» Clean Water Current Archive

January 14, 2011

EPA Makes Key Staff Changes: Silva to Leave EPA, Stoner to Serve as Acting AA for Water

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced that effective February 12, Pete Silva will be leaving EPA and his position as Assistant Administrator (AA) for the Office of Water and plans to return to California.  Upon Silva’s departure, Nancy Stoner will be named acting AA for Water.  NACWA worked closely with Silva on a suite of issues, always found him approachable and knowledgeable and wishes him well in his future endeavors.  NACWA has enjoyed a long working relationship with Nancy Stoner and will continue to work closely with her in her new role as acting AA for Water.  In other staffing moves at the Agency, Bicky Corman has been appointed to the position of deputy associate administrator for the Office of Policy while Joel Beauvais will join the EPA as senior advisor in the Office of General Counsel.  NACWA will keep members apprised of any other staffing changes relevant to the clean water community as they occur.

NACWA Testifies at Field Hearing Hosted by Senator Cardin on Passage of Federal Stormwater Fee Legislation

Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) this week held a field hearing in Prince George’s County, Maryland to spotlight the impacts of the recent passage of S.3481 requiring the federal government to pay their appropriate share of municipal stormwater management fees. The hearing included testimony from Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ); NACWA’s Executive Director Ken Kirk; and handful of state and local government officials from across Maryland.  The hearing garnered significant media attention in Washington, D.C. and throughout the country, articles that are available on the NACWA in the News webpage.

In his opening remarks, Sen. Cardin praised NACWA for its critical leadership and assistance in helping pass S. 3481 in the waning hours of the 111th Congress.  Nancy Sutley of CEQ testified that "the federal government is committed to leading by example on its own properties," to ensure the reduction of pollution from stormwater and on other key environmental fronts such as green infrastructure and energy efficiency. NACWA’s testimony applauded Sen. Cardin and the White House’s leadership in getting the legislation over the finish line and highlighted the importance of S.3481 as exemplifying the importance of a strong federal/state/local partnership on Clean Water Act issues more broadly.  “Clearly, the federal government must play its role in ensuring compliance with the Clean Water Act and NACWA and its members are very grateful that you [Senator Cardin] immediately saw the inequity of this situation and took action to correct it,” stated Kirk.  In addition to the national perspective, key Maryland local and watershed officials also discussed the vital importance of S.3481 from their local perspectives.

There are still several implementation issues regarding the payment of these fees that the Department of Justice (DOJ) must clarify and NACWA has already provided the DOJ with its input on these critical outstanding issues (see story below).

NACWA Provides Input to DOJ on Implementation of Stormwater Fee Legislation

NACWA forwarded a letter Jan. 10 to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) urging the Department, which is developing a guidance document to all federal agencies regarding implementation of recently enacted stormwater fee legislation (see related story), to direct all federal government facilities to pay local stormwater fees from existing budget accounts used to pay other utility bills without having to seek additional congressional appropriations.  The guidance being crafted by DOJ is in response to the passage of S. 3481 in late December by Congress. This legislation requires federal government agencies to pay reasonable service charges to local utilities for stormwater.  (See NACWA Advocacy Alert 11-01 for more information on the bill.)

NACWA’s letter requests that the DOJ guidance instruct federal agencies to pay stormwater bills from the same budget accounts and in the same manner that all other utility invoices are paid —in line with the Congressional intent behind the bill — ensuring that special and separate appropriations for stormwater fees are not needed.  Additionally, the letter requests that the guidance direct federal agencies not only to pay stormwater fees going forward, but also to pay any outstanding charges for stormwater services still owed to municipal utilities.  Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), the primary sponsor of S. 3481, has also made similar requests to DOJ and initial indications are that the DOJ guidance will be favorable to the municipal utility community.   The guidance document is expected to be completed within the next few weeks and NACWA will share it with the membership, and provide a detailed analysis of it, as soon as it is available.

Court Grants Brief Extension to Provide Additional Time for Ruling on Incineration

On Wednesday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an interim order granting a five day, temporary extension of the January 16 deadline for EPA’s signature of final Clean Air Act (CAA) standards for sewage sludge incinerators (SSIs).  The purpose of the new January 21 deadline is to give the Court a little more time to make its final decision on whether EPA should be granted its request for additional time to finalize several CAA rules, including an additional six months to finalize the proposed maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standards for SSIs.  EPA’s request for a new deadline of July 15, 2011 for signing the final SSI rule would provide the Agency with more time to review the numerous substantive comments it received on the proposal, from NACWA, many of its members, and other clean water community stakeholders.

