Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - August 29, 2003
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August 29, 2003
EPA’s Anthrax Decontamination Protocol Begins Peer-Review Process
AMSA learned this week that EPA has begun its independent peer review process of its anthrax decontamination protocol, a guideline document that will provide a plan for containing and disposing of anthrax decontamination wastewater following anthrax cleanup. AMSA and key public agency members played a major role in drafting the protocol and the Association will distribute it to the membership via a Regulatory Update when it becomes available. In other security news, EPA's Water Protection Task Force was recently made a permanent part of the Agency and is now called the Water Security Division. Although it will be housed in the Office of Groundwater & Drinking Water, the Water Security Division has jurisdiction over security matters for both the drinking water and wastewater sectors. The Division, which will add ten new staff positions, is being headed up by Acting Director, Janet Pawlukiewicz and consists of two branches: Security Assistance and Threat Analysis, Preparedness & Prevention. AMSA has worked closely with Pawlukiewicz and the Water Protection Task Force on VSAT™ and other key security initiatives and looks forward to continuing this relationship on a permanent basis.EPA’s Clean Watershed Needs Survey Shows Giant Funding Gap, Need for Trust Fund
EPA’s Clean Watersheds Needs Survey 2000 Report to Congress, which presents the results of the Agency's survey of water quality programs and projects eligible for funding through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, has been signed. The Survey identifies a funding gap totaling $181.2 billion, based on information gathered from April 2000 – January 2003, in order to control pollution from storm water and nonpoint sources. As AMSA has emphasized, the Survey finds that sound wastewater infrastructure is vital to the nation's economy and overall quality of life and the costs associated with meeting current and future infrastructure needs is a major concern facing the country. As EPA’s August 22 press release states, the Agency is working with the states and leaders in the wastewater utility industry to reduce these costs through improved management of infrastructure assets, improved technology, water efficiency and watershed-based decision-making. While AMSA believes these efforts are valuable, this survey demonstrates the need for a dedicated clean water infrastructure funding source — a message that AMSA again reiterated in a radio interview this week that will be aired soon on over 100 radio stations in the Great Lakes region. EPA’s press release can be found on the Agency’s website at http://www.epa.gov/newsroom/. The entire report will be available next week on the Agency’s website at www.epa.gov/owm.AMSA Seeks Member Input on EPA’s Proposed Changes to Risk Management Plans
EPA has published proposed changes to its risk management planning regulations, Accidental Release Prevention Requirements: Risk Management Program Requirements Under Clean Air Act Section 112(r)(7); Amendments to the Submission Schedule and Data Requirements. The Agency’s first risk management planning regulations required owners and operators of stationary sources to submit risk management plans (RMPs) to federal, state, and local emergency planning and response agencies. The Agency is now proposing to require facilities that have reportable accidents to update and re-submit their entire RMP within six months of the date of the accident; report changes in emergency contact information within one month; remove the regulatory requirement to discuss the off-site consequence analysis in the executive summary of the RMP; and require the submittal of key employee injury and illness data along with the RMP. AMSA believes some of these proposed changes are relatively minor and generally positive. The Association, however, is concerned that some of these changes have the potential to significantly increase the reporting burden on AMSA public agency members. AMSA encourages members to submit comments on the rule by September 11 so the Association can provide thorough comments to EPA regarding this proposal and will be issuing a detailed Regulatory Alert on September 2, providing information on the proposed RMP changes. The proposed rule is available on EPA’s website at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-AIR/2003/July/Day-31/a19281.pdf.