» Clean Water Current Archive

December 3, 2010

NACWA Files Extensive Comments on Proposed Air Emissions Standards for Sewage Sludge Incinerators

On Monday NACWA submitted its comments on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed new source performance standards and emission guidelines for sewage sludge incinerators (SSIs).  The comments are the culmination of more than a year’s worth of work by NACWA on the issue of how SSIs should be regulated under the Clean Air Act (CAA).  Since making its preliminary decision that SSIs were in fact combusting an EPA-defined “solid waste” last summer, the Agency has maintained an aggressive pace in developing the proposed CAA standards.  NACWA’s comments underscore how this rapid pace has not enabled EPA to fully consider the Association’s legal and technical arguments and has ultimately undermined the validity of the proposed standards.

In its comments, NACWA continues to assert that SSIs must be regulated under section 112 of the CAA, not section 129, citing section 112(e)(5) of the CAA that specifically directs EPA to regulate publicly owned treatment works (POTWs), and the SSIs they operate, under section 112.  EPA has taken the position that section 112(e)(5) “does not apply to SSI units”.  NACWA’s comments note that EPA has offered “nothing but this bare statement to justify its interpretation” and that the Agency does not explain how it reached such a conclusion given the “integral role SSIs play in the management of sewage sludge, or how SSIs could have been built and improved using CWA [Clean Water Act] Title II [construction grant] funds if they are not part of the CWA definition of “treatment works.””  Most of the flaws in the proposal stem from EPA’s lack of data and its lack of understanding regarding the unique aspects of sewage sludge.  NACWA’s comments strongly criticized the Agency for relying on the public comment process to bolster its database, stating that “EPA has primary responsibility for gathering the data”… and that it is inappropriate to “ask NACWA and its members to provide additional stack test data during the 45-day public comment period.  Even if NACWA and its members were able to secure the resources to conduct additional stack testing to supplement the record, EPA offers insufficient time to conduct the stack tests, quality assure the data and submit it for EPA consideration.”

While NACWA requested an extension of the comment period, EPA denied that request on November 24.  NACWA is now scheduling meeting with key EPA air and waste officials to again outline its legal arguments.  EPA is currently under a court-ordered deadline to finalize the CAA standards by January 14, 2011.

NACWA Winter Conference to Examine Prioritized Infrastructure Investment

NACWA’s 2011 Winter Conference, Understanding the New Paradigm for Wet Weather & Collection System Management, will focus on how infrastructure improvement costs can be considered under both current and planned regulations.  NACWA continues to advocate for the use of a watershed approach to prioritize investments and achieve the most environmental benefits for the money spent.  This approach will be the topic of a panel presentation at the Winter Conference.  Charlie Logue, Chair of NACWA’s Strategic Watershed Task Force, will moderate the panel, Prioritized Investment through the Watershed Approach, which will present case studies of two utilities that have been able to incorporate adaptive watershed management and cost-effective, targeted improvements to pollution sources into their overflow control programs.  Other featured speakers and panel presentations at the conference discuss the regulatory and technological challenges of wet weather and collection system issues, including reduction of infiltration and inflow, improved stormwater management, and improved communication with satellite collection systems.

Hotel Cut-Off January 10 for February 1-4 Winter Conference
The conference will be held February 1-4 at the Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.  Please contact the Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six (954-525-6666) by Monday, January 10 for reservations at the NACWA group rate of $199 per night.  The conference agenda, registration, and other information are available on NACWA’s website at www.nacwa.org/11winter.

EPA Releases Controversial Memo on Stormwater TMDLs and Permits, NACWA to Respond

EPA recently issued a memorandum to state and federal clean water authorities calling for a change in the way total maximum daily load (TMDL) wasteload allocations (WLAs) are established for stormwater discharges and calling for the inclusion of numeric effluent limits in municipal stormwater permits.  The memo, which updates a previous 2002 directive from EPA regarding TMDL WLAs for stormwater, has prompted significant concern in the municipal stormwater community and NACWA is currently evaluating a number of possible responses on behalf of its members.   The memo directs TMDL authorities to create more “useful” WLAs for stormwater discharges that take into account the true impact of stormwater on water quality.  It also suggests that TMDL writers should use surrogate parameters such as stormwater flow volume or impervious cover when developing WLAs for stormwater.

Movement toward Numeric Effluent Limits Clear
Additionally, the memo directs municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) permit writers to include numeric water quality-based effluent limitations (WQBELs) in NPDES permits for stormwater discharges using numeric parameters such as pollutant concentrations, pollutant loads, or numeric parameters acting as surrogates for pollutants, such as stormwater flow volume or percentage of impervious surface cover.  The memo also strongly suggests that WQBELs for MS4 discharges in the form of best management practices (BMP) may no longer be appropriate in certain circumstances.  Taken together with other recent documents published by EPA regarding stormwater permitting, as well as recent draft permits issued by the Agency, this memo provides additional evidence that EPA is moving away from a traditional BMP approach to stormwater management and towards the use of numeric effluent limits and aggressive green infrastructure/low impact development requirements in stormwater permits.

