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August 28, 1998Plans for Fall Leadership Meetings Proceed - - AMSA Board to Meet on September 25
Plans for the fall Legislative Strategy Session (September 23) and Leadership Meetings (September 24-25) in Washington, DC are well under way. A memo dated August 24 was faxed to all Board members and special committee leaders with an agenda and hotel reservation information. We look forward to productive meetings, including the Board's first discussion session with EPA's new Assistant Administrator for Water, Chuck Fox, and encourage you to make your plans to attend as soon as possible.Legislative Alert 98-5 was forwarded to the membership on August 25. This Alert contains information specific to the Legislative Strategy Session. We are looking for input regarding issues identified thus far for legislative amendment and invite your comments by September 18.
AMSA's Board of Directors will meet on Friday morning, September 25. Board meeting notebooks will be sent to you on September 11. We look forward to seeing you in Washington in late September.
Alternate Dues Increase Proposal to be Presented
In light of the Board's discussions regarding the dues increase, we have continued to examine options for applying the increase in keeping with our current dues structure. We have given serious attention to an option which would leave dues for members with service areas up to 150,000 unchanged, and apply a flat $500 increase to member agencies with service areas larger than 150,000. This scenario would result in approximately the same amount of new dues revenue as the approach discussed in July. A recommendation to increase dues for Affiliates (formerly Subscribers) is also under consideration. The proposal in this regard is to raise their annual dues from $3,600 to $4,000. Affiliate dues have not been increased for a number of years. Both of these approaches will be addressed in greater detail in your Board books, and presented for discussion and consideration by the Board at the September meeting.AMSA Continues Effort to Address Future Space Needs
Consistent with Board direction, the National Office has continued to aggressively pursue the purchase of a building as a means to meet AMSA's future space needs. AMSA's interest in the purchase of the Georgetown property that was discussed in July (2801 M Street, NW) has been superseded by a competitive offer from another association, that includes a September 1998 settlement date. The terms of this new offer are preferable to the seller, and the transaction appears to be proceeding without impediments. Recently staff had the opportunity to see a building, not yet listed for sale, nearby our current location. The building, located on Jefferson Street, NW, is somewhat smaller than the Georgetown location, very close to both the Farragut North and Dupont Circle Metro stops, and quite impressive. The current owner requires more space and appears willing to work with us, allowing negotiations to take place without a formal listing of the property - and meeting their desire to stay in the building until they find a new location (which would also be beneficial to AMSA in terms of its current lease agreement). We hope to have additional information to report to the Board in September regarding this potential new space for the Association.AMSA to Support Member in TMDL litigation
AMSA is preparing to file a motion for leave to file an amicus brief in a TMDL case involving the Western Carolina Regional Sewerage Authority (WCRSA) and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). In summary, WCRSA has petitioned for an administrative review of DHEC's final TMDL list submitted to EPA under section 303(d)(1). At issue is whether a Lake Trophic State Index, developed in the 1980's for ranking natural lakes for trophic factors, can be used in defining "impairment" in the 303(d) listing process. The Index is based on common biological, physical, and chemical variables (TP, inorganic nitrogen, DO, Secchi depth, and chlorophyll A) and has a guideline of < 250 out of a total of 500 as waters that are susceptible to, or producing, undesirable algal blooms. In addition to technical concerns regarding the Index and the applicability to WCRSA's receiving waters, WRCSA argues that DHEC's listing based on the Index improperly establishes a new water quality standard without appropriate public notice and comment. CWA Section 303(d)(1) states that each state shall identify those waters within its boundaries for which effluent limitations are "not stringent enough to implement any water quality standard for such waters."
Court Dismisses Administrative Appeals Process Case
On August 17, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed what would have been its first case on whether private citizens can sue over environmental permit regulations they believe result in racial discrimination. The case, James M. Seif, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, et al. v. Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living, involves a suit by minority residents of the City of Chester, Pennsylvania against Pennsylvania DEP under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, for alleged discriminatory effects from DEP's administration of its solid waste program. AMSA's interest in this case was one of procedure. The plaintiffs chose to bypass the administrative process and instead filed a district court suit seeking a court order that DEP rescind a solid waste permit that was at issue. With Board approval, AMSA participated in the development of an amicus curiae brief on the case; however, when the permit at issue was revoked by the Pennsylvania DEP, the plaintiffs requested that the case be dismissed. While this case has been dismissed, AMSA believes that the efforts expended on the development of the amicus brief will undoubtedly be useful when a future similar case comes before the court.