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December 10, 1999
Wet Weather Listed as Senate Environment Committee Priority
This week, Sen. Robert Smith (R-N.H.), the new chair of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee, outlined his environmental priorities for the coming year, and urban wet weather issues figure prominently. His first steps as committee chair will be to launch oversight hearings on EPA's fiscal 2000 budget. “Before authorizing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) FY 2001 budget, Congress should have a better understanding of how the Agency is spending the funds,” he said. In his remarks, Smith characterized his approach toward Clean Water Act issues during the second session of the 106th Congress as one that will focus on targeted problem-solving, increased state authority, incentives for business and allowing “communities the flexibility to set priorities so they can use their limited resources to get the most environmental bang for the buck.” The senator also discussed the costly challenges that combined sewer overflows (CSOs) pose for municipalities in his state, stressing the importance of local flexibility to achieve cost-effective solutions. Smith's understanding and support of CSO legislation will aid AMSA in gaining further support for targeted legislative solutions to the full array of urban wet weather challenges, which include sanitary sewer overflows and stormwater as well as CSOs. The chairman acknowledged that because next year is an election year, the Environment & Public Works Committee will be most active during the early months of 2000, so the National Office will redouble its efforts to ensure that lines of communication remain open between AMSA members and their lawmakers during this critical period. Due to the tightened schedule imposed by election, AMSA is planning to meet with Senator Smith and has already met informally with committee staff to discuss the Association's positions on funding, urban wet weather, and other issues of concern to municipal wastewater agencies such as nonpoint source pollution and Superfund. Look for Member Updates and Legislative Alerts containing helpful information and coordinating the Association's efforts toward its goals.EPA Ramps Up Clean Air Act RMP Enforcement
This week, AMSA has received notice from EPA Region VI alerting the Association that EPA has begun enforcing its Clean Air Act Risk Management Plan (RMP) requirements. Under EPA Accidental Release Prevention regulations, facilities that store greater-than-threshold quantities of specified chemicals must develop a risk management program and were required to submit RMPs to EPA by June 1999. To encourage submission of the plans, the notice urges facilities that have not already done so to submit their RMPs without risk of enforcement until June 21, 2000. Other EPA Regions will likely follow suit with similar enforcement approaches.WET Inter-Lab Study Approaches Critical Phase
Nearly 40 AMSA member agencies are voluntarily participating —at their own expense— in a study to gauge the reliability of whole effluent toxicity (WET) tests. The Association extends its thanks to these agencies for their contribution towards helping determine the reliability of WET tests. Participating agencies will soon receive invoices for study expenses. The study's participants are listed in the September 1999 Clean Water News.Reminder . . .
Nominations for the National Environmental Achievement Awards are due to the National Office by Friday, Dec. 17. Member Update 99-10 and AMSA's web site, http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org. contains application materials, award categories, eligibility criteria, application information and instructions for submitting nominations.