To: Members & Affiliates  
From: National Office
Date: March 7, 2008
Subject: COMMITTEE UPDATES FROM NACWA’S WINTER CONFERENCE
Reference: MU 08-05

The Association’s Standing Committees met in February during NACWA’s 2008 Winter Conference, Creating Tomorrow’s Utility Today . . . Keys To Management Success, in Phoenix, Ariz.   This Member Update provides a summary of the priority issues discussed during the conference’s committee meetings and provides insight into NACWA’s strategic next steps for those members who were unable to attend these meetings.  Many of the issues discussed in this Update will also be the building blocks for continued strategic committee discussions, including those taking place at the upcoming NACWA/Water Environment Federation (WEF) National Clean Water Policy Forum, May 4-7, in Washington, D.C.  NACWA’s committee structure forms the backbone of its advocacy efforts and the Association strongly encourages member agency participation.  To join NACWA committees, please contact Amanda Shankle 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 at 202/833-2672.

Air Quality and Climate Change Committee

Co-Chair, Gregory Adams, Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, Calif.
Co-Chair, Ed Torres, Orange County Sanitation District, Calif.
The Air Quality and Climate Change Committee was provided with a summary of the 2007 Water Sector Forum on Climate Change that was held in December 2007 and was co-sponsored by NACWA.  Several themes emerged from the discussions at the Forum:  the water sector will be directly and significantly impacted by climate change, which is fundamentally a water issue; water sector utilities will need to adapt to climate change; and more research is needed to understand the effects of climate change on water.  The water sector is now developing a joint message to ensure that the drinking water and wastewater associations are on the same page relative to their advocacy efforts on climate change.  NACWA will also be periodically updating its white paper (PDF) on climate change to reflect current climate change concerns and developments for clean water agencies.  As a reaction to the discussions at the Forum, the co-chairs of the Committee have prepared a matrix of climate change adaptation needs for clean water agencies and have asked the Committee to add their ideas to the matrix.  This matrix will help NACWA define specific advocacy needs in both the regulatory and legislative arenas.

The committee talked about current federal climate change legislation, particularly America’s Climate Security Act, S. 2191 (more commonly called the Lieberman-Warner bill after its co-sponsors).  The Committee would like to see more funding for water sector climate change adaptation in this bill, along with incentives for reuse of methane and treated wastewater.  NACWA recognizes that the effort to educate Congress and the public on the water issues of climate change will be a long-term process, and the Association has prepared a draft letter to members of Congress that will begin this process.

NACWA and the Committee continue to work on providing EPA with information on greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater treatment facilities, which will establish a basis for EPA to revise its estimation methods for wastewater treatment emissions in their annual Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks.  This Targeted Action Fund (TAF) project is currently focused on collecting nitrogen influent concentrations to wastewater facilities, and the data collected so far indicates that EPA’s nitrous oxide emissions estimates are too high.  NACWA will formally submit the data to EPA during the upcoming public comment period for the current draft Inventory.

Biosolids Management Committee

Co-Chair, Robert Dominak, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Ohio
Co-Chair, Dave Taylor, Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District, Wis.
The Biosolids Management Committee meeting started with an in-depth look at solids management at the City of Phoenix’s Water Services Department.  Jim Coughenour, Assistant Superintendent for the Wastewater Treatment Division, provided an overview of their current facilities, recent land application trends in the area, their various biosolids end uses, and some new work planned for the future.  With the rapid growth experienced by Phoenix over the last few years, nearby cotton fields that were once used for biosolids application are now housing developments.  A composting facility and city-owned landfill provide flexibility for the Department when land application becomes infeasible.

