» Update Archive

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) is pleased to provide you with the September 2016 Regulatory Update. 

Top Stories

EPA Renews Call to Action on Nutrients, Sets Goal for Monitoring at All Major POTWs

EPA renewed its call to action on nutrients in a September 22 memorandum outlining new and ongoing efforts to make incremental progress on nutrients. The document “highlights the continued need for action to address this challenge” and calls upon states and stakeholders to “renew our commitment and accelerate our efforts” to address nutrient pollution. Of particular note, EPA states it will continue to strongly encourage and support the development of numeric nutrient criteria (NNC) and numeric translators for narrative standards, an issue on which NACWA has raised significant concerns.

On the point source side of things, the memo states that EPA will “work with states to move towards the goal of including monitoring requirements for both total nitrogen and total phosphorus in NPDES permits for major municipal wastewater facilities.” EPA is working with state water regulators to encourage states to move in this direction. On the nonpoint source side, in particular agricultural discharges of nutrients, EPA “urges an acceleration of efforts in this area” and points to recent successes in collaborative partnerships between point and nonpoint sources to address nutrient impairment. The document specifically highlights the Middle Cedar Partnership Project, which is being led by NACWA member the City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).

The new memo recommits the Agency to the approach it first laid out in a March 2011 memorandum, which emphasizes making progress to address nutrient on all fronts while states continue to develop NNC for nitrogen and phosphorus. EPA had grown frustrated with the lack of progress being made by the states on developing NNC, and issued its 2011 memo in an effort to jumpstart work in other areas.

The September 22 memo is just the latest action from this EPA on the nutrient front. NACWA has also been actively engaged in EPA’s plans to conduct a survey of the nutrient performance of secondary treatment, (see related article below) which is now cited in the new memo as a way to “support states and their communities” as they look for cost-effective ways to reduce nutrient loads.

NACWA plans to discuss EPA’s continued full court press on nutrients during its upcoming Fall Strategic Leadership Retreat and Board of Directors Meeting, November 15-16. The Association is also planning to convene a Nutrient Summit in Spring 2017 to further develop an appropriate advocacy strategy on nutrient issues moving forward.

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

Stormwater Rule Goes to White House for Review

EPA sent a final rule changing the Phase II federal stormwater regulations for small municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s), also known as the Remand Rule, to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review on September 17. In response to a court order, EPA is making changes to the Phase II program to increase public engagement during the stormwater general permitting process. The deadline set by the court for a final rule is November 17, 2016. NACWA will continue to engage with both OMB and EPA over the next two months to ensure the comments the Association submitted in March on the rule proposal are considered in full.

EPA proposed the Remand Rule in December 2015 modifying the national small MS4 program to comply with a 2003 federal court ruling and a subsequent 2014 legal petition identifying flaws with the current public participation process for Phase II permits. According to EPA, the Remand Rule is intended to be a narrow response to the Court’s requirements to address procedural and participatory deficiencies in the current regulations. NACWA has been closely involved with EPA as it drafted the rule and has emphasized that any changes to the small MS4 program should be procedural in nature only and not have any significant substantive consequences for MS4 permittees.

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

International Wastewater Position on Wipes

NACWA has signed on to an international water industry position statement on non-flushable and “flushable” labeled products, which addresses wipes and other personal hygiene products. NACWA has been focused on the wipes issue for several years as part of its Toilets Are Not Trashcans campaign to keep inappropriate products and unnecessary product additives out of sewer systems to protect water quality and the pipes, pumps, plants, and personnel of the nation’s wastewater utilities.

The position statement was written by an international group of wastewater utilities and associations that has been discussing the wipes issue as part of an ongoing process to develop an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) technical specification on flushability.

As NACWA and other wastewater associations continue to work on improving flushability standards and the labeling of non-flushable products, as well as educating the public that toilets are not trashcans, the international position statement will demonstrate to lawmakers and government agencies across the globe that the wastewater industry has a unified approach to the wipes issue. Read the full analysis in Advocacy Alert 16-12.

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

EPA Proceeds with Study on Secondary Treatment, Nutrients

EPA is moving forward with plans to conduct a multi-year study of the nutrient removal performance of secondary treatment facilities, publishing a Federal Register notice on September 19th to officially propose a screener survey for public review and comment.

