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Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - July 6, 2001

July 6, 2001

AMSA’s Comments To Sierra Club Back Land-Applied Biosolids
In response to the Sierra Club’s draft biosolids guidelines, AMSA issued comments this week saying the Association is deeply "concerned that the inflammatory tone of the document and several misleading statements may negatively impact the beneficial use of biosolids in the United States." The Sierra Club document conveniently overlooks existing federal regulations that address biosolids management and EPA’s decision to update biosolids regulations as more scientific information becomes available. The guidelines also ignore the 1996 National Research Council study, which concluded that existing, federal biosolids rules adequately protect human health. These guidelines, however, do exemplify the timeliness of AMSA’s upcoming July biosolids conference, where this and other key biosolids issues will be addressed (see related story). AMSA invited Sierra Club officials to speak at the conference, but they declined the invitation. AMSA is also offering to work with the Sierra Club in developing the guidelines and continues to advocate on behalf of land-applied biosolids. For AMSA’s comments, see http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/outreach/7-2-01sierraclub.pdf.

AMSA’s July Biosolids Conference Is Remarkably Timely
AMSA's July 17-20 summer conference, in Milwaukee, Wis., The Biosolids Challenge . . . Ensuring Success, is rapidly becoming the forum to address controversial current and emerging issues in the biosolids arena. With AMSA’s response this week to the Sierra Club’s troubling draft biosolids guidelines, and Riverside County, California’s unfortunate decision to ban land-applied biosolids until after the National Academy of Sciences completes its dioxin study, the conference will undoubtedly be the focal point of critical timely debate and discussion. Today (July 6) is the last day for the conference’s advanced registration, so it is still not too late to pre-register! For more conference information, see http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org or contact Nirah Forman at 202/833-8418.

POTWs Comment En Masse on Controversial EPA Metal Proposal
AMSA’s efforts to organize member and non-member publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) to present a united front in comments filed this week on EPA’s proposed Effluent Limitations Guidelines, Pretreatment Standards, and New Source Performance Standards for the Metal Products & Machinery (MP&M) Point Source Category, were a major success. To date, we are aware of 47 POTWs that filed comments on the rule, many of which incorporated AMSA’s comments by reference. AMSA’s comments outline several key concerns with the proposal, including its reliance on outdated POTW data, questionable science, and underestimated compliance costs. As the comments state, "AMSA simply cannot support this or any other version of this rule." AMSA will continue to work with EPA on the MP&M issue and has an upcoming meeting with the Agency to discuss viable alternatives to the MP&M proposal. AMSA’s comments are available at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/outreach/7-2-01mpandm.pdf..

AMSA urges all its members to schedule meetings with their Congressional delegates who are returning home for the August recess – August 4 through September 3 – in order to discuss the urgent need for increased federal water infrastructure funding. More to come on this issue in following Fax and Legislative Alerts!

The July 20th application deadline for the Water & Wastewater Leadership Center is rapidly approaching, so if you are planning to apply please do so today! Additional information is available on our website.