» Clean Water Current Archive

February 7, 2014

NACWA Requests Member Input on SRF ‘Buy American’ Requirements 

NACWA met with EPA this week to discuss the Buy American requirements included in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 spending bill passed by Congress in January (see January 17 Clean Water Current). In the bill, Congress stipulated that State Revolving Fund (SRF) projects must comply with Buy American provisions, requiring that products consisting primarily of iron and steel be American-made. EPA Acting Administrator for Water, Nancy Stoner, issued a memo last week focusing on the application of the new requirement and stating that further information will be provided in the form of guidance as soon as possible.

At the meeting, NACWA, along with other stakeholders, discussed the specific language included in the Buy American provisions and the potentially different interpretations and definitions of this language. Once the Agency releases its guidance, NACWA will work with EPA and other water sector stakeholders to develop a webcast providing additional details on the requirements. NACWA will be issuing an Advocacy Alert to members early next week, requesting specific input on issues EPA is seeking further clarity on and to ensure that these provisions and the waiver process are the least onerous for the Nation’s clean water agencies.

NACWA Urges Members to Ask Representatives to Join the Congressional Clean Water Caucus

NACWA urged members to reach out to their Member(s) of Congress to join the newly formed Congressional Clean Water Caucus in an Advocacy Alert this week. The bipartisan Caucus will spotlight issues stemming from the Water Resources Utility of the Future (UOTF) initiative, with a focus on cutting-edge technologies and innovative techniques and approaches in the clean water sector. Topical areas of interest to the Caucus include green infrastructure, water reuse and reclamation, energy production and conservation, resource recovery, and climate/resiliency. These advances will be explored through a series of Congressional Briefings beginning during Water Week 2014.

The Caucus is being chaired by Representatives John Duncan (R-TN) and Timothy Bishop (D-NY), the former chair and current ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources & Environment. NACWA encourages members to reach out to their Representatives and urge them to join this Clean Water Caucus. NACWA has prepared a template letter for you to use in reaching out to your Members of Congress to request their participation in the Caucus. The template letter is available via the Advocacy Alert and on NACWA’s Congressional Toolbox webpage.

Farm Bill Passes; Includes Strong Water Quality and Nutrient Management Provisions

President Obama is expected to sign the Agricultural Act of 2014 into law today after the Senate passed the five-year bill by a vote of 68-32 on Tuesday. NACWA is very pleased that the final bipartisan package maintained all the provisions that the Association, along with the Healthy Waters Coalition, advocated for with respect to water quality and nutrients. NACWA issued a press release praising the passage of the Farm Bill and thanking key Members of Congress for their leadership and support of our efforts.

The final legislation included stronger language prioritizing nutrient management activities for funding within the newly created Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). NACWA has developed a two-page write up providing an overview of the RCPP and its importance to the membership. For more information on the RCPP and the Farm Bill, see this week’s Advocacy Alert.

EPA to Solicit Public Comment on Potential RDA Designations

EPA recently informed NACWA via a letter that the Agency will solicit public comment on any proposed designations in response to environmental activist petitions requesting the Agency exercise its residual designation authority (RDA) for stormwater permits in EPA Regions 1, 3, and 9. The letter comes in response to NACWA’s November request for a public process to provide input. EPA’s letter stated that the regional offices are currently “giving these petitions thoughtful, deliberative consideration, given the petitions’ broad geographic and categorical scope, as well as implications for states, local governments and any potentially newly regulated entities.” EPA plans to take public comment before making any final designations or requiring new stormwater permits. A response from EPA to the petitions is expected by the end of February.

NACWA Joins Amicus Brief in Ohio TMDL Litigation

NACWA joined with the Association of Ohio Metropolitan Wastewater Agencies (AOMWA) on Feb. 5 to file a brief in a case addressing when clean water utilities should be able to mount legal challenges to total maximum daily load (TMDL) allocations. The major issue presented in the case, which is before the Ohio Supreme Court, is whether the inability of a permittee to challenge allocations in a TMDL until the allocations are used to develop National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit limits violates constitutional due process. Of particular note in this case is the fact that the permittee had scientific evidence questioning its TMDL allocation and indicating it was not a significant contributor to the water quality impairment.

