Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - June 2, 2006
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for the FaxAlert ArchiveJune 2, 2006
NACWA, EPA Discuss Next Steps
on Total Maximum “Daily” Load Decision
NACWA staff and Norm LeBlanc, Chair of the Association’s Water Quality Committee and Director of Water Quality at the Hampton Roads Sanitation District, Virginia Beach, Va., and representatives from the Federal Water Quality Coalition, met with EPA staff to discuss their initial response to the April 25 U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit's decision that all total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) must include daily pollutant loadings. Key internal deadlines for seeking a rehearing of the case have passed, so it does not appear likely that EPA will go back to the courts by the June 9 filing deadline. Instead, EPA has been communicating with the Regions and the states regarding the scope of the Court's decision and how best to accommodate the ruling. While a final course of action has not been completely determined, EPA is not seriously considering the pursuit of a Congressional amendment to the CWA or any wholesale changes of the federal TMDL regulations. Rather, staff is preparing a brief memo, expected to be issued at the end of June, recommending that all states and Regions developing TMDLs consider including a daily expression of the pollutant loadings in the TMDL. How these daily expressions are developed will be the subject of a more in-depth document that EPA will develop over the next few months. EPA acknowledged that simply dividing an annual load by 365, for example, to calculate a daily expression is not their intent, and indicated that they will provide information on available statistical procedures for developing meaningful daily expressions. EPA’s approach seems to provide significant flexibility to permit writers to assign permit limits that make sense, but may ultimately lead to another legal challenge from the environmental community.Also of vital importance is whether the DC Water & Sewer Authority (DCWASA), a party to the Friends of the Earth v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “daily” load case, will seek a rehearing of the case or petitions for review by the Supreme Court — both options remain in play until June 9. NACWA's next steps depend in large part on DCWASA’s litigation decisions, as well as the response documents EPA is developing. This TMDL issue will be a focus for several of NACWA’s standing committees, which are meeting next at NACWA’s Summer Conference in July [see article below]. The Association will continue to keep members fully apprised of developments as they occur.
EPA Proposal Exempts
Water Transfers from NPDES Authority, NACWA to Comment
EPA this week issued its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Water Transfers Proposed Rule
(http://www.epa.gov/npdes/regulations/water_transfers_preamble_final.pdf). The proposed rule amends Clean Water Act (CWA) regulations to expressly exclude water transfers from regulation under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program. It also defines water transfers as an activity that conveys waters of the United States to another water of the United States without subjecting the water to intervening industrial, municipal, or commercial use. This proposal is a favorable development for NACWA legal efforts, including the Catskill Mountains Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Inc. (TU) v. City of New York (City) case, in which NACWA is seeking an exclusion of water transfers at issue in the case from NPDES permitting authority. Comments on the proposed rule will be due 45 days after publication in the Federal Register, which is expected to occur in the coming weeks. NACWA will be soliciting public agency member comments upon the proposal’s publication. For more information on NACWA’s proactive legal efforts on this issue, visit the Association website’s Litigation Tracker (http://www.nacwa.org/private/littrack/).EPA Offers Insight
into its Direction on Wet Weather Policy at CSO Workshop
The NACWA/Wet Weather Partnership CSO Workshop took place this week in Chicago, Ill., and again demonstrated its value to the municipal community. Among the Workshop’s highlights were the remarks of EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Water, Ben Grumbles, who discussed EPA’s wet weather priorities. Grumbles stated that EPA was in the final stages of getting the peak excess flow policy published and that this remained a high Agency priority. Also, EPA is nearing completion of its study on the impacts of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) to the Lake Michigan Basin, which will provide important data that NACWA will be reviewing closely. Grumbles reiterated his commitment to further promote coordination between Headquarters, Regions, States and enforcement officials on wet weather issues. Significantly, he stated that “the UAA [use attainability analysis] process requires a lot more attention” and is “absolutely critical” [see article below on the upcoming NACWA/WERF web seminar on UAAs]. EPA is also working with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Treasury Department to remove barriers to, and provide incentives for, the financing of municipal infrastructure projects — an effort that NACWA will monitor closely to ensure accounts for the interests of the Nation’s clean water agencies . Grumbles also highlighted the important role NACWA’s Financial Capability and Affordability in Wet Weather Negotiations White Paper (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/advocacy/releases/110205.cfm) is playing as the Agency develops its action plan for improving the Agency’s approach to affordability issues in the wet weather context. NACWA thanks all the speakers and participants for making this year’s Workshop a success. Additional details from the Workshop will be made available in future NACWA Updates and the Clean Water News.NACWA Identifies Problem
with Air Emissions Model, Seeks Member Input
NACWA’s Air Quality Committee has recently completed work on a Targeted Action Fund (TAF) evaluation of several commonly used air emissions models and has identified several issues NACWA members should be aware of when using certain models to estimate air emissions from their systems. The project was initiated to specifically evaluate EPA’s WATER9 model, which the Association believed might significantly overestimate hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions. NACWA distributed to members this week Regulatory Alert 06-02 (http://www.nacwa.org/private/regalerts/ra06-02.cfm), which details the Association’s findings and solicits information from any NACWA member who may have used WATER9 (or earlier versions). The Alert contains specific questions and responses to them will be used to develop next steps and to strengthen upcoming discussions with EPA on correcting identified problems. These responses should be sent via email to Chris Hornback, NACWA’s Director of Regulatory Affairs, at chornback@nacwa.org by June 23, 2006.Hotel Rooms Are Filling Up Fast . . .
Register Today for NACWA’s Summer Conference!
Register today for NACWA’s 2006 Summer Conference and 36th Annual Meeting, Cross-Cutting Clean Water & Drinking Water Issues…Challenging Traditional Boundaries, July 18-21, in Seattle, Wash. The program, developed in cooperation with the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) and the Water Environment Federation (WEF), will inform utility leaders about the challenges clean water and drinking water agencies face and foster additional cooperation, thus preventing future conflicts. We anticipate a high level of attendance at this meeting and expect that our room block will sell out prior to the June 26 cut-off date. Call the Westin Seattle at 206.728.1000 to make your hotel reservations today! Also, visit NACWA’s Conferences and Meetings webpage (http://www.nacwa.org/meetings/06summer/) for updated agenda information and to register for the 2006 Summer Conference and 36th Annual Meeting.Join NACWA, WERF for a
Cutting-Edge Web Seminar on Use Attainability Analyses
Join NACWA and the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) for the Use Attainability Analyses: Beyond the Basics Web Seminar Series, June 28 and July 12 from 2:00-3:30 p.m. eastern time. This unique series based on the joint NACWA/WERF Collaborative Water Quality Solutions: Exploring Use Attainability Analyses publication— will give your staff an opportunity to learn more about a key clean water issue without the expense or time required for travel. Visit NACWA’s Conferences and Meetings webpage (http://www.nacwa.org/meetings/06uaa) for a listing of UAA topics to be covered registration information.