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The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) is pleased to provide you with the May 2015 Regulatory Update. This Update provides a summary of relevant regulatory issues and actions from May 2015.

Top Stories

NACWA Concerns Addressed in Final Clean Water Rule

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released their final Clean Water Rule, often referred to as the Waters of the United States or WOTUS rule, on May 27. The rule, which will become effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, has consumed much of EPA’s time over the last several years and has been the focus of intense controversy from a range of stakeholders and Members of Congress. Since the Agency first began work on the rule, NACWA has focused its attention on maintaining the current exemptions for wastewater treatment systems and ensuring that municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s), green infrastructure and recycled water projects are not inadvertently regulated as jurisdictional waters. The final definition of ‘Waters of the United States’ maintains the key elements NACWA has fought to preserve and addresses a number of the concerns the Association raised in its comments. Advocacy Alert 15-09 provides additional detail on the content of the final rule.

Contact: Brenna Mannion at 202/533-1839 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

NACWA Releases Revised Consent Decree Handbook

NACWA released its 2015 revised Wet Weather Consent Decree Handbook on May 12. The Handbook includes updated information on affordability, supplemental environmental projects, and decrees lodged, entered or modified since release of the 2014 edition. This resource will continue to provide NACWA members with unparalleled information, analysis, and strategies on wet weather enforcement issues including negotiation, renegotiation, implementation, and modification of wet weather enforcement orders and decrees. See Advocacy Alert 15-07 for additional information.

Contact: Amanda Waters at 202/530-2758 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Media Attention on Wipes Continues; NACWA to Comment on FTC Agreement

The problems utilities experience from wipes have continued to receive media attention in the last month. The Guardian published an article on May 26 that examined the wipes issues in detail, with a focus on NACWA’s views and the problems experienced by the New York Department of Environmental Protection, a NACWA Member Agency. The Miami Herald also published a story on May 26 about wipes problems at another NACWA Member Agency, Miami-Dade County. Advertising Age focused on a proposed consent agreement announced on May 18 between the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and wipes manufacturer Nice-Pak Products, Inc., which will be prohibited from advertising its wipes as flushable unless it can substantiate that the product is safe for sewer and septic systems.

The settlement agreement proposed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) states that Nice-Pak must provide “tests, analyses, research, studies, or other evidence” to show that the product “disperses in a sufficiently short amount of time after flushing to avoid clogging, or other operational problems in, household and municipal sewage lines, septic systems, and other standard wastewater equipment; and substantially replicate the physical conditions of the environment in which the Covered Product is claimed… to be properly disposed of.” The FTC investigation was launched because a “flushable” product – made by Nice-Pak until last year for retailers including Costco, CVS, and Target – was shown in tests by wastewater utilities to not break down in a reasonable length of time. In Advocacy Alert 15-10, NACWA provided more details about the FTC proposed consent agreement and its ramifications for the Association’s collaborative work on wipes. Public comments on the proposed agreement will be accepted until June 19, and NACWA plans to submit supportive comments. Member Agencies are requested to provide input for the Association’s comments to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by June 12. Member Agencies are also encouraged to send their own comments to the FTC, and NACWA will provide a template letter next week.

Contact: Cynthia Finley at 202/533-1836 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Affordability

U.S. Conference of Mayors' Water Council Focuses on Affordability

Mayors from several cash-strapped cities expressed deepening concern with the high costs of managing their Clean Water Act compliance obligations at the U.S. Conference of Mayors' (USCM) Water Council meeting in Washington, DC on May 1. Central to the discussion was the need for performance data, which USCM is aggregating. One of the key data points is that long-term local government debt grew from $886 billion in 2000 to $1.78 trillion in 2012, a 101 percent increase. Over the same period, spending on sewer systems went up 109 percent.

At issue is whether such spending increases, that demand more debt servicing, are sustainable. Concern was also expressed that, as the income of many households remains stagnant the increasing cost of sewer and water infrastructure take up larger portions of their budgets. How such data trends play out in cities with a shrinking ratepayer base is also of concern, as was the growing role of subsidy programs.