The decision reached by the court in this case will not only have significant impacts on NACWA members in Ohio, but will also have ramifications for how other courts elsewhere in the country may examine this issue in the future. NACWA’s role in this case also reflects discussion during the Association’s Water Quality Committee meeting at this week’s Winter Conference, where the Committee explored opportunities for increasing its legal advocacy on TMDL issues.

The joint NACWA/AOMWA brief argues that permittees should have an opportunity for meaningful review – and potential legal challenge – of TMDL allocations before incorporation into a discharge permit, and that the failure to provide such review is a violation of due process. The brief highlights the importance of ensuring TMDLs are based on sound science, and notes that the lack of meaningful TMDL review can unfairly force clean water utilities to expend significant funds to comply with limits that may be scientifically invalid and will not result in real environmental improvements.

EPA Acting Administrator for Water Visits NACWA Utilities, Highlights Innovation

EPA Acting Administrator for Water, Nancy Stoner, visited two NACWA member utilities this week in an effort to promote the Office of Water's Technology Innovation Blueprint and highlight the visionary efforts of clean water utilities using innovative technology. The Blueprint was released last year, and EPA is developing an updated version to be released within the coming months. During a visit to Southern California, Stoner visited Orange County Sanitation District where a host of innovative projects are in place, including a groundwater recharge system. Stoner also took a utility tour with staff of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County during her visit to Tennessee. The tour focused on their green infrastructure installations. NACWA will continue to collaborate with EPA to identify member utilities at the forefront of innovation for the Agency to highlight as part of its technology innovation initiative.

Winter Conference Focuses on Collaboration as Compliance Costs Escalate

Collaboration and transformational leadership were front and center at NACWA’s Winter Conference, which took place this week in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The conference, Compliance, Collaboration & Cost. . . . Critical Drivers for Clean Water, continued to build on the themes of the Water Resources Utility of the Future (UOTF) and the need for innovative and strategic collaborations and communication to advance utility priorities.

Conference Speakers Discuss Need for Collaboration to Make Further Progress

The Honorable David Coss, Mayor of the City of Santa Fe, provided welcoming remarks on Tuesday, focusing on the importance of the Santa Fe River and the broad-based public support for ensuring its continual improvement. He underscored the importance of utility leaders collaborating through organizations like NACWA to ensure they have the tools needed to continuously improve the environment. His remarks were followed by Andrew Sawyers, Director of EPA’s Office of Wastewater Management, who focused his attention on how the Agency and NACWA are collaborating on climate/resiliency issues, integrated planning/affordability efforts, and on an updated green infrastructure statement of intent. In addition to this type of national collaboration, NACWA member agencies discussed local collaborative efforts that are ensuring progress for key priority projects that provide significant community benefits.

Mike Hightower, Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at the Military and Energy Systems Analysis Department of Sandia National Laboratories, gave a presentation on emerging trends and drivers for the energy-water utility nexus. Hightower discussed the water shortage problems being faced in many parts of the U.S., along with the water needs of energy produced by fossil fuels and alternative methods, making non-traditional partnerships and collaborations increasingly important.

Committee Meetings Focus on Nutrients, Affordability, Utility of the Future and Flushables

NACWA’s Committee meetings were, once again, jam-packed both with participants as well as information and dialogue. Key areas of focus included progress on the Water Resources Utility of the Future initiative, which is now housed in the recently renamed Utility & Resource Management Committee. The idea of a Waterpedia website – along the lines of Wikipedia – was discussed as a place where information on utility best practices, innovations and successes could be housed and shared. The Biosolids Management Committee discussed ongoing challenges with PCBs and the complexity of identifying new definitions for recovered resources, like struvite, outside the typical biosolids regulatory structure.

The Facility and Collection Systems Committee also continued to focus on NACWA’s “Toilets Are Not Trashcans” initiative and the effort to keep non-flushable wipes out of the sewer system. The Water Quality Committee’s discussion on nutrients focused on EPA’s efforts to increase the number of clean water utilities with permit limits and several related efforts including an effort by the Water Environment Federation, the Johnson Foundation and the Environmental Defense Fund to develop a nutrient roadmap.

