» Clean Water Current Archive

May 13, 2011

Register Now for 2011 Summer Conference in Chicago, Hotel Reservations Cut-Off June 27

Plans are well underway for NACWA’s 2011 Summer Conference, Engineered for Success. . .Creating a First Class Public Utility.  The conference will take place July 19-22, 2011 at the Westin Chicago River North in Chicago, Illinois and will explore emerging practices and concepts, as well as efforts underway at utilities, which serve to evaluate and enhance the sustainability of management practices and overall operation.  Anchored by two highly-regarded and engaging keynote speakers (see May 6 Clean Water Current), the management-focused conference will explore both emerging and existing initiatives – and the opportunities they offer utilities.

Clean water agencies nationwide currently face an unprecedented number of issues that must be addressed effectively in order for each utility to maintain sound financial footing.  Large capital programs to address regulatory requirements and aging infrastructure are rapidly increasing utility costs and thus, increasing rates and the resulting monthly charges to customers.  However, the current economic environment, coupled with trends of declining customer demands, threaten a utility’s ability to generate the revenue necessary to fund required capital programs.  Among other topics, the Summer Conference will examine Current & Future Trends in Rate-Setting, including the many issues that affect revenue stability, and strategies utilized by other industries to improve the utility’s financial position, revenue stability and customer acceptance.

Registration is now open and additional information is available on NACWA’s website.  As an added feature, the Summer Conference offers discounted registration to Gen X/Gen Y staff (defined for this purpose as individuals born 1970–1990) attending with their NACWA Member Agency representative.  As you make your plans to attend, please contact the Westin Chicago River North to secure your hotel accommodations.  Reservations must be made by June 27 to receive the special group rate of $189/night.

Don’t delay . . . register now for what is certain to be an exceptional conference.

NACWA Environmental Policy Forum Highlights Advocacy Efforts with Congress, EPA

NACWA’s 2011 National Environmental Policy Forum took place this week in Washington, DC, and underscored the influential role the Association continues to play in helping shape Congress’ and EPA’s clean water agenda.  The Policy Forum, which was presented in collaboration with sixteen state/regional organizations representing the interests of the Nation’s clean water agencies, enjoyed presentations from an array of high level policy-makers.  Perhaps the most vital component of the meeting, however, was the large number of public agency members who took the national clean water message on federal funding, regulatory prioritization, and the need to address nonpoint sources of pollution to their Member of Congress.  Public agency members reported back on the positive reactions they received to the Association’s clean water agenda but in particular its Money Matters™ campaign and its goal to have legislation introduced soon that would provide a workable approach to regulatory prioritization under the Clean Water Act (CWA).

The Money Matters™ message was echoed in remarks by Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio), Chairman of the Water Resources & Environment Subcommittee, during NACWA’s Capitol Hill Reception, stating that the piling on of regulations on the backs of industry and municipalities must be addressed.  Each of the congressional committee staff who participated in the Congressional Outlook 2011 panel also echoed the need to tackle a smarter approach to regulatory compliance under the CWA.

The Forum’s Capitol Hill Reception also featured a number of other note-worthy guests: Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.), Ranking Member of the Water Resources & Environment Subcommittee; Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.) who received his National Environmental Achievement Award (NEAA) for Federal Public Service at the reception, and Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Chair of the Senate Interior & Environment Appropriations Subcommittee.  All three urged NACWA to continue its strong advocacy support for federal funding, noting that this year would be a particularly difficult one in terms of protecting even the current levels of clean water state revolving fund dollars.

NACWA also met directly with Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Representative Steven Latourette (R-OH) on Capitol Hill with a delegation of NACWA public agency members to present them directly with their NEAA awards for federal public service.  Brown, Latourette, and Carnahan have all been stalwart supporters of increased federal funding, as well as the need for affordability reform and a new approach to regulatory prioritization in line with the Money Matters™ campaign.

Nutrients, SSOs Top List of NACWA’s Regulatory Concerns

George Hawkins, General Manager of DC Water and Chair of the Association’s Money Matters™ Task Force, kicked off the Policy Forum’s General Session with welcoming remarks and a passionate plea to clean water agencies to remind their ratepayers – and appointed and elected officials – of their unparalleled record of environmental and public health achievement since passage of the Clean Water Act (CWA) nearly 40 years ago.  Hawkins also noted his belief that the Money Matters™ campaign was the most pivotal national initiative because clean water agencies have “become victims of our own success.”  Hawkins explained that EPA, as a result of municipal effectiveness in improving water quality, believes that there is little that agencies cannot accomplish.  This has, in turn, led to a situation in DC, and across the country, where regulations are issued without regard to their cost to ratepayers and without a direct nexus to maximizing water quality gains that was the original goal of the CWA.

