AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013
Inside
NACWA - Active & Engaged
at WEFTEC’13............................... 2
New EPA Ammonia Criteria to
Impact Utilities Nationwide........... 2
Water Resources Utility
of the Future Initiative
Gathers Momentum....................... 3
NACWA Secures Partial
Remand of SSI Rule....................... 4
New Affiliate Members.................. 5
Taking Our Message to the
States and Regions........................ 5
Water & Wastewater Leadership
Center............................................ 6
Nancy Stoner, U.S. EPA Acting Assistant Administrator
for Water, will be a featured speaker, along with
other high ranking Agency officials, on October 8
at the Hot Topics Breakfast – part of the NACWA –
Water Environment Federation presented
Utility Leaders Morning at WEFTEC13.
R
egistration is now available for NACWA’s 2013
with an agenda that promises to deliver an engaging and
timely analysis of critical legal topics directly affecting the opera-
tions of municipal clean water utilities. Scheduled for November
20 - 22 in San Antonio, Texas, the Seminar will feature the nation’s top clean
water attorneys and provide an excellent opportunity to network with lead-
ing professionals. Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits, including eth-
ics credits, will be offered.
Integrated Planning, Legal Advocacy to be Examined
A panel discussion,
Integrated Planning – Where Are We & Where Are We
National Law Seminar to
Address Cutting-Edge Issues
NACWA Instrumental in Legal Victory
Supporting Watershed Approach
N
ACWA and the municipal clean wa-
ter community achieved a significant
legal victory on September 13 when
a federal district court
the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA)
final total maximum daily load (TMDL) for the
Chesapeake Bay – and its holistic watershed ap-
proach requiring pollution reduction from all
sources of impairment. The decision marks a sig-
nificant win for NACWA, its members, and its mu-
nicipal partners by affirming EPA’s ability to pur-
sue a watershed approach under the Clean Water
Act (CWA) – including a meaningful contribution
from nonpoint agricultural sources – in crafting
TMDLs to achieve improved water quality.
The court’s comprehensive 99-page ruling pro-
vides a resounding endorsement of EPA’s efforts
in developing the Chesapeake Bay TMDL, includ-
ing its use of a watershed approach to require
meaningful reductions from all sources of water
quality impairment. Specifically, the court stated
that it “endorses the holistic, watershed approach
used here,” noting that such an approach “receives
ample support in the CWA, its legislative history,
and Supreme Court precedent.” The court went
on to note EPA’s decision to pursue a watershed
approach in the final TMDL was “consistent with
the CWA, and practical in terms of attaining a full
and fair contribution by
all
major source sectors.”
Water Quality Trading Part of
Targeted Pollution Reductions
The ruling also contains some very positive lan-
guage on water quality trading that can support
the legal basis for trading programs under the
CWA, both within the Chesapeake Bay and na-
tionwide. As part of the discussion about existing
flexibilities under the Bay TMDL, the court spe-
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
»
A
Clear
Commitment to America’s Waters
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
»
National Association of
Clean Water Agencies
1816 Jefferson Place, NW
Washington DC 20036-2505
p
202.833.2672
f
202.833.4657
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