Clean Water Current Archive

February 6, 2009

NACWA’s 2009 Winter Conference Provides Keys for Controlling Capital Chaos

NACWA members and affiliates gathered in Atlanta this week for the Association’s 2009 Winter Conference, Controlling Chaos: Managing Capital Costs in an Uncertain Economic Environment, to explore both the scope of the impacts stemming from the economic downturn and what utilities can do to best position themselves for success in the future.  Robert Hunter, commissioner for Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management, provided the conference keynote, detailing how the city is both meeting its capital program needs and addressing a $50 million projected operating budget shortfall this year.  Using his own agency to provide a case study of how to successfully emerge from a chaotic economic situation, Hunter outlined how Atlanta has reinvented itself after emerging from a contract operations agreement that resulted in declines in service levels and poor management of utility assets and revenue sources.  With water and sewer charges for the average household already hovering at $100 per month, the city, with strong leadership from its mayor, Shirley Franklin, has used continued improvements in service and maintenance of the system to garner community support for dramatic rate increases and a unique sales tax that dedicates 1 percent of every dollar spent in the community to water and wastewater.  Using many of the tools for controlling capital program costs described throughout the conference, including strategic financial planning, revamped contracting and procurement processes, and careful management of debt levels, Atlanta has been able to save hundreds of millions on its combined sewer overflow capital project and preserve its ability to secure reasonable bond terms in the future.

Though it was clear from the conference’s Featured Address by economist Craig Thomas that we may not have seen the worst yet from the economic downturn, there are clearly lessons to be learned and potential silver linings for utilities.  Conference attendees heard how changes in the way bond rating agencies are looking at municipal water and wastewater utilities, new project delivery options, and strategies for minimizing risk in capital program management can help them do more with less.  Details from NACWA’s committee meetings, which also featured lively discussions and set strategy for the Association’s advocacy on legal, regulatory, and legislative issues, will also be made available in an upcoming Member Update.  Many of the presentations from the Winter Conference have already been posted on NACWA’s website and the remaining presentations will be posted early next week.

NACWA Continues Efforts to Boost Clean Water Funding in Senate Stimulus Bill

NACWA’s winter conference also provided a significant focus on the ongoing economic recovery package negotiations taking place in Congress.  NACWA continued its ardent advocacy on the economic stimulus package this week, seeking amendments in the Senate to provide additional funding levels for ready-to-go wastewater infrastructure projects.  On Feb. 3, NACWA sent a letter to each senator urging support for an amendment by Sens. Murray (D-Wash.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that would have increased funding for water infrastructure to $13 billion.  This would have included $10 billion for the clean water state revolving fund (CWSRF) and $3 billion for the drinking water state revolving fund (DWSRF).  NACWA sent its members an email alert urging them to contact their senators to support this important amendment.  The amendment received 58 votes, two votes less than the 60 needed to pass the popular amendment.   NACWA has since learned that a revised version of the Murray-Feinstein amendment to boost SRF funding may be introduced and will work to ensure it has the needed support.

In addition, NACWA sent a letter supporting an amendment by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) that would clarify that states can distribute the funding to communities in the form of grants to allow the money to be more accessible for clean water agencies that otherwise would have difficulty accessing the bond market or incurring further debt through the loan program.

NACWA also voiced its support for an amendment by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and James Inhofe (R- Okla.)  that would “redirect” funds set to expire at the end of fiscal year 2009, as well as unobligated balances from the stimulus package programs.  These funds would be redistributed to states for water and wastewater infrastructure and transportation projects.  NACWA continues to push for needed funds to be a part of this package and looks forward to future opportunities to shape this legislation as it moves through Congress.  At press time, the Senate Republicans and Democrats are continuing their negotiations over the package with a Senate floor vote expected soon.  NACWA will report back to the membership with these key results.

