Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - July 1, 2005
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for the FaxAlert ArchiveJuly 1, 2005
Anthrax Protocol
Poised for Publication in National Response Team Guidance
After more than three years of effort from NACWA, its members, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Response Team (NRT) is poised to include the Anthrax Protocol in its Technical Assistance for Anthrax Response guidance. The NRT is comprised of 16 federal agencies with emergency management responsibilities. Following the anthrax attacks in the fall of 2001, wastewater utilities in Florida, Washington DC, and New York were faced with managing the decontamination wastewater generated during the cleanups of several anthrax contaminated buildings. These communities sought guidance from EPA on whether they should allow the discharge of the decontamination wastewater to their collection systems and if so, under what conditions should they accept the wastewater.Prepublication Copy of Anthrax Protocol Available to Members Only on NACWA Website
With the leadership of the NACWA Pretreatment and Hazardous Waste Committee and officials from the City of Boca Raton, Florida, the Association initiated a dialogue with EPA on the issue and was instrumental in the drafting of the protocol. Based on the response taken by the City of Boca Raton, the protocol serves as a guide to aid wastewater utilities and first responders in establishing communication, properly handling containerized decontamination wastewater, and managing the pretreatment of the wastewater prior to discharge and understanding the conditions under which discharge to the sewer system can take place. The sensitive nature of the subject coupled with the lack of prior study of this issue resulted in multiple levels of review by several federal agencies, delaying the release of the protocol. NACWA is pleased to announce that a pre-publication version of the protocol is available to members only on the Association’s website (http://www.nacwa.org/private/legreg/outreach/2005-07Anthrax.pdf). The protocol also served as the foundation for the Association’s broader guidance, Planning for Decontamination Wastewater: A Guide for Utilities, which will be forwarded to members in August.NACWA Advances Legal Ball in Key Clean Water Case
Recent days have been busy on NACWA’s legal front. In a favorable development, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently granted the Association’s joint motion with the Combined Sewer Overflow Partnership (CSOP) to participate as amicus curiae in the latest chapter of an important total maximum daily load (TMDL) suit. In Friends of the Earth (FOE) v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), activist groups are waging a multi-year battle to have a federal court hold that total suspended solid (TSS) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) TMDLs should be expressed for CSO communities as 24-hour limits. Via our continued participation in this case, NACWA and the CSOP will show how FOE’s interpretation will undermine the long-term control planning efforts of CSO communities nationwide.NACWA Strengthens Government Affairs Capability
In an effort to further enhance its government affairs capability – and particularly its advocacy work in the regulatory arena – NACWA has hired Susie Bruninga as Manager, Regulatory Affairs. Susie will replace Will Pettit, who is pursuing work outside of the water quality arena. Susie will join NACWA’s National Office staff on July 12 – and will be in attendance at the upcoming 2005 Summer Conference. Since 1999 she has served as Senior Reporter for BNA’s Daily Environment Report and Environment Reporter with a primary focus on issues relating to the Clean Water Act, including the TMDL program under Section 303(d), the wetlands program under Section 404, and the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget, including efforts to boost funding for infrastructure. Susie also has a Masters degree in Environmental Policy & Science from Johns Hopkins University.