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April 2002 Board Briefs

Member Pipeline - Board & Committee Information - Board Briefs - September 6, 2002

September 6, 2002

Plan Now to Attend AMSA’s Fall Leadership Strategy Session & Board of Directors Meeting
We hope you all plan to attend AMSA’s Fall Leadership Strategy Session & Board of Directors Meeting next month in Washington, DC. The Strategy Session & Board Meeting will take place at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill (400 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001) – future site of AMSA’s May 2003 National Environmental Policy Forum. Our sessions will begin on Thursday morning, October 17, with meetings of the Strategic Planning and Budget & Audit committees. The program for the Strategy Session kicks off at October 17 at 12:00 noon with a luncheon session featuring Tracy Mehan, Assistant Administrator for Water and other key U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials – and continues until 11:00 am on Friday, October 18. The Board of Directors meeting, with a number of important agenda items, follows immediately from 11:15 am - 1:00 pm. A complete agenda is included as an attachment to this e-mail. Executive Committee members should note their dinner meeting on Wednesday, October 16. Please use the attached response form to confirm your plans to attend AMSA’s 2002 Leadership Strategy Session & Board of Directors Meeting. We request your response by October 9, 2002.

A block of rooms at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill has been reserved for Board members and committee leadership attending the Fall Leadership Strategy Session & Board of Directors Meeting. Our room block is available from Wednesday, October 16 through Thursday, October 17 at the special rate of $209/single or $234/double, plus applicable taxes. Reservations must be made by Wednesday, September 18 to receive the group rate. To ensure a hotel room, contact the Hyatt Regency Washington, 202/737-1234 and indicate that you are an AMSA registrant. Additional information regarding hotel reservations and ground transportation is attached to this correspondence.

In addition to the Strategy Session & Board of Directors Meeting, two meetings are planned for the afternoon of Wednesday, October 16. Both AMSA’s SSO Workgroup and members of the project workgroup involved in the AMSA/WEF/EPA Environmental Management System Integration Project plan to meet. Individuals involved in these October 16 meetings will receive additional information via separate correspondence.

Member Comment Period for Preliminary 2003 General Fund & Technical Action Fund Budgets Concludes on Monday
The member comment period for the proposed 2003 General Fund & Technical Action Fund budgets concludes on Monday. The preliminary budgets, as approved by the Board of Directors in July, were forwarded to AMSA’s membership via Member Update 02-13 on August 16, 2002. In the Member Update, comments were solicited from AMSA’s membership by September 9, 2002.

The 2003 preliminary General Fund budget provides for a 5 percent increase in public Member Agency and public Affiliate dues and a $1,000 increase in private Affiliate dues. To date, we have received no comments from the membership regarding the preliminary 2003 budgets.

Board Vote Underway Regarding Supreme Court Appeal of Miccosukee Indian Tribe of Florida, et al. v. South Florida Water Management District
On September 5, AMSA circulated a ballot to the Board requesting permission to file a joint amicus brief with member agency the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) urging the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari in, and reverse, Miccosukee Indian Tribe of Florida, et al. v. South Florida Water Management District, 280 F.3d 1364 (11th Cir. 2002). NYCDEP appellate attorneys will prepare the brief based on their experience in similar Second Circuit case, meaning no Technical Action Fund (TAF) resources are required. Under this scenario, AMSA’s General Counsel will work with NYCDEP counsel to review the brief.

The case involves the South Florida Water Management District’s (SFWMD) operation of a pump station to move water from a canal through a levee to a water conservation area, to prevent flooding. The court held that the pump station requires an NPDES permit because the water from the pump station has a higher phosphorus level than the water in the conservation area, meaning the pump “adds” a pollutant to a navigable water. By taking a broad view of what constitutes the “addition” of a pollutant, Miccosukee holds that NPDES permits are required to essentially manage water. The policy implications of the decision include increased regulation of city water management activities, reduced operational flexibility, and the possible citizen suits for discharging without an NPDES permit. The permit conditions to reduce pollutants from water movement activities could be both impractical and prohibitively costly.

Board responses to the ballot are due by Friday, September 13. Should the Board approve the litigation, the amicus brief would be due November 19, 2002.

Comments on EPA’s Notice Regarding Dioxins in Biosolids Nearly Complete
AMSA is wrapping up its comments on a June 12, 2002 Notice of Data Availability (NODA) that released new data and risk assessment results relevant to EPA’s impending regulatory decision on dioxins in land applied biosolids. Given the information provided in the NODA, AMSA is recommending that no regulatory action be taken for dioxins in land applied biosolids. Low observed dioxins concentrations, an apparent decline in dioxins levels over time, and the reported low risk levels all support a decision of no action. AMSA’s contractor, Cambridge Environmental, conducted a thorough analysis of EPA’s underlying risk assessment and concluded that there are a few areas of concern. AMSA will suggest that the Agency address these issues as it works to finalize the rule. AMSA had considered offering EPA a compromise, including voluntary monitoring, but decided that the only scientifically supportable option was no regulatory action. Some AMSA members continue to express an interest in receiving some sort of regulatory limit to provide some assurances to community and activist groups that dioxins are not posing a risk. AMSA believes these situations would best be resolved on a case by case basis instead of through a national numeric limit. AMSA’s comments will be sent to EPA on September 10, the comment period deadline.

