» Clean Water Current Archive

September 18, 2009

NACWA Meets with OMB on Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule; Review of Rule Complete

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) completed its review of the draft final greenhouse gas reporting rule and sent it back to EPA Sept. 16.  NACWA met with OMB Sept. 11 to discuss concerns with the draft rule based on comments  NACWA submitted to EPA in June.   The reporting rule would establish national reporting requirements for entities that emit more than 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents each year.  It is not known whether the final version OMB sent back to EPA reflects NACWA’s comments.  Although the proposed rule  explicitly excluded emissions from the wastewater treatment process, clean water agencies would be covered under the proposal’s stationary combustion category because of the various types of units that they operate, including electricity generating units, boilers, and sewage sludge incinerators.

At the meeting with OMB, NACWA expressed concern that the proposed reporting rule implementation schedule, with data collection beginning on Jan. 1, 2010, and first emissions reports due in March 2011, does not give covered entities enough time to review the final rule and establish appropriate data collection or monitoring procedures – or for EPA to establish a comprehensive reporting system.  NACWA recommended that this aggressive schedule be revised to allow more time for these important steps.  NACWA requested that the rule provide clearer instructions for when a facility must perform the complicated combustion unit emissions calculations for comparison against the reporting threshold, and include an opt-out provision for facilities that initially have emissions above the reporting threshold, but later reduce their greenhouse gas emissions below the threshold.  The final rule, which went to OMB for review in August, is expected to be signed soon by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and will be published in the Federal Register within a few weeks. NACWA will inform members of any new information as it becomes available.

NACWA Meets with House Leadership on Trust Fund; Media Focus on Bill Increases

NACWA met with House leadership to build support and momentum for the Water Protection and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (H.R. 3202), legislation introduced by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) to establish a $10-billion-a-year clean water trust fund to help communities address their infrastructure challenges.   Specifically, NACWA met with staff of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) to urge his support for the bill and to make his office aware of the importance of the trust fund effort to the nation’s communities.  During the meeting, NACWA discussed the importance of a dedicated, long-term revenue source for the nation’s clean water and drinking water priorities and highlighted new grant programs designed to provide funds for green infrastructure and research to promote emerging technologies.  In addition, Hoyer’s staff provided NACWA with strategic advice for moving H.R. 3202 forward on Capitol Hill.  NACWA will continue to meet with Members of Congress in the coming weeks to build support for the legislation and urges Association members to contact their Representatives in support of H.R. 3202.

Meanwhile, the trust fund bill received national attention this week when the New York Times ran a letter to the editor from Blumenauer responding to an article last Sunday on the harmful health impacts from drinking water sources contaminated with mining waste and other pollutants.  “While the Environmental Protection Agency must improve monitoring, Congress must also act to fix America’s deteriorating water infrastructure and protect people from dangerous pollutants,” the letter said.  “Congress needs a steady source of financing — a Water Trust Fund like the Highway Trust Fund — to protect Americans from these systemic water failures.”

As these types of stories appear in the media with more frequency, NACWA is stepping up its efforts to provide communications tools for members to proactively engage their local media on these issues.  One way is through the Clean Water Funding Network (www.cleanwaterfunding.org - see article which follows), which provides a toolkit with template letters and editorials that can be used for this purpose.

EPA Announces It Will Retain Primary Authority Over Water Sector Chemical Security

EPA announced this week an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that gives the Agency authority to implement Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) for publicly owned treatment works and community-based water systems.  The announcement,  made during a special briefing provided by EPA and DHS to the Water Sector Coordinating Council, culminates months of discussions between agency officials and is a key step in eliminating the potential for fragmented or duplicate authority in the water sector.  NACWA has advocated strongly that EPA should be the lead federal agency to oversee security matters at wastewater and drinking water facilities and has written several letters to Congress and to the Obama administration urging their support of this position.  NACWA’s most recent letter , sent just last week to DHS Secretary Napolitano and EPA Administrator Jackson, urged the administration to support keeping regulatory authority for the water sector with EPA.

EPA is expected to officially announce the policy during a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Environment.  The hearing, which is the first step toward legislative consideration of The Drinking Water System Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 3258), was postponed from Sept. 11 to Oct. 1.  The committee has indicated the issue is a priority and wants to move it as quickly as possible. 

As this process unfolds, NACWA continues to work with majority staff at the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to shape the Wastewater Treatment Works Security Act (H.R. 2883).  The committee has indicated it could mark up the bill as early as the end of October.  NACWA will continue to track the progress of these bills and provide updates to the membership.