The Committee was briefed on a recent development concerning biosolids incinerators.  EPA’s January 2007 decision to regulate sewage sludge incinerators (SSIs) under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act, something NACWA has advocated for since the mid-1990s, has now been called into question by a June 8, 2007, decision of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in Natural Resources Defense Council v. EPA.  While Office of Air officials at EPA seem receptive to NACWA’s arguments that SSIs are appropriately regulated under Section 112, the Agency’s lawyers have instructed the Air Office to reopen the issue.  If SSIs are regulated under the more stringent Section 129 provisions, many currently operating incinerators would be unable to meet the new requirements.

Updates on several recent items were provided, including EPA’s response to a request from Senator Barbara Boxer, Chair of the Environment & Public Works Committee, on EPA’s biosolids activities and a NACWA Regulatory Alert on legacy pollutants, such as PCBs and mercury, and how sewer cleaning activities may have impacts on biosolids quality.  The Committee discussed at length a new study published by University of Toledo researchers claiming links between land application of biosolids and various health problems reported by residents living near application sites.  A subsequent fact sheet issued by the University highlighted the many limitations of the study, noting that the study does not ‘demonstrate that people who reside in close proximity to biosolids land application sites develop a variety of illnesses’ and noted the need for further research.

Committee members were provided an update on the ongoing effort, led by the Association of Boards of Certification, and several biosolids industry leaders, to develop a certification program for biosolids land appliers.  Pilot tests of the Class 1 certification exam will be conducted during the Water Environment Federation (WEF) Biosolids Conference in Philadelphia at the end of this month.  Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) representatives were on hand and announced the release of the results from their Phase II and Phase III work on the reactivation/regrowth of indicator bacteria in centrifuge-dewatered sludges.  The new work reveals that a sudden increase was not observed in the number of actual disease-causing pathogens.  The report and its accompanying fact sheet are available on the WERF website.

Finally, the Committee was updated on the National Biosolids Partnership.  Dick Lanyon, General Superintendent of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, was recently named the Chair of the Partnership’s Steering Committee.  The Steering Committee and the Partnership’s Advisory Committee will be meeting soon to discuss some possible changes in the Partnership to encourage more utilities to participate.  Orange County, Florida was recognized as the latest utility to have its biosolids environmental management system certified under the Partnership.

Facility and Collection System Committee

Co-Chair, Adel Hagekhalil, City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation, Calif.
Co-Chair, Martin Umberg, Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati, Ohio
A guest speaker, Bruce Tobey of Aquarion Company, gave information to the Facility and Collection System (FACS) Committee about public-private partnerships for inexpensive homeowner warranty plans that cover repairs to exterior sewer laterals and water service lines.  Tobey and members of the Committee discussed the benefits of this type of program to utilities and the public, as well as the challenges in implementing these programs.

Last Fall, NACWA began working with representatives from WEF and WERF to develop a set of core practices for collection systems.  In the absence of a national sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) rule, these core practices would give guidance to utilities and collection systems and provide consistency in management practices.  The Committee submitted a TAF request to convene at least one facilitated discussion with a group of stakeholders, including industry representatives and environmental activists, and to support the ongoing work of the NACWA/WEF/WERF volunteers to develop a draft of the practices.  This TAF request was subsequently approved by the Regulatory Policy Committee and the NACWA Board.

The FACS Committee also submitted a TAF request to begin development of a white paper on wet weather water quality standards.  This request was also subsequently approved by the Regulatory Policy Committee and the NACWA Board.  With the project funding, a consultant will be hired to work on a set of model characteristics of wet weather water quality standards and to plan and convene a review panel of former EPA officials to evaluate the standards and formulate a plan for seeking EPA acceptance.

Andy Lukas of Brown and Caldwell presented an update on the Satellite Collections Systems TAF project.  Many NACWA members working to control SSOs, infiltration and inflow, or other flow-related issues, have experienced a number of challenges when communicating with satellite communities that are responsible for maintaining their own collection systems.  The issue paper, which will be completed later this year, will use case studies to illustrate the various challenges associated with these interactions and explore how regional authorities and other utilities working with satellite communities can improve their interactions with these communities and better address the entire collection system.  The Committee was also updated about NACWA’s TAF project to develop guiding principles on considerations for evaluating whether a community can afford a particular water quality-related program.  Principles for Assessment and Negotiation of Financial Capability: A Compilation of Resources was released in December 2007 and is available on NACWA’s website.

