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Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - September 22, 2006

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September 22, 2006

NACWA Efforts Lead to Likely POTW Exemption from Chemical Security Legislation
The leaders of the House and Senate Homeland Security Committees have agreed to language excluding wastewater treatment facilities from chemical security provisions in the fiscal year 2007 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations bill. Hard work by NACWA and its members paid off in convincing congressional leaders to include language that exempts publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) from onerous and costly requirements in the chemical security legislation. The language had been passed by the Homeland Security committees earlier this year. House and Senate conferees are expected to meet Monday to finish work on the DHS spending bill, giving NACWA members a final opportunity to phone their representatives and senators today in support of the chemical facility security consensus language. NACWA will confirm next week that the language is included in the final DHS appropriations bill that will then proceed to the House and Senate floors for a final vote. When work on the bill is final, NACWA will issue a Special Edition FaxAlert with further details on the security compromise.

Board Approves Involvement in BEACH Act Case
NACWA’s Board of Directors gave unanimous approval for the Association to intervene in litigation surrounding the Beach Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act to ensure the Association has a seat at the table in anticipated negotiations. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is suing U.S. EPA over its failure to meet BEACH Act deadlines for setting bacteria standards in coastal waters. The Association will most likely intervene on the side of NRDC to push EPA to move forward with the standards. At the same time, NACWA’s anticipated involvement in the case will help ensure EPA has adequate time to establish reasonable, scientifically sound standards.

The Board’s action took place at the conclusion of NACWA’s annual Fall Strategic Leadership Retreat in Washington, D.C., this week. During the retreat NACWA’s leadership also provided direction to the Association in several critical areas, including sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs), affordability concerns, the upcoming Farm Bill reauthorization, and biosolids land application issues. NACWA leaders supported moving forward with a petition in the event that EPA does not provide a satisfactory response to the Association’s Sept. 14 letter urging Agency action on SSOs. The leadership also backed sharing NACWA’s draft “guiding principles on affordability” document at a meeting with EPA on Sept. 25. A discussion on reauthorizing the Farm Bill led to agreement that the recommendations in NACWA’s 2007 Farm Bill Reauthorization and Potential Benefits for NACWA Members provide a sound basis for working with both national and local agricultural, conservation, and other groups to maximize conservation funding in the legislation. NACWA leaders were also updated on the litigation by several NACWA members in Southern California challenging the Kern County biosolids land application ban. The utilities filed a motion with the court to have the ban put on hold while the case is being litigated. Meanwhile, NACWA obtained a letter from EPA reiterating its continued support for land applying biosolids in line with the stringent Part 503 regulatory requirements. PowerPoint presentations from discussions on green infrastructures and utility financing will be available on NACWA’s website next week.

NACWA Meets with White House to Answer Concerns with Peak Flows Policy
NACWA and NRDC met with the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to address cost concerns raised by the Bush administration regarding EPA’s draft peak excess flows policy. Specifically, OMB expressed concern that the proposal has no accompanying cost information. NACWA addressed this matter by providing OMB with member agency information on cost while also emphasizing the critical need for the policy as another tool for managing the rising cost of cleaning up the nation’s waters. NACWA also reiterated EPA’s assertion that it would like to move quickly to release the policy in final form. OMB expressed its appreciation for the work done by NACWA and NRDC in laying the foundation for the policy. Both groups will continue to work together to ensure finalization of this policy as quickly as possible.

Online Registration Now Available for NACWA’s 2006 Clean Water Law Seminar
Online registration is now available for NACWA’s 2006 Developments in Clean Water Law: A Seminar for Public Agency Attorneys & Managers, scheduled for November 15-17 at the Sheraton Boston Hotel in Boston. Join your colleagues for a discussion of cutting-edge developments in the regulatory and legal aspects of the Clean Water Act. Seminar panels will cover issues ranging from traditional and non-traditional defensive tools and relationships between in-house and outside counsel to how regional facilities have worked with satellite systems to make environmental progress. Other topics will include citizen suit trends; management of electronic information; and water quality models for public agencies. Professor Jody Freeman, Director of the Harvard Law School Environmental Law Program, will keynote the 2006 Seminar. Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits will be available. More information is available on NACWA’s website (http://www.nacwa.org/meetings/06law/). The hotel registration deadline is October 24, so register today!