Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - June 16, 2006
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for the FaxAlert ArchiveJune 16, 2006
Court Holds Water Transfers Subject to NPDES Program
On June 13 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that NACWA member agency the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) is required to obtain a Clean Water Act (CWA) § 402 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for its transfer of untreated natural drinking water between two waterbodies. The decision in Catskill Mountains Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Inc. (Catskills) v. City of New York is a troubling development because it stands in stark contrast to EPA’s June 7 proposed rule that would exempt such water transfers from the NPDES permit program. The Second Circuit found EPA’s plans to issue a rulemaking exempting water transfers unpersuasive, and instead held that a permit is required because NYCDEP’s water transfer “adds” a pollutant (in this case, silt) to a navigable water of the U.S. NACWA filed an amicus curiae brief with the Second Circuit in support of NYCDEP’s position, and highlighted the administrative difficulty of adding thousands of sources to the already backlogged NPDES permit program and the importance of maintaining local government autonomy over water management and allocation decisions. NACWA’s next steps on the water transfer issue will follow two paths. First, based upon the Association’s historic advocacy on this issue, NACWA plans to file comments supporting EPA’s proposed water transfer rule by the July 24 deadline. Second, NACWA will be working with NYCDEP and other organizations interested in the water transfer issue to explore future remedial possibilities in the court system — possibly before the U.S. Supreme Court. We will keep the membership informed of further developments on this evolving issue.Outreach Efforts
See Continued Gains in Co-sponsorship of Trust Fund Bill
NACWA’s efforts to garner co-sponsors to The Clean Water Trust Act of 2005 (H.R.4560) continue to demonstrate progress. This week, John Conyers (D-MI), Randy Kuhl (R-NY) and Mike McIntyre (D-NC) signed on as co-sponsors in direct response to outreach efforts by NACWA and its members. Other co-sponsors include Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), Ed Case (D-HI), Jim Saxton (R-NJ), Melissa Bean (D-IL), Harold T. Ford, Jr. (D-TN), Harold Rogers (R-KY), Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH), Thomas E. Petri (R-WI), and Fred Upton (R-MI). This list demonstrates both the bipartisan and geographically diverse support-base for the bill. While the issue of whether Davis-Bacon Act prevailing wage provisions should be added to the bill continues to be debated and, for now, delays the type of broad-based support needed for passage of the legislation, it is critical that NACWA and its members continue to build on this strong and growing base of committed, bipartisan co-sponsors.NACWA’s members can seek their Representatives’ support for H.R. 4560 by using the Write Congress Now feature of the Association’s website (www.nacwa.org) and are urged to set up meetings with their Members of Congress in advance of the July 31–September 1, 2006 Summer District Work Period when lawmakers return home. NACWA’s Clean Water Funding Task Force is also leading an initiative to create a suite of informational one-pagers, PowerPoint presentations, and template letters to aid in outreach efforts on behalf of H.R.4560. These tools will be available to NACWA members in advance of the House’s Work Period.
NACWA Advocacy
on Emerging Contaminants Garners National Media Attention
NACWA has received significant media attention in response to a February 14 letter (http://www.nacwa.org/private/reg_outreach.cfm) the Association wrote to EPA raising concerns about the potential environmental impact of washing machines that add silver ions to the wash cycle to disinfect clothing. NACWA was quoted this month in the June 6 edition of the Wall Street Journal (http://www.nacwa.org/advocacy/news.cfm) regarding its concerns with the growing number of consumer products containing pesticides that ultimately wind up in the sewer system. This article prompted a number of other media outlets to contact NACWA for input into stories on this and related emerging pollutant issues, including a TV news organization that distributes its stories to CBS affiliates around the nation. This organization interviewed NACWA General Counsel Alex Dunn this week with the story expected to air after July 3. The leadership of the Pretreatment and Pollution Prevention Committee was instrumental in identifying the silver ion issue and in drafting the February 14 letter. Also, NACWA’s recently formed Emerging Contaminants Workgroup will be taking the lead on issues in this arena. Members interested in joining either or both of these key committees should contact Chris Hornback, NACWA Director of Regulatory Affairs, at chornback@nacwa.org or at 202/833-9106.NACWA Considers Support for Voluntary Initiative on Detergents
NACWA’s Emerging Contaminants Workgroup is considering the impact of a new voluntary program designed to encourage the manufacturing and use of safer detergents and how it may be expanded to similar products. EPA’s Design for the Environment Program, run by the Agency’s Office of Pesticides, Prevention, and Toxic Substances, held a public meeting this week on a new initiative to reduce the use of nonylphenol ethoxylate surfactants (NPEs) in detergents. NACWA staff and a representative from Association member, the East Bay Municipal Utility District, Oakland, Calif., were on hand as stakeholders weighed in on the Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative (SDSI). Designed in cooperation with EPA’s Office of Water, the SDSI specifically targets NPEs and the substances that form when NPEs degrade. This includes nonylphenol, an aquatic toxin and suspected endocrine disruptor, for which EPA recently issued water quality criteria. The SDSI program would recognize companies, facilities, and others who voluntarily phase out or commit to phasing out the manufacture or use of nonylphenol ethoxylate surfactants. Most of the manufacturing and consumer product representatives present at the meeting supported the program, but representatives from the Alkylphenol Ethoxylate Research Council and the industrial laundry sector said the program unfairly targeted NPEs, ignoring evidence that NPEs are not causing environmental problems. Industrial laundry representatives also cited the fact that their companies discharged to wastewater treatment plants, and that given the removal rates for NPEs, a voluntary program like SDSI is not necessary. As EPA develops its next steps, NACWA’s Emerging Contaminants Workgroup will continue to evaluate the SDSI initiative in an ongoing effort to decrease the discharge of these contaminants to the Nation’s sewer systems.June 21st Registration Deadline
for UAA Web Seminar Approaches, Register Today
Next Wednesday, June 21, is the registration deadline for the joint NACWA/Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) web seminar series titled Use Attainability Analyses: Beyond the Basics. The web seminar takes place June 28 and July 12 from 2:00-3:30pm 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 and to register for NACWA’s first web seminar!