EPA’s proposed peak wet weather flows guidance is still under review by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and NACWA is still working to have the guidance approved.

Legal Affairs Committee

Chair, Lisa Hollander, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Ohio
Vice Chair, Roberta Larson, Somach, Simmons & Dunn
The Legal Affairs Committee provided timely updates on NACWA’s ongoing litigation activities, including the Association’s recent victory in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which affirmed a District Court ruling holding that the decision to revise effluent guidelines falls within EPA’s discretion, and the Association’s ongoing participation in the BEACH Act litigation involving the development of new recreational water quality standards.

The Committee also announced the release of NACWA’s new security publication, Protecting the Water Sector from Security Threats: The Emerging Legal and Policy Frameworks.  The publication was a joint effort with the American Public Works Association, the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, and the Water Environment Federation.   The new publication examines legal issues related to security matters facing publicly owned treatment works, drinking water utilities, and other public works agencies. The publication will serve as both a practical manual and guidebook for how the legal landscape has changed in the municipal arena regarding security and emergency preparedness issues.

Following these updates, attendees engaged in a lively roundtable discussion on Legal Hot Topics, including issues such as the recent NRDC Petition on nutrient removal, progress in the Indianapolis Use Attainability Analysis, the proposed Chemical Security Act, and the proposed Sewer Overflow Notification Act.

Pretreatment and Pollution Prevention Committee

Chair, Martie Groome, City of Greensboro Water Resources Department, N.C.
Vice Chair, Theresa Pfeifer, Metro Wastewater Reclamation District, Colo.
NACWA and the Pretreatment and Pollution Prevention Committee leaders have explored the possibility of collaborating with EPA on an update of the 1982 50 POTW Study with a TAF project.  This type of collaboration has been determined infeasible, however, due to the nature of EPA’s current POTW study, which will focus on emerging contaminants, and the cost of a comprehensive new study.  NACWA is therefore working with EPA to have a “clarification memo,” issued by EPA to the states, which will outline the hierarchy of data that should be used by POTWs in calculating maximum allowable headworks loadings (MAHLs) when developing local limits for their pretreatment programs.  The 1982 POTW Study would be the last tier to consider, rather than a primary source as currently used in some states.

NACWA submitted comments regarding EPA’s Preliminary 2008 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan in December 2007, recommending that EPA not establish national effluent guidelines for the proposed new Health Services Industry category.  The comments addressed amalgam separators for dental offices and disposal of unused pharmaceuticals.  NACWA’s comments stated that although a national plan for addressing mercury pollution is needed, mandatory amalgam separator programs should be a local decision.  Discussion at the meeting focused on this particular recommendation and whether NACWA should support more specific actions, such as a national best management practices program.  The Committee, along with NACWA’s Mercury Workgroup, will continue to explore this issue.

At the 2007 Pretreatment and Pollution Prevention Workshop, the Committee established four working groups for specific topics:  EPA’s Pretreatment Performance Measures, laboratory methods (in particular, changes to 40 CFR 136), national certification for pretreatment professionals, and planning for the next Workshop.  Approximately 50 people volunteered to serve on these groups.  The Committee is planning a small meeting in Washington, DC, in Fall 2008, to meet with EPA staff and work on topics such as the Performance Measures and laboratory method issues.  The next Workshop is being planned for March or April of 2009.  The Workshop is shifting to a spring schedule, rather than the previously used fall schedule, to facilitate EPA attendance and potentially allow NACWA and EPA to schedule the Workshop and EPA’s state pretreatment coordinators’ meeting during the same week.

