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

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NACWA Continues to Engage with EPA on Nutrient Survey

NACWA met with senior EPA Office of Science & Technology staff October 5 to discuss the Agency’s ongoing efforts to survey all 15,000+ clean water utilities across the country as part of the first phase of a multi-year study on the performance of secondary treatment at removing nutrients. The Association has already expressed concerns with EPA’s methodology in an August 1 letter, but the Agency remains focused on the use of a survey, administered under Section 308 of the Clean Water Act, to get the information it believes it needs.

NACWA has raised concerns that a survey may not be able to achieve the objectives of the study and that the use of Section 308 – which has traditionally been used with municipal clean water utilities as the initial step of an enforcement proceeding – will immediately put the clean water community in a defensive posture. EPA’s draft screener questionnaire is now out for public comment (see Advocacy Alert 16-12 for additional information) and NACWA is working with members of its Water Quality Committee to pilot the screener. The screener survey still contains some questions relating to wet weather treatment that are unacceptable to Association members, which NACWA and EPA also discussed during the October 5 call. EPA is planning several webinars in November to demonstrate the electronic version of the screener survey (see related story below).

Following the initial comment period, EPA has one more hurdle – a public review process initiated by the White House Office of Management & Budget – before the survey can be sent out. The Association’s leadership will discuss the survey and the broader nutrient issue when it meets November 15-16, during the Fall Strategic Leadership Retreat.

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

EPA Prepares to Send Letter, Host Webinars on Nutrient Survey

EPA is preparing to send a letter to all 15,000+ clean water utilities in the U.S. explaining the purpose of its nutrient removal and secondary treatment study and why the Agency believes it is necessary to conduct the initial screener survey via Section 308 of the Clean Water Act. In addition to the letter, EPA is hosting four webinars to provide background on the study. The webinars will focus on demonstrating the content and electronic format of the draft questionnaire.

The webinars will take place on November 2, 2016 and November 10, 2016 and will be offered at 10:00am-11:30am EST and 2:00pm-3:30pm EST on both dates. Attendees must register in advance, and EPA has indicated that space is limited. Registration for the webinars, a draft of the questionnaire, and more information on the study can be found at the study’s website: https://www.epa.gov/eg/national-study-nutrient-removal-and-secondary-technologies.

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

Dental Amalgam, Phase II Stormwater Rule Discussed with White House Budget Office

NACWA met with the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) on October 13 to discuss two critical rules under final review: EPA’s pretreatment standards requiring amalgam separators in dental offices and the Agency’s Phase II municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) remand rule.

The dental amalgam rule was proposed in October 2014. NACWA submitted comments on the proposal in February 2015. The Association has had many follow-up conversations with EPA and reiterated its main concerns to OMB, which received the final rule from EPA on September 9. Although NACWA has not seen the final rule and how EPA may have addressed the concerns raised in the comment letter, the Association still maintains that the rule should be withdrawn. EPA has failed to demonstrate that the costs of the rule and the impacts on clean water utilities are justified by its environmental benefits. EPA hopes to publish the final rule in December.

In addition to the dental amalgam rule, NACWA also discussed its position on EPA’s Phase II stormwater rule with OMB. EPA proposed the stormwater rule in December 2015 to respond to a federal court ruling on procedural deficiencies with the current Phase II MS4 program. NACWA submitted comments (as well as comments on behalf of the National Stormwater Advocacy Network) in March 2016.

NACWA reiterated the Association’s position that the new rule should be narrowly tailored to address procedural issues identified by the court with the Phase II permitting process and not make any substantive changes to the stormwater program. In particular, NACWA stressed that the rule should not further define the “maximum extent practicable” (MEP) standard for control of MS4 discharges that currently exists under federal law. While NACWA believes – based on conversations with EPA – that the final rule will only be procedural in nature, the Association also wanted to explain its position directly to OMB. EPA is expected to publish the final rule by mid-November.

Contact: Cynthia Finley at 202/533-1836 or  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  or Brenna Mannion at 202/533-1839 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Climate Change & Resiliency

EPA Releases New Climate Resiliency Tool

EPA recently released the anticipated update to its Climate Resilience Evaluation & Assessment Tool (CREAT), providing a newly enhanced resiliency tool for clean water utilities. The online CREAT 3.0 program was designed to help water utility professionals develop climate adaptation plans based on site-specific threats posed by climate change. The update also includes climate projection maps that can model a variety of severe weather situations, such as the precipitation intensity for a 100-year storm. Read the full story from 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 .