AMSA to be Visible and Active at WEFTEC
This year WEFTEC will be held from September 28 to October 2 in Chicago, Ill. Mark your calendars to now to join us for AMSA’s Legal & Regulatory Hot Topics Meeting, which will be held during WEFTEC 2002 on Tuesday, October 1, from 8:00 – 10:00 am in the Ohio Room of the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers. Each year, this meeting provides a great opportunity for AMSA members to visit with one another and to participate in an informal roundtable discussion of ongoing water and wastewater issues with key EPA officials in attendance at WEFTEC. Please let us know whether you plan to attend the meeting by e-mailing or calling AMSA’s Chynita Stone at cstone@amsa-cleanwater.org or 202/533-1801.

AMSA also plans a meeting of its Wastewater Infrastructure Funding Task Force during WEFTEC 2002. The Task Force will meet on Monday, September 30, from 2:00 – 3:30 pm in the Arkansas Room of the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers. The Task Force plans to continue its evolving work exploring sustainable sources of funding and strategies for inspiring broad national support for such an initiative.

AMSA will also be visible in the Exhibit Hall of WEFTEC 2002! Once again AMSA will be exhibiting at WEFTEC, and National Office staff will be on hand at booth #1305 to provide information on the benefits of Association membership as well as updates on AMSA’s current, and upcoming, initiatives. We hope you’ll have an opportunity to stop by and see us while you’re in Chicago!

AMSA Prepares to Release 2002 Wet Weather Survey Results
In late August, AMSA staff and CH2M Hill, the 2002 Wet Weather Survey project consultant, met in Washington, DC to begin the pulling together findings and conclusions from the survey database. A total of eighty five (85) member agencies responded to this survey earlier this year. Following SSO Workgroup review, a final report will be released to the membership in October 2002.

The 2002 Wet Weather Survey was conducted in order to develop a more thorough understanding of how members design their collection systems and treatment plants to handle wet weather flows. It is also hoped that the survey will provide the foundation for proposing, for EPA’s consideration, a capacity checklist for use by collection system owners and operators when setting the design capacity for sewer systems. In connection with the development of a capacity checklist, the SSO Workgroup will be conducting telephone interviews with selected member contacts over the next few months to better understand what types of procedures are currently used and what methods would be supported if proposed to EPA.

AMSA Brings Urban Focus to World Watershed Summit
The National Office is working collaboratively with the Association of State & Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA) to help plan its World Watershed Summit, which is part of ASIWPCA’s Year of Clean Water initiative, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. The Summit, a symposium examining effective watershed management strategies, will take place on October 31 - November 1 in Washington, DC at the J.W. Marriott Hotel. AMSA’s Board of Directors in July voted in favor of contributing $5,000 to the Year of Clean Water effort. In preparation for the Summit, AMSA is helping to put together panels which feature urban watershed management approaches and which highlight noteworthy municipal accomplishments. For more information, contact Greg Schaner at 202/296-9836 or gschaner@amsa-cleanwater.org or access the Summit’s web site at http://www.yearofcleanwater.org/.

Fall AMSA Seminars & Workshops Focus on Targeted Audiences in Legal, Water Quality & Pretreatment Arenas
AMSA is offering three unique conference opportunities for targeted audiences in the clean water community. We hope that you, and relevant members of your staff, will be in attendance.

Developments in Clean Water Law Seminar — November 6 – 8, Westin Tabor Center, Denver, Colo. - AMSA’s 2002 Law Seminar will build upon the success of AMSA’s legal initiatives. The Seminar agenda will examine the current legal landscape as it relates to upcoming regulations on sanitary sewer overflows and total maximum daily loads as well as the likelihood of pivotal legislation on security and freedom of information issues. A joint session with AMSA’s Whole Effluent Toxicity Workshop will explore the interactions between legal and technical issues. We urge you to support attendance by your utility’s counsel.

Whole Effluent Toxicity – What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You — November 6-8, Westin Tabor Center, Denver, Colo. – This timely workshop will explore ways for public wastewater utilities to better implement whole effluent toxicity (WET) requirements to protect themselves from unrealistic WET permit limits. The Workshop agenda will feature in-depth technical presentations that will examine crucial issues that WET testing and personnel responsible for negotiating, certifying and monitoring WET permit requirements must understand. A must for water quality staff!

AMSA/EPA Pretreatment Workshop— November 20 – 22, Doubletree Hotel, Philadelphia, Pa. - The annual Pretreatment Workshop will feature many topics that are the focus of increasing attention, including: the future of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) effluent guidelines program, security concerns in the pretreatment process and emerging pollutants. Additionally, the Workshop provides an excellent opportunity for pretreatment staff to interact with other professionals in the pretreatment community through discussion panels and informative sessions.

Additional information is coming your way! Visit AMSA’s web site, www.amsa-cleanwater.org, for the latest program information and registration materials on the Association’s upcoming seminars and workshops.

Planning Underway for 2003 Winter Conference in Santa Fe
With the theme, The Evolving Public Utility, plans for the 2003 Winter Conference are gearing up. Slated for February 4-7, 2003 at the El Dorado Hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, this conference promises to be one of AMSA’s best and most relevant. Sessions focusing on timely issues such as organizational development, succession planning, performance evaluation, labor management, and a variety of human resource-related issues – to name a few – are all under consideration. Board members, and the general membership alike, can expect to receive a preliminary postcard with hotel reservation information in the near future. A detailed preliminary program will also be available soon. Board members are encouraged to make their plans early to attend what is certain to be a valuable conference experience in a great setting.