA’s concerns, the Association believes that in the long-term, a complete revision of the 1997 guidance is needed. EPA’s Environmental Finance Advisory Board (EFAB) is currently reviewing the draft framework, but there is no indication as to when the Board will provide its feedback. The USCM, NLC and NACo plan to meet with EPA in the next few weeks after providing written comments on the new draft, and NACWA is working with its Money Matters Task Force to review the draft and provide its comments to EPA.

NACWA Blog of the Week:
Moving Beyond Gray vs. Green to Embrace “Sustainable Infrastructure”

The clean water community is moving beyond the “gray” versus “green” mentality. One is not inherently better than the other – in fact, they are inextricably linked. Pursuing a “sustainable infrastructure” approach provides utilities with the opportunity to educate the public on the role both gray and green approaches play in improving water quality through the integration of visible elements like rain gardens, green roofs, and permeable pavement with the gray elements that often go sight-unseen. Communities that have already realized this are focusing less on labeling wet weather control systems as gray or green and instead are embracing a cost-effective hybrid solution. Read more about NACWA Executive Director Ken Kirk’s thoughts on sustainable infrastructure here or subscribe to NACWA’s Blog The Water Voice and never miss a post!

NACWA Continues SSI Advocacy with Brief Challenging EPA Solid Waste Rule

NACWA joined a number of other industry groups on April 28 to file a brief in litigation challenging EPA’s Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials Rule (NHSM Rule), which for the first time classifies sewage sludge combusted in sewage sludge incinerators (SSIs) as a solid waste.

The brief, filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, has a specific section focused on the NHSM Rule’s improper classification of sewage sludge when combusted as a solid waste. In particular, NACWA’s portion of the brief argues that existing federal solid waste laws have an explicit “domestic sewage exclusion” (DSE) that prevents EPA from regulating sludge as a solid waste. The brief also points out that EPA’s arguments in NACWA’s previous legal challenge to the SSI Rule, and the D.C. Circuit’s own August 2013 ruling in the SSI Rule case, acknowledge that domestic sewage is the “but for” cause of sewage sludge (in other words, but for the existence of domestic sewage there would be no sewage sludge). EPA accordingly has no legal basis to now claim that the DSE does not cover sludge when it is combusted.

The NHSM Rule provides a critical regulatory foundation for EPA’s SSI Rule by classifying sewage sludge when combusted as a solid waste, but does not have any direct regulatory impact on sludge that is managed via means other than incineration. NACWA’s participation in the NHSM Rule legal challenge is supported by the Association’s SSI Advocacy Coalition, and NACWA is grateful to members of the Coalition for their continued support. Additional information on the case and NACWA’s SSI advocacy is available on the Association’s Litigation Tracking webpage.

NACWA Holds Informational Call on USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program

Yesterday, over forty NACWA members participated in a NACWA informational call about the new U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) to learn how the program works and how they might benefit from it. The 2014 Farm Bill established the RCPP, which is designed to support partnerships between farmers and non-farming entities to tackle various conservation and environmental issues on a regional scale. The RCPP specifically calls out municipal water and wastewater utilities as eligible entities to form regional partnerships with farmers and provides an excellent opportunity for interested utilities to implement innovative nutrient management solutions with agricultural non-point sources to improve local water quality. NACWA staff reviewed a power point presentation on key program elements and answered member questions about how the program may work. NACWA members who are anticipating applying for the program also shared their project ideas with call participants. NACWA members interested in learning more about the program are encouraged to visit USDA’s RCPP website to learn more or contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , NACWA Legislative Director, with any thoughts or questions.

NACWA Requests Information on Utility-Agriculture Collaborations

NACWA is putting together a white paper to highlight successful projects being undertaken by municipal water and wastewater utilities in collaboration with the agricultural sector to improve water quality. The white paper will provide case studies on the various types of collaborations taking place around the country, include information about how the collaborations work, and serve as a resource for utilities and agricultural producers interested in engaging in similar water quality efforts. If your utility is currently working with an agricultural or livestock producer or a land owner on a water quality-related activity (e.g. projects that address nutrient or sediment reduction, temperature or other pollutant, flood band restoration, source water protection, etc.), NACWA would love to hear from you. Specifically, please provide This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with a short paragraph detailing the following by COB on Friday May 9:

• The nature of the collaboration,
• The expected outcome, and
• Contact information for the appropriate utility staff so that NACWA can follow up.

Please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with any questions and thank you in advance for your help with this project.

Inaugural NACWA Consent Decree Workshop Draws Large, Lively Crowd

As record rainfall fell across a large portion of the United States, over 100 clean water professionals who are on the front lines of dealing with wet weather challenges gathered in Chicago for NACWA’s first-of-its-kind Wet Weather Consent Decree Workshop.

The Workshop provided timely and critical information on the current state of play in the wet weather consent decree arena. Participants heard presentations from both federal enforcement officials and top municipal clean water experts on the latest trends in clean water enforcement and how utilities can achieve the best results in enforcement negotiations. Through analysis of real world case studies, available tools, effective negotiation strategies, and areas of evolving regulatory flexibility, the Workshop helped equip clean water agencies with the most up-to-date consent decree information and resources to renegotiate existing decrees or negotiate new decrees that best serve their communities and the environment.

The Workshop also provided a forum for candid dialogue and information sharing on lessons learned, successes and failures. Participants engaged with one another in a variety of settings, including roundtable discussion on key enforcement topics like affordability, integrated planning, and consent decree modification, to exchange ideas and approaches with their clean water colleagues.

Workshop attendees received advanced access to NACWA’s soon-to-be-released 2014 Wet Weather Consent Decree Handbook, which provides valuable analysis and strategies to assist utilities in negotiations on federal or state enforcement actions. In addition, attendees also got a sneak peak at NACWA’s new Consent Decree e-Library repository and search engine, which will be available to NACWA members in a few weeks. Further information on presentations from the Workshop is available on NACWA’s website.