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November 14, 1997

AMSA and Agencies Get Cracking on Gore's Clean Water Initiative

On November 12, AMSA representatives attended a briefing for state and local groups on Vice President Gore's Clean Water Initiatives. Senior officials from EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) who are leading the Initiative reviewed the Vice President's memo to the heads of federal departments and agencies and solicited constituents' comments on the key action items for developing the Clean Water Action Plan. (See Regulatory Alert 97-24 and the November 6 FaxAlert for more details on the Vice President's memo.)

Interagency Workgroups Drafting Recommendations

Ten interagency workgroups were given a December 1 deadline for writing well laid out and concrete actions that the federal agencies can do to expedite clean water programs, with a special emphasis on controlling polluted runoff. The recommendations must be within current budget resources and within current legislative authorities. The 10 workgroups and their lead agencies are: 1) Animal Feeding Operations Strategy (EPA); 2) Reducing Polluted Runoff (EPA); 3) Agricultural Initiatives to Reduce Polluted Runoff (USDA); 4) Wetlands (White House); 5) Coastal Pollution (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration); 6) Monitoring and Assessment (U.S. Geological Survey); 7) Criteria (EPA); 8) Smart Growth (Council on Environmental Quality); 9) Watershed (EPA/USDA); and 10) Public Health (EPA).

AMSA Members Encouraged to Participate in Public Comment Opportunities

In last Friday's Federal Register notice on the Clean Water Initiatives a written submission deadline of December 8 was given for comments. Early next week, AMSA members will receive AMSA's Clean Water Initiative Recommendations, which are being crafted by the Association's Clean Water Task Force. AMSA members are encouraged to voice their comments on the Initiative and promote AMSA's recommendations for inclusion in the Action Plan.

Field Hearings for public comment begin next week and will be led by EPA Assistant Administrator Bob Perciasepe and USDA Under Secretary Jim Lyons. An AMSA Member Agency representative will attend each of the three Field Hearings and all AMSA members in the vicinity of the Hearings are also encouraged to attend. The schedule and locations of the Field Hearings are as follows:

Atlanta, Georgia, Nov. 20, 2:00 - 5:00 pm; Atlanta Federal Center, Conference Center, Room D, 61 Forsythe St., SW.
Attending on behalf of AMSA: Buddy Morgan, general manager of Water Works & Sanitary Sewer Board of the City of Montgomery, Alabama, and chair of AMSA's Wet Weather Issues Committee.

Columbia, Missouri, Nov. 21, 1:00 - 4:00 pm; Holiday Inn Executive Center, Interstate 70 and Stadium Drive.
Attending on behalf of AMSA: Gurnie Gunter, director of Missouri's Kansas City Water Department, and AMSA board member.

Sacramento, California, Nov. 25, 2:30 - 6:00 pm; State Employee Development Dept. Auditorium, 722 Capitol Mall.
Attending on behalf of AMSA: Blake Anderson, chief operations officer, County Sanitation Districts of Orange County, Fountain Valley, California.

The EPA and USDA have also posted a joint web site on the Vice President's Clean Water Initiative that includes a public comment section. The web site, at http://www.nhq.nrcs.usda.gov/cleanwater/, also contains information on the Field Hearings and the full text of the Vice President's Directive. AMSA members will receive updatesd on this swiftly moving initiative as key facts become known.


  • The National Office will be installing a new phone system on November 20; callers may have difficulty reaching the office or leaving voice mail messages while the new system is being activated.