Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - December 9, 2005
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for the FaxAlert ArchiveDecember 9, 2005
NACWA Blending Initiative Actively Moves Forward
NACWA continues to work with EPA and Congress on critical clean water initiatives. The Association has worked intensely to encourage EPA to release the joint NACWA/Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) blending guidance since it was unveiled on October 27. Recent weeks have seen NACWA and NRDC conduct successful briefings for the Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) on November 7; Senate Environment and Public Works Committee staff on November 14; EPA OECA staff on November 16; all 10 EPA Regional Water Division Directors and the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA) on November 17; and EPA’s General Counsel, key legal staff, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on November 21. These briefings have led to widespread acceptance of the agreement’s content and approach. Following Thanksgiving, NACWA and NRDC met with EPA several times to discuss minor changes to the agreement. EPA then circulated the agreement among the Regions last week for input. NACWA is gratified by the popularity of this carefully crafted approach and looks forward to its endorsement by the Agency.NACWA Represents Member Interests as
ISO Standard for Wastewater Systems is Considered
Demonstrating the vitality of NACWA’s Targeted Action Fund (TAF), Association representatives participated in a meeting of an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) working group, in Pretoria, South Africa, December 1–3, to work toward finalizing a voluntary management standard for wastewater systems. Representatives from Austria, Canada, the Netherlands, Portugal, Great Britain, South Korea, South Africa and Japan also participated. NACWA continues to provide input to ensure the standard contains performance measures that will offer meaningful guidance to all utilities as the development process progresses. Critically, this meeting provided an important forum to help clarify the Association’s input into what will ultimately become the ISO Draft International Standard (DIS). Upon its release, in early spring, most likely April, NACWA will forward the ISO DIS for Wastewater Systems to its membership as part of the Association’s comment effort. The Association would like to thank NACWA Board Member Dave Williams, Director of Wastewater, East Bay Municipal Utility District, Oakland, Calif., and former Board Member, Steve Hayashi, for voicing the wastewater treatment community’s views at this key meeting. The working group also tentatively agreed to meet in Oakland, Calif., most likely in January of 2007 after comments have been gathered on the DIS. The standard is expected to be finalized in 2007. More details of this and upcoming ISO meetings will be made available in the January 2006 Regulatory Update.Submit Nominations for NACWA’s
2006 Environmental Achievement Awards Today!
The deadline to submit your member agency’s nominations for the 2006 National Environmental Achievement Awards (NEAA) is Friday, December 16. The NEAA program offers the perfect opportunity to recognize local, state and federal elected/appointed officials for their contributions to the clean water community and to honor agencies for their notable projects and accomplishments. Eligibility criteria and application information can be found in Member Update 05-17 (http://www.nacwa.org/membership/mu05-17.cfm).Deadline Extended for Responses to the Annual NACWA Index
The deadline to submit responses for the annual NACWA Index questionnaire has been extended to December 30, 2005. NACWA urges all members to complete the survey online using the CleanWater Central™ website (http://www.cleanwatercentral.org/) and refer to Member Update 05-15 (http://www.nacwa.org/private/membcomm/memupdate/mu05-15.cfm) for instructions on completing the survey.