The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) is pleased to provide you with the November 2008 Regulatory Update.  This Update provides a narrative summary of relevant regulatory issues and actions current to November 13, 2008. Please contact NACWA’s Chris Hornback at 202/833-9106 or 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 Cynthia Finley at 202/296-9836 or cfinley@nacwa.org This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it with any questions or information on the Update topics.

Top Story

NACWA to Engage Obama, Transition Team on Clean Water Priorities

With the 2008 election over, NACWA is engaging the transition team for President-Elect Barack Obama to highlight the clean water community’s priority issues in the coming year.  Obama’s transition team is moving forward with advancing potential appointments and refining its position on key clean water policy issues.

NACWA has sent a letter identifying the clean water community’s top policy recommendations to Obama’s transition team and other key aides who will be vetting candidates for EPA administrator, assistant administrator for water, and other significant positions.  Candidates for EPA administrator reportedly include Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board and an EPA official under President Clinton, Kathleen McGinty, former head of Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection, Kathleen Sebelius, Kansas governor, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr, an environmental lawyer.  NACWA’s letter specifically identifies issues such as nutrient controls, watershed-based approaches, climate change, and wet weather issues as priorities.  The transition to a new administration and new Congress is a unique opportunity to articulate and advance these priorities and to ensure that political appointees are aware of, and prepared to consider, these issues.

Air Quality & Climate Change

NACWA Meets with GAO, Provides Input to Climate Change Adaptation Report

At the request of Rep. Ed Markey, Chair of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is beginning a study on the response of different sectors to climate change.  The objectives of the study are to determine what all levels of government are doing to adapt to a climate-driven environment, what challenges communities are facing in adapting to climate change, and what actions can government take to deal with these challenges.  NACWA met with GAO representatives on November 5 to provide information about the needs of wastewater utilities in adapting to climate change and about the work done by the Association has done and has underway regarding climate change. 

To provide information about the concerns and challenges of wastewater utilities in the face of climate change, NACWA gave GAO copies of its white paper, Climate Change: Emerging Issues for Clean Water Agencies, and the summary of discussions that occurred at the 2007 Water Sector Forum on Climate Change.  NACWA emphasized that climate change is fundamentally a water issue, and that significant government investment is needed for research on climate change and water issues, so that utilities have the appropriate information when considering adaptation measures.  NACWA also discussed the regulatory changes that should be made to enable clean water agencies to address water issues that will become even more important with climate change, such as water reuse and addressing water quality via a watershed approach.  Depending on scoping discussions being undertaken by GAO, a full study on this topic is not expected to be completed for at least nine months.

AMWA Completes Database of Climate Change and Water Research

The Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) has completed a database of climate change and water research, which is available at http://www.amwa.net/cs/climatechange.  This database was initiated in part because of the discussions that arose at the 2007 Water Sector Forum on Climate Change sponsored by NACWA and AMWA in December 2007.  The database is searchable by governmental agency, person, document or project name, keyword, and topic area.  Topic areas included are water quality, water quantity, drinking water, wastewater, mitigation, adaptation, and modeling, among others.  The database primarily contains federally funded projects and documents, such as Climate Change Science Program synthesis projects.  Peer-reviewed documents are not included in this version of the database. 

The database will be updated on a regular basis, and comments and suggestions on how to improve the database are welcome.  Please send comments to AMWA’s Erica Brown at brown@amwa.net This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .  AwwaRF (soon to be the Water Research Foundation) plans to fund a climate change clearinghouse project, which will complement the database work.

Biosolids Management

NACWA Comments on EPA Document on Pathogen Risk Assessment for Biosolids

NACWA recently provided EPA with comments on a document titled Draft Problem Formulation for Human Health Risk Assessments of Pathogens in Land-Applied Biosolids.  The document, developed by EPA’s Office of Research and Development, is one element of the Agency’s 2004 action plan that sets its priorities in the area of biosolids management.  Other efforts on pathogens being led by EPA’s Office of Science and Technology and the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) will likely be more relevant for NACWA members in the future, but this document will no doubt factor into those other initiatives.  The problem formulation document provides a good summary of the existing literature on the subject and describes a logical process for development of a model and risk assessment framework based on previously published reports. 

