Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - September 8, 2006
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for the FaxAlert ArchiveSeptember 8, 2006
NACWA Supports
Rehearing in Ninth Circuit CWA Jurisdiction Case
This week, NACWA signed a joint letter with the California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA) and the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) supporting a request by the City of Healdsburg, Calif., a NACWA member agency, that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rehear its controversial August 10 decision in Northern California River Watch v. Healdsburg (http://www.nacwa.org/private/littrack/#healdsburg). The court’s decision, to be analyzed in a forthcoming NACWA Legal Alert, found Healdsburg’s wastewater percolation pond is covered under the definition of “waters of the United States” and subject to Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction because the pond’s adjacent wetlands have a “significant nexus” to a navigable river. The “significant nexus” test was articulated by one Justice in a fractured decision in the Rapanos v. U.S. decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in June (http://www.nacwa.org/private/legalalerts/leg06-05.cfm). Healdsburg is the first appellate court decision to be issued post-Rapanos. The letter from NACWA, CASA, and ACWA expresses concern with the court’s sweeping adoption of the “significant nexus” test and asks that its interpretation of the EPA’s waste treatment system exemption be reconsidered. In a positive development for NACWA, CASA and ACWA, the court did not endorse a prior finding that groundwater underlying Healdsburg’s pond is a “tributary” water of the U.S. – consistent with arguments made in our joint 2004 amicus brief. NACWA will keep the membership informed of developments in this case.NACWA Weighs in on
Proposed National Laboratory Accreditation Program
NACWA sent a letter (http://www.nacwa.org/getfile.cfm?fn=2006-09-06Grumbles.pdf) this week to Benjamin Grumbles, EPA Assistant Administrator for Water, regarding an initiative by the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference (NELAC) to partner with the Agency on a national lab accreditation program. As the letter states, “NELAC’s recent efforts to establish itself as a self-sustaining organization and have EPA mandate a national accreditation program . . . are raising serious concerns among the NACWA membership.” The letter urges EPA to avoid making any commitments or even seriously considering NELAC’s proposal at this time given the lack of municipal input into it. In the letter, NACWA requests that public wastewater treatment utility representatives be included in any future discussions regarding national laboratory accreditation to ensure that local government perspectives and concerns are adequately incorporated. The Association also notes that while “NACWA supports the concept of a national accreditation program, [it] should be guided by EPA and based on a standard that adequately represents the perspectives and capabilities of all stakeholders, is strongly linked to data quality, and is truly performance-based.” EPA acknowledged NACWA’s input, and the Association plans to discuss the issue with the Agency soon.DHS Releases Final Rule on
Handling of Critical Infrastructure Information
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released its Final Rule on Procedures for Handling Critical Infrastructure Information Sept. 1. The rule sets forth DHS procedures for handling protected critical infrastructure information (PCII) that has been voluntarily submitted to the Department by utilities or other public or private sector entities. Covered by the rule are the receipt, validation, handling, storage, marking, and use of such information. NACWA has consistently voiced member concerns about sharing PCII with the federal government. NACWA has also raised concerns that PCII could be used as the basis for unnecessary regulatory requirements.The DHS final rule makes it clear that “PCII will be shared only for the Homeland Security purposes specified in the statute [The Critical Infrastructure Information Act of 2002] and in no event for other collateral regulatory purpose.” The rule also seeks to provide maximum protection of the information, noting that “a submittal validated as PCII will not thereafter lose its protected status” except under very narrow circumstances set out in the rule. As such, this document offers some degree of protection that may make NACWA member agencies feel more comfortable seeking DHS security grants, which may require the sharing of sensitive information, such as data from a completed vulnerability assessment or the results of a chlorine gas decision tree assessment. A copy of the final rule is available for download on NACWA’s Regulatory Correspondence & Outreach webpage (http://www.nacwa.org/getfile.cfm?fn=2006-09PCII_FRule.pdf), as is an accompanying DHS fact sheet providing an overview of the final rule (http://www.nacwa.org/getfile.cfm?fn=2006-09PCII_FS.pdf).
NACWA Completes Work on
Options Paper Detailing Plans for Farm Bill Involvement
NACWA has incorporated member comments on its options paper, 2007 Farm Bill Reauthorization and Potential Benefits for NACWA Members. The paper, posted on NACWA’s website (http://www.nacwa.org/getfile.cfm?fn=2006-09-07farm.pdf), outlines the Association’s plans to build support for increased Farm Bill funding for conservation programs that will improve water quality. NACWA’s advocacy efforts will focus on building coalitions with conservation groups and agricultural producers to work for legislation that maximizes funding opportunities, promotes watershed coordination and trading programs between publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) and other users, as well as improved farmland nutrient management programs. NACWA believes federal funding for price supports and other farm subsidies will decrease, in part, because of international trade restrictions. Since funding for conservation measures typically is exempt from these restrictions, some think Congress may be willing to boost incentives for these types of programs.Hotel Cut-Off for
Pretreatment Workshop Is September 12th, Register Today!
NACWA’s 2006 Pretreatment and Pollution Prevention Workshop, set for October 4-6 in New Orleans, is gearing up with fascinating panels on topics ranging from Pretreatment Streamlining Rule implementation to a discussion on how the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans met the challenges of Hurricane Katrina. If you haven’t already reserved your hotel room, please be aware that the deadline for reserving a room at the Royal Sonesta for the conference rate of $153 is Sept. 12 — next Tuesday! You can contact the Royal Sonesta at (504) 586-0300 to reserve your room and online registration is available for the conference on NACWA’s website (http://www.nacwa.org/meetings/06pret/).