Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - August 9, 2002
Click Here
to see previous Fax Alerts
August 9, 2002
EPA Decides to Propose Watershed Rule, AMSA Applauds Move
In a move that AMSA has urged and strongly supports, EPA decided this week to propose its total maximum daily load (TMDL) rule, commonly called the watershed rule. The Agency’s decision came the same day AMSA sent a strongly worded letter to EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman and in the wake of several meetings between AMSA and high level Agency officials, urging EPA to propose the watershed rule. AMSA’s support for the rule is best expressed in the Association’s Aug. 7 letter to Whitman, stating that “[t]he watershed rule EPA plans to propose would create a system to holistically address clean water issues, incorporating both point and nonpoint sources in a meaningful manner. It also would provide a workable process for TMDL implementation and accountability for all parties.”AMSA’s letter also points to the inconsistency environmental organizations have portrayed on this issue, stating, “[s]tunningly, we also have heard that environmental organizations support EPA’s potential abandonment of the watershed rule in favor of a return to the broken 1992 rule. These same organizations coordinated the filing of over 30 lawsuits against EPA and the states for failure to develop and implement TMDLs under the 1992 rule, leaving no question about their position on the 1992 rule’s effectiveness.” Demonstrating the important role AMSA will have in the watershed rule’s development, Ben Grumbles, EPA’s Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water, stated in yesterday’s Washington Post that the new rule will “refine the existing program by . . . addressing the concerns of stakeholders, such as . . . local sewage treatment and water pollution control agencies.” AMSA is meeting today with Office of Management Budget (OMB) officials on the need to move forward with the watershed rule. AMSA will update its members through upcoming Association publications on the meeting with OMB and on the progress of the watershed rule. AMSA’s letter to Whitman is available at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/outreach/080702whitmanletter.pdf.
Register Today for AMSA’s Upcoming VSAT™ Training Workshops
AMSA is offering two pilot online training opportunities to its members to familiarize POTWs with the key features the Association’s vulnerability assessment software, VSAT™wastewater — and to help fast-track their assessments. The workshops will be held August 14 (12:30 - 4:30pm EST) and August 20 (9:00am - 1:00pm EST), 2002. Because they are online, you can participate from the comfort of your own office. To ensure quality sessions, space is limited to 50 participants per workshop. To register, visit AMSA’s web site at www.amsa-cleanwater.org/meetings/ and click on the VSAT™ workshop link.
U.S. News & World Report Cover Story on the Need to Invest Billions in Water Infrastructure Cites Water Infrastructure Network's Needs Estimate
AMSA and the Water Infrastructure Network’s (WIN) efforts received a boost with the publication of a cover story in the August 12, 2002 issue of U.S. News & World Report titled The Coming Water Crisis: Many Billions Will Be Needed to Quench America’s Thirst, but Is Private Business the Answer? The article cites WIN’s needs estimate, pointing to a "$1 trillion tally by a coalition of water industry, engineering, and environmental groups," and is available at www.win-water.org.
Join AMSA for the next Late Breaking Legal Issues Call on Vulnerability Assessment Disclosure Issues
The next AMSA Late Breaking Legal Issues Call has been rescheduled from Aug. 14 to Sept. 4 from 2-3 p.m. EST. The guest speaker will be Steve Chabinsky, Principal Legal Advisor, National Infrastructure Protection Center, Federal Bureau of Investigation, who will discuss disclosure issues related to POTW vulnerability assessments. To join the call, visit AMSA’s web site at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legal/confcalls.cfm for instructions.