Clean Water Current Archive

February 20, 2009

NACWA Hosts Web Seminar on Implementing Provisions of Economic Stimulus

NACWA hosted a web seminar yesterday featuring EPA, state, and local officials as well as congressional staff who explained how clean water agencies can obtain funding from the economic stimulus package signed into law earlier this week.  The free web seminar, Access Granted … Getting the Most Out of Economic Stimulus Funding, attracted more than 160 site registrations and about 950 individuals.  President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Tuesday, which included $4 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and $2 billion for the Drinking Water SRF.  NACWA Vice President Kevin Shafer, executive director of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, moderated the seminar and outlined the provisions in the new law affecting the clean water community.  Ryan Seiger, staff director for the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, said Congress would be conducting oversight to ensure the new law met its job creation goals and encouraged participants to identify any barriers that need to be addressed to ensure the money gets spent quickly.  He hinted at the possibility of a follow-up stimulus package but said such an effort would only succeed “by doing what we said we would do,” namely, spend the funds efficiently and create jobs, under the current stimulus.

EPA’s Sheila Frace, director of the municipal support division in the Office of Water, said the agency will be releasing its draft implementation guidance providing information for states and communities on how to access the funding today or next week.  When the guidance becomes final, it will be made available to NACWA members and posted on EPA’s and NACWA’s websites.  Several state officials sought to hammer home the importance of getting projects on the state intended use plans (IUPs) in order to be eligible for funding.  Matt Millea, acting president of the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation and speaking for the Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities (CIFA), also touted the 20 percent set aside for green infrastructure saying it represents a “new generation” of water financing that will promote efficiency and conservation.  “Success will breed success,” he said referring to the future of federal infrastructure investment.   The slides from the web seminar are available now, and the complete seminar and question-and-answer portion will be available for viewing free of charge on NACWA’s website next week.  NACWA is grateful to those who helped pull this web seminar together in a short amount of time, especially the EPA Office of Wastewater Management, the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA), CIFA, and Ryan Seiger.  NACWA plans to hold similar informative sessions on a regular basis to keep members informed of evolving issues related to the stimulus package.

SRF Reauthorization Bill Expected Soon
In a related note, NACWA and other members of the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN) met with House T&I staff this week and learned that the committee expects to introduce an SRF reauthorization bill soon that will incorporate language from several important bills from the 110th Congress affecting clean water agencies.  Specifically, it is expected that the new legislation will include sewer overflow right-to-know provisions, funding for combined sewer overflows similar to the Water Quality Investment Act (H.R. 569), and, potentially, the reauthorization language for the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act.

EPA Agrees to Peer Review of Controversial Procedure for Developing Nutrient Criteria

EPA announced late last week that it will request a full Science Advisory Board (SAB) review of a controversial procedure now being used to develop nutrient criteria.  NACWA and several other stakeholders have been encouraging EPA since last fall to conduct the review.  EPA initially agreed to a limited peer review that would not have permitted NACWA to directly engage with the review panel, but changed course after meeting with the Association and other groups in recent weeks.  EPA says the full SAB review will allow for both written comments and verbal presentations at a public meeting to ensure that stakeholder scientific perspectives are considered.  NACWA’s September 2008 letter to then EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson expressed concern with the scientific validity of the new approach, especially its reliance on a new and untested data evaluation procedure and its failure to demonstrate a causal link between the stressor (nutrients) and the observed ecological impact.  The methodology was developed and has been recently used by EPA Region III in Philadelphia to develop a total maximum daily load (TMDL).  Other states are also considering the new approach, and EPA has expressed its intent to include it in national guidance.  NACWA’s Water Quality Committee will be closely tracking EPA’s efforts to convene the SAB panel — though EPA has not yet determined a timetable for this effort — and will be working to develop formal comments.

NACWA Releases Consent Decree Handbook Supplement

NACWA this week released its 2009 Municipal Wet Weather Consent Decree Handbook Supplement ,  providing Association members and the clean water community with the most up-to-date information and analysis of municipal wet weather consent decrees.  Designed for use in conjunction with NACWA’s 2003 Municipal Wet Weather Consent Decree Handbook and 2006 Supplement, the latest update is a valuable resource for attorneys, managers, and staff at clean water agencies to use during negotiations over federal or state enforcement actions.  More information on the 2009 Supplement may be found in Legal Alert 09-01.  NACWA is pleased to make this document available to the Association’s membership as free download by visiting the Member Pipeline of the NACWA website.

Clean Water, Drinking Water Dispute Involving NACWA Member Agency Gets Settled

Sanitation District No. 1 of Northern Kentucky (SD1), a NACWA member agency, settled recently with the Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW) in a dispute over the construction of SD1’s new wastewater plant.  The issue dates to 2007 when GCWW challenged a discharge permit for SD1’s new Eastern Regional Water Reclamation Facility (ERWRF) because of concerns about impacts to its source water.  GCWW’s drinking water facility is located downstream from the SD1 plant, and its managers were concerned about the potential presence of emerging contaminants in the effluent from the wastewater facility.  NACWA’s Board of Directors authorized the Association to file a brief supporting SD1 in the matter.  However, before the brief was filed, SD1 and GCWW entered mediation, resulting in the current settlement.  This agreement provides for the dismissal of GCWW’s challenge and allows construction of the new SD1 facility to proceed.  Under the settlement, SD1 will give notice to GCWW of certain types of treatment events and occurrences at the wastewater plant.  Additionally, SD1 and GCWW will participate in a work-plan study of certain treatment processes at the ERWRF.  NACWA will continue to monitor progress under the settlement.

Designing, Financing Green Infrastructure to be Addressed in NACWA Course

Registration is now available for a new NACWA course specifically designed to help clean water utilities design, fund, construct, and maintain green infrastructure projects within their own communities to help improve water quality.  How Green Is My Infrastructure: A Regional Approach to Municipal Planning & Investment was developed in collaboration with The Conservation Fund and will be offered April 14-16 at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, W.Va.  The agenda focuses on key issues municipalities should consider when evaluating green infrastructure to control stormwater and sewer overflows and provide helpful insights on how communities can move forward with low impact development.  Topics include the economic benefits of green infrastructure, how to obtain regulatory credit, implementation tools and techniques, and how to finance a green infrastructure network.  A variety of experts on green infrastructure from municipal utilities, federal agencies, educational institutions, and low impact development organizations will teach the course.  More information about the course including registration and lodging details can be found on the Conferences & Professional Development page of the NACWA website.