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March 9, 2001

Water Infrastructure Funding Pace Picks Up
This week in separate meetings at the U.S. EPA, AMSA briefed the new Chief of Staff, Eileen McGinnis, and the Associate Administrator for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations, Ed Krenik, on the WINow report and other AMSA priorities. Both officials reiterated EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman's support for finding solutions to the funding crisis. In Congress, the new chairs and ranking members of the two House subcommittees with jurisdiction over wastewater and water infrastructure funding have agreed to be co-chairs of the House Water Infrastructure Caucus (WIC). Rep. John Duncan, Jr. (R-TN) is the new chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment, with Peter DeFazio (D-OR) serving as Ranking Member. Over in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Paul Gillmor (R-OH) is the new chair of the reorganized Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials. Frank Pallone, Jr (D-NJ) is the Ranking Member. Membership in the WIC, which grew to over eighty members last year, is expected to grow significantly after the eight co-chairs send a 'Dear Colleague' letter to their fellow House members in the coming weeks.

AMSA Signals Concerns to Administrator on SSO Rule
On March 6, AMSA and several other municipal organizations sent a letter to EPA Administrator Whitman outlining some fundamental concerns with the Agency’s proposed SSO regulation, which has been detained for review by the new Administration. The letter asks the Administrator to reevaluate the proposed rule with respect to the assumption that overflows can be eliminated through the implementation of operation and maintenance plans. AMSA supports the concept of requiring more rigorous capacity management, operation and maintenance plans (CMOM). However, the regulatory framework must recognize that even the best-operated collection systems will experience occasional and uncontrollable overflows. Signed by the six municipal organizations which participated in the SSO Federal Advisory Committee, the letter also recommends that EPA reject any effort to proceed with the CMOM portions of the proposed rule separate from the compliance, reporting, and other provisions of the regulation. AMSA has already met with staff within the Administrator’s Office and will be working to set up a follow-up meeting to discuss the Agency’s response to the letter. The letter is posted in the Member Pipeline’s Correspondence & Outreach section of AMSA’s website, www.amsa-cleanwater.org.

Comments on Guidance for CSO Water Quality Standards Submitted
This week, AMSA submitted comments to EPA’s Office of Wastewater Management on its draft Guidance on Implementing the Water Quality-Based Provisions in the CSO Control Policy. The draft guidance outlines a process for coordinating a CSO community’s long-term control plan process with the review of state water quality standards. AMSA supports the development of this guidance as a useful tool for CSO communities, and as a potential resource for tightening the relationship between water quality standards and actual wet weather conditions. The comments recommend ways in which the document can be of greater use to a broader cross-section of POTWs, such as the development of a national plan to implement the guidance, the use of state grant incentives for designated use reviews, and the development of flexibility to address communities which have already implemented substantial portions of their long term control plans. The Agency is required by Congress to complete work on the guidance by July 31, 2001. This letter is also posted in the Member Pipeline’s Correspondence & Outreach section, www.amsa-cleanwater.org.

> Beginning Friday, March 16, all E-Alert members will receive the FaxAlert via e-mail. AMSA is pleased to offer this new member service free-of charge, and members are encouraged to sign up for the E-Alert service by visiting www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/signup.cfm.