EPA shared a preliminary draft of the screener survey with NACWA in July, and the Association outlined several concerns in an August 1 comment letter. A top issue is the Agency’s planned use of its authority under Section 308 of the Clean Water Act to conduct the survey. Section 308 letters often proceed enforcement actions and NACWA’s letter strongly encouraged EPA to pursue other options than Section 308 to collect the information. NACWA and the Agency met several times to discuss the issue, and while EPA believes it must use Section 308 to ensure a sufficient response rate, it agreed to include language indicating that the information it was collecting would only be used for research or statistical purposes. EPA’s response to NACWA’s August 1 letter outlines the Agency’s rationale for using Section 308 and discusses how the screener survey would be updated to address many of the Association’s comments.

NACWA has reviewed the revised screener questionnaire and plans to provide comments, in addition to working directly with EPA staff as the Agency proceeds with the study. Advocacy Alert 16-12 provides a summary of the issue and an analysis of the major changes made to the questionnaire. NACWA will also plans to elevate its concerns with the use of Section 308 to key political leaders at EPA to make clear the significant issues presented by this approach.

The Agency plans to send the screener survey to every clean water utility in the country, most likely in early 2017. EPA believes it needs the screener survey to establish a statistical baseline and to help identify which subset of utilities should receive a more detailed survey and be required to provide information on influent and effluent nutrient levels.

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

Biosolids

EPA Briefs NACWA On New Sludge Survey

EPA is in the planning and development stage for a new sewage sludge survey intended to update its Targeted National Sewage Sludge Survey, conducted in 2006 and 2007. The Agency is currently planning to sample the same 70+ utilities that participated in the previous survey. The report from the last survey, including the list of facilities that participated, is available here.  EPA briefed NACWA members on September 14.  Read the full story in the Clean Water Current.

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

Emerging Contaminants

FDA Bans Triclosan in Consumer Soaps

In an important victory for NACWA's Toilets Are Not Trashcans campaign, the Food & Drug Administration published a final rule on September 2nd banning triclosan and 19 other antibacterial ingredients from consumer soaps. NACWA supported this ban in 2014 comments, after working for many years with other organizations to eliminate or reduce the use of triclosan and other ingredients in consumer products that are washed down the drain and may be harmful to the wastewater treatment process and the environment.

The FDA ban applies to products that are intended to be washed off with water, and does not apply to consumer hand sanitizers or wipes, or to products intended for use in health care settings. Other products will be considered by the FDA in the future and NACWA will keep members informed about these actions.

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

NACWA Supports Label Instructions for Swimming Pool Discharges

NACWA supported EPA’s proposed label language for its registration review of lithium hypochlorite, an antimicrobial chemical used in swimming pools, in comments submitted on September 12. Since antimicrobials can potentially interfere with the biological processes used to treat wastewater or have adverse aquatic impacts if discharged into storm drains, the Association agreed with EPA’s proposed instructions that state, “Before draining a treated pool, spa, or hot tub, contact your local sanitary sewer and storm drain authorities and follow their discharge instructions.”  Read the full story in the Clean Water Current.

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

Energy

Green Power, Legislative Update Slated for Oct. 6 Energy Workgroup Discussion

NACWA’s Energy Workgroup will have a virtual meeting on October 6 centered on how wastewater treatment plants manage energy demands while maximizing the utilization of green power. David Duest, Co-chair of the Workgroup, will give a presentation on the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority’s (MWRA) advanced Deer Island Treatment Plant, which employs a variety of renewable energy sources in the operation of the plant, including digester gas, solar and wind energy.

The webinar will also cover legislative issues related to energy production in the municipal clean water sector. In particular, the discussion will address the various points of NACWA’s letter to Members of Congress participating in the conference committee on the Energy Bill regarding key provisions important to clean water utilities. If you are interested in participating in the web meeting, please contact Oliver Hamilton, NACWA’s Manager of Government Affairs at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Contact: Oliver Hamilton at (202) 533-1801 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

Water Sector Groups Meet with DOE Secretary Moniz

The water sector associations held a meeting with the Secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE), Ernest Moniz, and several of his top staff to discuss energy-water nexus issues and ensure they remain a priority during the post-election transition period. The meeting was organized by the Water Research Foundation (WRF) and included NACWA, the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WE&RF), the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), the American Water Works Association (AWWA), and the National Association of Water Companies (NAWC).