The deadline for signing the SSI rule, as well as rules for boilers and certain incinerators, has been extended several times and the Sierra Club, whose original lawsuit is driving the development of the rules, has raised objections to extending the deadline again.  NACWA has supported EPA’s request for an extension, filing a motion with the Court that outlines the significant errors that must be corrected in the proposed standards and the extensive new information provided by NACWA and others that EPA must now consider before it finalizes the rule.  Concurrent with its efforts to develop CAA rules for SSIs, EPA is also developing a related rule defining whether a list of secondary materials, including sewage sludge, are solid wastes when combusted.  That rule, though not subject to the court-ordered deadline, will continue to follow the same track as the air rules and be finalized as a package.  NACWA will alert the membership as soon as the Court has ruled on EPA’s request for an extension.  In the meantime, NACWA continues its advocacy efforts to persuade EPA that it lacks the authority to promulgated MACT standards for SSIs under Section 129 of the CAA, and that instead EPA should work to develop standards for SSIs under the more flexible provisions of Section 112 of the CAA.

NACWA Participates in Key Clean Water America Alliance Meeting on a Sustainable Water Policy

NACWA and the array of water sector associations participated in a meeting this week hosted by the Clean Water America Alliance to discuss its draft Framework for a Sustainable U.S. Water Policy.  Suzanne Goss, NACWA President and Government Affairs Specialist for JEA Jacksonville, Fla., participated on behalf of the Association and provided input into the Framework’s importance from the clean water agency perspective and in terms of NACWA’s advocacy priorities.  The meeting was productive and demonstrated the important role the Alliance is now playing in convening meetings and seeking areas of agreement among the water sector as a whole — one of the key goals that led to NACWA’s initial formation of the Alliance.  For more information on the Framework and this week’s meeting, visit the Alliance’s website.

Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule Changes Should Benefit POTWs

EPA announced this week that it is deferring Clean Air Act (CAA) greenhouse gas (GHG) permitting requirements for biogenic carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions for three years and will use this time to study these emissions and develop a rulemaking on how they should be treated under the CAA.  The announcement was made by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson in letters to Sens. Stabenow (D-Mich.), Baucus (D-Mont.), Merkley (D-Ore.), and Rep. DeFazio (D-Ore.) and through a press release.  The letters state that EPA will complete a rulemaking by July 1 “to defer for three years the application of the pre-construction permitting requirement to biomass and other biogenic CO₂ emissions.”  The letters do not refer to the Title V operating permits under the CAA that many publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) already have, and NACWA has contacted EPA to find out if the Agency intends for biogenic emissions to also be deferred for Title V permits.

Regulation of GHGs under the CAA took effect on January 2, and the prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) and Title V permitting programs of the CAA are being phased in incrementally for GHG emissions under the GHG Tailoring Rule.  EPA used this incremental basis so that only the largest emitters would be affected for the first two years of the program.  There was, however, insufficient guidance on how emissions should be calculated and several NACWA members had already been contacted by their state permitting authorities who believed that the GHG emissions from the wastewater utilities would exceed current thresholds in the GHG Tailoring Rule.  Exemption of biogenic emissions – such as CO₂ emissions from the combustion of biosolids and biogas and the wastewater treatment process – will likely keep wastewater utilities under the current thresholds.  GHG emissions from non-biogenic sources – such as those from combustion of fossil fuels, anaerobic digesters, and the nitrification/denitrification process – will still be subject to current requirements.  States may also have more stringent permitting requirements than EPA and may still include biogenic emissions in their requirements.

NACWA plans to issue an Advocacy Alert later this month with more details about GHG emissions requirements.  The Association’s Climate Change Committee will also discuss these issues at the Winter Conference next month.  NACWA asks that member agencies contact Cynthia Finley at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if they have received notification from their air quality regulator that they may be subject to CAA requirements due to GHG emissions.

EPA to Host Webinar for NACWA Members on Web-based DMR Pollutant Loading Tool

EPA announced they will host a web-based demonstration on January 27^th at 2 pm Eastern in which they will go over the Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) Pollutant Loading tool specifically for the NACWA membership.  EPA released a beta version of a new online tool for accessing wastewater pollutant discharge information and is seeking comment on how to improve this tool and on the accuracy of the discharge monitoring data supporting it.  The DMR Pollutant Loading Tool is designed to identify the amount, type, and location of wastewater pollutant discharges and the identity of the discharger.  The tool calculates pollutant loadings from permits and DMR data from EPA’s Permit Compliance System (PCS) and Integrated Compliance Information System for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (ICIS-NPDES).  The tool ranks dischargers, industries, and watersheds based on pollutant mass and toxicity, and presents “top ten” lists to help determine which discharges are important, which facilities and industries are producing these discharges, and which watersheds are most impacted.

