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March 26, 1999
Clean Water Stakeholders Near Final Wet Weather Bill
AMSA met with key clean water stakeholders this week to put the finishing touches on the Urban Wet Weather Watershed Act of 1999. The American Public Works Association (APWA), Water Environment Federation (WEF), the National League of Cities (NLC), National Association of Counties (NACo), National Association of Flood and Storm Management Agencies (NAFSMA) and the CSO Partnership joined AMSA in drafting the bill.The bill has several purposes. It seeks to allow local governments to unify the management of all wet weather flows within an urban watershed; to enable local governments to control urban wet weather discharges using site-specific, cost-effective approaches; to allocate pollutant reductions on a proportionate basis; and to establish a national wet weather grants program to assist local communities in controlling wet weather flows.
To prepare for the uncertain political climate in Congress, AMSA and the other stakeholders have also developed a scaled-down version of the same bill. A more targeted bill may fare better than comprehensive legislation. In that case, the pared-down bill sets out these goals: to achieve consistent national regulatory oversight of urban wet weather flows; to codify the 1994 National Combined Sewer Overflow Control Policy; to clarify that Congress did not intend wet weather discharges to meet numeric standards; to develop information demonstrating the effectiveness of the watershed approach and best management practices for controlling urban wet weather flows; and to establish a wet weather grants program.
Members can expect a mid-April Legislative Alert with the final version of the bill. AMSA plans to muster support for the bill with a joint letter Congress that will target the key authorizing committees in the House and the Senate and through public outreach.
AMSA, Key Groups File Stormwater Amicus Brief
This week AMSA and other key national water quality organizations filed an amicus brief in support of five Arizona municipalities. AMSA has joined other national organizations including NLC, NACo, APWA and NAFSMA to prevent EPA and states from including numeric and whole effluent toxicity-based limits in stormwater permits.WET Seminar Draws Numerous Municipal Participants
At the AMSA/SETAC WET training course, municipal water quality officials gathered important information on the application of whole effluent toxicity (WET) tests to limits in municipal discharge permits. Speakers representing EPA, states and municipalities offered valuable insights into key steps in the WET process. For instance, participants heard presentations on the importance of evaluating WET tests for false positives or other flaws that could lead to inappropriate permit limits. Laura Phillips, National WET Program Manager for EPA, also announced that EPA hoped to issue proposed guidance to regions and states on the application of reasonable potential for determining whether WET permit limits are necessary.AMSA Prepares for Cost of Clean Press Conference . . .
March 31 at the national Press Club in Washington, DC, AMSA and the Water Environment Federation will unveil The Cost of Clean . . .Meeting Water Quality Challenges in the Next Millennium. Member Update 99-4 was mailed this week containing a pre-release copy with text and graphics.