Another highlight of the Forum was a presentation by David White, Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  White acknowledged that for the agricultural community “there is no greater priority than water,” demonstrating a vital opportunity for NACWA to work with NRCS and farming interests to address agriculture’s role as a source of nutrient pollution in the upcoming Farm Bill discussions.  Subsequent to his remarks, NACWA members met with NRCS Chief Dave White to discuss their interest in seeing greater reductions of nutrient loadings on the farm.  The Chief engaged them in a discussion about whether opportunities existed among the wastewater treatment community to collaborate with farmers to seek nutrient reductions in which both sides would benefit, such as under a water quality trading program – and proposed that perhaps a pilot demonstration program could move forward.

NACWA also heard from Ephraim King, Director of EPA’s Office of Science & Technology, who touted the Association’s work on its Nutrient Summit Outcomes and Issues Paper and re-emphasized the Agency’s commitment to working with the Association and the States on viable approaches.  Also a focus of the discussion was EPA’s March 16 Memorandum on nutrient issues , which makes it clear that the Agency ultimately wants to see numeric nutrient criteria from states but also wishes to provide those states who continue to make interim progress on nutrient control with more time to develop meaningful numeric criteria.  In line with this, EPA is working on interim guidance to assist permit writers in developing limits for nutrients based on existing narrative standards – an issue of great concern to NACWA members that will be a focus of the Association’s advocacy going forward.

Jim Hanlon, Director of EPA’s Office of Wastewater Management, discussed the Agency’s decision to hold a one-and-a-half day facilitated session July 14-15 on sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) issues with key stakeholders, including NACWA.  The goal of the discussion would be to determine whether there is a viable path forward that would justify proceeding with the development of an SSO policy.  In anticipation of this facilitated session, NACWA is working to clarify its  message on four major topics: 1) legal status of SSOs and the use of an affirmative defense; 2) peak excess flow treatment facilities (PEFTFs); 3) permitting of satellite systems; and, 4) peak excess flow blending.  NACWA members want to ensure EPA has a clear path forward following the facilitated session, and its scheduling – immediately preceding the Association’s Summer Conference – provides an exceptional opportunity for NACWA to engage and respond.  The Association will keep members apprised of developments as they occur.

NACWA, Clean Water America Alliance Awards Featured at Policy Forum

The Policy Forum also featured its 2011 National Environmental Achievement Award (NEAA) ceremony, as well as the induction of the 2011 NACWA Hall of Fame honorees.  The NEAA awards program honors individuals on the federal, state and local level, who are true environmental stewards and have demonstrated their commitment to advancing water quality and their dedication to their community and the clean water industry. A full list of NACWA’s awardees can be found at www.nacwa.org/awards.

NACWA members also enjoyed the inaugural Clean Water America Alliance (CWAA) U.S. Water Prize ceremony.  NACWA public agency members the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and the City of Los Angeles were among the recipients of the inaugural prize.  Additional details can be found in the CWAA’s press release regarding the prize or on their website.

The PowerPoint presentations from the conference, including an overview of the Money Matters™ regulatory prioritization legislation and David White’s (see above) discussion on NRCS’s efforts to improve water quality and the environment, are available on NACWA’s conference archive webpage.  Also, NACWA will be forwarding the membership a summary of the discussions from the committee meetings during the Policy Forum via Member Update soon.   The Association extends its appreciation to all the participants in, and attendees of, the Policy Forum for once again making it such a success.

NACWA Submits Comments to EPA on Controversial Stormwater Memo, Meets with National Groups on Stormwater Rule

NACWA forwarded comments May 12 to EPA on the Agency’s November 2010 memorandum regarding numeric limits in stormwater permits, responding to EPA’s request for public comment and encouraging the Agency to withdraw the highly controversial document.  The NACWA letter, submitted jointly with the American Public Works Association (APWA) and the National Association of Flood & Stormwater Management Agencies (NAFSMA), draws upon a previous letter sent to EPA by the three associations in January expressing significant concerns with the November memo.  The joint municipal comments ask EPA to withdraw the document in its entirety or to reissue the memo with significant revisions after the completion of the current post-construction stormwater rulemaking process.  The comments also request that EPA provide NACWA and its municipal partners with more information regarding some of the assertions made by the Agency in the November memo about existing state stormwater permits with numeric limits.

As a result of pressure from NACWA and others, including the joint municipal letter sent to EPA in January, the Agency announced in March that it was opening up a formal comment period on the memo.  NACWA, APWA, and NAFSMA met with key EPA staff in April to further discuss the municipal stormwater community’s concerns with the document.  NACWA is optimistic that EPA will either withdraw the memo or reissue the document with significant revisions after reviewing input from the public comment process.  EPA is accepting comments on the memo until May 16, and any NACWA members with concerns about the document are encouraged to submit their own comments directly to the Agency.

In a related stormwater development, NACWA is meeting today with a number of other national stakeholder groups to discuss EPA’s national stormwater rulemaking process.  The meeting includes NACWA, the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the Association of State & Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA), the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and American Rivers – along with key EPA staff currently working to develop the stormwater rule.  Participants are discussing a number of aspects of the planned rule, including ways to ensure that the rule proposal strikes the right balance between environmental protection and economic practicability.  NACWA looks forward to continued discussions with key national stakeholders and EPA as the rulemaking process continues.