Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - March 19, 2004
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March 19, 2004
AMSA Comments on EPA’s
Effluent Guideline Plan, Seeks New 50 POTW Study
AMSA submitted comments (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/advocacy/comments/2004-03-18ELGcmts.pdf) this week on EPA’s Preliminary Effluent Guidelines Program Plan for 2004/2005. AMSA noted that, as key stakeholders in the effluent limitations guidelines (ELG) program, the focus of the ELG program should be on refining existing ELGs that present the greatest opportunity for reducing risk to human health and the environment, especially those standards that over the last 10 to 20 years have become dated and no longer function as they were originally intended. AMSA included several suggested administrative and technical revisions to ELGs in an effort to reduce burden for EPA, publicly owned treatment works (POTWs), and industry, while maintaining or improving water quality. Above all else, AMSA’s comments urged the Agency to update the most critical tool EPA has for evaluating the need for pretreatment standards — the 50 POTW study. This study provides the underlying basis for regulating pollutants under the current categorical pretreatment standards. The current study is more than 20 years old and the removal efficiencies, physical parameters, and process data that EPA must rely upon for evaluating pretreatment standards are no longer valid. AMSA staff and several public agency members also participated in a Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) meeting in Phoenix this week. At this meeting, AMSA staff provided WERF with a list of priority POTW research projects, based on a survey of public agency members, for WERF to undertake. Topping the list was the 50 POTW study. AMSA will provide further information on this meeting in future publications.AMSA Signs Coalition Letter
to House to Increase Funding for Clean, Safe Water
AMSA and key municipal, state and environmental groups signed a letter that was sent to all members of the U.S. House of Representatives urging their support for a significant increase in funding for the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Funds (SRFs) (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/outreach/2004-03-06SRF.doc). The letter seeks $3 billion in funding for the Clean Water SRF and $2 billion for the Drinking Water SRF, up from current levels of $1.35 billion and $850 million, respectively. While AMSA supports this short-term fiscal year 2005 funding increase for the SRFs, work continues on creating a viable clean water trust fund to help overcome the long-term funding gap. AMSA sent a similar coalition letter to the all Senators last week, which helped ensure passage through the Senate of the SRF funding increase (see FaxAlert 03-12-04 at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/faxalerts/031204.cfm).Atlanta Mayor to Provide
Feature Address at AMSA’s Policy Forum in May
AMSA is pleased to announce that Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin will be a featured speaker at the Association’s 2004 National Environmental Policy Forum and 34th Annual Meeting, Politics, Policy & POTWs, in Washington, DC, May 22-26. Mayor Franklin will be speaking about Atlanta’s recent challenges in the areas of wastewater infrastructure funding needs, privatization, and obtaining local support for clean water projects. Mayor Franklin will also share her view of the role of the federal government in helping to meet municipal clean water needs. The problems facing local community efforts to fund infrastructure upgrades is a growing problem and her remarks will no doubt shed light on the challenges many POTWs are facing. The Policy Forum is shaping up to be very exciting — as a review of our online agenda demonstrates — so please download the agenda and register online today at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/meetings/04nepf/. You may reserve your hotel room by calling the Renaissance Hotel, 800-HOTELS-a or 202/898-9000, to ensure the special room rate of $199 single/double. The deadline for hotel reservations is Wednesday, April 28, 2004.