» Member Updates Archive

Many of the Association’s standing committees met in May in conjunction with the NACWA/Water Environment Federation (WEF) National Clean Water Policy Forum in Washington, D.C. This Member Update provides a summary of the priority issues discussed during these committee meetings and provides insight into NACWA’s strategic next steps for those members who were unable to attend these meetings. Many of the issues discussed in this Update will also be the building blocks for continued strategic committee discussions, including those taking place at NACWA’s 2009 Summer Conference and 39th Annual Meeting, The New Regulatory Climate: Clean Water Agencies Prepare to Act, July 14-17, 2009, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NACWA’s committee structure forms the backbone of its advocacy efforts and the Association strongly encourages member agency participation. To join NACWA committees, please contact Tim Jones at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Biosolids Management Committee

Co-Chair, Bob Dominak, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Ohio
Co-Chair Dave Taylor, Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District, Wis.

Rick Stevens, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) lead staff on biosolids issues, briefed the committee on several EPA-related items, focusing on two major topics: perfluorinated compounds and the recently completed Targeted National Sewage Sludge Survey (TNSSS). On perfluorinated compounds, or PFCs, EPA briefed the Committee on a developing issue in Alabama where PFCs have been detected in some drinking water wells above an EPA provisional health advisory level. The initial focus of the investigation has been on land applied biosolids from the local utility and a possible link between the land application of the biosolids containing PFCs and possible soil and groundwater contamination. Though the utility is in compliance with the Part 503 requirements, as a precaution, the utility has ceased land application as the investigation continues. EPA Headquarters is providing technical support to Region IV and is considering whether to examine the PFC issue on the national level.

EPA is also now conducting risk assessments for the 144 pollutants it sampled for in its TNSSS. Risk assessments for 10 pollutants (those EPA felt were most likely to require regulation) are currently in peer review and will wrap up this year. The remainder of the assessments will continue with completion set for sometime in 2010 or 2011. EPA is also working to identify a few areas in the Part 503 regulations that may require updating in the near future. They are considering convening a summit of biosolids experts to seek input on key biosolids issues over the next 5-10 years and how the national program may need to change to accommodate these new issues.

NACWA is planning a meeting with EPA on a recent proposed rule that would determine whether biosolids are considered solid wastes for the purposes of Clean Air Act regulation. If it is determined that biosolids are solids wastes, they would then be regulated under the more onerous Section 129 requirements of the Clean Air Act. NACWA’s comments on the issued this past January underscored that biosolids have historically been excluded from the definition of solid waste because they are sufficiently regulated under the Clean Water Act. The Committee will be using TAF funds to support its efforts to engage the new administration on this issue.

Climate Change and Air Quality

Co-Chair, Gregory Adams, Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, Calif.
Co-Chair, Ed Torres, Orange County Sanitation District, Calif.

The Climate Change and Air Quality Committee began its meeting by discussing how greenhouse gases (GHGs) may be regulated in the future and whether emissions from public clean water agencies would be regulated. In late April, EPA proposed a public finding that GHGs contribute to air pollution and may endanger public health, which opens the door for regulation of GHGs under the Clean Air Act. An analysis that accompanies the proposed finding shows that climate change may lead to increased drought, more heavy downpours and flooding, sea level rise, and harm to water resources. While this analysis echoes NACWA’s position that climate change is fundamentally about water, the Association has stated in the past that the Clean Air Act may not be the best method for regulating GHGs. The Clean Air Act framework is not set up for the global nature of GHG emissions and climate change, and NACWA believes federal legislation is a better way to respond to climate change. The Committee will decide how to comment on EPA’s proposed finding by the June 23 deadline.

The Committee then discussed the climate change legislation from Reps. Henry Waxman (D- Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) that is scheduled to be marked up in the House Energy and Commerce Committee this week. The bill requires GHG emissions to be reduced 20 percent from 2005 carbon emissions levels by 2020, 42 percent by 2030, and 83 percent by 2050. The cap-and-trade rules would only apply to facilities that emit more than 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per year. Depending on the rules for what emissions are to be included in this limit, most wastewater facilities would probably not fall under this cap-and-trade threshold. However, if the proposed EPA GHG reporting rule is used for this limit, some large facilities that incinerate biosolids could be included. Utilities may benefit from some provisions in the legislation, such as potential participation in carbon markets, funding to help offset rising energy costs, as well as vulnerability assessments for climate change impacts and potential funding to address these vulnerabilities.

