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January 26, 2001

AMSA Addresses NAS-TMDL Committee
A seven-member National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Committee began their Congressionally-mandated study this week of the Clean Water Act's embattled total maximum daily load (TMDL) program. The study will investigate the scientific basis underlying the development and implementation of TMDLs, focusing on 1) what information is needed to determine TMDLs for impaired waters, 2) the sufficiency of knowledge about point and nonpoint sources of pollution, 3) the state of monitoring and modeling to assess and predict pollutant loads, and 4) the effectiveness of management approaches in controlling nonpoint source pollution. Norm LeBlanc, AMSA Water Quality Committee Chairman and Technical Services Chief for Hampton Roads Sanitation District, Va., represented the interests of publicly owned treatment works during two days of public hearings. The committee scientists have been directed to report their findings to Congress on June 1, 2001.

Endangered Species Agreement Signed by EPA and Services
Late last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Fish and Wildlife Services and National Marine Fisheries Service (the Services) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) describing procedures for enhancing coordination regarding the protection of endangered and threatened species under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. The agreement, which has been under development over the past eight years, describes four key areas, including interagency coordination and elevation to resolve disputes between EPA and the Services, planned national level activities to ensure protection of species, oversight of state water quality standards, and state permitting programs. In April 1999, AMSA commented on a January 1999 public draft of the MOA. While supportive of the goals, AMSA members were concerned that the draft agreement did not acknowledge the role of the regulated community, and that resulting agreements among EPA and the Services may lead to overly protective criteria and increasing administrative burden for states and the regulated community. The final signed MOA will be posted on the AMSA web site once it is made available.

EPA Enforcement to Provide Access to SSO/CSO Documents
In a meeting with AMSA on January 24, EPA officials from the Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance (OECA) expressed their willingness to share key Regional and state sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) and combined sewer overflow (CSO) enforcement documents with AMSA. OECA directed Regions, in cooperation with States, to develop and submit "Compliance and Enforcement Response Plans" for SSOs and CSOs by June 26, 2000, and to inventory all SSO violations by July 28, 2000. OECA has not responded to AMSA’s requests for specific information regarding the status of these documents. OECA admitted that they have been hesitant to provide any specific information on these plans and inventories, explaining their concern over the wide inconsistency between the documents already submitted. Providing that OECA is able to achieve a greater level of consistency in the format and content of these enforcement documents, they intend to provide appropriate access to AMSA with the exception of any lists which specify enforcement targets.

Leadership Center Now Accepting Applications
The Water & Wastewater Leadership Center is now accepting applications for its first session to be held March 11-23, 2001. The Center was created to prepare and develop leaders and management executives for public water and wastewater utilities. For additional information contact Lisa DuBois, at AMSA’s National Office, 202/833-3692 or ldubois@amsa-cleanwater.org.

> JUST ANNOUNCED — The AMSA/AMWA National Creating High Performance Business Services Workshop will be held April 30 - May 1, in Denver, Colo. The Workshop will examine the crucial role that business services play in supporting the core operations of public water and wastewater agencies.