Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - October 8, 2004
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October 8, 2004
AMSA Members and EPA Officials Discuss Hot Topics at WEFTEC
AMSA members gathered this week in New Orleans to hear from key EPA officials at the Association’s annual Hot Topics Breakfast during WEFTEC 2004. Jim Hanlon, Director of EPA’s Office of Wastewater Management, along with several members of his staff, and Geoff Grubbs, Director of EPA’s Office of Science and Technology, provided updates on several critical wastewater issues for the nearly 50 AMSA member agency representatives in attendance. Hanlon noted that his office had almost completed its review of the comments received on EPA’s proposed blending policy. Hanlon also indicated that options for finalizing the guidance would be presented to the Office of Water’s Assistant Administrator Ben Grumbles within a month with the goal of issuing a final guidance by the end of the calendar year. Hanlon also noted that a draft of the Whole Effluent Toxicity Implementation Guidance would be released for comment in six to eight weeks. Grubbs indicated that his office was close to finalizing bacteria criteria for several coastal states, an initiative that AMSA has closely followed. Grubbs noted that EPA was carefully considering the issue of criteria exceedance based on a single sample maximum value, which was the focus of AMSA’s comments on the proposed bacteria criteria. Additional details from this meeting will be provided in the October Regulatory Update.AMSA Congratulates
Two Members on Biosolids EMS Program Certification
The National Biosolids Partnership’s (NBP) Environmental Management System (EMS) Program certified two new clean water agencies, Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District, Wis., and the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DCWASA), Washington, D.C. Both utilities are AMSA members. The agencies successfully completed the third party audit and were certified as having an “effective biosolids environmental management system that supports continually improving environmental performance, meeting regulatory compliance obligations, utilizing good management practices and creating meaningful opportunities for public participation.” The EMS program is a key NBP initiative that allows clean water facilities to achieve management standards that go beyond the already stringent federal criteria for biosolids. The NBP EMS Program also helps to improve communication with the general public and ensure the protection of public health. Madison and DCWASA’s completion of the rigorous EMS certification process should be considered inspirational by the over 60 public utilities enrolled in the program and those considering it. For more information on the EMS process visit the NBP website (http://biosolids.org/).
- AMSA participated this week in a roundtable convened by the American Lifelines Alliance (ALA). During the day-long meeting, roundtable participants from a wide variety of critical infrastructures explored the potential for networking across sectors to improve system reliability for all hazards. The ALA is a public-private partnership project funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is now part of the Department of Homeland Security.
- Tuesday, October 19 is the deadline to receive the special room rate of $175 per night (single/double) for AMSA’s 2004 Developments in Clean Water Law: A Seminar for Public Agency Attorneys and Managers, November 10-12, in San Diego, Calif. Call the Loews Coronado Bay Resort at 619/424-4000 to reserve your room today. For agenda and registration information, visit AMSA’s Conferences and Meetings webpage (www.amsa-cleanwater.org/meetings/04law/).