Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - December 3, 2004
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December 3, 2004
AMSA Scores Victory in Key
TM”D”L Case, Gains Amicus Status in Nutrient Suit
On November 29, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia handed AMSA a clear victory in Friends of the Earth (FOE) v. EPA. In this case, FOE challenged EPA’s approval of a biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) total maximum daily load (TMDL) for the District’s Anacostia River that allocated loads via yearly average, and a total suspended solids (TSS) TMDL that used a seasonal average. The court’s decision finds that Congress did not endorse “an exclusive and narrow daily load calculation for water pollutants for all circumstances, at any regulatory cost, and for zero or trivial regulatory benefit.” The court deferred to EPA’s decisions regarding non-daily expression of TMDLs, the anticipated water quality standards attainment, the TMDLs’ margins of safety, and the ultimate wasteload allocations. AMSA was joined by the CSO Partnership on a July 16 amicus brief in the case supporting member agency the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC WASA). AMSA will distribute a Legal Alert early next week summarizing the decision.On November 30, the Circuit Court for the City of Richmond, Va. granted AMSA and the Virginia Association of Municipal Wastewater Agencies (VAMWA’s) amicus status in Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) v. Town of Onancock (Onancock). CBF is appealing Onancock’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit due to the fact that it does not contain nutrient limits. Because Virginia is revising nutrient water quality standards and developing TMDLs for the Bay, Onancock’s permit requires it to monitor for nutrients from the plant, accelerate nutrient removal planning and maximize current nutrient removal capability. AMSA and VAMWA’s January 2005 brief will argue that it is essential to allow the state to complete its scientific studies of the Bay so that subsequent public agency facility upgrades can result in measurable water quality improvements. Visit AMSA’s Litigation Tracker (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/littrack/) for more on the Association’s legal activities.
AMSA Meets with
Key Stakeholders on Draft Trust Fund Legislation
AMSA participated in a third facilitated meeting this week with stakeholder groups to discuss the Association’s draft legislation, the Clean & Safe Water Trust Fund Act of 2005. Attendees discussed the details of the draft legislation which received a generally positive reaction. The draft bill is based on existing laws passed by Congress that established trust funds for other critical national infrastructure sectors, such as highways and airports. A draft of the legislation was distributed to AMSA members, environmental and conservations stakeholder groups, members of the Water Infrastructure Network, and other interested parties for review and comment. The Association will review the comments by mid-December and circulate a revised draft with a request for organizational support. AMSA plans on a February 2005 timeframe for the introduction of the legislation in the 109th Congress. For more information on the draft legislation, please refer to Legislative Alert 04-5 (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/legalrts/la04-5.cfm).
- Online registration for AMSA’s 2005 Winter Conference, Sustainable Systems, in San Antonio, Texas, is now available on the Association’s website (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/meetings/05winter/). Attendees can also reserve their hotel accommodations by calling the Westin La Cantera at 210/558-6500. To ensure the special room rate of $175 single/double attendees must reserve their room by Friday, January 7, 2005.