To:
Members, Affiliates, & Legal Affairs Committee
From:
National Office
Date:
June 5, 2000
Subject:
AMSA's May 2000 Update of Evaluating TMDLs... Protecting the Rights of POTWs
Reference:
Legal Alert 00-5
AMSA is pleased to offer the enclosed May 2000 Update to its acclaimed TMDL guide, Evaluating TMDLs ... Protecting the Rights of POTWs. The original AMSA TMDL guide was released in January 1999 and was widely touted as an indispensable tool for understanding the legal rights of wastewater treatment agencies in the fast-paced atmosphere of the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program. In the one and one-half years since the guide's first release, the TMDL landscape has evolved substantially. Litigation, both at theadministrative and court level, is now beginning to test many of the issues originally raised in the first TMDL guide, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has since issued its draft TMDL regulations in August 1999.
This May 2000 Update serves two purposes. First, the Update discusses critical case law that has evolved over the past year as well as how EPA's newly proposed TMDL regulations might impact POTW interests. Second, the Update introduces several new topic areas that need to be discussed within the context of the TMDL process. These new areas include: wet weather TMDLs, whole effluent toxicity (WET) TMDLs, administrative law standards of review, the problem of upstream loadings, and the challenges of interim permitting.
In its entirety, the May 2000 Update serves as an excellent summation of the many issues affecting POTWs in the TMDL process, as well as the range of methods to protect agencies' rights. There is no other document of its kind available. AMSA will continue to update the guide as pivotal cases are decided and if the final TMDL rule is promulgated as scheduled.
Copies of the May 2000 Update are available online at AMSA's website http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/pubs/tmdlupdate/tmdl.cfm. To download a copy of the Update, access Legal Alert 00-5 through the Member Pipeline; the update appears as an attachment to the Legal Alert. If you should have any questions about the May 2000 Update, please call Greg Schaner at 202/296-9836 or gschaner@amsa-cleanwater.org.
In addition, due to the prominence of these issues and their importance to the membership, AMSA is dedicating the entire 2000 Summer Conference to TMDLs. The Summer Conference, Total Maximum Daily Loads ... Opportunities or Obstacles?, on July 18-21, 2000 in Louisville, KY, will inform members of the most current developments in the TMDL program, leading case examples of the TMDL process in action, as well as the landscape of legal challenges. Speakers include EPA and State officials, member agencies, and consultants. Among other topics, David Katz, AMSA's Legal Affairs Committee Vice Chair, will highlight the key points in the May 2000 Update of the TMDL guide. A copy of the flyer has been sent to the AMSA membership. You can also register on-line at AMSA's website at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org.