Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - December 12, 2002
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December 12, 2002
AMSA, WERF Kick Off Revitalization of CleanWater Central
AMSA and Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) staff met this week to kick off an effort to populate and revitalize the joint CleanWater Central project. AMSA and WERF plan to unveil an updated version of the online database in May 2003 and to use it as a hub for data collection and as a repository for information vital to the wastewater treatment community — such as the data collected in AMSA’s 2003 Financial Survey. Over the next few months, an AMSA-WERF advisory committee will meet to resolve outstanding policy issues and guide contractor activities. When complete, the online database will provide one-stop shopping for volumes of information now only available in hard copy and discrete locations. AMSA will update members as this pivotal project progresses.
Mehan Lays Out Vision of EPA Office of Water Priorities
AMSA obtained an internal EPA memo sent this week from the Agency’s Office of Water (OW) chief, G. Tracy Mehan III to OW staff and Regional Administrators, outlining his vision of clean and safe water policy priorities. Topping the list was addressing the water/wastewater infrastructure funding gap, focusing predictably on municipal initiatives — asset management, charging full cost of service, conservation methods and metering — as the solution. As the document stated, “We [EPA] will continue to work with Congress to support workable SRF [state revolving fund] loan conditions tied to the fiscal sustainability of utilities.” Significantly, the document made no mention of the huge expenses POTWs face to meet wet weather requirements nor did it discuss federal or state accountability in overcoming the funding shortfall. The document also discussed EPA’s plan to deal with clean water issues on a watershed basis, build stronger relations with the agriculture community to deal with nonpoint source pollution, and improve water quality monitoring. The memo is available at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/faxalerts/121302a.cfm.
AMSA Hosts Multi-Association WET Strategy Session
This week, AMSA member agency representatives and the National Office hosted and led a meeting on key developments in EPA's Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) test methods program. On Nov. 19, 2002 EPA published final revisions to the WET test methods under a 1998 settlement agreement with the Western Coalition of Arid States and the Edison Electric Institute. These final revisions fail to address AMSA's extensive comments of Jan. 2002, asserting that the WET test methods are highly unreliable, placing POTWs at risk for Clean Water Act (CWA) penalties. This week's meeting brought together various groups with a history of interest in WET issues to discuss concerns with the final rule and approaches for moving forward, including meetings with EPA and state officials, and the potential for future litigation. AMSA will keep the membership apprised of future WET developments.
- Register Today for AMSA’s 2003 Winter Conference
An updated agenda for AMSA’s 2003 Winter Conference, The Evolving Public Utility… Leading the Workforce of Today, Feb. 4-7 in scenic Santa Fe, N.M., is now available with detailed information on the conference’s speakers and panels. The agenda demonstrates the high level of expertise AMSA has brought together to explore effective utility leadership of today’s modern workforce. With the holidays rapidly approaching, reserve your hotel accommodations today by calling the Eldorado Hotel, 800/955-4455, by the Jan. 3 deadline. The conference agenda and registration materials are on AMSA’s web site at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/meetings/ and available in Member Update 02-20.