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October 1, 1999
EPA Responds to Municipal SSO Concerns
This week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) responded to the concerns of municipal representatives on the Sanitary Sewer Overflow Federal Advisory Committee (SSO FACA). In a September 28 letter to the municipal representatives, the Agency expressed a willingness to openly discuss and address key municipal SSO issues including the provision of an affirmative defense for unavoidable SSOs, prescriptive capacity, management, operations and maintenance requirements, watershed management, costs, satellite collection systems and EPA's approach to regulating peak excess flow treatment facilities. Based on EPA's response to the Association's concerns, AMSA has decided to rejoin the discussions. The next SSO FACA meeting will take place October 18-20 in Williamsburg, Va.In late July, AMSA, the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties, the American Public Works Association and the Water Environment Federation withdrew from the renewed SSO discussions with serious concerns over the course the draft proposed regulations were taking and the inflexibility of EPA on key provisions. The decision to walk out of the talks raised the profile of the negotiations and served to underscore the importance of a reasonable, cost-effective approach to regulating SSOs and the potential for vast negative impacts to thousands of municipalities, large and small, across the country.
The Agency also released the fifth SSO “issue paper” this week, which deals with water quality and treatment requirements for peak excess flow treatment facilities. AMSA is currently reviewing the document, and there is some initial concern that the proposed requirements would be too stringent. The fifth SSO issue paper will be distributed to the membership via an upcoming Regulatory Alert.
AMSA Defends Standing to Intervene in Key TMDL Case
Responding to agricultural interests' arguments that AMSA does not have adequate legal standing to intervene in Pronsolino v. EPA, this week the Association filed a brief that counters the plaintiff's claims against AMSA's participation in the high-profile lawsuit over EPA's authority to include nonpoint sources of water pollution in total maximum daily loads (TMDLs). Agricultural interests argue that AMSA should not intervene because “AMSA's property is not threatened, it was not a participant in any 'transaction' that led to the case, and its interests are not within the universe of those covered under” federal criteria for intervention. AMSA's response, however, maintained that if nonpoint sources are exempted from TMDLs, publicly owned treatment works across the country will be negatively impacted.Visit AMSA at WEFTEC '99 in New Orleans . . .
While attending WEFTEC '99, the Water Environment Federations 72nd Annual Conference & Exposition in New Orleans, La., we hope you will take the opportunity to stop by the AMSA booth (#1110) to visit with AMSA staff about upcoming Association initiatives and to preview the new AMSA/Water Environment Research Foundation Clean Water Central database project. Currently in development, Clean Water Central will be an Internet-based fully searchable wastewater agency and treatment plant database containing detailed information on wastewater facilities.