Clean Water Current Archive

May 16, 2008

NACWA, Water Sector Associations Talk Pharmaceuticals with Water Office Chief

NACWA, along with representatives from all of the major water sector associations and research organizations, met Tuesday with Ben Grumbles, Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office of Water, and other key Agency staff to discuss the issue of pharmaceuticals in water.  Prompted by the recent Associated Press stories and Senate hearing on the issue, Grumbles convened the meeting to outline EPA's current strategy, to learn more about the water sector's efforts, and to look for opportunities for collaboration.  Grumbles and his staff described a four-pronged approach the Agency will be following in the coming months to address the issue, encompassing improved scientific information (including monitoring and analytical method development), risk communication efforts, partnership and stewardship opportunities, and finally using EPA's regulatory authority when appropriate.  Meeting participants were asked to share their top priorities on the issue, and NACWA underscored the importance of increasing communication and coordination among the various federal agencies with responsibility over pharmaceuticals to improve environmental assessments of drugs before they are approved, provide a more consistent federal message on drug disposal, and to begin to remove barriers to more widespread pharmaceutical take-back programs.

Grumbles is also meeting with other stakeholders, including the environmental activist community, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and the agriculture community.  Water sector officials suggested a possible joint meeting with all these stakeholders to discuss the issue in the near future.  During the meeting Grumbles indicated that there may be interest on Capitol Hill in increasing the amount of monitoring that is currently being done for pharmaceuticals in water.  NACWA and its Emerging Contaminants Workgroup are closely tracking this issue and will keep the membership updated on any new developments.

NACWA Seeks Federal Funding for Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation Needs

Climate change issues continue to be a high priority for Congress as the Senate prepares to vote in June on the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2008 (S. 2191).  NACWA sent a letter May 16 to every member of the Senate stressing that language be added to S. 2191 to provide federal funding for public clean water agency adaptation and mitigation needs.  This is critical because the bill, which seeks to reduce current greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than 15 percent by 2020 and nearly 60 percent by 2050 through an economy-wide cap-and-trade program, does not address adaptation or mitigation concerns for wastewater systems.  Because clean water agencies would not be regulated under the bill — they fall well below the GHG emissions limit of 10,000 carbon equivalents per year — Senate Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee staff have stressed that treatment works  will not be allowed to participate in the cap-and-trade market.  NACWA has been consistently making the case that clean water agencies can still reduce their carbon footprint and, as such, should be eligible to receive emissions credits along with other federal funds for these adaption and mitigation efforts.

NACWA is also asking that members use this climate change letter as a template for their own letters to their Senators on their utilities’ letterhead, urging the Senate to include funding for adaptation and mitigation efforts in S. 2191. It is critical that legislators understand climate change is fundamentally a water resources management issue as the debate shifts to the Senate Floor in June.  Please utilize the May 16 letter while adding any local information that would help garner the support of your Senator.  NACWA thanks you for your action on this issue and requests that you also forward your letters to Byron Deluke 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 or send it to Byron by fax at 202/ 530-7191.

House and Senate Approve Farm Bill, Increase Conservation/Water Quality Funding

The House and Senate this week gave final congressional approval to a five-year, $289 billion farm bill.  The legislation, which boosts federal funding for programs to protect environmentally sensitive lands and water resources to about $25 billion over five years, was approved by a Senate vote of 81-15 and a House vote of 318-106, more than the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto by President Bush.  The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has reported that authorized spending under the farm bill's conservation title would increase about $4 billion under the lifespan of the bill (fiscal years 2008 through 2012). The bill would provide an additional $2.4 billion for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), which offers cost-share assistance to help farmers make environmentally friendly improvements on their land.

As part of the EQIP program, this bill establishes the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP), which was strongly supported by NACWA and other water sector organizations via numerous letters and meetings on Capitol Hill.  AWEP is funded at $73 million for FY 2009 and FY 2010; $74 million for FY 2011; and $60 million for FY 2012.  The program funds partnerships between farmers and other key stakeholders, including water and wastewater agencies, to advance watershed protection efforts.  Finally, the bill includes $690 million over ten years for cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, and made some minor cuts in tax subsidies for ethanol production.  NACWA previously sent a letter April 10 to members of the conference committee urging full funding of the conservation title while calling into question corn-based ethanol subsidies that will only result in high nutrient loading to the nation’s waterways.  Although improvements have been made to this legislation that recognize the nexus between agriculture and water quality, this constitutes a very small step in the right direction and NACWA will continue to make the case that agriculture must be held accountable for its share of water impairment.

