Action Please By:
August 28, 2009

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) is currently developing an Action Plan to improve the transparency and effectiveness of Clean Water Act (CWA) enforcement actions.  NACWA is currently formulating comments to OECA to provide input on development of the new Action Plan.   Based on recent conversation with senior OECA staff, NACWA is reaching out to its membership for assistance with three specific questions to assist the Association in completing its comments.  This Legal Alert provides a brief background on EPA’s current efforts and an overview of NACWA’s efforts, including three requests for information from Association members.

Background & NACWA Actions

On July 2, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson sent a memorandum to OECA calling for more effective enforcement actions against CWA violators and more transparency in enforcement activities by both EPA and the states.  The memo discussed the need to “raise the bar for clean water enforcement performance,” including an emphasis on problems with the biggest impact on water quality, such as wet weather issues.  The memo also stressed the need to improve the transparency of CWA enforcement actions by making information more available and more easily understood by the public.  The memo additionally discussed the importance of enhancing EPA’s information technology as a way to improve the accessibility of CWA enforcement information to the public.

In response to this memo, NACWA sent a letter  to Administrator Jackson on July 29 requesting that the Association and its public clean water utilities be allowed to participate in the development of the new CWA enforcement Action Plan.  The letter emphasized the important partnership between EPA and the clean water community in achieving the CWA’s goals and the value of municipal input to development of any new enforcement initiative.  As a result of this letter, senior members of the OECA staff held a conference call with NACWA on August 24.  The call provided NACWA with an opportunity to comment on OECA’s formation of the Action Plan and present the important perspective of the clean water community to the development process.   OECA also invited NACWA to submit written comments by September 1.

Member Information Request

During the August 24 conference call, OECA posed three specific questions for which NACWA would like help from its membership in answering.  Accordingly, any answers or comments your utility might have to the following three questions would be very helpful as NACWA formulates written comments to OECA:

1. Has your utility ever experienced problems or errors with EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) database, such as inaccurate listings of violations at your facilities?  If so, could you provide a brief example or description of those errors and any obstacles you encountered in attempting to correct such errors?
    
2. Does your utility have any kind of online database or website accessible to the public that provides the public with easily understandable information about water quality in your local watershed?  If not, is your utility aware of any municipality or state that provides such information to the public in an easily accessible way?
    
3. What would the reaction be of your utility if EPA and/or your state enforcement agency phased out paper reporting requirements for your permitted facilities and instead implemented a 100% electronic reporting system, where your utility would be responsible for inputting all of your reporting requirements into an electronic database?

Please bear in mind that any responses your utility provides to these questions will be kept strictly anonymous and your utility will not be specifically identified in comments that NACWA submits to EPA.   Instead, your responses to these questions will be used to help NACWA compile a general pool of information that will direct NACWA’s comments to EPA.

Please submit any answers to these questions to Nathan Gardner-Andrews, NACWA’s Counsel, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by August 28, 2009.  While we realize this is a very short turnaround time, we must submit any written comments to OECA by September 1.   Any substantive answers to these questions, no matter how brief, that your utility might have would be greatly appreciated.