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June 17, 2005 NACWA Fax Alert

Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - June 17, 2005

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June 17, 2005

EPA To Send
Pretreatment Rule to OMB, NACWA Continues Advocacy Efforts

NACWA has learned that EPA’s long-awaited Pretreatment Streamlining Rule will likely be sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) today for review. NACWA's years of advocacy on behalf of such a rule continues to be instrumental in the rule’s progress. The Association continues to push for improvements to the rule that would benefit the public and the environment. Specifically, the Association has urged EPA to include two key provisions addressing equivalent mass limits for concentration limits and a more realistic definition of a non-significant categorical industrial user (http://www.nacwa.org/advocacy/co/2005-03-17PretStrmltr.pdf). NACWA members and staff have scheduled a meeting with OMB early next week to discuss the rule and the Association's positions on these critical resource-saving issues. This week, NACWA members have provided crucial data to advance the Association's advocacy efforts in this final rulemaking stage. While the Association is not privy to the final content of the rule at this point, NACWA will provide substantive updates to members in the near future. OMB is expected to complete its review quickly, and EPA is expected to finalize the rule this month.

Second House Hearing
on Water Infrastructure Investment Echoes Need for Trust Fund

The House Water Resources & Environment Subcommittee this week held the second of two hearings exploring investment approaches to bridge the growing clean water funding gap. The hearing focused on various mechanisms to encourage additional financing of water infrastructure projects. The Subcommittee heard from Jag Khuman, Director of Maryland’s Department of the Environment’s Water Quality Financing Administration, who testified to the local success of the clean water Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund, which is supported by a $2.50 a month fee on sewer bills and an equivalent $30 annual fee on septic system owners. Debra Martin, Program Director for the Great Lakes Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP), expressed support for a new clean water trust fund echoing NACWA’s Clean Water Funding Task Force’s position.

Last week’s June 8 hearing featured Frank Luntz, President of the Luntz Research Companies, Ken Rubin, Managing Partner of PA Consulting Group, and Jack Schenendorf, former staff director for the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, among others, who testified on the need for, and economic viability of, a clean water trust fund (see FaxAlert 06-10-05 http://www.nacwa.org/private/faxalerts/061005.cfm). At both hearings the Subcommittee emphasized the need to develop grassroots support for clean water funding. The Clean Water America (CWA) website (http://www.cleanwateramerica.org/) is a new vehicle, developed through the Association’s Clean Water Funding Task Force, to garner increased grassroots support for both short-term and long-term funding. To become a supporter of CWA and its mission to ensure clean and safe water for future generations, contact Adam Krantz at 202/833-4568 or akrantz@nacwa.org. The Association and other key stakeholders are working together to finalize a legislative proposal on behalf of a trust fund for introduction this summer. NACWA has purchased a DVD copy of the June 8 hearing, which was aired several times on C-SPAN, and is exploring options to ensure NACWA members will have an opportunity to view it. Visit the Subcommittee’s website to view testimony from both hearings (http://www.house.gov/transportation/water/06-08-05/06-08-05memo.html).

  • Now available on NACWA’s website are the PowerPoint presentations from the sold out NACWA/CSO Partnership workshop on use attainability analyses (UAAs) held in Chicago earlier this spring. To view the presentations, visit NACWA’s Conferences & Meetings website (http://www.nacwa.org/meetings/05uaa/).