NACWA Comments Oppose Designation of Sludge Destined for Incineration as Solid Waste

NACWA filed comments Feb. 2 urging EPA to not include sewage sludge or biosolids under its Resources Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) definition of non-hazardous solids waste.  EPA announced in a Jan. 2 Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) (74 Fed. Reg. 41), that it was seeking comment on the meaning of “solid waste” under RCRA as it applies to non-hazardous wastes as a way to assist its Office of Air and Radiation in developing standards under Sections 112 and 129 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for incinerators and boilers.  At issue are a series of regulatory determinations regarding commercial and industrial solid waste incinerators that also affect biosolids or sewage sludge incinerators (SSIs).  A June 2007 decision from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in Natural Resources Defense Council v. EPA resulted in the remand of two key regulations to the Agency for more consideration.  The case involved EPA’s past determinations on which incineration units should be handled under Section 112 versus section 129 of the CAA.  The court indicated that any incinerator burning solid waste (whether for energy recovery or not), must be regulated under Section 129.  Included in this litigation was an EPA regulation directing that SSIs be covered under the less onerous Section 112 of the CAA.  The Jan. 2 ANPRM sought comment on whether a long list of secondary materials, including biosolids, should be considered solid waste for the purposes of CAA regulation.  NACWA’s comments highlighted that solid and dissolved materials in sewage are specifically excluded from RCRA because they are already strictly regulated under the Clean Water Act’s Part 503 regulations governing the incineration of biosolids.  EPA must resolve the issue soon because several actions mandated by court-ordered deadlines are pending.  NACWA will keep its members apprised of new developments as they occur.

NACWA Works with Congressional Staff on SRF Bill Expected in Spring

As NACWA continues its advocacy efforts beyond the stimulus package, the Association’s push for the reauthorization of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) received a significant boost this week when Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, stated that she plans to “expeditiously move” a bill that would reauthorize the program.  Johnson went on to say, during the Feb. 4 hearing on sustainable water infrastructure, that the committee hopes to report a bill to the House floor before the spring congressional recess in April.  NACWA has been working closely with the T&I Committee staff on a draft bill similar to the Water Quality Financing Act of 2007 (H.R. 720), which would have reauthorized the CWSRF at $14 billion over four years and passed the House in March 2007.  Meanwhile, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee has not yet started work on its SRF reauthorization bill, the Water Infrastructure Financing Act (S. 3500), which was reported out of EPW on Sept. 17, 2008.

Registration Available for Green Infrastructure Course, CSO Workshop

Registration is now available for two important learning opportunities available to NACWA members— the first-ever green infrastructure course for municipalities and this year’s CSO Workshop.  The new green infrastructure course, How Green Is My Infrastructure: A Regional Approach to Municipal Planning & Investment, developed in collaboration with The Conservation Fund, will be held April 14-16, 2009 at the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, W.V.  The curriculum is designed to provide valuable insights on how municipalities and utilities can initiate, fund, construct, and maintain green infrastructure projects within their own communities.  Instructional sessions will focus on a variety of topics including the economic benefits of green infrastructure, how to obtain regulatory credit, implementation tools and techniques, and how to finance a green infrastructure network.

The popular CSO Workshop for communities with combined sewer overflow (CSO) systems is scheduled for April 22-24 at The Drake Hotel in Chicago and is sponsored by NACWA and the Wet Weather Partnership (WWP).  Topics include an overview of CSO regulatory and legislative action expected from the Obama administration and Congress, discussion of schedules and performance capability of CSO long-term control plans, analysis of the impact of the recent economic downturn on financial capability, and a presentation on the use of green infrastructure as part of CSO management plans.  The Workshop will feature a variety of expert speakers on CSO issues from municipal utilities, consulting and engineering firms, and officials from the EPA.  More information on the green infrastructure course and CSO Workshop, including copies of the Workshop agenda and registration information, can be found on NACWA’s website.

Register Today for NACWA’s National Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Workshop!

Make your plans today to attend the 2009 National Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Workshop, March 25-27, in Charlotte, N.C.  With a theme of Pretreatment & Source Control - Providing the Foundation for Clean Water's Future, the agenda will focus on the latest developments in the pretreatment arena and explore the evolving issues of source control.  Participants will have opportunities to meet with their colleagues and other representatives from municipal, state governments, and EPA. Click here to register.