Clean Water Current Archive

NACWA Provides Key Input to Congress on Economic Stimulus Package

NACWA met with congressional staff this week to discuss the contents of an economic stimulus package that could include $5 billion in funding for wastewater infrastructure projects.  As the economy falters, stimulus package discussion between the White House and Congress are on a fast-track.  As a result,  key congressional staff have sought NACWA’s input on financial data, with a focus on “ready-to-go” projects that Association members can put into action within 90 days after passage of such a stimulus package.  As a result, NACWA sent out a Legislative Alert, LA 08-01, asking for immediate member input on the type and cost of such projects.

The response from members was very strong.  The initial responses totaled over $1 billion in identified ready-to-go projects.  Extrapolating these figures to the entire clean water community, NACWA determined that immediate project needs well exceeded the $5 billion in investment being discussed in stimulus package costs.   NACWA provided initial figures to key congressional staff and will be providing a more detailed analysis based on all responses received early next week.  If your agency has not done so, please send your responses to the Legislative Alert to 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 as soon as possible but no later than Tuesday, January 22.  Based on the initial data, staff was appreciative and believed the information would help maximize the possibility of a significant infrastructure piece in the economic stimulus package.

A similar stimulus package discussion took place in 2001 in the wake the 9/11 attacks.  Congress eventually opted for the President’s one-time tax rebate.  This time, however, there is a general consensus in Congress that such a rebate will not be sufficient and a negotiated deal that will include infrastructure funding is likely.  NACWA will continue to work to ensure that a component on wastewater infrastructure funding is included as these talks progress and appreciates the rapid response of its members thus far in making this effort possible.

EPA Releases Green Infrastructure Action Strategy Developed with NACWA Assistance

EPA formally released its Green Infrastructure Action Strategy this week, marking an important step in the collaborative effort between EPA, NACWA, and a number of other partner organizations to help promote the use of green infrastructure techniques.  The release of the Action Strategy was announced by Assistant Administrator for Water Benjamin Grumbles at the start of a two-day EPA-sponsored Green Infrastructure Research Forum in Washington, DC.  The Action Strategy was developed jointly by EPA, NACWA, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA), the Low Impact Development Center (LID Center), and American Rivers.  It outlines a wide variety of efforts that EPA and the partnering organizations intend to pursue over the coming years to reduce stormwater runoff, combined sewer overflows, and nonpoint source pollution through the use of green infrastructure.  Among the broad categories of work identified in the strategy are efforts to increase funding and regulatory credit for green infrastructure projects — both of which are NACWA priorities.  Other areas of work outlined in the strategy include research and development of tools and metrics to better implement green infrastructure techniques.

Release of the Action Strategy follows the announcement last week by EPA of a new publication exploring the use of low impact development strategies to reduce stormwater costs.  Reducing Stormwater Costs through Low Impact Development Strategies and Practices provides information to cities, counties, states, private-sector developers and other interested parties about the costs and benefits of using low impact development as part of stormwater management to help protect and restore water quality.  A copy of the report can be found on the EPA website by clicking here. The document, along with the Action Strategy, provides important information regarding EPA’s efforts and future plans to support the use of green infrastructure in addressing water quality problems.  NACWA looks forward to working with EPA and its other green infrastructure partners on this important effort.

Water Sector Presents United Front on Chemical Security at Key House Meeting

NACWA and representatives from other water sector organizations met with majority staff on the House Homeland Security Committee this week to discuss concerns with draft legislation establishing security requirements for chemical facilities.  Under the draft bill, and of great concern to the water sector, is the fact that clean water and drinking water agencies would no longer be exempt from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chemical security regulations.  Without the exemption, DHS has the discretion to require clean water agencies to submit vulnerability assessments, implement facility security plans, take steps to harden facilities, and potentially switch from chlorine to other treatment alternatives.

In its meeting with majority staff NACWA and fellow water sector agencies — the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), the American Water Works Association (AWWA), and the Water Environment Federation (WEF), among others — explained to staff that drinking water and wastewater treatment agencies should not be regulated under the same regime as private chemical manufacturers and suppliers.  The organizations focused on the fact that the draft legislation places too much discretion in the hands of the DHS Secretary and decisions made under this legislation could interfere with the utilities’ federally-mandated obligations to protect the public health and environment pursuant to the Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water Acts.

Committee staff stated that the discussion was very helpful and raised some key new issues, adding that they would consider the possibility of an exemption or a new title to the bill that reflects the unique concerns of the water sector.  In previous discussions, Republican staff members on the committee have also expressed a willingness to explore an exemption.  The water sector organizations, taking its cue from the discussion of chemical security issues at the Water Associations Summit on January 4 (see 01/04/08 Current), will continue to urge the committee to exempt wastewater and drinking water utilities from this legislation as it progresses.  NACWA believes an exemption remains possible before the bill moves to subcommittee markup, which is scheduled for January 23.  The bill is expected to be quite controversial in both the House and the Senate and opportunities to amend the bill will also be ongoing.  Water sector groups are meeting on Friday to put something in writing for the Committee regarding the exemption and NACWA will continue to report developments on this issue to members as they occur.

NACWA, NAFSMA File Joint Brief in Washington State MS4 Case

NACWA and the National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies (NAFSMA) filed a joint brief Jan. 16 in an appeal of municipal stormwater permits in Washington State, arguing that certain conditions in the permits are at odds with federal Clean Water Act (CWA) requirements for municipal separate stormwater sewer systems (MS4s).  The brief was filed with the state water pollution control hearing board and was submitted at the request of NACWA’s Washington State members, many of which have challenged the recently issued state permits that require MS4 discharges to comply with state water quality standards.  The NACWA brief argues that Congress did not intend the CWA to mandate strict compliance with state water quality standards in MS4 permits, and that federal courts have confirmed in a series of decisions that the “maximum extent practicable” (MEP) standard is the only applicable standard to MS4 discharges.  This position is similar to ones taken by NACWA in previous stormwater litigation matters, including an appeal of the District of Columbia MS4 permit.  More information on the Washington State case and NACWA’s other stormwater litigation can be found on the Litigation Tracking page of the Member Pipeline at www.nacwa.org.

EPA Survey Finds National Needs for Wastewater Treatment Top $200 Billion

EPA’s long-awaited 2004 Clean Watersheds Needs Survey (CWNS), delivered this week to Congress, finds that total capital project needs for publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) now exceed $200 billion.  The Survey, first conducted in 1972, is intended to provide a summary of the costs associated with planned water quality or public health-related projects nationwide over the next 20 years.  The 2004 survey report, which has been under review by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for more than a year, puts the nation’s clean water needs total at $202.5 billion, up 8.6 percent from the previous survey in 2000.  Despite the impressive figure, NACWA continues to believe that EPA’s total vastly underestimates the actual need, due in part to the limits placed on what projects can be included in the survey.  EPA’s total needs figure only includes those projects that are eligible for Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) dollars and that meet rigorous documentation criteria, including justification for any costs estimates.   Projects that were not identified as needs by January 1, 2004, are not included in these estimates.  According to the survey report, the largest increases in national needs were associated with wastewater treatment plant needs, sewer repair needs, and stormwater management program needs.   NACWA has been distributing the Needs Survey’s Executive Summary in support of its advocacy efforts regarding the inclusion of wastewater infrastructure in a likely federal stimulus package (see above) and will be providing additional details on the EPA Needs Survey in upcoming Alerts and Updates.