NACWA has significant concerns with the memo, including the fact that it ignores over ten years of case law clearly establishing the fact that numeric effluent limits are not required for stormwater permits under the Clean Water Act.  The memo also distorts the U. S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal’s seminal decision in Defenders of Wildlife v. Browner regarding the requirements for MS4 permits and misinterprets the clear language of Section 402(p) of the Clean Water Act with regard to the required controls in MS4 permits.  Additionally, NACWA is concerned with the manner in which the memo was developed and released by EPA without any consultation with the states or the regulated community.  NACWA’s Stormwater Management Committee will be holding a conference call on December 17 to discuss the memo and an appropriate response.  Agencies not represented on the Stormwater Management Committee but interested in participating in the call should contact Nathan Gardner-Andrews at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  NACWA will also be meeting with municipal and state groups later this month to evaluate a possible joint response effort.  We will keep the membership updated on developments.

NACWA, Municipal Groups Urge Congress to Take Action on Stormwater Fees

This week NACWA and other municipal organizations sent letters to Capitol Hill urging Congress to pass legislation that would clarify federal responsibility for payment of stormwater management fees during the remaining days of the lame duck session.  NACWA took a leadership role in organizing a letter signed by the Association of State & Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASWIPCA), the Water Environment Foundation (WEF), the National Association of Flood & Stormwater Management Agencies (NAFSMA), the American Public Works Association (APWA) and the National Association of Counties.  The letter, which was drafted and circulated by NACWA, urged Senate leadership to pass S. 3481, or a larger lands, water and wildlife package containing this legislation.

This correspondence spurred a similar effort by the National Governors Association (NGA), the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), the Council of State Governments, the National League of Cities (NLC), the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) and the International City/County Management Association.  Their letter, which can be seen here , also urged Congress to ensure the federal government pays its fair share of meeting the burden of federal stormwater mandates.

NACWA will continue to provide leadership on this issue during the 111th Congress and is in the process of developing additional strategies for the 112th Congress should the matter remain unresolved before Congress adjourns.

NACWA Provides Input to EPA on Dental Amalgam Rule Development

NACWA and leaders of the Association’s Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Committee and Mercury Workgroup met with EPA on November 22 to discuss the Agency’s plans for a rule requiring the use of dental amalgam separators at dental offices.  The amalgam separators will be required as pretreatment standards, and NACWA expressed its concerns about the potential impact to utility pretreatment programs that may be required to verify compliance for hundreds of dental offices in their service areas.  The use of best management practices (BMPs) rather than numeric limits, as well as the “non-significant categorical industrial user”(NSCIU) provision of the Pretreatment Streamlining Rule, may help reduce the burden on pretreatment programs, but there are still issues that need to be resolved.  For example, utilities will still need appropriate recourse when BMPs are not followed or are not effective.  Not all states have implemented Pretreatment Streamlining yet, and states do not have to adopt the NSCIU provision.

EPA plans to propose the rule in October 2011, and finalize it by October 2012.  NACWA will continue to work with EPA on development of this rule and provide the Agency with appropriate input and information from Association members.

NACWA Plans EPA Briefing for Members on Aquatic Life Common Effects Methodology

NACWA attended a briefing this week hosted by EPA an the effort by the Office of Water (OW) and Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) to develop a consistent methodology for both offices to use to determine the effects of pesticides on aquatic plants and animals.  The goal of the methodology is to provide a common basis for achieving the water quality protection goals of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).   The common effects characterization methodology will apply to situations where the available data for pesticides are adequate for OPP use, but insufficient for developing ambient water quality criteria according to OW guidelines.  The briefing focused on three white papers (available on EPA’s website) that explain the potential tools and methods that EPA will evaluate for predicting and characterizing pesticide effects on aquatic plants and animals.

Since NACWA is concerned about how the proposed methodology will be used to develop water quality standards, EPA has agreed to give an additional briefing for NACWA.  This briefing will provide an opportunity for NACWA to ask questions and receive clarification about EPA’s plans for this methodology, and it will be held before the January 15 due date for written comments on the white papers.  NACWA will notify members about the results of the briefing after it occurs.

Biosolids Experts Gather in Virginia to Discuss Future Needs, Challenges

NACWA members joined biosolids experts from around the country this week in Alexandria, Virginia to discuss the future of biosolids management.  The dialogue, convened by the National Biosolids Partnership (NBP) and the Water Environment Federation (WEF), sought to gather input from academia, the consulting community, public wastewater agencies, and state and federal government officials on the current trends in biosolids management, the challenges, both present and future to biosolids, and the needs of the biosolids community going forward.  Discussions at the dialogue focused on current trends in the regulatory/policy; technology; and, operations/management areas and how these trends might impact the availability and feasibility of management options for biosolids.  Participants also discussed how the NBP may be able to better meet the needs of the clean water community and how its mission may need to evolve to encompass more than its current biosolids environmental management system program.  NBP and WEF will be preparing a summary document from the dialogue that will be distributed to other clean water agencies and biosolids professionals in late January or early February.

Applications for the 2011 Water & Wastewater Leadership Center due December 10!

Space is still available for the 2011 Water & Wastewater Leadership Center executive education program, March 6–18, 2011, at the Kenan-Flagler Business School on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  The deadline for applications is Friday, December 10.

Apply today and experience this 12-day in-depth executive leadership program.  Designed for current and up-and-coming water and wastewater utility leaders, the program’s curriculum will enhance utility executives’ ability to effectively and efficiently manage their utilities.  With a robust curriculum, dynamic faculty, and state-of-the-art facilities, participants in the Leadership Center leave the program better equipped to meeting the current needs of their customers with the highest level of service and quality.  Visit the Leadership Center website to view the 2011 brochure and application or contact Kelly Brocato at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.  Don’t miss your opportunity to participate in this exciting and dynamic program!