» Clean Water Current Archive

September 30, 2011

NACWA Weighs in with Congress to Include $10 Billion for Clean Water in Jobs Bill

NACWA sent a letter this week to key staff in every House and Senate office urging Congress to include $10 billion in direct funding for clean water infrastructure projects as it considers a jobs bill and deficit reduction measures.  The letter states that like investments in our transportation systems and schools, investment in clean water infrastructure has enormous job creation capacity and is essential to both economic growth and environmental improvement.  The letter also warns against any proposals — like that in the President’s American Jobs Act (AJA) — that would limit a tax-payer’s ability to claim exemptions for investments on municipal bonds.  NACWA fears this policy would actually drive up the cost of financing water and wastewater projects at the local level, decreasing project investment and overall economic and job growth.

NACWA met last week with Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.), Ranking Member of the Water Resources & Environment Subcommittee, and received a commitment from him to introduce an amendment to the AJA, designating $10 billion for clean water infrastructure, when it receives committee consideration.  NACWA will continue to meet with members of the House and Senate to ensure this proposal gains maximum support.

NACWA Urges Reconsideration on Sludge Rulemaking

NACWA sent a letter today to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and other key Agency leaders urging them to re-evaluate their planned decision to deny the Association’s request to stay and reconsider the Agency’s final rulemaking on sewage sludge incineration.   The letter underscores the number of urban municipal clean water agencies that would be impacted by the rulemaking and notes that unlike “. . . other emissions sources that are currently fighting to exempt themselves from certain CAA [Clean Air Act] requirements, we are not asking to avoid CAA regulation.  Quite the opposite, we are simply asking that urban communities with SSIs [sewage sludge incinerators] be regulated under the appropriate section of the CAA as Congress intended.”  The letter goes on to say that “EPA’s decision to regulate SSIs under the inflexible requirements of CAA section 129 – a legally challengeable action – will unnecessarily cost these same communities hundreds of millions of dollars at a time of severe economic distress,” adding that “the reality is that EPA could just as easily continue to regulate SSIs under CAA section 112 and CWA [Clean Water Act] section 405 as it has always done with no negative environmental impact.”

In addition to this strongly worded letter, NACWA has also been working with key Congressional offices to weigh in with Administrator Jackson and her key staff urging the Agency to  revisit its plan to deny NACWA’s reconsideration request.  These efforts were discussed in-depth earlier this week on a call with the Association’s Sewage Sludge Incineration Advocacy Coalition (SSIAC).  NACWA’s membership will continue to be kept apprised as developments occur.

NACWA Comments on EPA Draft Handbook on Sustainability Planning

NACWA provided comments this week on a draft EPA document called “Planning for Sustainability: A Handbook for Water and Wastewater Utilities” that is intended to help utilities better integrate sustainable considerations into their capital planning process.  Public utility representatives, including several NACWA members, were involved in the drafting of the handbook that outlines four main elements of sustainability planning: 1) Goal Setting; 2) Objectives and Strategies; 3) Alternatives Analysis; and 4) Financial Strategy.

NACWA’s comments recommended changes to the document to make its intended purpose clearer and to better recognize the existing economic and management challenges that utilities face.  While the document is not intended to create an additional planning effort for utilities, NACWA’s comments noted that the goal and objective/strategy-setting elements, as described in the document, seemed better suited for a utility-wide or even community-wide effort, rather than for the planning phase of a particular project.  NACWA’s comments underscored that most utilities are now faced with mounting compliance-driven projects and that the document should recognize this existing challenge and better acknowledge how these sustainability concepts could be incorporated into these efforts.  Ultimately, as NACWA’s comments highlight, EPA must better embrace a more holistic approach to implementing Clean Water Act requirements if utilities are to truly move in a more sustainable direction.

NACWA’s letter acknowledges EPA’s recent willingness to discuss integrated permitting approaches to better manage existing Clean Water Act requirements – an outgrowth of NACWA’s Money Matters™ campaign – and noted that the Association looks forward to working with the Agency on this effort moving forward.  NACWA will be meeting with EPA in the coming weeks to discuss its comments on the handbook and provide the Agency with additional recommended revisions.

NACWA, Key Municipal Groups Send Brief to U.S. Supreme Court on Critical Clean Water Act Case

NACWA joined with a number of other municipal clean water organizations in filing a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court this week in an important case examining whether the Clean Water Act (CWA) allows for pre-enforcement judicial review of administrative orders (AOs) issued by EPA.  The litigation, Sackett v. EPA, stems from a lower court ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit finding that the CWA prohibits pre-enforcement review of EPA administrative orders.  It was accepted by the Supreme Court for consideration in June.

The brief was filed by NACWA and its municipal partners in support of the petitioners and urges the High Court to overturn the Ninth Circuit's decision and find that the CWA allows for pre-enforcement review of EPA administrative orders.  In particular, the brief argues that the CWA does not explicitly or implicitly prevent review of AOs and highlights examples of how EPA has abused its power in issuing AOs to public clean water agencies.  The brief also provides examples of how EPA uses AOs to circumvent the clear protections in the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program that shield permitted entities from unreasonable enforcement actions.  The brief encourages the Supreme Court to curb these abuses by allowing for pre-enforcement judicial review of AOs and argues that the denial of pre-enforcement review of administrative orders violates the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Other municipal clean water organizations joining with NACWA on the brief include the Wet Weather Partnership, state municipal wastewater associations from Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and South Carolina, and the City of New York.   Additional information on the case is available on NACWA's Litigation Tracking page and members will be updated on developments as they occur.

