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As NACWA members gear up for the Association’s Developments in Clean Water Law Seminar, November 20-22, in San Antonio, Texas, this Member Update provides committee summaries from the Association’s 2013 Summer Conference & 43rd Annual Meeting in July. The committee discussions that took place this summer will undoubtedly serve as the building blocks for future NACWA Conferences. NACWA’s committee structure forms the backbone of its advocacy efforts and the Association strongly encourages member agency participation. Committee handouts and presentations from the Summer Conference are available on NACWA’s 2013 Summer Conference website. A current list of the committee leadership and members is available on NACWA’s website. To join NACWA committees, please contact Kelly Brocato at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Climate & Energy Committee

• Chair, Antonio Quintanilla, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Ill.

The Climate and Energy Committee opened with updates on the regulation of biogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.  On July 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia decided to vacate EPA’s three-year deferral of biogenic GHG emissions from Clean Air Act regulation (CAA).  The court ruled that EPA failed to provide legal justification to support its deferral of GHG permitting requirements for biogenic emissions, but did not close the door on EPA’s authority to finalize its rulemaking.  NACWA joined a coalition of other groups with short cycle carbon dioxide emissions, such as crop and food processors, with funding from the Association’s Targeted Action Fund (TAF).  The coalition will be submitting a petition to EPA, requesting a permanent exemption of these types of CO2 emissions from CAA regulation.

Following updates on NACWA’s work to promote energy generation at wastewater utilities by providing information to EPA and the Department of Energy (DOE), the Committee members discussed projects that are underway or in the planning stages for their utilities.  Economic issues, including high upfront costs and long payback periods, were cited by committee members as reasons that energy generation projects are being delayed or not undertaken.  Other utilities have found that their energy projects make sense economically, or provide the renewable fuels desired by their municipalities.  

Finally, an update was provided on NACWA’s involvement with enforceable consent agreement (ECA) negotiations with siloxane manufacturers to evaluate the environmental impacts of two siloxanes, D4 and D5.  Siloxanes are present in wastewater and create problems for utilities using biogas as a renewable fuel, and NACWA wants to ensure that environmental risk assessment data that is conducted as part of the ECA is useful in studying this problem.  The ECA is expected to be finalized this fall.  

Facility & Collection System Committee

• Co-Chair, Ben Horenstein, East Bay Municipal Utility District, Calif.
• Co-Chair, Dax Blake, City of Columbus Department of Public Utilities, Ohio

The Facility and Collection System Committee meeting began with a presentation by the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSD) on the approved sustainable alternative to its wet weather plan using green infrastructure to significantly reduce combined sewer overflows (CSOs).  The presentation included the technical information needed to evaluate the alternative, the community outreach that was conducted to build support for the alternative, and the negotiations done with the regulators to gain approval of the alternative.  

The Committee then received updates on NACWA’s recently completed Targeted Action Fund (TAF) project providing input and analysis into how EPA should update its financial capability guidance.  The TAF-funded paper explores the current opportunities for more rational financial capability assessment and the advantages of replacing EPA’s 1997 guidance on financial capability with a more holistic approach that includes a wider range of indicators to evaluate investments both economically and environmentally.  NACWA will continue to meet with EPA to discuss actions that the Agency could take to update its financial capability guidance.  

Lastly, an update was also given on the efforts of NACWA, the Water Environment Federation (WEF), and the American Public Works Association (APWA) to address the problems created by flushable wipes and other non-dispersible products.  These efforts have resulted in some improved labeling on Costco products.  

Legal Affairs Committee

• Chair, Lisa Hollander, Sanitation District No. 1, Ky.
• Vice Chair, Hilary Meltzer, NYC Department of Law, N.Y.

