Clean Water Current

August 26, 2011

EPA Delays Stormwater Rule Proposal by Two Months

NACWA learned this week that EPA is preparing to delay the release of its national post-construction stormwater rule proposal by two months, moving the deadline from September 30 to December 2. This development comes as EPA has increasingly fallen behind schedule in drafting the complex rule and failed to complete the necessary interagency review process in advance of the September 30 promulgation date. The original September deadline was set in a 2010 litigation settlement between EPA and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. As it became increasingly clear in recent weeks that EPA was significantly delayed in crafting the rule, the parties began discussions about an extension and have agreed on the new December 2 date for release of the rule proposal. The agreement is expected to be finalized soon in court. NACWA will post a copy of the agreement on its website when it is available.

In a related development, members of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee sent a letter on August 17 to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson expressing concerns about the forthcoming stormwater rule proposal and questioning when Congress could expect to receive a report from the Agency regarding its stormwater program. EPA is required to provide Congress with the report prior to release of the rule proposal, and the two month extension should provide EPA with the time it needs to forward the report to Congress before December. NACWA will continue to closely track this issue and report developments to the membership.

EPA’s Final Regulatory Review Plan Adds Momentum to Money Matters™ Campaign

EPA released its final regulatory review plan this week — in line with President Obama’s federal government-wide charge to ensure that regulatory requirements were being implemented cost-effectively and without unduly burdening the Nation’s struggling economy. EPA’s 60 page final plan — Improving Our Regulations: Final Plan for Periodic Retrospective Reviews of Existing Regulations — maps out the Agency’s next steps in implementing the objectives of its review and contains some significant changes to the original draft, reflecting NACWA’s recommendations in its comments on the draft. Most significantly are statements made by EPA that point to a serious commitment on the Agency’s part to develop a workable approach to regulatory prioritization in line with NACWA’s Money Matters . . . Smarter Investment to Advance Clean Water™ campaign. The section below is an excerpt from the key section of the report that discusses integrated wet weather permitting as well as across-the-board Clean Water Act (CWA) regulatory prioritization:

2.1.10 ** Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) and integrated planning for wet weather infrastructure investments: providing flexibilities
Next steps: In fall 2011, EPA intends to initiate a process to conduct additional outreach with respect to how to improve the implementation of the CSO Policy. In particular, EPA intends to support and encourage the use of green infrastructure as part of an integrated approach to reduce stormwater flows in the CSO system and develop an approach for prioritizing wet weather investments into integrated permitting or other vehicles with accountability. In addition, EPA intends to consider approaches that allow municipalities to evaluate all of their CWA requirements and develop comprehensive plans to meet these requirements. (Emphasis Added)

It is important to note that this language was not part of EPA’s original draft plan, but was incorporated because of a strong comment effort by NACWA and its members, including New York City and Chicago , and other key municipal stakeholders – including the U.S. Conference of Mayors – advocating on behalf of this issue.

The final regulatory review plan also addresses other key areas, including working toward a sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) rule, a study to better understand the cumulative costs associated with EPA’s regulatory program, and also the review of requirements that are aimed at some individual NACWA members. NACWA will be providing a more detailed analysis of the regulatory review plan via an Advocacy Alert next week.

NACWA to Hold Key Meetings with EPA on its Regulatory Prioritization Approach
In addition to securing this important language in EPA’s regulatory review plan, NACWA received a swift and positive response to its August 9 letter to EPA’s Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water, Nancy Stoner, and to the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance (OECA), Cynthia Giles, seeking a meeting with them to discuss the Money Matters™ campaign – and its recommended approach to regulatory prioritization under CWA. NACWA’s Money Matters™ draft legislation was attached along with the letter. Both Stoner and Giles requested a joint meeting with NACWA staff, which is taking place next week to discuss how they plan to proceed with this effort. NACWA will also be meeting subsequently with Arvin Ganesan, Associate Administrator for EPA’s Office of Congressional & Intergovernmental Relations, and his staff for a discussion of NACWA’s Money Matters™ draft legislation. NACWA will update members on any developments from these meetings.