Several mayors discussed their consent decrees and the difficulty inherent in keeping on budget as other unanticipated needs, problems, and new mandates arise. The mayors discussed the critical importance of having reopener language in their decrees to ensure the ability to stay within budget despite changing circumstances – or to take advantage of new technologies. Mayor Yarber of Jackson Mississippi discussed how he declared a state of emergency for his water infrastructure, and noted that infrastructure must be at the top of any Administration's agenda - to much applause.

Contact: Adam Krantz at 202/833-4651 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Environmental Justice

NACWA, WERF Host Discussion on Environmental Justice

NACWA and the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) hosted a conference call on May 21 on environmental justice (EJ) issues featuring Charles Lee, Deputy Associate Assistant Administrator for Environmental Justice at EPA. Both NACWA and WERF pointed to the importance of EJ issues for water sector utilities. This included a discussion of how Clean Water Act affordability should be seen as an EJ issue given the disproportionate impact on low-income populations (both urban and rural); the importance of viewing infrastructure projects (green and grey) as jobs programs (see related blog on DC Water’s green infrastructure program and its commitment to hire locally); as well as the need to focus on compliance assurance rather than expensive enforcement proceedings. Lee agreed that the issues NACWA and WERF raised were important, that a broad definition of environmental justice was needed, and that NACWA and WERF should continue to play a key role as EPA moves forward with its EJ agenda, including providing input into the EJ2020 Action Agenda Framework. The comment period on this framework – which will help define EPA’s EJ priorities for the next five years — closes on June 15. Members should submit comments to NACWA before June 10.

Contact: Nathan Gardner-Andrews at 202/833-3692 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

EPA

NACWA Files Comments on Proposed EPA Rulemakings

NACWA filed comments on two separate proposed EPA rulemakings in May. The first proposal, the Methods Update Rule, would make several changes related to Clean Water Act analytical methods. The most notable changes are to EPA’s procedure for determining method detection limits (MDLs). NACWA’s comments  supported EPA’s proposed changes to the MDL procedure, but noted that EPA has still not addressed concerns with its procedure for establishing the minimum level (ML). A number of NACWA Member Agencies also submitted comments on the proposal, including detailed input on the numerous changes EPA is proposing to a range of analytical methods.

NACWA also submitted comments  on an EPA proposed rule that would impose additional e-reporting requirements on sewage sludge incinerators (SSIs) complying with the New Source Performance Standards, as well as any wastewater treatment plants complying with such standards. While there are only a few new source SSIs at this time, EPA intends to roll out these e-reporting requirements to existing sources at some point in the future. NACWA’s comments highlighted a few concerns with EPA’s reporting tool and assumptions regarding burden on the clean water community.

Contact: Chris Hornback at 202/833-9106 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Pretreatment

EPA Requests Additional Information from NACWA Dental Amalgam Survey

EPA has requested that NACWA provide additional information from its Mercury & Dental Amalgam Separator Survey, which was summarized in the Association’s February 20 comments  on the proposed Dental Amalgam Separator Rule . The Agency has asked for individual influent and effluent mercury concentration measurements from each facility that used Method 1631 to measure these concentrations. This data may help EPA calculate a higher mercury removal efficiency than the 90 percent efficiency from the 1982 POTW Study, which was the value used in calculating the benefits of the proposed rule. NACWA has asked the utilities that used Method 1631 to submit this data, if possible. Association members that did not complete the survey, but use Method 1631 for both influent and effluent mercury concentrations, are encouraged to submit this information to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it at NACWA.

During NACWA’s 2015 National Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Workshop in Greenville, SC, May 12-15, EPA staff indicated that they are taking NACWA’s comments on the rule seriously. Jan Matuszko, Chief of the Engineering & Analytical Support Branch of the Office of Water’s Engineering & Analysis Division, spoke regarding EPA’s evaluation of the comments received and stated that the Agency is “exploring approaches to address these comments. We are having some spirited conversations on this topic.” EPA recognizes that the proposal “did not reduce the burden enough” for the POTWs responsible for enforcing the rule, according to Matuszko.

