Clean Water Current Archive

June 6, 2008

NACWA Files Brief in Key Land Application Biosolids Case

NACWA filed a brief this week supporting a number of member agencies from Southern California in their legal battle against a ban on the land application of biosolids that could have a significant impact in other parts of the nation.  The NACWA brief (PDF), which was filed June 2 with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in the case City of Los Angeles v. County of Kern, supports the Association’s long-standing position that individual municipalities should be able to choose the method of biosolids management that works best for their communities, including the option of land application.  The brief discusses the critical role land application plays for many clean water utilities across the country to meet their environmental mandates and outlines the difficulties these utilities would face if land application bans became widespread.   The brief also highlights the safety and agricultural benefits of land applying biosolids when done in compliance with state and federal regulations and stresses the primacy of state and federal regulatory efforts over misguided local attempts to enact land application bans.

NACWA filed the brief at the request of the city of Los Angeles, Orange County Sanitation District, and Sanitation District No. 2 of Los Angeles County — member agencies that are fighting a ban on land application initiated by Kern County, Calif. in 2006.   All three utilities have safely land-applied biosolids for agricultural purposes in Kern County for many years, but would have been prevented from continuing to do so under the terms of the ban.  A lower court blocked implementation of the ban on the grounds that it violated federal and state law but an appeal was lodged by Kern County, leading to the current litigation.  NACWA will continue to track developments in this case and report back to the membership.

Climate Change Legislation in Senate Stalls; Focus Turns to Next Congress

Work on the Climate Security Act of 2008, (S. 3036), which seeks to cut greenhouse gas emissions 70 percent from industrial sources by 2050 through a cap-and-trade program, ended Friday after supporters failed to secure enough votes to move forward.  It was introduced May 21 as a substitute amendment for the Climate Security Act of 2007 (S. 2191), which was approved by the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee in December 2007.   The so-called cloture vote is the only way the Senate can overcome a filibuster on a bill and proceed to consideration of amendments or passage of a bill.  Since Democratic the cloture vote did not pass, Democratic leaders pulled the bill from the floor altogether and not bring it up again until 2009.  However, the effort on the Senate floor marks an important milestone in what promises to be a protracted discussion in the next Congress and beyond about how to address global climate change and its effects on water resources and the nation’s public clean water agencies.

Publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) would not have been regulated under S. 3036 but may have benefitted from some of the provisions, including a section that would have allowed them to develop projects that create emissions “offsets” that could be sold to high-emitting sources and generate significant revenue for plant operators.  The bill also allocated free emissions allowances to states and municipalities for adaptation and mitigation activities (See LA 08-03 for details).  While most figured the bill would not pass this year, its consideration was hampered by procedural moves on the Senate floor that frustrated debate on its provisions.  However, its demise may free up the Senate to work on other measures of interest to the clean water community, including legislation to reauthorize the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act and to set national standards for monitoring and reporting sewer overflows and pass a reauthorization bill for the clean water state revolving fund (CWSRF) with significantly higher funding levels.  Most agree that S. 3036 is not likely to pass largely because of opposition from a majority of Senate  Republicans led by James Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the EPW committee, and by the White House.  Regardless, this week’s debate will set the scene for Senate action in 2009.

House Climate Bill to Target POTWs
Meanwhile, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) introduced the Investing in Climate Action and Protection Act (ICAP), (H.R. 6186) (PDF), June 4, which is similar in concept to the Senate bill, but more stringent with an emission-reduction goal of 85 percent by the year 2050.  POTWs would not be regulated under the cap, but would be subject to mandatory performance standards to reduce emissions of methane and nitrous oxide.  This is the first federal bill that has specifically targeted wastewater agencies.  NACWA is working to distribute an in-depth Legislative Alert early next week that will detail H.R. 6186 and what it means for wastewater agencies.  The Association will also continue to meet with House staff to ensure that POTWs are not inappropriately covered by this bill.  However, like its Senate counterpart, this bill is not likely to pass and may not even see much committee time since it falls within the jurisdiction of several House committees, but primarily Energy and Commerce.

In a related matter, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee reported out legislation (H.R.  5770) calling on the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to study the impacts climate change will have on water resources and water quality.  This information will be useful as NACWA advocates for funding to help its member agencies adapt to the possibility of rising sea levels, increased precipitation in some areas, and drought in others.