Utility Management Committee

Chair, Jon Schellpfeffer, Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District, Wis.
Vice Chair, Tim Houghton, City and County of Honolulu Dept. of Environmental Services, Hawaii.
The Committee meeting began with updates on a host of collaborative efforts that are either ongoing or have recently been completed:

• National Institute for Utility Management – The NACWA Board approved a recommended action plan, based on the results of a feasibility study conducted over the past year, for developing a virtual institute or clearinghouse with WEF and WERF, to better coordinate the three organizations’ utility management offerings.  The three organizations will meet soon to outline a plan for the virtual institute.

• Mid-Level Manager Training Assessment – The NACWA/WEF project to assess the need for training for the mid-level utility manager is now complete.  The study found that there is a need for additional training and that a curriculum that can be used regionally or by a single utility would be more valuable than a national training like the Water and Wastewater Leadership Center.  NACWA and WEF will be meeting soon to discuss their next steps.

• CleanWater Central Strategic Analysis – Work with WEF and WERF to conduct an analysis of the current database, its data, and its usefulness for the industry has begun.  A Request for Proposals seeking consultant support for the Strategic Analysis was issued in February.

• Effective Utility Management – A new Utility Advisory Group is now working on a primer and a set of example utility measures to provide further guidance to utilities interested in integrating the ten attributes of effectively managed utilities into their management programs.  The new guidance will be available later this year.

The Committee also considered preliminary data from the 2007 NACWA Index Survey.  Though still preliminary, the survey indicates that the change in the annual service charge nationally has again, for the sixth year in a row, outpaced the rate of inflation as measured by the consumer price index.  A new question was included on the survey this year, seeking information on approved and proposed rate increases.  The final Index Survey results will be presented in a new and improved format and will include some of this new rate information.  When final in March, the NACWA Index Survey results will be available on the NACWA website.

The 2008 NACWA Financial Survey is now underway and Committee members were encouraged to look for their survey forms in the mail.  Members can also complete the survey via the CleanWater Central database.  Responses are due by April 25, 2008.  The Committee received an update on some new work coming out from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), building on the recently released water and wastewater management standards.  A workgroup on asset management is being formed to explore the possibility of developing an ISO standard for asset management and the NACWA Utility Management Committee agreed to nominate David Williams, East Bay Municipal Utility District, to be NACWA’s representative to that new effort.  A TAF request was subsequently approved by the Regulatory Policy Committee and NACWA Board to support that work.

Updates were also provided on the Water and Wastewater Leadership Center, several WERF projects, an International Water Association project on benchmarking, and the recently released EPA Clean Watersheds Needs Survey.

Water Quality Committee

Chair, Keith Linn, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Ohio
Vice Chair, Ben Horenstein, East Bay Municipal Utility District, Calif.
The Water Quality Committee dedicated a significant portion of its agenda to discussing the recent Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) petition to modify the definition of secondary treatment to include nutrient controls requirements.  The petition, filed with EPA in November 2007, claims that all wastewater treatment plants can achieve significant nitrogen and phosphorus removal rates with only slight adjustments to current treatment processes.  The states, through the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA), have also weighed in on the issue, with a November 2007 letter sent to EPA expressing interest in technology-based controls.  The Committee was briefed on a recent meeting with officials from ASIWPCA, during which ASIWPCA made it clear that a set of national, one-size-fits-all limits was not its goal, but rather they are interested in more information on what removal rates certain technologies can achieve at a particular cost.   NACWA prepared comments on the petition and is planning additional meetings with ASIWPCA and EPA to discuss the issue further.

NACWA is now also considering how the recently issued EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Report on the Gulf of Mexico hypoxia problem and a new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) report on the transport of phosphorus and nitrogen to the Gulf factor into the national debate on the issue of nutrient controls.