Court Grants EPA More Time on Incineration Issue

NACWA learned this week that the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has granted EPA more time to propose new standards for commercial and industrial solid waste incinerators (CISWIs) and boilers, which will also delay EPA’s actions related to sewage sludge incinerators (SSIs).  The Agency now has until April 15, 2010, to propose the standards and until Dec. 16, 2010, to finalize Clean Air Act (CAA) regulations for CISWIs, boilers, and SSIs.  This also means that EPA’s parallel effort to develop a definition of non-hazardous solid waste to help determine under which section of the CAA these incinerators should be regulated will also be delayed.

NACWA has been very active on this issue since learning in July that EPA intended to include sewage sludge in its definition of solid waste.  With this ‘solid waste’ distinction, SSIs would have to be regulated under the more onerous provisions of the CAA, Section 129, rather than Section 112 where NACWA has long advocated SSIs belong.  NACWA recently outlined detailed arguments against the regulations of SSIs under Section 129 of the Clean Air Act in a Sept. 9 letter  to the assistant administrators for EPA’s water, air, and waste offices.  The letter also highlighted the major consequences if EPA decides to define solid waste under Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to include sewage sludge, and requested a meeting with all three offices to discuss the issue further.

After a long and complicated history, the regulatory status of SSIs was finally settled in January 2007 (72 Fed. Reg. 2620) when EPA announced that they were more appropriately regulated under Section 112 of the CAA.  However, a later ruling by the DC Circuit Court called into question the discretionary authority EPA had used when determining how to regulate CISWIs, boilers and SSIs.  The court ruled that EPA could only draw distinctions between incinerators based on whether they were burning a solid waste or not.  Those burning a solid waste would have to be regulated under Section 129.  To meet its obligations under the DC Circuit ruling, EPA initiated a rulemaking to define solid waste under the nonhazardous waste provisions of RCRA.  The deadline extension will provide more time for NACWA’s advocacy efforts and staff are currently working to set up meetings with the key EPA offices involved.

NACWA Funding Network to Host Call on Getting Public Utility Message in the News

The Clean Water Funding Network, launched by NACWA this spring as a way to galvanize broad, grassroots support for funding legislation, will host a conference call Tuesday, Sept. 22, at 2:00 pm EDT, on how to work with local newspapers to get letters and opinion pieces printed expressing support for clean water funding.  The guest speaker will be Ernst-Ulrich Franzen, associate editorial page editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  He will discuss the Journal Sentinel’s editorial board, how it works, how they decide on their positions, what letters to the editor get printed, and why they are interested in water infrastructure issues.

NACWA members are strongly encouraged to participate in this call and improve their knowledge and best techniques for advocating at the local level through the print media, especially as Congress is weighing a number of funding bills of critical importance to the clean water community.  Members and nonmembers can join the Clean Water Funding Network by simply going to the website and hitting the “Join Now” link, which provides access to the latest news and information on clean water funding as well as a toolkit on how to advocate for more funding at the different levels of government and in the media.  Those interested in participating in the call should contact NACWA’s This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it at (202) 833-3280.

NACWA Strategic Planning Initiative to Include Member Survey

As the Association enters its 40th anniversary year, NACWA’s Board of Directors and Standing Committee leadership have begun a process to review and update the organization’s Strategic Plan .  The Association’s Strategic Plan was last updated in May of 2007.  Good planning practices, as well as the dynamic environment we find ourselves in today, warrant a review of the Plan and a thoughtful look at the strategic direction of the Association as it enters its fifth decade.

The FY 2010 Strategic Planning process includes a series of qualitative interviews with a cross section of 15-20 Association members, a quantitative online survey of the full membership, and a facilitated meeting among the Board and committee leaders in early November to review the plan.  The results of both the qualitative telephone interviews (currently underway) and the member survey will inform this process and be critical to the November meeting of NACWA’s leadership.  Information and access to the online survey will be forwarded to NACWA Member Agencies and Affiliates in late September.  We encourage you to take the short amount of time required to complete the survey so that your perspectives will help shape a vibrant, sustainable future for NACWA – and one that will meet the needs of both the Association and its members. 

NACWA Year in Review Headed Your Way

NACWA’s FY 2008 – 2009 Year in Review was mailed to Association members this week, along with FY 2010 dues invoices.  The Year in Review showcases the many accomplishments that we, collectively, have achieved in the past year.  We hope you will enjoy reflecting on NACWA’s many successes – and look forward to your continued membership in the Association.