Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - January 16, 2004
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January 16, 2004
AMSA, Municipal Organizations
Send Pro Blending Letter to EPA and Congress
AMSA, along with several municipal groups, sent a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Leavitt, and all members of the Senate and House urging for the finalization of the Agency’s draft blending policy. The signatories of the letter include the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties, the National Association of Towns and Townships, and over 20 other key municipal organizations. The coalition letter comes in response to activist efforts that are mischaracterizing EPA’s blending policy as an "environmental rollback" in an attempt to further criticize the Bush Administration’s record. In conjunction with the letter AMSA distributed a press release to its media contacts to garner added national attention on the importance of the blending policy. The Association also continued its advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill this week visiting several offices informing members of Congress of the environmental and economic importance of blending to the nation’s communities. Among those AMSA met with were key staff from Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert’s (R-IL) office, House Appropriations Committee Chair, C.W. Bill Young (R-FL), and members from California, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Iowa, Nevada and Rhode Island delegations. AMSA has several additional meetings scheduled in the coming weeks with key congressional offices and will continue to express the importance of the EPA blending policy. The Association also continues to urge its members to contact EPA and their elected officials on this key issue and to submit comments in support of the Agency’s blending policy by the February 9, 2004 deadline. For more information on the comment process, please see Fax Alert 1-09-04.U.S. Supreme Court Hears Water Transfer Case
The U.S. Supreme Court heard a lively oral argument in the critical Clean Water Act (CWA) case, South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) v. Miccosukee Indian Tribe of Florida, that will determine whether municipal water transfers should receive National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for the first time since the CWA was enacted. AMSA and member agency the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) filed a September 2003 amicus brief in the case supporting the SFWMD’s position that, consistent with three decades of EPA practice, water quality issues arising from the movement of navigable waters should be addressed through federal and state mechanisms other than the NPDES permitting program. The U.S. government endorsed AMSA’s approach in its oral argument before the Court. The Justices asked many questions of the attorneys arguing the case, and appeared to be concerned with the administrative feasibility of issuing NPDES permits to thousands of new facilities, the possibility of using a general permit approach, whether NPDES permits would help to achieve greater environmental results, and what protections presently exist against transferring polluted waters to pristine waters. The Court’s opinion in the case is expected in late-Spring.AMSA Receives EPA Grant
to Continue Enhancement of Security Software
EPA has announced the award of a $400,000 grant to AMSA for its ongoing effort to enhance the Vulnerability Self Assessment Tool (VSAT™) by improving report functions, updating and enhancing countermeasure libraries, and including an emergency response plan function to help better secure the nation’s drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. This funding will help provide a structured, cost-effective approach for utilities to assess their vulnerabilities and to establish a risk-based approach to taking desired actions. AMSA will provide members with a more detailed look at this initiative in the upcoming issue of Clean Water News.