FEMA Proposes Plan to Implement Federal Flood Standard

NACWA filed comments on October 20 on the Federal Emergency Management Administration’s proposed Regulations to Implement Executive Order 13690 and the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS). The FFRMS could potentially impact NACWA members if a utility is using federal funding for an infrastructure project that is located in a floodplain, and the FEMA implementation policy would impact those using FEMA funding, e.g. the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.

NACWA’s comments urged FEMA and other federal agencies to work together to ensure that the implementation of the FFRMS is consistent across all agencies involved in the same project, and requested clarity on how green infrastructure installations used to manage wet weather flows would be treated under the FEMA guidelines. Other federal agencies are also required to revise their regulations and operating procedures to incorporate the requirements of the executive order/FFRMS. NACWA will monitor these proposals for their potential impact on clean water utilities as they are published.

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

New Report Outlines Climate Change Impacts on Sewer Overflows

A new report released by the organization Climate Central highlights the potential for increased sewer overflows due to changes in precipitation events as a result of climate change. Overflow: Climate Change, and Sewage notes that this is a particularly challenging issue for combined sewer overflow (CSO) systems, but argues that even substantial upgrades to wastewater collection systems will not be able to completely eliminate overflows in the face of changing precipitation patters.  The report serves as an important reminder of the challenges all clean water utilities confront in addressing overflow issues in the context of climate change.

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

Facilities & Collection Systems

NACWA Urges Flexibility in Great Lakes CSO Notification Requirements

NACWA participated in an EPA listening session on September 14 and submitted comments September 23 regarding EPA’s development of public notification standards for combined sewer overflow (CSO) discharges into the Great Lakes. In its comments, the Association requested that EPA establish flexibility in the requirements to allow utilities to determine the approach that works best for their infrastructure and their communities. NACWA also asked that the Agency not use the word “immediate” to describe the notification, since Congress did not require “immediate” notice in the Fiscal Year 2016 appropriations package that directed EPA to develop the public notification requirements. Read the full story from 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 .

Funding & Finance

EPA to Host Stormwater Financing Forum for New England Utilities

EPA will host a free, two-day meeting for New England stormwater utilities. The event, to be held November 15 and 16 at the University of New Hampshire, will highlight tools, financing options, and local examples to address stormwater compliance costs and help municipalities become more financially and environmentally resilient.  More information is available on EPA’s website.

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

Green Infrastructure

Georgetown Climate Center Offers Green Infrastructure Tools

Utilization of green infrastructure has gained momentum in cities across the country, but local communities and regional coalitions alike face a litany of challenges when undertaking green infrastructure projects, from coordination issues to measuring success. The Georgetown Climate Center’s Adaptation Clearinghouse has developed a Green Infrastructure Toolkit to help “identify and deploy green infrastructure approaches.” Read the full story from 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 . 

Coalition Calls on White House to Address Conservation, Green Infrastructure Tools

NACWA signed an October 14 coalition letter requesting that the White House clarify that rebates issued to property owners under municipal programs to encourage use of water conservation measures or green infrastructure are not taxable income. The letter was spearheaded by the WaterNow Alliance and the National League of Cities, and also included a broad array of municipal signatories. Read the full story from 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 .

Security

Responses Requested to Cybersecurity Awareness Survey

To coincide with National Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October, NACWA and the national water and wastewater associations request your participation in the Water Sector Cybersecurity Awareness Survey.  The associations – in collaboration with the Water Sector Coordinating Council – are working jointly to determine the awareness, by the water and wastewater systems sector, about available best practices and tools for improving cybersecurity, particularly the security of process control systems. The groups also want to identify the challenges the sector faces in implementing best practices.  Both utilities and companies that work with utilities on cybersecurity are requested to participate in the anonymous survey, which should take approximately 5-8 minutes. The response deadline is October 28. Read the full story from 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 . 

Water Quality

Concerns Expressed Regarding Saltwater Copper Criteria Revision

NACWA raised concerns with EPA’s use of the biotic ligand model (BLM) in the revised saltwater criteria for copper in a September 27 letter. While NACWA has previously supported application of the BLM to the saltwater criteria, the Association’s letter stressed that the BLM should not be integrated into the criteria calculation, but instead should be left as an option for use in implementing the criteria. NACWA also raised concerns about relying on too few data points for setting national criteria recommendations. Read the full story from 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 .