The proposed rule was also the primary topic of conversation during the meeting of NACWA’s Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Committee during the Workshop. Janet Goodwin, Chief of the Technology & Statistics Branch of the Office of Water’s Engineering & Analysis Division, attended a portion of this meeting to listen to the concerns and recommendations of Committee members, which echoed the points made by the Association. Goodwin invited NACWA and its members to submit any information that will help EPA to evaluate the proposal, in addition to the detailed mercury monitoring data already requested.

Contact: Cynthia Finley at 202/533-1836 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Security

Water Sector Coordinating Council Meets with Government Partners to Discuss Security Issues

During meetings on May 18 – 19 in Washington, D.C., the Water Sector Coordinating Council (WSCC) and the sector’s Government Coordinating Council (GCC) discussed priorities related to security, emergency preparedness, and resilience for drinking water and wastewater utilities. NACWA’s two representatives to the WSCC – Patty Cleveland, Assistant Regional Manager with the Trinity River Authority, Texas, and Chair of the WSCC, and Jim Davidson, Manager of Safety & Security for the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District – both participated in the meeting.

The WSCC discussed the ongoing priorities for the sector, including the progress made to date and the needed improvements. Cybersecurity remains a top priority for the sector, with many utilities still vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Both the WSCC and the GCC approved the final report and recommendations  of the Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC) Water Sector Cybersecurity Workgroup. The Workgroup made specific recommendations for providing outreach and training to promote improved cybersecurity in the sector and identified the needed tools for accomplishing this. The water sector associations will be gathering information from their members about current cybersecurity measures, and NACWA’s Security & Emergency Preparedness Committee will be asked to assist with this effort.

Contact: Cynthia Finley at 202/533-1836 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Utility of the Future

Utility of the Future Annual Report Slated for July Release

NACWA, the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF), and WateReuse are co-funding and collaborating to publish the first Water Resources Utility of the Future (UOTF) Annual Report. The report will highlight UOTF developments in the clean water, finance, technology, engineering, and professional association sectors – as well as within federal, state and local governments. It is slated for release in July at NACWA’s 2015 Utility Leadership Conference. The organizations hope to bring attention to the innovative work happening on multiple frontiers to encourage further efforts to advance the UOTF agenda.

NACWA and the collaborating UOTF groups, as well as EPA, are also committed to re-distributing the ground-breaking 2013 report, The Water Resources Utility of the Future: A Blueprint for Action , and related publications from EPA, in advance of the release of the new annual report. NACWA initiated its efforts in this regard with Advocacy Alert 15-08. This will help ensure that this work is fresh in the minds of public agency leaders — whether with large, medium or small utilities — which will maximize these initiatives and practices being adopted as broadly as possible. This effort is being shepherded along by the leadership of NACWA’s Utility & Resource Management Committee and its Industry of the Future Workgroup.

Contact: Adam Krantz at 202/833-4651 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Water Quality

Concerns Raised over EPA’s Tactics in Review of Washington State Standards

NACWA wrote EPA Region 10 Administrator  Dennis McLerran on May 13 expressing concern with his office’s tactics in reviewing the State of Washington’s human health standards. Region 10’s March 2015 letter on Washington’s proposed standards package implied that the state had no other choice but to make their standards identical to not only federal criteria and guidance, but also to EPA’s policy preferences. The state, consistent with existing EPA guidance, had made important policy and risk decisions based on input from stakeholders. But those decisions were contrary to the position taken by EPA Headquarters and Region 10. NACWA’s letter raised concern that EPA’s letter was attempting to coerce the state into developing a standards package that matched the Agency’s position. NACWA’s letter stressed that standards development is a state responsibility as mandated in the Clean Water Act and that efforts by EPA to influence the state must not run afoul of those mandates. NACWA’s letter and this issue have also received some media attention in The Spokesman-Review.

Contact: Chris Hornback at 202/833-9106 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it