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March 10, 2000
EPA Financial Advisors Take Up Wastewater Funding
This week, the Environmental Finance Advisory Board (EFAB), met in Washington, DC to discuss EPA's wastewater infrastructure funding gap analysis, as well as several other issues. EFAB was established in 1989 as part of EPA's Environmental Finance Program “to assist the regulated community in identifying practical ways of lowering costs and increasing investments in public environmental facilities and services.”After reviewing a preliminary draft of EPA's gap analysis, EFAB issued a memorandum noting that the current funding gaps facing public water and wastewater agencies is “impressive and sobering.” The memorandum recognizes “the pressing need to significantly increase capital investments in sustainable public purpose water infrastructure” and that “in the absence of deliberate, effective action, we stand to lose the gains made to date in water quality improvement and jeopardize our efforts to move forward.” EFAB listed several possible “means to cope with the gap and its resource implications” and concluded by stating the advisory board's willingness to “make a major commitment to assist the Office of Water with follow up to the Gap Analysis” by providing help to the agency in peer review, development of long-term financial strategy, or providing an in-depth report on key finance issues or innovations.EPA Extends Bacterial Indicators Comment Deadline
EPA has extended the comment deadline on the “Draft Implementation Guidance for Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Bacteria — 1986 ” to April 14. The draft guidance was developed to assist States in implementing EPA's recommended water quality criteria for bacteria. EPA recommended E.coli or enterococci for freshwaters and enterococci for marine waters in its Water Quality Criteria for Bacteria, 1986, however, many states continue to use fecal or total coliforms to protect human health from the risk of gastrointestinal illness in primary contact recreation designated waterbodies. EPA has made the transition to E.Coli and enterococci bacterial indicators an Agency priority for the triennial review of water standards occurring in FY2000-2002. AMSA's Water Quality Committee is currently reviewing the draft implementation guidance and plans to submit comments to the Agency in early April.USDA Proposes New 'Organic' Food Standards
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced revisions to its proposed National Organic Standards this week and, as expected, the proposal specifically prohibits the use of genetic engineering, irradiation and biosolids in the production of foods labeled “organic.” In preparing the proposal, Secretary Dan Glickman said USDA reviewed over 275,000 comments in response to the initial December 1997 proposed rule.AMSA to Meet with the White House Office of Management & Budget
Next week, AMSA will meet with the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) to discuss EPA's proposed sanitary sewer overflow regulations. The SSO rule is currently undergoing an expedited final Agency review, scheduled for completion by sometime late next week. OMB will then be asked to perform an expedited review of the rule so that EPA can release the proposed rule by the President's Memorial Day deadline. AMSA will be discussing the potential impacts of the proposal.