The Committee was then updated on EPA’s proposed rule on GHG reporting requirements, which may be used to establish the thresholds for cap-and-trade legislation. While the wastewater treatment process is specifically exempted from the reporting requirements, utilities must still consider emissions from combustion sources, such as their biosolids incinerators. NACWA encourages all of its members to go through the calculations presented in Regulatory Alert 09-02 to determine if emissions from their facilities are high enough to fall under the reporting requirements. NACWA has talked with EPA to clarify certain aspects of the reporting rule, and will submit comments on the proposed rule.

NACWA submitted comments on the public review draft of EPA’s Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1991-2007 in April. This is the third year that NACWA has commented on the Inventory, and EPA has modified its emissions estimates methods so that the nitrous oxide emissions from municipal wastewater treatment are now much closer to the values that NACWA has recommended. The Committee discussed the strategy for NACWA’s comments on the Inventory in the future, which will likely focus on how the emissions estimates are reported, so that municipal wastewater treatment is differentiated from septic systems and industrial treatment.

Finally, the Committee discussed EPA’s proposed National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines (RICE NESHAP). The proposed NESHAP has very stringent emissions requirements for existing engines that use digester gas. If the rule is finalized, many utilities may need to install expensive controls on their existing engines, as well as comply with the reporting and recordkeeping requirements. The Committee will submit comments on the proposed rule by the June 6 deadline.

Facility and Collection System Committee

Co-Chair, Martin Umberg, Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati, Ohio
Co-Chair, Ben Horenstein, East Bay Municipal Utility District, Calif.

The Facility and Collection System Committee discussed several pieces of legislation that may impact how clean water agencies deal with infrastructure improvement. Affordability issues remain a concern for many clean water agencies, especially utilities with wet weather consent decrees, and NACWA’s position remains that median household income should not be the only factor determining affordability. Legislation from Sens. Voinovich (R-OH) and Brown (D-OH) to update EPA’s Affordability Guidance and provide assistance to needy communities may address many of NACWA’s concerns.

The Sewage Overflow Community Right to Know Act was re-introduced in the House in January and was passed the House as part of the clean water state revolving fund (CWSRF) reauthorization bill, The Water Quality Investment Act of 2009. The sewer overflow monitoring, reporting and notification bill that passed the House is the same version of the bill that NACWA negotiated with American Rivers and NACWA’s Board agreed to sign off on last year. Minority staff are seeking several potential changes to the bill, including no SRF funding to be used for operation and maintenance costs, additional clarity on how citizen suits would apply to data collected as a requirement of this legislation, and the addition of a spill size threshold, above which a community would have to report. While none of these proposed changes would cause NACWA concern, the Association has withheld its support for the changes until American Rivers declares its comfort with them. Markup of the bill is expected soon in the Senate, and NACWA continues to meet with Senate staff to ensure the version marked up is the version our Board agreed to support.

NACWA is currently working with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), American Rivers, Clean Water Action, the Low Impact Development Center, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators, and others on a proposal for green infrastructure legislation. This legislation would build upon the statement of intent to promote green infrastructure that U.S. EPA and all these groups previously endorsed. The proposal has three goals: to establish Centers of Excellence to develop and disseminate green infrastructure technologies; to authorize a new federal grants program to support planning, implementation, and monitoring of green infrastructure projects and associated green jobs; and to require U.S. EPA to create a program to promote green infrastructure and integrate it into existing regulatory programs.

The Committee was updated on the status of several Targeted Action Fund projects. NACWA and The Conservation Fund held a course in April on how municipalities can implement green infrastructure. Given the success of this first effort, another similar course will likely be held again next year. Also, the Core Attributes of Effectively Managed Wastewater Collection Systems project that NACWA has been working on with the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) is nearly completed, and the Committee is currently being given the opportunity to review the draft report before it is sent to the NACWA and WEF Boards for approval. These core practices would give guidance to utilities and collection systems and provide consistency in management practices, and EPA has expressed an interest in supporting the practices. The project to begin development of wet weather water quality standards is underway, with an issue paper expected to be completed later this year.