NACWA, Municipal Partners Meet with Wastewater Office Officials

NACWA and its partner municipal organizations, including the Water Environment Federation, the American Public Works Association, the National League of Cities, and others met with Jim Hanlon, EPA’s wastewater management office director and key staff Thursday, as part of a regular dialogue with the Agency on municipal issues.  Hanlon and his staff provided updates on several key rulemakings and initiatives, including the peak flows policy, the permit fee rule, and the whole effluent toxicity (WET) implementation guidance.  The peak flow policy continues to linger at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which has now had the policy for nearly two years.  While EPA has had several ‘conversations’ with OMB on the policy over the last few months, there has been little progress made on addressing the remaining issues.  Meeting participants asked whether a recent White House directive instructing federal agencies not to issue any new proposed rules after June 1 or final rules after November 1 in anticipation of the administration change, would have any impact on the blending issue.  Since the peak flows policy is not a formal rulemaking, it should not be impacted by the directive, but Hanlon was not optimistic that it would be finalized before the Bush Administration leaves office.

The permit fee rule, which would provide incentives to states to increase the fees they charge for obtaining a Clean Water Act (CWA) permit, is now at OMB for review.  Though EPA received mostly negative comments, the Agency was directed in its FY 2008 budget to develop the rule and indicated during the meeting that the final version is ‘directionally the same as the proposal.’  Whole effluent toxicity issues are again receiving national attention and EPA staff provided an update on their work to finish the Agency’s WET implementation guidance.  Proposed in 2004, the guidance generally received poor marks from all stakeholders as it severely undermined some of the more flexible implementation approaches being used by states.  No action has been taken since the close of the comment period on the guidance, but EPA has recently ramped up its activities.  EPA is testing some new approaches to interpreting WET test results, including a percent effect approach that NACWA supports, but it will be at least another year before EPA is ready to provide another version of the implementation guidance for public comment.  At the same time that the Agency works on WET implementation issues, it is making clear that it will be taking a hard line on including permit limits for both lethal and sublethal endpoints in CWA permits, and has already federalized one clean water agency permit where sublethal permit limits were not included.

House Committee Approves Sewer Overflow Notification Bill

The House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee this week unanimously approved H.R. 2452, the Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act, which would set a consistent standard for the notification and reporting of sewer overflows.  The T&I Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee approved the bill last week after adopting a manager’s amendment in the nature of a substitute which included revised language for the bill that was the product of several months of discussions between NACWA, American Rivers and key staff from the House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee and Rep. Timothy Bishop’s (D-N.Y.) office.  Please refer to NACWA’s Legislative Alert 08-2 for background on the negotiations and a detailed analysis of the changes made to the legislation.  One development not discussed in the Alert, however, is that the marked-up version of the bill removed the entire Findings section that was contained in the original legislation.  Some of these findings, especially those seeking to link illnesses to sewer overflows, were misleading and their removal constitutes an improvement to the legislation.  NACWA will be meeting with key T&I Committee staff next week to discuss the bill’s conference report — this report will provide clarifications to the bill and could be a critical document should the legislation pass in terms of determining congressional intent regarding the bill’s provisions.  Several clarifications regarding satellite collection systems, the need for a comprehensive sanitary sewer overflow rule, as well as the treatment of combined sewer overflows and long-term control plans under the legislation, are expected to be included in the conference report. NACWA will report to the membership on these discussions and on developments as they take place.

The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee will likely also use the NACWA/American Rivers negotiated language as a substitute for its companion legislation, S. 2080.  The Senate, however, has not set a timetable yet for the bill’s consideration.

Make Your Plans for NACWA’s Summer Conference Today – Limited Space Available!

The Summer Conference & 38th Annual Meeting is approaching!  As you know, our room block at the Hilton Anchorage is filling up, well in advance of the June 17 cut-off date.  Because this situation may change over time, please try initially to secure the reservations you desire 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.  The Marriott is offering a rate of $219 per night (single/double) plus applicable taxes (phone: 907.279.8000; address: 820 West 7th Avenue).  Please indicate that you are a NACWA conference attendee when you make your reservations.

If you are staying at the Marriott and would prefer a room at the Hilton should one become available, or if you are currently holding a room and are no longer planning to attend the 2008 Summer Conference, please contact Tim Jones (phone: 202.533.1805; e-mail: tjones@nacwa.org This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) prior to canceling your reservation so that your room can be assigned to another attendee.  For additional information about the 2008 Summer Conference and 38th Annual meeting, or to register online, visit www.nacwa.org/meetings.