» Clean Water Current Archive

May 8, 2009

Administration Officials Headline Successful NACWA/WEF Policy Forum

Top environmental officials in the new Obama administration, as well as key members of Congress members and staff, provided insight into the direction clean water policy will take in the coming years at 2009 NACWA/WEF National Clean Water Policy Forum.  EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson spoke on May 4 about the importance of the municipal and federal partnership, noting that President Obama “wants to see a huge leap forward on water quality like we saw in the 1970s,” adding that “the gains we make in the next few years will have huge returns.”  She said we need to work together to “confront nonpoint sources of pollution,” and echoed a conference theme of needing to address water quality challenges on an innovative, watershed basis.   She also noted that NACWA’s member agencies are “the folks doing the actual work” and told the public agency attendees that “every one of your jobs is a green job.”  Jackson pointed to the increased federal funding for wastewater infrastructure in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA or stimulus package) and the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2010 budget proposal, stating that it would result in a “sea change” of improvements.

Nancy Sutley, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), also spoke of the need for better coordination at the federal, state, and local level to ensure a more streamlined approach to addressing water quality challenges.  This is especially important when dealing with the cross-boundary issues that arise in moving toward a watershed approach.  Also echoing the theme of the need for change was Rena Steinzor, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Law and president of the Center for Progressive Reform.  Steinzor discussed the role of White House Office of Management and Budget, in particular, its Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which reviews all regulations costing more than $100 million via a rigorous cost-benefit analysis.  Steinzor expressed the need to eliminate OIRA — a concept that led to serious subsequent discussion about how to avoid the delay or even cancelation by OMB of regulations and policies — including the peak excess flow treatment or “blending” guidance  — of significance to the clean water community.

House and Senate staff members from both parties discussed a number of important legislative issues, such as wastewater funding, climate change, Clean Water Act jurisdiction, and the reauthorization of the clean water state revolving fund (CWSRF).  The always popular technical roundtable breakfast once again provided an opportunity for key EPA staff to talk in an informal setting to public clean water agency issues on an array of technical issues.   That breakfast session also featured a visit from Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.), a new member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, who spoke about the importance of wastewater funding and the use of innovative methods, including green infrastructure, to address stormwater as well as the importance of a coordinated approach to gathering water quality data and scientific research.  Rep. Earl Blumenauer earlier in the week discussed his plans to introduce a clean water trust fund bill soon.

Another highlight of the Policy Forum was the third annual Utility Executives Summit, which featured a broad-ranging discussion among over 30 clean water agency executives on the implementation of the ARRA.   Clean water agencies have been especially concerned with the so-called “Buy American” provisions, which have been difficult to implement.  The discussion also included representatives from EPA, Building America’s Future, and the Canadian Embassy.

NACWA Board Approves Preliminary FY 2010 Budgets

NACWA’s Board of Directors approved the preliminary General Fund and Targeted Action Fund (TAF) budgets for the Association at its meeting this week in Washington, D.C.  Notably, the lean fiscal year (FY) 2010 General Fund Budget calls for no increase in dues for all categories of membership and increased emphasis on web seminars and other offerings for agencies experiencing budget restrictions.  Detailed information on NACWA’s FY 2010 General Fund and TAF budgets will be provided to the membership for comment via Member Update soon.  The Board also approved intervention in the Anacostia Riverkeeper v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lawsuit, addressing total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., which is currently under appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.  The case has potentially enormous national implications for municipal dischargers.  NACWA will join with the Wet Weather Partnership and other municipal and stormwater groups in the intervention.  Please visit the Litigation Tracker on NACWA’s website for additional information about this and other cases in which the Association is engaged.