The Committee ended the meeting with a discussion of the proposed peak wet weather flows guidance, which was negotiated by NACWA and NRDC, then sent by EPA to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) during the previous Administration. The proposed policy was pulled from OMB with the new Administration. Although the policy has not been finalized, EPA is now using the principles from the policy to issue Clean Water Act permits. This is currently an issue particularly in EPA Region 7. Utilities have been asked to conduct a “no feasible alternatives” evaluation, without the information on how to do this appropriately. EPA has developed a draft “Peak Wet Weather Flows Utility Analysis Completeness Checklist,” which has been sent to the Committee to review. NACWA is working with EPA and with the Committee leaders to try to find a workable solution to this issue.

Legal Affairs Committee Update

Chair, Lisa Hollander, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Ohio
Vice Chair, Roberta Larson, Somach, Simmons & Dunn, Calif.

The Legal Affairs Committee received updates on NACWA’s ongoing litigation activities in three significant cases, including a report on a recent settlement agreement between NACWA member agency Sanitation District No. 1 of Northern Kentucky (SD 1) and the Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW) over a challenge to a new wastewater treatment plant built by SD 1 upstream from a GCWW drinking water facility. Other cases discussed by the Committee were County of Kern v. City of Los Angeles, where the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in March, and Friends of the Earth v. South Florida Water Management District, where the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in January and is expected to release a decision any day.

Following the litigation update, committee members enjoyed a special guest presentation from Jim Sullivan, the General Counsel of the Water Environment Federation, who discussed emergency preparedness and response issues for clean water utilities. The presentation, which is available here, discussed the water sector’s role in the National Infrastructure Protection Plan as well as anticipated chemical security legislation in Congress. Committee members also heard from NACWA staff regarding the Association’s advocacy efforts on these issues.

The meeting wrapped up with a discussion of a new litigation matter, Anacostia Riverkeeper v. U.S. EPA, in which NACWA will intervene along with the Wet Weather Partnership and a coalition of other municipal groups. The case focuses on total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) and is a follow-up to the 2006 case Friends of the Earth v. EPA – also known as the “daily means daily” case – where the Circuit Court for the District of Columbia ruled that all TMDLs must be expressed in true daily form and not in annual or seasonal averages. The current Anacostia Riverkeeper case involves a challenge by activist groups to a new TMDL containing daily limits for sediments and total suspend solids for the Anacostia River. NACWA is intervening in the case to support member agency the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority. More information about the case can be found here.

The next meeting of the Legal Affairs Committee will be in July as part of NACWA’s 2009 Summer Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Water Quality Committee

Chair, Keith Linn, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Ohio
Vice Chair, Barbara Biggs, Metro Wastewater Reclamation District, Colo.

NACWA’s ongoing activities on nutrients headlined the Water Quality Committee’s discussions. With the Committee’s leadership, NACWA has been working on several initiatives to address the issue on all fronts. NACWA is collecting data to help EPA build a case against modifying the definition of secondary treatment to include nutrients; is working on a Critical Issue Action Initiative effort to compile a list of strong legal and technical arguments against a one-size-fits-all technology-based approach to controlling nutrients; and is meeting with environmental activist groups to explore ways to work collaboratively on establishing meaningful controls on nonpoint sources of nutrients. Recent activity in Florida, where EPA has now committed to promulgating federal numeric nutrient criteria by the end of the year if the state does not, is likely to be the focal point for the debate on this issue in the coming months as the possibility of more widespread federal promulgation looms large.

The total maximum daily load (TMDL) area has been relatively quiet recently, but the Committee was updated on a new legal challenge relating to the ‘daily means daily’ load issue that was raised several years ago, in the Anacostia Riverkeeper v. U.S. EPA case (see Legal Affairs Committee summary above).

Texas remains the epicenter of whole effluent toxicity (WET) issues with EPA Region 6 pushing for chronic test requirements and limits in Clean Water Act permits. The issue came to a head last year when a permit for the San Jacinto River Authority was challenged because it included acute and chronic WET limits. After months of negotiations and discussions about the challenges of these limits for dischargers in effluent-dominated waterbodies, EPA issued a new proposed permit with no major changes in the WET provisions. NACWA’s Board had approved the Association’s engagement on this issue last year and the Water Quality Committee will be tracking things closely to see if NACWA needs to weigh in again.

The Committee also received updates on several Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) projects relating to recreational criteria, pathogens, and mercury and on EPA’s ongoing efforts to update the ammonia water quality criteria, with a revised assessment of needed changes to those criteria expected out this Fall.