NACWA Raises Concerns over Proposed Sampling Program for BPA

NACWA submitted comments this week on an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking information related to the toxicity of bisphenol-A (BPA) and its presence in the environment.  In the notice, EPA discusses the potential need for additional toxicity testing of BPA at low concentrations to determine if its presence in the environment is posing a threat to aquatic or terrestrial organisms.  In addition to the toxicity testing, EPA is also contemplating a sampling program to better establish the concentrations of BPA in the environment.  The notice cites both municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent and the land application of biosolids as potential pathways for BPA to enter the environment.  In its comments, NACWA stressed the importance of fully understanding the impacts of BPA and other contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) so they can better be controlled at their source – ideally before they end up in the environment.

For those substances that are already in use and being detected in the environment, NACWA continues to stress the importance of product stewardship and other pollution prevention/source control approaches, not end of pipe treatment, to address potential impacts.  As it has consistently stated in previous letters to the Agency, NACWA’s comments underscore the need for EPA to fully leverage its authority under key environmental statutes like the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to ensure that clean water agencies are not held responsible under the CWA for water quality or other environmental impacts resulting from substances that have simply slipped through the cracks of other environmental statutes.

On the issue of potentially monitoring effluent and biosolids for BPA, NACWA’s letter urged EPA to take a tiered approach that would target an initial monitoring effort to areas where BPA was anticipated to be present, before undertaking a more comprehensive sampling plan.  NACWA stressed that EPA should work with the clean water community to ensure it fully captures a representative sampling of the various wastewater treatment processes used and better understand the exposure pathways that could impact the concentrations of BPA in the environment.  Ultimately, NACWA stressed that the costs associated with sampling of wastewater effluent or biosolids to determine environmental exposure levels must be borne by the industries that produce or use BPA, not the clean water community.  NACWA will update the membership on any new developments regarding the proposed monitoring program for BPA.

NACWA Law Seminar to Address Reopeners in Consent Decrees, Latest Developments in Clean Water Enforcement

NACWA's upcoming Developments in Clean Water Law Seminar promises to deliver an exciting and engaging program for both clean water attorneys and managers alike, including a discussion of how utilities can pursue reopeners in municipal consent decrees and an examination of the most important developments in Clean Water Act (CWA) enforcement.   The Seminar, scheduled for November 16 - 18 at the Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston, South Carolina, is the only meeting of its kind that provides cutting-edge updates on the hottest topics in clean water law.  One of the featured panels at the Seminar will look at the opportunities and hurdles clean water agencies face when attempting to reopen existing consent decrees, including case studies of utilities that have successfully accomplished a reopener and advice on how to do so.  As more and more utilities explore this option, this panel will provide extremely timely information.  Another panel will address recent developments in clean water enforcement, including current trends in consent decree and long-term control plan negotiations as well as a discussion on potential criminal enforcement that utilities can face under the CWA.

Additionally, back by popular demand, this year’s Seminar will feature the return of NACWA’s CWA primer, providing an overview/refresher on key, evolving statutory provisions and regulations.  Other topics to be covered during the Seminar include an update on developments involving wet weather and stormwater, a discussion of current issues surrounding biosolids management, nutrients, and water quality, and a series of presentation on how clean water attorneys can communicate more effectively to a variety of audiences.

Additional information on the Seminar including registration, hotel accommodation, an updated agenda, and Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits is available on NACWA’s website.  The hotel registration deadline is October 21, so register today be sure to join your clean water colleagues in Charleston for this exciting event!

Submit Your National Environmental Achievement Award Nomination Today!

NACWA is now accepting nominations for the 2012 National Environmental Achievement Award (NEAA) program.  The NEAA program is an excellent opportunity to recognize federal, state, and local public officials who have made a significant impact on your agency, environment and/or the local community.  It allows Agencies the chance to nominate outstanding individuals for national recognition as well as to promote the innovative projects and initiatives in which they are engaged.

Applications are due Friday, October 14, 2011.  Applications and nomination guidelines can be found on our website at www.nacwa.org/neaa.  Please contact Laura Cobb, NACWA’s membership development coordinator, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for additional information.  We invite you to apply today.

E-Communication is Green Communication at NACWA

Under the mantle, ‘E-Communication is Green Communication’, the Association’s bi-monthly newsletter, the Clean Water Advocate, will go electronic as an interactive flip-book.  The flip book format will allow Advocate content to be easily shared among Member Agency staff and elected or appointed officials.  The elimination of paper and postage – and the addition of greater flexibility in length of articles and format – will provide a value-added experience for the Advocate’s audience of Association Members, and EPA officials, Members of Congress and Capitol Hill staff.  The October-November edition of the Advocate will kick off NACWA’s new fiscal year – and this new flipbook format.

ASIWPCA Changes Name

The Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA), formerly the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA), officially announced its name change today.  The official press release noted that the new name was “more reflective of the non-profit’s past and future” and better highlights “its core mission.”  The press release is available on ACWA’s website.