» Clean Water Current Archive

May 29, 2009

NACWA Takes Strong Stance on Peak Flows with EPA

NACWA met this week with EPA Office of Wastewater Management officials to discuss the Agency's current approach to addressing peak flow blending in Clean Water Act permits and to provide the clean water community’s perspective on this vital wet weather issue.   Contrary to its general practice, the Agency is reinterpreting how its decades-old bypass regulation applies to the blending of peak flows, including to several facilities that have opted to install physical/chemical treatment (e.g., ballasted flocculation) for their peak flows.  This is causing serious problems for NACWA members in Region 7 and is likely to impact other members in other parts of the country as well.  NACWA reemphasized the concerns it expressed in its May 1 letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson that her staff was using the 2005 draft peak flows policy — a policy that was never finalized — to impact design decisions that are best left to clean water agencies.

Specifically, EPA Headquarters is now directing its Regions to apply the bypass regulations to any flows not receiving 'secondary treatment' and to require a no feasible alternatives analysis, based on the 2005 draft policy, from any facility seeking a permit for such a 'bypass'.  Facilities that have already opted to install physical/chemical treatment for their peak flows are now being told that those parallel treatment processes are bypasses and that a comprehensive no feasible alternatives analysis is required.  During the meeting with EPA, NACWA pointed out that many clean water agencies, lacking clear guidance from the federal government, did the 'right thing' and invested in treatment for their peak flows.  To now penalize those agencies for putting into place technology that their states encouraged and that EPA itself has shown to be effective at treating peak flows simply does not make sense.  NACWA is strongly urging EPA to put in writing its interpretation of the bypass and secondary treatment regulations, which will at least provide an opportunity for NACWA’s members to react to and potentially work with EPA to find a mutually acceptable solution.

NACWA will also not rule out at the appropriate time potential legal action on this issue and continues to maintain that EPA should move ahead with discussions on a comprehensive sanitary sewer overflow policy that can provide consistency to clean water agencies and collection systems.  NACWA will be providing its members with a more detailed Alert next week regarding the peak flows issue.

NACWA Improvements Reflected in BEACH Act Compromise

NACWA continues to work with congressional staff to ensure its members’ concerns are addressed as Congress moves closer to agreement on the Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act of 2009  (S. 878; H.R. 2093).  The Association sent letters to the House and Senate supporting the overall goals of the legislation, which would reauthorize the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act (BEACH Act), but indicated concern that the bill would define a rapid test method as one that produces results “as soon as practicable” or within 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 understands that both the House and Senate are moving toward language defining the rapid test method that reflects NACWA’s concerns.  There seems to be some momentum toward language that would require results to be available no more than six hours after the testing procedure is initiated/commenced, with a goal of ultimately being able to achieve scientifically viable results within two hours.  The Association supports this definition and seeks report language clarifying that any rapid test method called for under the bill be used only for recreational water quality monitoring and not for testing effluent discharges for purposes of determining compliance with National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit limits.  NACWA also endorsed the October 2012 deadline set in the bill for EPA to develop and validate a new rapid test method.  As previously reported, this deadline is consistent with the recent BEACH Act litigation settlement and is a significant improvement over last year’s version of the bill.

These changes to the BEACH Act reauthorization bill would reflect a significant victory for NACWA’s advocacy efforts on this issue.  The House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) and Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committees are both looking to mark up the legislation as early as June 4.  NACWA will continue to work with staff as the legislation is finalized and will keep its members updated regarding any further developments.

Watershed Bill in House, Sewer Right-to-Know Bill in Senate Slated for Committee Mark-up Next Week
On a related note, the T&I Committee is also scheduled to mark-up a watershed bill on June 4 that seeks to set up a commission to review how to advance  watershed-based policies.  NACWA is working with the Committee and providing some input on this effort as it advances and will share additional details with the membership once the legislation is in a more final state.  The Association has been clear, however, about wanting to advance its version of a Watershed Act and continues to gather input on this draft bill from key stakeholders with the goal of introducing the bill later this year.  Also, the Senate EPW Committee is slated to mark up its Sewer Overflow Community Right to Know Act (S.937) bill next week as well. This is the bill that NACWA and American Rivers negotiated and is expected to move through committee.  The House already passed its version of the legislation as part of its comprehensive Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) legislation.

NACWA Looks to Clean Water Funding Network to Boost Advocacy Efforts

NACWA continues to build and expand on the Clean Water Funding Network (http://www.cleanwaterfunding.org/), a new website designed to boost grassroots advocacy for clean water funding initiatives.  The Clean Water Funding Network provides a one-stop shop for news, communications tools, and utility discussions on issues related to water infrastructure financing and will reach out to representatives of public clean water agencies — NACWA members and nonmembers alike — to build an informed and powerful network on the range of clean water funding financing issues.  The timing and importance of this initiative is extremely critical as witnessed by the recent flurry of funding activity on Capitol Hill, including passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, with $6 billion for water and wastewater infrastructure projects; a bill passed by the House to reauthorize the clean water state revolving fund (CWSRF) at $13.8 billion and a similar bill approved by the Senate EPW Committee that provides $20 billion and $15 billion for the CWSRF and drinking water SRF respectively;  as well as efforts to introduce legislation establishing a clean water trust fund.  NACWA encourages members and nonmembers to take a look and join the network.  More information on how your utility can become an active member of the network will be made available via NACWA Member Update 09-10.

Wet Weather Challenges to be Addressed at NACWA Summer Conference

NACWA’s 2009 Summer Conference and 39th Annual Meeting, The New Regulatory Climate. . . Clean Water Agencies Prepare to Act, to be held in Milwaukee, July 14-17, will explore how the changing national environmental agenda will affect clean water agencies and how utilities can help shape these regulatory changes.  Wet weather issues continue to be a major concern for utilities, and although utilities have made significant progress in addressing these challenges, EPA continues to target sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) and combined sewer overflows (CSOs) as top enforcement priorities.  One panel, for example, will focus on the practical measures utilities can implement to control CSOs and SSOs and deal with peak excess flows in the short-term, even as EPA considers new regulations that could impose new requirements.  Other issues to be addressed include nutrient control, emerging contaminants, and watershed management.  An agenda  and online registration for the conference are now available on NACWA’s Conferences and Professional Development webpage.