» Clean Water Current Archive

May 11, 2012

Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Workshop Examines Successes and New Challenges

At NACWA’s Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Workshop this week, speakers took a look back at thirty years of pretreatment program history and looked ahead to the expanding role of the program. Keynote speaker Jeff Lape, Deputy Director of EPA’s Office of Science & Technology in the Office of Water, highlighted the contributions of the program to improved water quality and explored ways that pretreatment professionals can work with the industries that they regulate to innovate and bring benefits to both parties.  NACWA Executive Director, Ken Kirk, reflected on NACWA’s long involvement with EPA on the pretreatment program and how some of the issues from the past – such as the debate over local limits v. national standards – are still issues today, while a new array of complex issues continues to arise.

Panelists addressed this array of challenges.  Fats, oils, and grease (FOG) have long plagued sewer systems, and Gabe Brown from the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA) provided a case study of his utility’s multi-pronged approach to keeping FOG out of the sewer.  In addition to the standard role of pretreatment programs in regulating food service establishments, ECUA also participates in extensive public education through school programs, billboards, and radio and television segments.  ECUA has also established drop-off and curbside pick-up programs for residential FOG.  Many utilities have also experienced an uptick in problems from consumer products that do not disperse in the sewer system, such as baby wipes and paper towels.  Rob Villee of the Plainfield Area Regional Sewerage Authority, and chair of the Water Environment Federation’s (WEF) Collection System Committee, provided an update on studies done in cooperation with INDA, the non-woven fabrics association, to assess the types of products that are causing these problems.  NACWA’s Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Committee will continue to work with WEF to gather data about the problems caused by these products.

Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” was another new issue that generated significant discussion among Workshop participants.  Tom Grimshaw, Research Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin’s Energy Institute, gave a thorough overview of the fracking process and the research done by the Energy Institute on media coverage, public perception, and environmental impacts of fracking, as well as current industry regulations.  Grimshaw emphasized the need for future regulations to be based on good science, and not on the negative media coverage of issues and the sometimes overstated environmental impacts from the fracking process.  Jan Pickrel, EPA’s National Pretreatment Program Coordinator, reminded utilities to use proper evaluation procedures if they are approached to accept fracking wastewater, and to remember to report any new chemicals accepted for treatment – whether from fracking or any other industry – to their permitting authority.

All the PowerPoint presentations from the Pretreatment Workshop will be made available on NACWA’s Meetings & Conferences webpage soon.  NACWA thanks all the participants for making this year’s workshop a success.

NACWA Talks Strategy in Kick-Off Call of Water Quality Trading Working Group

As the country looks for innovative solutions to deal with nutrient over-enrichment and other pollutants in our waterways, water quality trading offers an important approach that is garnering increased attention.   NACWA recently formed a Water Quality Trading Working Group to provide a forum for members interested in shaping the discussion on trading and to ensure a strong voice for the point source perspective on the ability of the marketplace to achieve real water quality improvements.  The group is being led by Dave Taylor from the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District, Wis., and all interested NACWA members are encouraged to participate.  The Working Group’s first conference call this week pinpointed some of the complex barriers to water quality trading and focused in on opportunities for NACWA engagement.  The group’s first task will be to review the 2003 EPA Water Quality Trading Policy guidance document and provide the Agency with feedback.  To share information regarding this guidance document, or to join the Water Quality Trading Working Group, please email Hannah Mellman at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

NACWA Files Brief in Stormwater Fee Litigation

NACWA filed a brief  May 7 in litigation before the federal Court of Claims, supporting efforts by Association member DeKalb County, Georgia to recover unpaid, past-due municipal stormwater charges from a number of federal government facilities.  The NACWA brief in DeKalb County v. United States reiterates the Association’s long-standing position that federal agencies are responsible for payment of local stormwater fees, and that a recent amendment to the Clean Water Act (CWA) clarifying federal payment obligations – passed by Congress with strong NACWA support – also applies to past due amounts billed prior to the amendment’s 2011 enactment.  NACWA’s brief further emphasizes that the CWA stormwater amendment simply clarified a long-standing obligation of federal agencies to pay these fees, thus mandating payment of past-due amounts.  The NACWA brief also highlights the significant financial challenges that DeKalb County will face if the federal facilities do not pay these fees, as well as the dangerous precedent this would set for other municipal stormwater utilities across the country.

The litigation stems from over $280,000 in unpaid stormwater bills from a number of different federal government facilities owed to DeKalb County.  The county filed suit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in November 2011 to pursue the past due amounts, arguing that the county’s stormwater fee program qualifies as a fee for service and not a tax.

NACWA was joined on the brief by the American Public Works Association (APWA) and the National Association of Flood & Stormwater Management Agencies (NAFSMA).  The three organizations also joined together on a similar brief filed in February supporting municipalities in Washington State in similar litigation over non-payment of past-due stormwater fees by federal facilities.  NACWA will closely monitor both cases and report on any developments. Additional information on the case is available on NACWA’s Litigation Tracking page.

On a related note, NACWA took its stormwater message on the road this week to the Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies’ 2012 Stormwater Summit, where Association staff provided attendees with an update on federal stormwater activity and on the advocacy work NACWA is doing in Congress, the courtrooms and at EPA to voice the clean water community’s concerns.

NACWA Applauds USDA Initiative to Address Agricultural Nutrient Runoff

NACWA issued a press release this week applauding the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announced National Water Quality Initiative that will help farmers, ranchers and forest landowners control nutrient and manure runoff work in priority watersheds.  The initiative is designed to improve water quality and aquatic habitats in impaired streams and rivers and underscores the importance of the work being done by the NACWA-led Healthy Waters Coalition, which is raising awareness of the need to address agricultural nutrients and to work with Congress to ensure the issue is addressed in the upcoming Farm Bill.  NACWA is pleased that the challenge of controlling agricultural nutrient runoff is gaining traction within the USDA and that ongoing efforts are building awareness among policy makers.  The Healthy Waters Coalition is continuing to focus on including policies in the Farm Bill that can provide more tools to USDA to conduct this important work on a broader scale.  Members interested in becoming involved in this effort should contact NACWA’s Legislative Director, Patricia Sinicropi at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

NACWA Weighs in on Bills Restricting Federal Agency Participation at Conferences

NACWA sent a letter  this week to Congress urging it to revise amendments passed in separate bills that would place severe restrictions on federal government employees attending meetings and conferences.  The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (H.R. 2146) and the 21st Century Postal Service Act (S. 1789) would hinder the federal municipal government partnership and could deny the Association’s membership the ability to meet with government officials on federal clean water policy and regulatory matters.  The bills were drafted in an attempt to address excesses related to the Government Services Administration’s conference spending but, whether inadvertently or by design, the language in the legislation is being interpreted to severely curtail federal agency participation at association meetings.  NACWA’s letter expressed that the bill would inappropriately chill the ability of municipal and federal representatives to work together on Clean Water Act-related issues and restrict the ability to ensure maximum environmental and public health protection for communities across the country.  In addition to its own letter, NACWA joined with over 2,000 other associations and organizations from an array of interests on the American Society of Association Executives’ (ASAE) letter  seeking to ensure the provisions of concern are removed or changed. ASAE has been taking the lead on this issue on behalf of the association community.  NACWA will continue to follow this issue and will keep the membership updated on any developments.