NACWA’s comments noted that the document could be improved through the addition of an executive summary and a conclusion section, namely to highlight key summary statements captured in Appendix A of the report, including the statement that a causal association between exposure to pathogens in biosolids and adverse effects on human health has not been documented.  NACWA’s letter went on to state that based on its review of the document, the Association believes that there are sufficient data gaps to prevent the development of a risk-based regulatory approach for pathogens in biosolids at this time.  Research being conducted by WERF and others will address several of the data gaps that may in the future allow such a risk-based approach, and NACWA encouraged EPA’s research office to continue to advance and support efforts to fill the remaining data gaps.

Emerging Contaminants

Major Changes to EPA Pesticide Rules Will Improve Environment, Help Protect Treatment Process

Reversing its long-standing stance that antimicrobial pesticides used in homes and businesses do not impact water quality due to ‘dilution and degradation,’ EPA recently unveiled a proposed rule that would require pesticide manufacturers to submit a significant amount of new information on the antimicrobial products they wish to sell in the United States.  NACWA and other representatives from the clean water community discussed the proposal with EPA officials during a public workshop on November 6.

Over the past several years, NACWA has advocated for additional scrutiny of products before they are approved and brought to market in the U.S. to fully evaluate their impact on water quality.  This EPA proposal would make significant improvements to the current assessment procedures for down-the-drain pesticide products, increasing our understanding of their full life-cycle impacts before they are approved by EPA.

During the public workshop, EPA described the ‘Down-the-Drain’ model that it will use to assess the impacts of antimicrobial pesticides on the wastewater treatment process itself and the aquatic environment.  NACWA raised the issue of biosolids, and noting that a full accounting of the environmental impact of these down-the-drain pesticides must also include a consideration of their impact on biosolids, especially those that are beneficially reused.  When it first developed its data requirements for pesticides, EPA did not account for the unique uses of antimicrobial pesticides (e.g., spray disinfectants and toilet cleaners) and did not require any environmental impact data for those pesticides used indoors, assuming that anything that made its way down the drain to a wastewater treatment plant would have little impact due to dilution, degradation along the way, and eventual treatment.

NACWA is currently reviewing the proposed rule and is soliciting feedback on the proposal from its members.  Additional details on the proposal are available via Regulatory Alert 08-05.  The Association will submit comments to EPA by the January 6, 2009 deadline.

Consumer Products Dialogue Meeting to Address Antimicrobials, NACWA Members Welcome

A December 4 meeting of the National Dialogue on Safe and Sustainable Consumer Products to discuss environmental impacts and regulation of antimicrobial pesticides in consumer products will be held by NACWA at its Washington, D.C. office and members are invited to join us.  The dialogue was established to address concerns by NACWA members and other stakeholders over the growing number of consumer products with ingredients or additives that may end up in the sewer system and eventually be released into the environment.   Although the dialogue effort includes all types of potential contaminants from consumer products, the December 4 meeting will focus specifically on antimicrobials such as triclosan and nanosilver, with discussions about the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars report, Silver Nanotechnologies and the Environment: Old Problems or New Challenges?, and EPA’s proposed rule on data requirements for antimicrobial pesticides (see story above).  Dialogue participants will share information about their own work on antimicrobials and discuss opportunities for collaboration to work on issues associated with antimicrobials discharged into the sewer system.  NACWA members interested in participating in this meeting and the broader dialogue effort should contact Cynthia Finley at cfinley@nacwa.org This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.

