Many of the Association’s standing committees met in May in conjunction with the NACWA/Water Environment Federation (WEF) National Clean Water Policy Forum in Washington, D.C.   This Member Update provides a summary of the priority issues discussed during these 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 NACWA’s 2008 Summer Conference and 38th Annual Meeting, The Future of Clean Water is Now!  How Next Generation Issues are Impacting Utilities Today, July 15-18, 2008, in Anchorage Alaska.  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 Tim Jones, 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 .

Biosolids Management Committee

Co-Chair, Robert Dominak, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Ohio
Co-Chair, Dave Taylor, Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District, Wis.
The recent national press coverage surrounding a decision from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia in McElmurray v. U.S. Department of Agriculture has garnered significant attention within the biosolids industry.  The Biosolids Management Committee was briefed on the details of the case and subsequent ruling that strongly criticized the practice of land application.  NACWA sent letters encouraging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to appeal the ruling, but the Committee learned that the USDA had decided not to appeal.  It remains to be seen what additional impact the ruling may have beyond the initial press coverage, but it may factor heavily if interest from Congress on the subject continues to intensify.  Several other recent national news articles have drawn additional attention to biosolids and the practice of land application, and the Committee discussed the specifics of one story involving the use of a commercial, biosolids-derived compost product to treat lead contaminated soils in Baltimore.

The Committee was briefed on a letter from NACWA and the Water Environment Federation (WEF) sent May 2 to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, urging her to invite a municipal witness with expertise in the management of biosolids to testify at a possible upcoming oversight hearing on the use of biosolids as a fertilizer.  During the Policy Forum, NACWA met with both Democratic and Republican staff members of the Senate EPW Committee in separate meetings to urge their support for biosolids management programs.  Majority staff was receptive to the important information NACWA provided regarding the safety of land application and the effectiveness of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Part 503 regulations, which govern biosolids management.

The Committee was also updated on several items including EPA’s ongoing effort to determine whether sewage sludge incinerators (SSIs) should be regulated under the Clean Air Act and EPA’s ongoing work on the Targeted National Sewage Sludge Survey.  During its last regular meeting 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.  Though a subsequent fact sheet issued by the University highlighted the many limitations of the study, it is still garnering significant attention from anti-biosolids activists.  The Committee learned that a group of biosolids leaders organized by members of the Ohio Water Environment Association are working to compile several critiques released over the last few months that highlight the serious flaws in the Toledo study.

The next meeting of the Biosolids Management Committee will be on July 15 as part of NACWA’s 2008 Summer Conference in Anchorage, Alaska.

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, Joe Theis, Chief of the Municipal Enforcement Branch of EPA’s Water Enforcement Division, gave a presentation to the Committee titled Incorporating Green Solutions into Sewer Overflow Control Programs – USEPA’s Perspective.  Theis gave information on what EPA is doing to promote green infrastructure, especially as a method for helping to prevent combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs).  Green infrastructure has traditionally been used for Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) in enforcement actions, and EPA is having ongoing discussions with states and municipalities on the use of green infrastructure in enforcement actions.

In 2007, NACWA began working with representatives from the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) to develop a set of core practices for collection systems.  In the absence of a national SSO rule, these core practices would give guidance to utilities and collection systems and provide consistency in management practices.  Draft core practices are currently being written.  At least one facilitated discussion with a group of stakeholders, including industry representatives and environmental activists, will be planned in the future.

The Satellite Collections Systems Targeted Action Fund (TAF) project is using case studies to illustrate how NACWA members can work with satellite communities that are responsible for maintaining their own collection systems.  The issues addressed include SSOs, infiltration and inflow, and other flow-related issues.  Andy Lukas of Brown & Caldwell, the contractor on the project, will be presenting one of these case studies at the NACWA Summer Conference in Anchorage.  A draft of the issue paper is expected by the time of the conference.

The Committee discussed the Raw Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act (H.R. 2452), which would establish a national program for the monitoring, reporting and notifying the public of sewer overflows.  This bill was introduced in May 2007, and NACWA has been working with American Rivers on revised language that will be included as a substitute amendment during the House markup of the bill.  NACWA’s Board of Directors voted in April to support the revised language.  Although the revised language is still not perfect, it is a significant improvement from the original language and NACWA’s participation in the process will enable the Association to continue advocating for a comprehensive SSO program that includes satellite collection systems.

The next meeting of the Facility & Collection System Committee will be on July 15 as part of NACWA’s 2008 Summer Conference in Anchorage, Alaska.

Legal Affairs Committee Update

Chair, Lisa Hollander, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District
Vice Chair, Roberta Larson, Somach, Simmons & Dunn
The Legal Affairs Committee received updates on NACWA’s ongoing litigation activities, including two important recent legal victories.  The first came in a case from Washington State involving a challenge to municipal stormwater permits (MS4s).  The state administrative hearing board reviewing the case endorsed an argument put forth by NACWA that federal Clean Water Act MS4 requirements do not mandate strict adherence with state water quality limits.  The second victory came in an appeal of a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued to the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DCWASA) for its Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant that did not contain a compliance schedule reflecting the District’s long term control plan (LTCP).  The U.S. Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) ruled that the permit should have contained a compliance schedule, agreeing with NACWA’s position set forth in briefs filed with the EAB.  The Committee also received an update on progress in the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act litigation, including the possibility of a trial in July.

Following the litigation update, Committee members addressed a recent NACWA letter sent to the EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) requesting information on a potential new wet weather enforcement initiative, and the response from OECA that no such new enforcement strategy exits.  The Committee also discussed NACWA’s planned involvement in a case currently on appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Friends of Pinto Creek v. U.S. EPA.   The meeting then closed with a roundtable discussion on Legal Hot Topics, including the possibility of updating NACWA’s Consent Decree Handbook.