EPA designed the tool for two main audiences: members of the general public and technical users, such as NPDES permit writers, watershed modelers, and regulatory agencies.  EPA believes that technical users of the tool can enhance their development of NPDES permit effluent limits, improve their watershed pollution budget plans — i.e., TMDLs — and refine their modeling of watersheds.

The tool is currently in a beta-phase, offering data from 2007, and is undergoing continual development and testing.  EPA plans to add data from subsequent years after the public comment period.  EPA will be accepting comments on the new tool through February 4, 2011.  Please RSVP to Thea Graybill at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it in order to participate in the January 27th webinar at 2 pm Eastern. Details on the webinar will be forwarded to you as soon as they are available.  The beta tool can be accessed on EPA’s website.

Water Coalition Seeks Authorization for EPA WaterSense Program; NACWA to Voice Clean Water Concerns

The Water Coalition, a group that seeks policies that build consumer demand for EPA WaterSense-approved technologies, met at NACWA’s office this week to discuss their goal to seek congressional legislation that would officially authorize the WaterSense program.  NACWA is an official partner in EPA’s WaterSense program but believes that the program would be vastly improved if it were authorized by Congress and if language was included to ensure that Clean Water Act implications are part of the considerations for any product being reviewed for WaterSense certification.  This seems to make a lot of sense given EPA’s goal to take a more holistic approach to overlapping Clean Water Act/Safe Drinking Water Act issues.  Recently, water quality issues have been raised in the context of EPA’s consideration of water-softeners for WaterSense certification but current guidelines for product approval do not require consideration and review of water quality impacts.  NACWA will keep the membership updated on the coalition’s efforts with Congress to authorize the WaterSense program and on the Association’s efforts to ensure clean water concerns are appropriately included.

NACWA’s 2011 Winter Conference Hotel Deadline is Monday!

Join us in Ft. Lauderdale, February 1-4, for Understanding the New Paradigm for Wet Weather & Collection System Management.  This year’s Winter Conference focuses on how utilities can best adapt to EPA’s increased focus on wet weather issues and to new regulations that are on the horizon. Be sure to reserve your hotel accommodations by the Monday, January 17, deadline! Make your reservation by calling the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 at 954.525.6666.  Don’t forget to mention that you are a registrant for the "NACWA Winter Conference" to reserve your room at the special rate of $199 per night for a single/double.  After the January 17th reservation deadline, NACWA must release all unreserved rooms, and reservations will be accepted only if space is available.  As the hotel has informed NACWA that space is filling up quickly, if you experience any difficulty reserving a room please contact NACWA’s Robin Davis at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or at 202.533.1802.

Register Today for NACWA’s Money Matters Summit & Fly-In

Join clean water utility executives in Washington, D.C., March 1-2, for the Money Matters Summit and Fly-In.  The Fly-In will bring together clean water agency leaders and top EPA and Congressional policy-makers to discuss real-world Clean Water Act financial and affordability challenges and solutions.  Over the years, the list of regulatory requirements continues to expand  — nutrients, sanitary sewer overflow control, combined sewer overflow control, stormwater management, biosolids and incineration, emerging contaminants, and others are all Agency priorities —  while at the same time public clean water utilities continue to shoulder the vast majority of the growing costs associated with aging clean water infrastructure.  Municipalities throughout the country continue to make sound investments in their systems but face a regulatory landscape where everything has become a regulatory priority while economics have become an afterthought at the federal level.  Make your plans today to participate in the Summit and also to set up meetings on Capitol Hill with your Representatives and Senators as part of the Fly-In on the afternoon of March 1. Registration is now available and space is limited so register today.  There is no registration fee for NACWA public agency members and there is a $500 registration fee for private affiliates who have not contributed to the Money Matters campaign.

Apply Today for NACWA’s Excellence in Management Recognition Program

NACWA is now accepting applications for the Excellence in Management Recognition Program, which celebrates the significant achievements of NACWA’s member agencies in the utility management arena.  Reflecting the Findings and Recommendations of a Water Utility Sector Management Strategy Report , this award program honors member agencies that have implemented and sustained, for a continuous three-year period, successful programs that address a range of management challenges faced by public clean water utilities in today’s competitive environment.  Applications are due by April 8, 2011.  Contact Kelly Brocato, Director Membership Development, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 202/833-1449 with any questions.