Facilities and Collection Systems

NRC Stormwater Report Recommends Watershed Permitting, Increased Federal Funding

The National Research Council (NRC) issued a report on October 15 that identified watershed-based permitting and increased federal funding to state and local governments as critical components of future efforts to better manage stormwater runoff.  The report, Urban Stormwater Management in the United States, finds that “the course of action most likely to check and reverse degradation of the nation’s aquatic resources would be to base all stormwater and other wastewater discharge permits on watershed boundaries instead of political boundaries” and calls on EPA to implement watershed-based permitting within the next five to 10 years.  As part of this new permitting structure, the report recommends that municipalities implement and regulate watershed permits, working with both point and nonpoint sources to improve water quality.  The plan would incorporate a variety of techniques to reduce water pollution, including water quality trading and green infrastructure.  These recommendations for watershed-based permitting and innovative solutions echo the NACWA Strategic Watershed Task Force’s call for a holistic, watershed-based approach to water quality, as described in its October 2007 report, Recommendations for a Viable and Vital 21st Century Clean Water Policy. 

NRC also echoes NACWA’s call for increased federal investment in clean water.  The NRC report recommends a substantial increase in federal funding to implement the watershed approach, noting that “EPA should seek significant congressional funding to support the states and municipalities in undertaking this new program, in the nature of the support distributed to upgrade municipal wastewater treatment plants after the 1972 passage” of the Clean Water Act.  Such funding would aid municipalities as they take on a new and more critical role in implementing and overseeing a new generation of watershed permits.  NACWA looks forward to working with EPA and other stakeholders to implement many of the NRC report recommendations.

EPA Proposes Rule on NPDES Program Information Reporting

NACWA participated in a public listening session on October 14 regarding a proposed EPA rule on NPDES Program Management Information.  The rule would identify NPDES permitting, enforcement, and compliance data that delegated states would be required to provide to EPA through the Integrated Compliance Information System for NPDES (ICIS-NPDES), which would replace the Permit Compliance System (PCS).  Currently, 28 states have already switched from PCS to ICIS-NPDES, with four more planning to switch next year.  EPA believes the rule would help EPA to manage and evaluate the national NPDES program, while keeping Congress and the public better informed of its performance.  EPA stated that the rule would not impose any additional reporting burden on facilities with NPDES permits.  Comments issued by the Association of State & Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA), however, state that the rule could increase the workload — at the same time that budgets are being cut — for state environmental programs, requiring resources to be shifted away from other NPDES activities, such as permitting.  NACWA will follow the development of this proposed rule and keep members informed about any potential impacts on NPDES permit holders.

Meetings and Conferences

Ben Grumbles Featured at NACWA Hot Topics Breakfast at WEFTEC

NACWA’s annual Hot Topics Breakfast at WEFTEC on October 21 featured Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water, Ben Grumbles, and his key office directors, Jim Hanlon, Craig Hooks and Ephraim King.  Nutrient issues were the top focus of discussions with specific attention paid to the recent Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) petition and another petition seeking stricter nutrient controls for the Gulf of Mexico watershed.  King noted that both petitions would technically apply nationwide and thanked NACWA for its comments on the NRDC petition, for working with the states to increase the amount of data the Agency has on nutrient removal issues, and its overall leadership on this critical issue.  A NACWA member representative from the City of Olathe, Kansas – who is also a part-time farmer – highlighted the need for better collaboration between point and nonpoint sources of nutrients, noting that funding levels for farmer-led conservation efforts are not as large as some may think and that there needs to be a greater push for trading and offsets where treatment plants can work with farmers to get nutrient reductions upstream.  EPA also cited the leadership of NACWA member, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, on looking at wetlands and nutrient capture downstream from their plants.  Both Grumbles and Hanlon expressed an interest in the work of the Association’s Strategic Watershed Task Force and sought to further discuss how the Task Force’s recommendations could be put into action.