SRF Bill with $38.5 Billion Over Five Years Introduced in Senate; Mark-up Set for May 14

Legislation was introduced late May 7 in the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee to reauthorize the clean water and drinking water state revolving funds (SRFs) at $38.5 billion over five years.  NACWA applauds the EPW Committee for moving quickly to introduce the Water Infrastructure Financing Act of 2009 (S. 1005), which will be marked up May 14.  The bill would reauthorize the CWSRF at $20 billion and the Drinking Water SRF at $15 billion; provide $1.85 billion for grants to address CSOs and SSOs; and provide $250 million for “critical water infrastructure projects” (watershed improvements), $50 million to capitalize the Agriculture SRF, and $25 million for technical assistance to small and rural communities.

The legislation also reflects several key priorities for NACWA.  For example, the controversial “Buy America” provisions that were in the stimulus package were not included in the Senate bill.  NACWA has expressed substantial concerns with these provisions because they could delay wastewater infrastructure projects that would be eligible for the funding.  The Senate bill also allows up to 30 percent of the SRF dollars to be used as grants for disadvantaged communities or to promote the use of green infrastructure – both strongly supported by NACWA.  The House already passed its version of the bill in March in a veto-proof 317-101 vote that would reauthorize the CWSRF at $13.8 billion over five years.  NACWA also successfully advocated for the inclusion of key utility management-related provisions in line with the joint effort for Effective Utility Management.  NACWA will send out a more detailed Legislative Alert next week on the key provisions.

EPA Budget Proposal Includes $2.4 Billion for CWSRF, $475 Million for Great Lakes

In another example of the federal government’s increasing commitment to clean water funding, the Obama administration’s $10.5 billion EPA budget proposal for FY 2010 was unveiled yesterday, including $3.9 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF).  The budget also includes $475 million to address the most significant water quality problems in the Great Lakes region, including non-point source pollution.  Some additional funding is also provided for efforts to clean up and restore the Chesapeake Bay, Puget Sound, San Francisco Bay, Lake Champlain and other large waterbodies.  “EPA has . . . a revitalized mission,” EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson told NACWA and other stakeholders in a briefing on the budget at EPA headquarters yesterday.

NACWA is especially pleased that the budget includes $2.4 billion for the CWSRF, which illustrates that its message that wastewater infrastructure needs greatly outweigh current resources.  NACWA sent a May 1 letter to leadership on the House and Senate Appropriations Committees urging their support of the SRF funding request as they develop the FY 2010 appropriations bills.

Also as part of its budget proposal, EPA will add 30 new civil and criminal enforcement posts, 12 of which will focus on environmental justice concerns in communities that are either poor or disproportionately affected by environmental problems.  EPA will also spend $17 million to help implement its proposed national greenhouse gas emissions registry, and $5 million to help analyze what domestic and international offsets for greenhouse gas emissions could be certified under a cap-and-trade system.

NACWA Urges Congress to Revise BEACH Act Legislation’s Test Method Provisions

NACWA sent letters to the House and Senate this week supporting the overall goals of recent legislation to reauthorize the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act (BEACH Act) while also indicating concern over the legislation’s definition of rapid test methods.  The letters endorse the general framework of the Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act of 2009 (S. 878; H.R. 2093), but express concern about the requirement that test method results be available “as soon as practicable and no more than two hours from the start of the test method.”  This language conflicts with the recent BEACH Act litigation settlement secured by NACWA and also runs counter to current science for rapid test methods, which are unable to achieve results in two hours or less.  NACWA’s letters encourage Congress to remove the two-hour requirement and instead call for a rapid test method that produces results “as soon as practicable,” thus allowing for ongoing scientific research to determine an appropriate response time.

Additionally, NACWA’s letters call for report language to be added to the legislation clarifying that any rapid testing method developed under the bill is only to be used for recreational water quality monitoring and is not to be used for monitoring or testing effluent discharges at publicly owned treatment works or for determination of compliance with National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits.  NACWA’s letters also endorse the October 2012 deadline set by the bill for EPA to develop and validate a new rapid test method for water quality monitoring in coastal recreational waters.  As previously reported last week, this deadline is consistent with the recent BEACH Act litigation settlement and is a significant improvement over last year’s version of the bill, reflecting an important victory for NACWA’s active advocacy efforts on this issue.