NACWA continues its active involvement in the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act litigation and the Committee was briefed on the next key milestones in that case, including a settlement conference and an expected ruling on the motions for summary judgment.  NACWA participated in a February 20 stakeholder meeting on EPA’s new efforts to develop revised recreational water quality criteria – an effort that is being driven by the BEACH Act litigation.

Two of the Committee’s most discussed topics, total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) and whole effluent toxicity (WET) were also on the agenda.  NACWA announced the availability of a new resource on TMDLs that will help utilities who are facing potential daily limits in the aftermath of a court decision from 2006 that is forcing TMDL developers to establish daily load calculations in all future TMDLs.  The new resource provides members with arguments on why certain pollutants are not suitable for such daily limits and is now available on the NACWA website.  The Committee also considered whether NACWA should get involved in an emerging WET issue in Texas.  The case seems to be the first of its kind where U.S. EPA is trying to impose an approach to WET permitting it laid out in draft guidance several years ago by federalizing a state-issued permit.  NACWA’s Legal Affairs Committee will be considering whether NACWA involvement in the issue is appropriate.

Security and Emergency Preparedness Committee

Chair, Robert Steidel, City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities, Va.
Vice Chair, Talyon Sortor, Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District, Calif.
The Security and Emergency Committee discussed draft legislation that has since been marked up by the Committee on Homeland Security, the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2008 (the bill number is not yet available).  This bill would replace the current Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS), which went into effect last year, and specifically exempt water and wastewater utilities from the standards.  The proposed Act does not include this exemption, prefers “inherently safer technologies” (meaning that utilities could be forced to switch from chlorine gas disinfection to other methods), and gives the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), rather than EPA, oversight of water sector security.  Although many utilities have already conducted vulnerability assessments and switched from chlorine gas to other disinfection methods, these actions have been voluntary.  Committee members expressed support for NACWA to continue opposing any unfunded, mandatory actions and will push for a water sector exemption from the new CFATS.

Two guest speakers – Tom Liffiton, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent now with Corporate Counterintelligence & Security, and Richard Murray, an FBI agent who serves as InfraGard Coordinator in Phoenix – gave the Committee information about the FBI's InfraGard program.  InfraGard is a cross-sector program that facilitates information-sharing between law enforcement and other entities.  The program is divided into regional areas that hold periodic meetings on specific security topics.  Both Liffiton and Murray encouraged utilities to make contacts, prior to an emergency, with their local law enforcement, InfraGard, and the weapons of mass destruction coordinator at their local FBI field office.

Billy Turner, President of the Columbus Water Works, Ga., NACWA Board Member, and Chair of the Water Sector Coordinating Council (WSCC), updated meeting attendees on WSCC efforts, including the Risk Assessment Methodology for Critical Asset Protection (RAMCAP) for the water sector.   The Council is hoping to reach an agreement with EPA and DHS to complete the RAMCAP project by funding the automation of the three common vulnerability assessment tools, including NACWA Vulnerability Self-Assessment Tool (VSAT™).  The Council also reviewed and approved the final draft of the consensus report from the Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC) Metrics Workgroup.  The Workgroup has developed a set of measures for the security progress of the water sector that will rely on voluntary and anonymous reporting, but discussion is continuing on how incentives may be provided to utilities to report their information.

Two security publications were introduced at the meeting.  The first publication, Protecting the Water Sector from Security Threats: the Emerging Legal and Policy Frameworks, was prepared by NACWA and other water sector associations.  A hard copy was mailed to all NACWA members, and copies may also be downloaded from the NACWA website.  The second publication, Effective Risk and Crisis Communication during Water Security Emergencies, is an EPA publication that may be downloaded from EPA’s website.  These publications have proven to be very useful to utilities in preparing for emergencies.

A TAF request presented jointly by the Security & Emergency Preparedness Committee and the Utility Management Committee was approved by the Regulatory Policy Committee and subsequently the NACWA Board during the Conference.  This funding will support the participation by one Committee member in the ISO workgroup for crisis/security management.