The Legal Affairs Committee discussed a number of legal issues currently impacting clean water utilities.  Among the topics addressed was a recent Federal Court decision in Center for Biological Diversity, et al. v EPA, which vacated EPA’s three-year deferral of CO2 emissions from biogenic sources, including publicly owned treatment works (POTWs), from federal greenhouse gas regulations.  The Committee also received updates on litigation related to nutrients, water quality trading, blending and water transfers.  The meeting featured presentations from two of NACWA’s legal affiliates: McMahon DeGulis LLP presented on the “Legal & Negotiation Approach for Cincinnati’s Wet Weather Management Plan” and Squire Sanders LLP addressed “Clean Water Legal Developments in Ohio.”   The meeting concluded with a brief update on the work of NACWA’s Wet Weather Enforcement Workgroup, an announcement about plans to update the Association’s Wet Weather Consent Decree Handbook, and a reminder about NACWA’s availability to provide public comments on proposed consent decrees involving individual utility members.   Handouts from the meeting are available here.

Legislative and Regulatory Policy Committee

• Chair, Charles Logue, Renewable Water Resources, South Carolina
• Legislative Vice Chair, Sharon Green, Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, Calif.
• Regulatory Vice Chair, Elizabeth Toot-Levy, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Ohio

The Policy Committee meeting began with a robust discussion of NACWA’s current advocacy agenda as it relates to nutrients.  To complement NACWA’s existing work, members identified the need to highlight good models – where nutrient control efforts are working.  Members noted that the Clean Water Act (CWA) may be constraining the clean water community and preventing new, more innovative models for addressing nutrients from moving forward, and that there is a need to highlight where this is the case.  Other members, however, cautioned that they feel responsible to show that under the CWA umbrella incremental progress and continued work on the science can be workable.  All agreed that municipal leadership will be key – the regulators alone will not be able to make it work.  We must do a better job of communicating our message to apply pressure where it is needed and NACWA may also need to consider more aggressive, proactive legal action to make progress.  

The Committee also discussed the latest regarding integrated planning.  NACWA continues to focus on implementation and getting utilities and states comfortable with the 2012 framework.  NACWA has now organized four regional workshops with two more planned for the fall.  NACWA is also pursuing funding in the FY14 EPA budget for EPA to identify pilot communities who are interested in moving forward with an integrated plan.  The proposal has received broad bi-partisan support on Capitol Hill and NACWA is optimistic that funding will be available.    

NACWA staff also reported that Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) is preparing to introduce legislation to establish a trust fund for clean water investments that is based on a voluntary contribution system from key revenue sources interested in using a consumer product label indicating they support clean water that they can put on their products.  
NACWA’s advocacy efforts related to the Water Resources Utility of the Future are now underway.  During the Committee meeting, NACWA staff informed participants that the formation of a Congressional Clean Water Caucus is one step closer to being reality.  Two chairs for the Caucus have been identified, but a few more administrative hurdles remain before it will be official.  Congressman John Duncan (R-TN) and Congressman Tim Bishop (D-NY) will co-chair the caucus.  Congressman Duncan is a former chair of the House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee and Congressman Bishop is the Subcommittee’s current Ranking Member.   In addition, members discussed a draft proposal to establish the Technology, Innovation and Resource Recovery Fund as a set-aside program within the Clean Water State Revolving Fund that would provide funding to utilities to support investments in innovation and resource recovery technology. Staff also advised that NACWA is working with outside counsel to develop a tax incentive program to attract private investment in utilities interested in this work.  

The Committee also considered and approved one Targeted Action Fund (TAF) request for a total of $10,000 - $5,000 from FY 2014 and $5,000 from FY 2015 - to support the maintenance and expansion of www.biogasdata.org.  The data, collected by a working group comprised of representatives from the Water Environment Federation, the Northeast Biosolids and Residuals Association, and Black & Veatch, provides the most comprehensive look at biogas production and use in the U.S. by clean water agencies.  NACWA was an advisor on the project and has now been asked to support future data collection to expand the information in the system and to help maintain the database.  The NACWA Board of Directors, during its meeting at the Conference, approved the request.  

Stormwater Management Committee

• Chair, Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Ohio
• Vice Chair, Jill E. Piatt Kemper, City of Aurora Water Department, Colo.