The next meeting of the Legal Affairs Committee will be on July 18 as part of NACWA’s 2008 Summer Conference in Anchorage, Alaska.

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:

• 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 is now underway.  A contractor has been selected and work on the analysis will begin this summer.
  
• Effective Utility Management – A new primer on the ten attributes of effectively managed utilities will be released in June.  NACWA is working to develop a resource tool box that will be released online at the same time as the primer.  The tool box will provide links to key utility resources organized according to the ten attributes and accompanying keys to management success.

The Committee also discussed the final results from the 2007 NACWA Index Survey.  The survey indicated that the change in the annual service charge again outpaced the rate of inflation as measured by the consumer price index.  The new format for the survey results now includes a look forward to preview the index value and estimated annual average service charge over the next five years based on anticipated rate increases.   The 2008 NACWA Financial Survey is underway and Committee members were encouraged to check with their agency contacts to ensure they have completed the survey.  Responses are now due on June 13, and NACWA will soon start calling members who have responded in past years to increase the response rate.

The Committee received an update on the initial efforts of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) workgroup on asset management, which will formally meet later this year.  Several members of the Committee expressed an interested in providing more uniform working elements for asset management and will be closely tracking the workgroup’s effort to determine if this international effort might help provide increased consistency for asset management efforts nationwide.  
The next meeting of the Utility Management Committee will be on July 15 as part of NACWA’s 2008 Summer Conference in Anchorage, Alaska.

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.
A guest speaker, Peter Higgins from the InfraGard Nations Capital chapter, presented the Committee with information about InfraGard, a cross-sector program overseen by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that facilitates sharing of information between law enforcement and other entities.  Higgins emphasized that membership in InfraGard is open to individuals and there is no cost to join.  Periodic meetings are held for each InfraGard chapter, and security-related information is available on secure online portals.  Interdependencies between sectors are a focus of InfraGard.

Another guest speaker, Kevin Tingley of EPA’s Water Security Division in the Office of Water, provided information about EPA’s ongoing water security projects.  EPA supports the development of Water/Wastewater Agency Response Networks (WARNs) with outreach, facilitation, and technical support through workshops and other products, such as a tabletop exercise facilitator guide and a sample operation plan.  The Committee had an extensive discussion about the development of WARNs in their states, including the hurdles in establishing WARNs and the benefits of having them in place.  EPA will be offering training for its Wastewater Response Protocol Toolbox, which provides information on how to handle a contamination incident (training information available at www.teex.org/wwrptb), and for the Incident Command System and National Incident Management System (ICS/NIMS), which helps utilities understand how to organize and manage an incident and coordinate with local, state, and federal responders (training information available at www.horsleywitten.com/icstraining).

The Committee discussed legislation that was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2008 (H.R. 5577).  This bill would replace the current Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS), which went into effect in 2007 and sunset in 2009.  Water and wastewater utilities are specifically exempted from the current the current CFATS regime but would not be exempted in the proposed House legislation.  The proposed Act also 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.  NACWA has requested that the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee assert jurisdiction over security issues at wastewater treatment plants, rather than allowing the House Homeland Security Committee, which introduced H.R. 5577, to assert jurisdiction and the T&I Committee does seem poised to introduce its own wastewater treatment plant security legislation.

Billy Turner, President of 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 still trying to reach an agreement with EPA and DHS to complete the RAMCAP project by funding the automation of the three common vulnerability assessment tools:  VSAT, RAM-W, and SEMS.  The Council reviewed and approved the final draft of the consensus report from the Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC) Metrics Workgroup, and the reporting mechanism for the metrics is now being developed
Security-related issues will be addressed as part of the Utility Management Committee meeting, which will take place on July 15 at NACWA’s 2008 Summer Conference in Anchorage, Alaska.

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 again 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 control requirements.  Since sending EPA comments on the NRDC petition, NACWA has worked to set up a meeting with EPA and the states to discuss the issue.  The Committee discussed some of the issues to be highlighted with EPA and the states and discussed the broader issues associated with technology-based approaches to nutrient control.  Several states, including Ohio and Arizona, are moving forward with nutrient provisions – some technology focused and others based on some assessment of water quality.  The subject of nutrients will no doubt continue to be a topic discussion topic for the next Committee meeting.  

NACWA continues its active involvement in the BEACH Act litigation and the Committee was briefed on the ongoing settlement discussions and work to prepare for trial in July should the negotiations breakdown.  The Committee also discussed the possibility of entering into an agreement with the EPA and the American Dental Association (ADA) to encourage dental clinics to follow the ADA’s best management practices for handling mercury waste.  Several members raised concern that such an agreement might undermine local efforts to use mandatory controls for dentists and encouraged Committee leaders to proceed carefully as discussions with EPA and ADA continue.

New issues relating to how states are addressing sub-lethal whole effluent toxicity (WET) in Clean Water Act permits have already led to one clean water agency permit being federalized, and it seems clear that more may be headed in that direction.  NACWA and members from the affected states discussed EPA’s current stance on sub-lethal WET requirements and discussed how that position may stem from the Agency’s draft WET implementation guidance which has yet to be finalized.

Pharmaceuticals in the water environment and broader watershed issues have both received significant attention from Capitol Hill in recent weeks, and the Committee discussed several meetings on the Hill relating to pharmaceuticals and what NACWA’s members have been doing to raise awareness of the issue with their customers.   EPA’s Office of Water has made the issue a top priority and the Water Quality Committee will be working closely with the Emerging Contaminants Workgroup to follow the Agency’s work and coordinate with the broader water sector efforts.

The next meeting of the Water Quality Committee will be on July 15 as part of NACWA’s 2008 Summer Conference in Anchorage, Alaska.