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December 5, 2003 AMSA Fax Alert

Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - December 5, 2003

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December 5, 2003

AMSA Helps Ensure Continued EPA Support for the Land Application of Biosolids
With the Center for Food Safety (CFS) having recently petitioned EPA to place a moratorium on land-applied biosolids, coupled with a recent story on CBS Evening News calling into doubt the Agency’s continued support for land-application, AMSA and other stakeholders have urged EPA to restate its commitment to the Part 503 biosolids program. In letters that were distributed this and last week, EPA has squarely stated that the Agency continues to back the land application of biosolids in accordance with the 40 CFR Part 503 program. The cornerstone of the effort to ensure EPA’s continued support for land-application was a municipal coalition letter from more than 15 organizations including AMSA, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National league of Cities, and the Water Environment Federation to then-EPA Acting Administrator, Marianne Horinko, urging the Agency to deny CFS’s petition.

Specifically, EPA reconfirmed its support of land application in a letter dated November 28 from James Hanlon, Director of EPA’s Office of Wastewater Management (OWM), to Greg Kester, State Residuals Coordinator of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, stating that “Administrator Leavitt asked that I respond to you on his behalf,” adding that EPA “continues to support land application, incineration and disposal in municipal solid waste landfills . . . in compliance with 40 CFR Part 503 as viable options for the use and disposal of biosolids.” The letter also re-emphasized support for the work of the National Biosolids Partnership, noting that it is “leading to adoption of voluntary Environmental Management Systems for biosolids” and stated that EPA’s final response to the CFS petition will be issued in January 2004 (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/temp/2003-11-28letter.pdf). Tracy Mehan, Assistant Administrator of Water, also recently replied to AMSA in a recent letter assuring the Association and its members that the Agency is carefully evaluating the information provided in the municipal coalition letter as EPA prepares its January 2004 response to the petition (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/temp/2003-11-21epa.pdf).

EPA Budget Report Includes NBP Funding, Study on Jobs from Infrastructure Projects
Seven remaining funding measures have been bundled together into an omnibus appropriations bill (H.R. 2673) that includes fiscal year 2004 funding for EPA. In an encouraging development, the House-Senate conference report on the bill, completed just before the Thanksgiving holiday, includes $1 million for the National Biosolids Partnership — key funding that AMSA and its members have worked on consistently to obtain. The conference report also allocates $1.35 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, $500 million over the President’s request and the same level of funding as last year. Also worthy of mention, Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Veteran’s Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies, successfully inserted language into the conference report calling on EPA to complete a study within 60 days of the bill’s enactment on how many new jobs result from the financing of water and wastewater infrastructure projects. This effort shows Congress’s continued interest in water and wastewater infrastructure funding as a spur for job growth and the nation’s economy. The House is expected to vote on the omnibus package on December 8. AMSA will continue to support these provisions through the bill’s ultimate passage. The conference report is available online (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/legupdate/leg_tracker.cfm).