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EPA Studies Financing Strategies to Help Treatment Plants Manage Overflow Rules
CHICAGO--The Environmental Protection Agency is investigating innovative financing options to help wastewater treatment agencies comply with sewer overflow rules, EPA's assistant administrator for water said June 2.
Benjamin Grumbles told leaders of various state and local water treatment agencies that EPA is well aware of the substantial infrastructure improvement costs involved with meeting control policies addressing combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs).
Under the agency's "sustainable infrastructure initiative," he said EPA is examining creative financing tools to help communities access the funds needed for required improvements. Grumbles noted that the Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service are working with EPA on this effort.
"We are in the process of brainstorming and reviewing key
proposals about innovative financing," Grumbles said during a water quality
compliance conference presented by the Wet Weather Partnership and the National
Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA).
Grumbles said the infrastructure initiative is focused primarily on the "demand
side," which involves policies and system enhancements designed to reduce demand
on the nation's existing water treatment infrastructure. But Grumbles said EPA
is also investigating options residing on the infrastructure "supply side." Such
discussions are focusing on access to capital, removing financial barriers and
providing financial incentives for infrastructure improvements. He said the
agency would also seek to assess congressional support for such financial
programs.
Grumbles did not discuss any specific financial proposals. Neither did the
assistant administrator reveal a timeline for releasing an agency plan on such
issues.
CSO Control Policy
CSOs occur in communities that have older sewer systems that combine both
stormwater and sanitary sewage in the same pipe. These combined systems overflow
during wet weather, releasing untreated wastewater into rivers and streams to
prevent excess flows from overwhelming treatment facilities. The overflows
typically cause the receiving waterways to become contaminated with pathogens
and pollutants in violation of water quality standards.
According to NACWA, annual CSO volume is approximately 850 billion gallons. A
CSO Control Policy was issued by EPA in 1994. While the policy has helped reduce
such occurrences, additional improvements are required. EPA has estimated that
$50.6 billion is still needed over the next 20 years to meet the goals of the
policy. Similarly, EPA estimates that $88 billion will be needed over the same
period to manage SSOs.
Financial Constraints on Smaller Communities
Grumbles said EPA is also sympathetic to the resource constraints on smaller CSO
communities. Not only do such communities have special financial problems, but
they often require technical support in the development of their long-term
control plans.
To assist such communities, Grumbles noted that EPA is developing a "small
community affordability analysis." He said the analysis would function similar
to the IRS' "EZ" forms for taxpayers with a small, standard list of tax issues.
"This would be a way to respond directly to the concerns of smaller communities
about the difficulties and technical challenges of working through the process
of long-term control plans," he said. "We are developing a template to aid in
the preparation and submittal of CSO planning information to permit writers and
regulatory authorities."
Grumbles said EPA has no specific target date for releasing the affordability
analysis. He stressed, however, that the project is an important priority for
the agency.
'Peak Weather Flows' Policy
With respect to upcoming regulatory proposals, Grumbles said EPA's proposed
"peak weather flows" policy would be finalized shortly.
Last December, EPA proposed for public comment a new policy for managing peak
flow events resulting from adverse weather conditions at municipal wastewater
treatment plants. The policy follows the joint recommendations of NACWA and the
Natural Resources Defense Council.
The proposed policy outlines limited circumstances when certain management
techniques may be used by municipal wastewater treatment facilities to address
such peak flow situations. The policy also specifies how the management of peak
flows should be documented in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) permits.
Grumbles said finalizing the policy is a "front burner" priority for the agency.
He said the final product would be released in a few months.
Exemptions for Water Transfers
Grumbles also pointed to the release earlier in the week of a proposed rule
exempting certain transfers of water from requirements under Section 402 of the
Clean Water Act. He encouraged interested parties to comment on the proposal.
Grumbles said the rule, which was proposed June 1, seeks to codify an agency
position expressed in an August 2005 legal opinion. The rule holds that water
transfers are excluded from regulation under the NPDES permitting program. The
exempted water transfers pertain to any activity that conveys domestic waters to
another water body within the United States without subjecting the water to
intervening industrial, municipal, or commercial use.
"We issued a proposed codification of that principle yesterday to have an
expressed exclusion from the 402 permitting process on water transfers,"
Grumbles said. "That is going to go through a comment period. It is already
getting some provocative comments."
By Michael Bologna