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July 3, 2003 AMSA Fax Alert

Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - July 3, 2003

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July 3, 2003

Supreme Court to Take up Key National Permitting Case
In line with AMSA’s amicus brief, the U.S. Supreme Court decided late last Friday to take up an important case that threatens local government autonomy over water management decisions. AMSA joined the City of New York on the brief, along with the National League of Cities, the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, and the National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies. In the case, Miccosukee Indian Tribe of Florida, et al. v. South Florida Water Management District, AMSA is requesting the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling in the Eleventh Circuit which held that National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits are required for local governments to transfer untreated water between waterbodies for public drinking water supply, flood control, and other local water management purposes. These practices have historically been exempt from the NPDES program and it is AMSA’s assertion that if the current ruling is left to stand, the NPDES program’s scope will expand to more than 30 times its present size. The Association applauds the Supreme Court’s decision to take up the case and will discuss its next steps regarding this case at its upcoming summer conference [see related story below]. AMSA’s November 25, 2002 amicus brief is available on its web site at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/littrack/11-02AmicusMiccosukee.pdf.

AMSA Hits National Airwaves on Behalf of Infrastructure Funding
As part of its outreach effort on behalf of the need for a long-term, federal funding solution to the growing wastewater infrastructure funding gap, AMSA’s Executive Director, Ken Kirk, provided the wastewater community’s perspective on National Public Radio’s (NPR) Marc Steiner show today. The show focused on Baltimore’s clean water infrastructure funding needs and programs with AMSA providing an overview of the daunting expenses that cities nationwide face to maintain and improve upon the water quality gains made under the Clean Water Act. AMSA discussed its initial outreach and research efforts on behalf of a clean water trust fund similar to those that exist for highways and airports, and that doing so would create job growth, stimulate the economy and improve the environment. This NPR interview serves as a good example of AMSA’s grassroots efforts to make the clean water funding issue a national priority and urges its public agency members to continue with similar, local efforts. AMSA will make a transcript of the NPR interview available on the Newsroom section of the Association’s web site at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/advocacy/news.cfm upon its release.

Last Day to Pre-register for July Conference
Media Focus on Emerging Pollutants Shows Timeliness of Meeting
The July Conference is just around the corner and today is the last day to pre-register, so make your reservations now! With a timely theme, Water Quality & the Wastewater Community: Emerging Pollutants, New Challenges, this conference promises to be at the cutting edge of emerging issues facing wastewater treatment facilities. As an example of emerging concerns over pharmaceuticals, AMSA was recently quoted in over a dozen newspapers seeking to allay concerns regarding reports that estrogen from birth control pills may pass through the wastewater treatment facility and alter the gender of male fish populations. The July Conference will provide a unique forum to discuss the latest thinking on similar issues from a host of perspectives. To register for AMSA’s conference, please visit http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/meetings/03summer/. The articles on estrogen are available on the AMSA in the News site at
http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/advocacy/news.cfm.