Moniz expressed an interest in greater institutional integration between the electric industry and water/wastewater utilities, where the latter are large energy users but are also increasingly finding ways to reduce and produce energy. Moniz encouraged the organizations to develop a white paper outlining energy-water nexus priorities for the water sector to guide the transition team for the next administration. Read the full story in the Clean Water Current.

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

NPDES Program

Deadline for Permittees to Electronically Report NPDES Info Looms

A number of important deadlines in the final National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Electronic Reporting Rule are quickly approaching. The rule was published last year in the Federal Register and kicked off a series of key milestones for both NPDES programs and permittees.

The first major milestone for wastewater treatment plants relates to Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs). DMRs are included in the first phase of the two-phased implementation schedule, and are required to be electronically transmitted beginning December 21, 2016, one year after the effective date of the final rule. While NPDES programs have spent the last year preparing for this deadline, and many utilities are already submitting DMRs to their states electronically, any who are not will need to prepare to provide their DMRs to their regulatory authority by December. Read the full story in the Clean Water Current.

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

Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention

Dental Amalgam Rule Submitted for White House Review

EPA’s final Dental Amalgam Separator Rule has been submitted to the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) for review. EPA initially proposed the rule in October 2014, and NACWA submitted comments in February 2015 recommending that the rule be withdrawn due to its high cost and low environmental benefits. The Association has had many follow-up discussions with EPA about its comments and the impacts of the proposed rule on utilities, and EPA has stated that it is considering the Association’s recommendations for modifying the rule.

NACWA will soon request a meeting with OMB to discuss the rule. Since NACWA has not seen the final rule, it continues its opposition and will do so until the rule can be fully analyzed by the Association and its Member Agencies.

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 & Emergency Preparedness

WSCC Discusses Response Procedures for Cybersecurity Incidents

The Water Sector Coordinating Council (WSCC) held its quarterly meeting on September 7 and addressed cybersecurity issues. During the meeting, the WSCC and EPA discussed the Agency’s draft coordination procedures for responding to a significant cybersecurity incident in the water sector. EPA is required to establish these procedures in Presidential Policy Directive (PPD) 41 – United States Cyber Incident Coordination. The WSCC was also briefed on recent cyber and physical threats to water systems by the WaterISAC.  Read the full story in the Clean Water Current.

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

NACWA Discusses Big Data, Smart Utility Issues with Senior Water Office Staff

NACWA met with Andrew Sawyers, Director of the Office of Wastewater Management (OWM) in EPA’s Office of Water, and other senior OWM staff September 6, to discuss the Association’s ongoing efforts on the smart utility front. The Association is working to ensure that federal policies and regulations enable utilities to take advantage of the latest monitoring and analysis technology, but within a regulatory environment that provides sufficient flexibility to explore and implement such innovative solutions in a manner that makes sense for each utility on an individual basis. Read the full story in the Clean Water Current.

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

Water Quality

Association Weighs In on EPA Guidance for Fish Consumption Surveys

NACWA submitted comments September 13 on draft guidance from EPA on conducting fish consumption surveys when developing human health criteria. The guidance is intended to assist the states in estimating the amount of fish being consumed so they can develop protective criteria for toxic materials present in the fish tissue, but NACWA’s comments raised concerns over new concepts EPA has included in the guidance for the first time.  Read the full story in the Clean Water Current.

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

Wet Weather

Legal Challenges Mount to Massachusetts Small Stormwater Permit

A number of legal challenges have been filed in recent weeks to EPA’s 2016 Massachusetts Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) General Permit, raising the likelihood that the permit will force federal court consideration of a number of key elements of EPA’s stormwater program.  The permit was finalized in April 2016 and will become effective July 1, 2017.  After the public comment period, EPA updated the final permit, but many permittees felt those changes failed to address key municipal concerns. NACWA is reviewing the legal challenges and has been in cotact with a number of the petitioners to evaluate potential involvement in the litigation moving forward. Read the full story in the Clean Water Current.

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

Clean Water Community Speaks Out on Great Lakes CSOs

NACWA and several of its Member Agencies provided input at a September 14 public listening session for EPA’s development of public notification requirements for combined sewer overflow (CSO) discharges into the Great Lakes. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewerage District, and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District also attended the session to provide statements about the notification requirements, and participate in an open discussion about the questions posed in the Federal Register notice announcing the session. Read the full story in the Clean Water Current.

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