EPA Seeks NACWA Comment on Draft Sustainability Planning Handbook for Utilities

EPA has asked NACWA and its members for comment on its Planning for Sustainability: A Handbook for Water and Wastewater Utilities and an accompanying overview document by September 22, 2011. The Handbook is intended to help utilities incorporate sustainability considerations into their existing infrastructure planning processes and, as the Agency states, is “a continuation of EPA’s efforts over the past several years to promote sustainable water infrastructure and effective utility management through initiatives like Effective Utility Management, the Safe Drinking Water Act’s Capacity Development Program, and other efforts like asset management and energy efficiency.” The focus of the Handbook is on ensuring that new projects are reviewed by utilities through a set of sustainability considerations and “is not seeking to dictate the specific infrastructure projects or other actions utilities should take.” NACWA was represented by Tom Sigmund, Vice Chair of NACWA’s Utility Management Committee and Executive Director of the Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage District, on the municipal workgroup that provided input into the drafting of the Handbook.

The Handbook builds on EPA’s October 2010 Sustainability Policy , which calls on drinking water and wastewater systems to undertake “robust and comprehensive” planning to ensure that water infrastructure investments are cost-effective over their life cycle, resource efficient, and consistent with other relevant community goals. The Handbook identifies four core elements that can help utilities build sustainability considerations into their planning processes: 1) Goal-setting for sustainability; 2) Objectives and strategies to attain these goals; 3) Alternatives analysis based on life-cycle costs and best long-term value to utilities and communities; and 4) Implementation of a financial strategy to pay for investments and ensure adequate revenue to cover long-term costs. NACWA is particularly interested in member input on these core elements and all comments should be sent by September 20 to Chris Hornback at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it so that the Association can send EPA a complete set of comments by the September 22 deadline. NACWA has also shared the documents directly with its Utility Management Committee members for input and will continue to update members as this effort progresses.

Water Sector Coordinating Council Discusses Future of Utility Security; NACWA Security Committee to Meet Via Web Conference in September

The Water Sector Coordinating Council (WSCC) held a web-based meeting this week to discuss the future of security, resiliency, and emergency preparedness for drinking water and wastewater utilities. NACWA’s representatives to the WSCC, Patty Cleveland, Assistant Regional Manager with the Trinity River Authority, TX and a NACWA Board member, and Jim Davidson, Manager of Safety & Security with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, OH, participated in the meeting. Topics of discussion included the recent work of a Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC) Workgroup that examined the new Risk and Resilience Management of Water and Wastewater Systems standard that has been approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and how the Vulnerability Self Assessment Tool (VSAT), RAM-W, and SEMS tools could be updated to help utilities comply with this standard. Jorge Monserrate of San Antonio Water Systems in Texas was the NACWA representative on this workgroup. The WSCC also discussed a proposal by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to collect more information about the current state of security at water utilities.

More information about these activities will be available during the next NACWA Security & Emergency Preparedness Committee meeting, which will be a web conference on September 22, 2011 at 2:00 pm Eastern. All NACWA members are invited to participate in the meeting to discuss “Security & Emergency Preparedness: State of the Water Sector 10 Years Later.” An agenda for the meeting will be available soon, with topics focused on the status of security at utilities, 10 years after the September 11th terrorist attacks, and ongoing emergency preparedness and resiliency with respect to natural disasters and accidents.

NACWA Farm Bill Work Continues

NACWA continues to make progress on advocacy efforts targeted toward reducing nutrient run-off from agricultural lands through policy reforms to programs authorized by the Farm Bill. As part of a Turner Foundation grant received earlier this year by NACWA, the Association will issue a white paper providing an urban water perspective on why controlling nutrients on agricultural lands is essential not only for water quality but also for our ratepayers. A first draft of this white paper was sent to the Association’s review committee this week. In addition to support from the Turner Foundation, the Water Environment Federation is also contributing to the project. NACWA expects to release the white paper this fall.

Make Your Plans Today for NACWA’s 2011 Law Seminar

Join us November 16 -18 in Charleston, S.C. at the historic Francis Marion Hotel for the only environmental law conference focused specifically on the legal challenges facing the municipal clean water community. This year’s Developments in Clean Water Law Seminar promises to deliver a timely and informative program covering the hottest issues in clean water law. The topics featured at the Seminar span the range of legal and regulatory issues impacting clean water agencies, with some of the top clean water attorneys and thought leaders in the country providing valuable analysis and insights – relevant to attorneys and public agency managers alike. Make your plans today by calling the hotel at 877.756.2121 and be sure to register online at www.nacwa.org/11law.