Blumenauer Seeks Input on Specifics as Work on Clean Water Trust Fund Bill Progresses

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), who is in the process of crafting legislation setting up and clean water trust fund, seeks input into specific aspects of the bill, his legislative director said at a meeting today with the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN) hosted by NACWA.  Blumenauer is interested in introducing a trust fund bill this year, but wants to release a draft to key parties, including NACWA, beforehand to get their comments, his aide said.  The bill, to date, does not vary much from the one-page summary (PDF) released this spring and follows closely with the 2005 draft WIN bill.  The Blumenauer draft identifies six revenue sources for funding the $10 billion water trust fund annually.  These are a 5-cent per bottle tax on bottled water, estimated to generate about $1 billion; a 3-percent excise on “flushables” to generate about $3.5 billion; a tax on the discharge of certain toxic chemical pollutants, which would create about $2-4 billion annually; a tax on pesticides and fertilizers to generate about $1 billion annually; a corporate environmental income tax similar to what is available for superfund that would generate $1 billion, and a pharmaceutical tax of 1 percent, with the amount this would raise yet to be determined.  While the taxing provisions of the bill could generate significant opposition, Blumanauer said the bill is justified by the great need to upgrade our water infrastructure.  NACWA and WIN members will continue to work with Blumenauer and his staff to educate the public and members of Congress about the importance of a federal commitment to clean water in the form of a trust fund.

NACWA Seeks Member Comment on House’s Draft Pharmaceutical Research Bill

Reps. McCarthy (D-N.Y.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) have asked NACWA to review and comment on draft legislation (PDF)  they are considering that would require EPA to research the presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in drinking water supplies.  The draft requires EPA to identify the types and levels of PPCPs that have been detected in drinking water supplies; the sources of the PPCPs; and the effects of the PPCPs on human health, aquatic animal life and aquatic wildlife.  In identifying the sources of PPCPs in source water, the draft bill also calls on EPA to examine wastewater effluent and agricultural runoff.  The bill requires an initial report within one year of enactment on the aforementioned issues and then a follow-up report one year later on methods: 1) to regularly monitor the pharmaceutical content of drinking water; 2) to more safely dispose of unused PPCPs; 3) to improve the treatment of water discharged from wastewater treatment plants; and 4) to reduce the amount of excess active ingredients in PPCPs.

This draft bill exemplifies the heightened level of concern that PPCPs in water has generated on Capitol Hill, especially in the wake of several Associated Press (AP) articles and congressional hearings on this issue.  In fact, AP is continuing to write follow-up stories on concerns related to PPCPs in the nation’s waters and interviewed NACWA this week on a story involving EPA’s consideration of effluent limitation guidelines for the health care sector that would address PPCPs — an approach that NACWA opposed in comments to the Agency.  NACWA is asking that members contact Adam Krantz at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it with any input you may have on this bill as soon as possible.  There is no schedule yet for the bill’s introduction but NACWA will provide a summary of NACWA members’ concerns to the staff of Reps. McCarthy and Baldwin.

Register Today for the 2008 Summer Conference

NACWA’s 2008 Summer Conference, The Future of Clean Water is Now! How Next Generation Issues are Impacting Utilities Today, will take place July 15-18, at the Hilton Anchorage in Alaska.  With 35 years of Clean Water Act (CWA) implementation behind us, municipalities are now facing new challenges, including those posed by climate change and new regulations to address nutrients and wet weather. NACWA’s 2008 Summer Conference & 38th Annual Meeting  will explore many of the ‘next-gen’ challenges that are already manifesting themselves and discuss new approaches, including the possibility of entirely new legislation on water, which will guide us through the next 35 years. Other speakers at the 2008 Summer Conference will discuss how current efforts to recover methane and reduce energy consumption at clean water agencies may play a bigger role in the coming years as climate change and a potential cap-and-trade regime create opportunities for those who can offer ‘green’ credits or offsets for carbon emissions. 

Join Your Colleagues in Anchorage – Register Today!
A detailed 2008 Summer Conference program, online registration and complete information on hotels are available on NACWA’s website.  The response to early promotion of the Summer Conference has been very strong – resulting in our room block at the Hilton Anchorage filling to capacity well in advance of the June 17 cut-off date.  Because this situation may change, please try to first secure a reservation at the Hilton Anchorage.  If they are unable to accommodate you, NACWA has arranged for a small block of rooms at the Anchorage Marriott Downtown, a short walk away.  We look forward to seeing you at the 2008 Summer Conference!