» Clean Water Current Archive

August 19, 2011

Momentum Continues toward Comprehensive Sanitary Sewer Overflow Rule

NACWA’s goal of obtaining a comprehensive sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) rule gathered additional momentum this week as key national, state and municipal officials gathered at the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators’ (ASIWPCA) 2011 Annual Meeting and 50th Anniversary Celebration, which included an informative panel on SSO issues. Dave Williams, NACWA President and Director of Wastewater for the East Bay Municipal Utility District in Oakland California was joined by EPA’s Jim  Hanlon, Director of the Office of Wastewater Management, and key officials from the State regulatory agencies in Oklahoma, Utah and North Carolina.

Williams discussed the need for a comprehensive SSO rule and the importance of EPA providing municipalities with certainty on SSO issues.  Hanlon also re-emphasized both his personal and his Agency’s commitment to advancing work toward such a rule and also recognized this need for certainty.  There was also significant support from the State representatives on the panel, and a broader array of State representatives at the meeting, for EPA moving forward with an SSO rule.  With some States already implementing their own SSO policies and others in the midst of developing SSO programs, it was clear that a consistent approach from EPA would be helpful to them with the caveat that such a rule recognize the work being done by these States.  At EPA’s request, NACWA is working with ASIWPCA and the other participants from EPA’s July SSO Workshop to develop a consensus-based outline of the key elements for an SSO rule to be shared with EPA as a next step in this effort.

NACWA is also pleased to report that Ken Kirk, NACWA Executive Director, was presented with the Elizabeth Jester Fellows Environmental Partnership Award from ASIWPCA during their Annual Meeting.  Jim Hanlon also received the award, which is “presented to those persons who have, throughout their careers, demonstrated a true and consistent willingness to work cooperatively with the states and with various interested organizations to effect environmental improvement.”   The award exemplifies NACWA’s objectives to reach out as broadly as possible to impact environmental policy in a manner consistent with the needs of the clean water community.  Also of note, ASIWPCA officially changed its name during this meeting and is now the Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA).

NACWA Seeks Additional Guidance from EPA on Status of Digester Gas

NACWA, the California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA) and the California Wastewater Climate Change Group (CWCCG), met this week with EPA staff to discuss the potential impacts of a new EPA rule on the clean water community’s management of digester gas.  The regulatory status of digester gas generated during the anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge was called into question by the final Identification of Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials That Are Solid Waste (76 Fed. Reg. 15456) rule, published March 21, 2011.  The rule, which became effective on May 20, was developed to assist EPA in the drafting of a series of Clean Air Act (CAA) rules for incinerators and boilers and defines as a solid waste any sewage sludge or biosolids that is combusted.  While the most obvious impact of this new definition is on the regulatory status of sewage sludge incinerators (SSIs), it has also created confusion over the regulatory status of digester gas.  The Agency’s final solid waste definition rule and supporting background material suggest that these gaseous fuels derived from a solid waste (i.e., sewage sludge under EPA’s new definition), would themselves be considered solid wastes.  If these gaseous fuels are designated as solid wastes, any combustion of the materials, including burning for energy recovery or flaring, would be subject to the regulations for commercial and industrial solid waste incineration (CISWI) units or similar regulations on solid waste incineration.  

During the meeting EPA confirmed what it had said in a May 13, 2011, policy letter – that the Agency has not changed its previous interpretations and that it did not intend to include these gases under its solid waste rules.  The May 13, 2011 clarification letter was sent to the American Forest and Paper Association and did not specifically mention digester gas.  NACWA, CASA and CWCCG have requested written clarification that will specifically address wastewater digester gas and have begun working with EPA staff to collect the information needed to prepare the clarification letter.  NACWA Advocacy Alert 11-16 provides extensive background on this issue.  As EPA works to develop guidance targeted towards digester gas, NACWA is recommending to members  that generate and burn digester gas in any manner to obtain a copy of the May 13, 2011 letter and maintain it in their files should the regulatory status of their gas operations be called into question.

NACWA also learned during the meeting that EPA is working on several other guidance documents relating to the solid waste definition rule.  EPA is nearing completion of a draft guidance on how comparisons should be made between contaminant levels in secondary material fuels (like biosolids) and traditional fuels when determining whether a particular secondary material meets EPA’s legitimate fuel criteria.  NACWA has requested an opportunity to review and comment on that draft as soon as possible.  In addition, EPA is working on further guidance regarding the petition process it established for stakeholders to get non-waste determinations from their EPA Regional Administrators.  More details on these aspects of the solid waste definition rule are available in Advocacy Alert 11-12.

Concurrent with this effort to seek additional guidance from EPA on the new rule, NACWA is working to address the more fundamental flaws in the rule through a comprehensive legal challenge to the entire definition rule.

NACWA Comments on EPA’s Proposal on Nanoscale Materials in Pesticide Products

NACWA filed comments this week on EPA’s proposed policy for addressing nanoscale materials in pesticide products, recommending that the Agency require manufacturers of these products to generate all necessary data for a complete evaluation of environmental effects.  NACWA continues to be concerned that the increasing use of nanoscale materials may have adverse impacts on the wastewater treatment process and the environment.  As stated in the comments, “The potential costs and additional taxpayer burden of mitigating these impacts could be significantly greater than the costs of generating data prior to registration of products containing nanoparticles.”  NACWA recommended that EPA use the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act’s (FIFRA) section 3 (c)(2)(B) approach which uses Data Call-In notices (DCIs) to obtain information from manufactures.  NACWA also recommended prioritizing data-gathering for products containing types of nanoscale materials that have already been shown to potentially harm wastewater treatment, such as nanosilver and nanocopper.  NACWA will keep members informed of developments on this proposed policy as they occur.

Save the Date! 
Join NACWA for its 2011 Law Seminar, November 16–18, in Charleston, S.C.

Join us November 16 -18 at the historic Francis Marion Hotel for the 2011 Developments in Clean Water Law Seminar.  NACWA’s Law Seminar is the only conference of its kind focused specifically on the legal and regulatory challenges facing the municipal clean water community, and this year’s Seminar promises to deliver a timely and informative program covering the hottest issues in clean water law.  The topics covered at the Seminar will 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 that will be relevant to attorneys and public agency managers alike.  As in past years, Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits will be available for Seminar participants, including ethics credits. Online registration is now available additional information and a detailed agenda will be available soon on NACWA’s website.