NACWA’s Stormwater Management Committee updated members on a number of ongoing municipal stormwater issues and benefited from a presentation on how data-driven stormwater management is being undertaken in Northern Kentucky at the recent NACWA Summer Conference in Cincinnati. NACWA staff provided a quick overview of the continued delay of EPA’s national stormwater rule and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s declaring EPA in breach of its June settlement requiring the Agency to have a proposal finalized by June 10. It is expected that after the 90 day negotiation period, a revised schedule for the rule will be announced in early September. Staff also notified the committee of recent petitions to three EPA regions (Regions 1, 3, and 9) from a coalition of environmental groups, asking that they use their “residual designation authority” (RDA) and require Clean Water Act (CWA) discharge permits for certain industrial, commercial, and institutional sites discharging stormwater to impaired waterways. EPA has 90 days from July 10 to respond to the petitions, and NACWA will be tracking the implications on municipal stormwater programs. After the regulatory update, Matt Wooten from Sanitation District No. 1 in Kentucky gave an excellent presentation on SD1’s work with hydromodification and how their data monitoring has informed their stormwater management program policies. Meeting handouts can be found here, including a copy of Matt’s slides. The meeting closed with a conversation about innovative funding for stormwater infrastructure. The committee explored the various ways utilities are approaching stormwater financing, including public-private partnerships, grant programs and trading.

Utility Management Committee

• Chair, Tom Sigmund, NEW Water, Green Bay, Wis.

Resilient utility business models topped the Committee’s agenda with a presentation from Darin Thomas, Director of Management Consulting with Sunesis, on a Water Research Foundation project that is exploring the factors influencing utility financial performance and the practices that have the potential to create financial resiliency.  The project report is now under review.  NACWA members participated in a 2012 workshop on sustainable utilities convened by EPA and are now collaborating with EPA to develop a roadmap of utility practices intended to help guide utilities along a spectrum from a conventional model to a more emergent model of utility management, which is consistent with NACWA’s Water Resources Utility of the Future (UOTF) effort.  NACWA staff provided the Committee with the latest developments on cybersecurity.  The Association is working through the Water Sector Coordinating Council to provide input into the development of voluntary standards for cybersecurity at water utilities.  The Committee reviewed the final 2012 NACWA Index and associated regional charts and discussed the upcoming 2014 Financial Survey and the need for volunteers for the survey working group to help develop the survey form and review the final report.  The Survey will be conducted during the first half of 2014 and the report will be released in spring 2015.  The Committee also discussed some potential options for presenting the Survey results in ways that would be more helpful for member agencies.  Shortly after the Committee meeting, the NACWA Board approved changes to a number of NACWA’s Standing Committees.  The Utility Management Committee will now be called the Utility and Resource Management Committee and will address a suite of new issues that are being addressed through the Association’s UOTF work.

Water Quality Committee

• Chair, Barbara Biggs, Metro Wastewater Reclamation District, Colo.
• Vice Chair, James Pletl, Hampton Roads Sanitation District, Va.

The Committee meeting started with a presentation from Peter Tennant, Executive Director for the Ohio River Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO).  Tennant provided an overview of several water quality initiatives past and present that the Commission has worked on, including efforts to develop wet weather water quality standards.  Nutrient issues were a top discussion item and the Committee was updated on the latest EPA developments including a permit writer training session focused on developing nutrient permit limits for points sources and the forthcoming EPA nutrient action plan, expected sometime this summer.  Committee members provided updates on developments in Florida, where EPA is taking steps to put the program back in the hands of state regulators, as well as efforts in Ohio, Connecticut and Iowa.  

Several water quality criteria issues were discussed including the revised ammonia criteria, which will be released by EPA any day now.  EPA will brief NACWA before the criteria and accompanying implementation guidance are released.  Updates were provided on a potential new lawsuit over EPA’s revised recreational water quality criteria, EPA’s pending revisions to its water quality standards regulations, which was subsequently released by the Office of Management and Budget on July 23, and other criteria revisions that are anticipated soon.  The Committee had a robust discussion on the issue of fish consumption values and recent efforts by EPA to pressure states to change the assumptions they use when evaluating human health impacts from eating contaminated fish.  On emerging contaminants, the Committee discussed several developments including the recently completed EPA study of emerging contaminants in POTW effluent.  EPA is poised to publish the results of the study and NACWA is working to coordinate among the participating POTWs so they may share information on how/if they plan to respond or provide additional guidance to their communities.  The Committee meeting concluded with an update from the Association’s Trading Working Group.