Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - June 23, 2006
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for the FaxAlert ArchiveJune 23, 2006
NACWA Hosts Meeting with Pharmaceutical Companies
NACWA staff met June 20 with representatives of the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), which represents pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies, on the subject of pharmaceuticals in the environment. PhRMA has committed significant resources to studying the presence and fate and transport of pharmaceuticals in the environment and is interested in sharing what it has learned with other stakeholders. According to PhRMA, patient use and excretion of un-metabolized medications is the leading source of pharmaceuticals entering the environment, all of which passes through the nation's wastewater treatment plants before being discharged. Until recently, analytical methods were not capable of detecting the presence of these contaminants in the environment, but recent studies have shown their prevalence in the nation's waters. The question that WERF, PhRMA, and NACWA, through its Emerging Contaminants Workgroup, have been trying to answer is whether the low levels of these pharmaceuticals may have any human health or aquatic life impacts. Using real watersheds and actual wastewater treatment influent and effluent data, together with estimates of total drug use buy U.S. consumers, PhRMA has developed a fate and transport model that can predict the concentration of pharmaceuticals in treatment plant effluent, receiving waters, and in downstream drinking water supplies. Using this model, PhRMA has published several peer-reviewed articles demonstrating no expected human health impacts from the low-levels of these pharmaceuticals in the environment. PhRMA is using the model to assess impacts on aquatic life and has offered to share the model with other researchers interested in applying it in their watershed. NACWA's Emerging Contaminants Workgroup will continue to track PhRMA's efforts and will identify possible opportunities for collaboration with PhRMA and WERF on the issue of pharmaceuticals in the environment. Emerging contaminants will be the subject of a panel discussion at NACWA's upcoming conference in Seattle, Washington July 18-21, and will also be discussed at the 2006 Pretreatment and Pollution Prevention Workshop, October 4-6, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana (visit www.nacwa.org for additional information about upcoming conferences).High Court Sheds Little Light
on Scope of Federal CWA Jurisdiction Over Wetlands
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the much anticipated wetlands cases of Rapanos v. U.S. and Carabell v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A split Court ruled 5-4 to remand the joint cases to lower courts, but the justices failed to reach a consensus on the scope of federal power to regulate wetlands under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The cases, decided jointly, mark the fourth time the Court has addressed the CWA wetlands program in detail. Each time, the Court has struggled to provide a “test” for determining where the CWA's power over wetlands ends, and where state authority begins. In this week’s decision, the Court states that only those wetlands with a continuous surface connection to waterbodies are “waters of the United States” in their own right. There is no clear demarcation between “waters” and wetlands or wetlands that are “adjacent to” such waters and thus covered by the CWA. Activities in waters within the scope of the Clean Water Act require a CWA 404 permit for dredge and fill activities or a CWA 402 permit for discharges. The Court goes on to state that wetlands with only an intermittent, physically remote hydrologic connection to “waters of the United States” lack the necessary connection to covered waters, and are not covered by the CWA. The Court ultimately concludes that CWA coverage of wetlands (such as those at issue in Rapanos and Carabell) requires two findings: 1) that the adjacent channel contains a “wate[r] of the United States," (i.e., a relatively permanent body of water connected to traditional interstate navigable waters); and 2) that the wetland has a continuous surface connection with that water, making it difficult to determine where the “water” ends and the “wetland” begins. Analysis of the facts of the Rapanos and Carabell cases and their implications for NACWA member agencies can be found in NACWA Legal Alert 06-02, at http://www.nacwa.org/private/legalalerts/leg06-02.cfm. NACWA will provide a summary of the Supreme Court's decisions via a Legal Alert next week. This issue will also receive attention during a meeting of NACWA’s Legal Affairs Committee on July 21 during the Association’s 2006 Summer Conference in Seattle.NACWA Asks to
Participate on Panel to Discuss Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico
NACWA is requesting that EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) include a member of the wastewater treatment community on an expert panel being assembled to evaluate the complex scientific and technical issues that affect the hypoxic zone in the Northern Gulf of Mexico and the possible management and control options to reduce the extent and severity of this national problem. NACWA commended the SAB in a letter (http://www.nacwa.org/getfile.cfm?fn=2006-06-23hypoxia.pdf) for assembling the panel but said it needed to have more balance. Since many NACWA members discharge to waterways within the Mississippi River Basin and play a critical role in the efforts to control discharges of nitrogen and phosphorus, the Association believes participation from the municipal wastewater treatment community is critical. NACWA plans to provide a list to the SAB of potential participants and will keep members apprised of activity on this important subject.NACWA Participates
in Meetings to Craft Water, Wastewater Security Plans
NACWA participated in important meetings this week with representatives from other water and wastewater organizations to assist EPA in the drafting of the water Sector Specific Plan (SSP). The plan must be complete with six months of the release of the final National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP), which could be made available from the Department of Homeland Security in July. The SSP is intended to provide a roadmap for water and wastewater utilities to implement 14 measures for protecting against a terrorist attack or natural disaster. Wastewater and drinking water utilities are one of the 17 critical infrastructure sectors identified by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7 (HSPD-7) in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks for which SSPs must be developed.Meanwhile, NACWA also participated in a meeting of the Measures Testing Group (MTG) to hammer out mechanisms for testing how well the measures work for ensuring an active and effective plan is in place to protect water and wastewater utilities. Much of the discussion focused on the level of detail contained in potential reporting mechanisms, the intended audience for such reports, how to ensure appropriate levels of confidentiality, and what baseline to use for measuring progress. Since the reporting would be voluntary, MTG participants want to ensure that the information is meaningful to utilities while not exposing them to unnecessary security risks. The MTG will meet again in July, and work is expected to be complete in the late fall. These, and other security issues will be the focus of the agenda at a meeting of NACWA’s Security & Emergency Preparedness Committee on July 18 during the 2006 Summer Conference in Seattle.
NACWA Applauds
Introduction in Senate of Abandoned Mines Legislation
NACWA sent a letter (http://www.nacwa.org/getfile.cfm?fn=2006-06-19inhofe.pdf) to Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) June 16 applauding him for introducing Good Samaritan Clean Watershed Act (S. 2780). The legislation, which can be found on NACWA’s Bill Tracker (http://www.nacwa.org/private/legreg/legupdate/leg_tracker.cfm#5), would eliminate disincentives for voluntary, cooperative efforts aimed at cleaning up abandoned mine sites. NACWA strongly supports passage of this bill because it is viewed as another tool for cleaning up the nation’s impaired waterways and meet the water quality goals laid out in the Clean Water Act. Municipalities, in particular, who are interested in voluntarily cleaning up abandoned mines as a way to avoid potential liability for the continuing discharges that contaminant waterways would benefit from the bill. Specifically, the bill provides liability protection to cities and other entities, who get approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the form of a permit before embarking on any remediation activities at the site. NACWA will track this legislation and inform members of its progress.Room Reservations at the Westin Seattle
It’s not too late to make plans to attend NACWA’s 2006 Summer Conference, Cross-Cutting Clean Water & Drinking Water Issues . . . Challenging Traditional Boundaries. While available lodging is tight at the Westin Seattle, the National Office stands ready to assist you in finding alternate nearby accommodations. If you are currently holding a room at the Westin Seattle and are no longer planning to attend the 2006 Summer Conference, please contact Nirah Forman at (202) 833.8418 or nforman@nacwa.org PRIOR TO CANCELING YOUR RESERVATION so that your room can be assigned to another attendee. We look forward to a provocative agenda and stimulating discussions in Seattle and hope to see many of you there.