The joint Legislative and Regulatory Policy/Legal Affairs Committee meeting featured strategic discussions on affordability issues, with a focus on seeking to ensure a consistent municipal voice with EPA and Congress. Members also discussed current utility efforts to pursue integrated planning approaches in both the enforcement and permitting contexts. From a legal perspective, members were updated on ongoing litigation, plans for release of a new wet weather consent decree handbook this Spring, and a joint Targeted Action Fund (TAF) project with the California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA) to examine the impact of Clean Water Act citizen suits on municipal clean water utilities (see related discussion below).

NACWA will provide a more detailed summary of all committee activity through an upcoming Member Update.

Board Members Take Action

NACWA’s Board of Directors met Sunday, Feb. 2, to take several key actions. The Board of Directors approved the Association’s FY 2013 Audited Financial Statements and some revisions to the Association’s Policies and Procedures of the Board of Directors, as well as some revisions to NACWA’s Strategic Plan (available to members upon request). The Board also had an initial but productive “Blue Sky Discussion” on strategic communication and messaging with the goal of strengthening the Association’s outreach. This discussion will continue at future NACWA meetings.

In addition, the Board approved two key TAF projects: 1) $7,000 to support a study being led by the Water Environment Research Foundation on energy recovery from the incineration of biosolids; and 2) $10,000 in FY 2014 funds and $10,000 in FY 2015 funds to support a CASA research project/white paper to assess the impact from citizen suits and potential methods to address them.

Also, during an Association Business Meeting held on Tuesday, Feb. 4, the membership approved of several changes to the Bylaws that had been previously approved by the Board.

Environmental Achievement Awards Presented to Deserving Honorees

On the evening of Monday, Feb. 3, NACWA presented its National Environmental Achievement Awards, which recognize Member Agencies that have made extraordinary contributions through environmental service projects, community stewardship, and advancements in technology and operations. NACWA had the honor of recognizing 9 Individuals and 11 Public Agencies.

This year’s individual winners were Walter L. Baker for State Public Service; Bevin Beaudet, Brian Carlson, Dick Champion, the Honorable Daniel M. Pierce and the Honorable Jan Vanthen Wilking for Local Public Service; the Honorable Eric Garcetti, James A. Parrott and Jeff Eger for NACWA’s Environment Award.

This year’s agency winners were the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation, CA, for their Echo Park Lake Multi-Benefit Stormwater BMP Project; the City of Springfield, MO, for their Wilsons Creek Conservation Easement project; Charleston Water System, SC, for their Bio Solids Renewable Energy Program; the City of Houston Public Works & Engineering/Public Utilities Division, TX, for their Application of the Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) for Sanitary Sewer Overflow Prevention & Response project; Central Davis Sewer District, UT, for their Public Education Videos – Carbon Cycle for Elementary School Children and Nitrogen Cycle for Operators; Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, OH, for their Clean Water Works: A Technical Magazine of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District; the Anchorage Water & Wastewater Utility, AK, for their Protecting Public Health & Environment program; the City of Boise, ID, for their Boise WaterShed Environmental Education Center; the City of Springfield, MO, for their Private Sewer Repair Pilot Program; Renewable Water Resources, SC for their Be Freshwater Friendly program; and the Upper Trinity Regional Water District, TX, for their Watershed Protection Educational Program.

The Association will present National Environmental Achievement Awards to Federal Public Service honorees at its National Water Policy Forum in April during Water Week 2014.

Next Steps in Advocacy Work

NACWA will continue to work to advance the various priority issues discussed at the Winter Conference through consistent and impactful advocacy. Members are encouraged to participate by joining the discussions on Engage, joining NACWA committees, following us on Twitter and Facebook, subscribing to the NACWA blog, The Water Voice, and attending the Association’s meetings and conferences. NACWA is joining with the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) on a National Policy Forum and Fly-In as part of Water Week, April 7-9, 2014. The Forum and Fly-In will provide a great and affordable opportunity for members to reach out to their representatives in Congress and learn more about the clean water community’s ongoing advocacy efforts.

All of the presentations and supporting documents from the 2014 Winter Conference general sessions and committee meetings are now available online.

NACWA Blog of Week:
Protecting Biosolids Recycling: Update on Local Bans and Tort Lawsuits

This week’s post on The Water Voice comes from guest blogger and NACWA member, Jimmy Slaughter. The blog discusses biosolids recycling and the significant legal successes and challenges in recent years. With a new posting every week – subscribe to NACWA’s The Water Voice Blog!