Save the Date for NACWA’s 2009 Pretreatment and Pollution Prevention Workshop

The NACWA 2009 National Pretreatment and Pollution Prevention Workshop will be held March 25-27 at the Hilton Charlotte University Place in Charlotte, North Carolina.  NACWA is pleased to announce that for the first time since 2004, the Workshop will be held in conjunction with the 2009 EPA-States National Pretreatment Meeting.  The EPA-States meeting will occur in the same location, prior to the NACWA Workshop, enabling more EPA staff and state regulators to attend the Workshop and interact with Workshop participants.  An informative agenda is being planned for the Workshop, including cutting-edge pollution prevention topics as well as traditional issues of concern for pretreatment professionals.  More information about the Workshop and a draft agenda will be coming soon.

Pretreatment and Pollution Prevention

NACWA Submits Comments on EPA Health Services Pharmaceutical Disposal Survey

NACWA submitted comments on November 10 on EPA’s proposed information collection request (ICR) for its Study of Unused Pharmaceuticals from Medical and Veterinary Facilities, supporting the ICR and giving recommendations for improvements.  EPA is seeking to collect data on pharmaceutical disposal practices as part of the Agency’s detailed study of the Health Services Industry for the Effluent Guidelines Program.  Draft surveys have been developed for facilities that treat people or animals to determine current practices of pharmaceutical disposal, the quantities and types of pharmaceuticals disposed, and the factors that influence disposal decisions.  EPA is also trying to determine what best management practices (BMPs) could be implemented to reduce the generation of unused pharmaceuticals, how BMPs would reduce pharmaceutical disposal to the sewer system, and the cost of BMPs or alternative disposal methods.  Using input from its members, NACWA provided suggestions for improving the surveys and reiterated its position that “establishing effluent guidelines is not the most effective way to reduce the amount of unused pharmaceuticals entering the wastewater stream.  Instead, the federal government should provide consistent guidance on proper pharmaceutical handling and break down existing regulatory barriers to pharmaceutical collection and take-back programs.”  NACWA will continue to follow developments in this study and other pharmaceutical disposal issues.

Security and Emergency Preparedness

Water Sector Decontamination Strategy Released

The Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC) Water Sector Decontamination Working Group has released its final report, Recommendations and Proposed Strategic Plan: Water Sector Decontamination Priorities.  The Working Group decided on 35 recommendations on how to address water sector decontamination needs, and the report describes a five-year strategic plan for addressing these recommendations, which fall into four general categories:  supporting information and capabilities; decontamination and treatment methods and technologies; policy decisions; and outreach and communications.  The report is intended to be used by the Sector Coordinating Council (SCC) and Government Coordinating Council (GCC), as well as by research organizations, to help focus water sector efforts on decontamination.  NACWA continues to be involved in the work of the SCC and will keep members informed about the work of the Council.

Water Quality

EPA Releases New Data on Novel Selenium Water Quality Criteria

EPA issued a Notice of Availability on October 27 concerning results from additional testing on selenium toxicity to aquatic life.  The information discussed in the Notice will be used by EPA in setting revised selenium water quality criteria.  EPA first proposed to revise the selenium criteria in December 2004, when it outlined a draft tissue-based criterion derived to protect aquatic life, the first of its kind.  NACWA provided substantial comments on that proposal, noting that the criterion had been based on a single study.  NACWA commented that “national criteria should only be derived from multiple, reproducible studies.”  The Notice of Availability details EPA’s new study on selenium toxicity for juvenile bluegills.  This study was done in order to check the validity of the results from the study used as the basis for the 2004 proposed revision.  The key conclusion in the new study finds that "The toxicity of selenium to juvenile bluegill was approximately 1.9 times less in the current study than that observed in Lemly’s study [the study used for the 2004 draft criterion]."

Based on this conclusion, it would seem that EPA should revise its 2004 draft revised criterion to be less stringent.  NACWA will be working with the Federal Water Quality Coalition to review the new EPA study, along with several other recent studies that were not available back in 2004, and submit additional comments.