Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - NACWA in the News
White House Urged to Finalize 'Blending' Rule
Lucy Kafanov, E&ENews PM reporter
The White House must finalize a stalled U.S. EPA "blending" policy to regulate sewage treatment practices during storms, according to a joint letter sent today by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
EPA's draft policy was released in December and represents a
compromise between the environmental group and the wastewater treatment
industry. But the policy has yet to get a green light from the White House
Office of Management and Budget.
"We urge the Administration to move forward to adopt and implement this policy
as soon as possible to reduce regulatory confusion and to improve water quality
and public health nationwide," wrote NRDC's director Nancy Stoner and NACWA's
director Ken Kirk. "It would be, frankly, unconscionable to abandon a sound
compromise by historic adversaries on a controversial environmental issue."
Some sewage treatment plants "blend" discharges during heavy rains. The plants
allow some stormwater to bypass treatment for biological contaminants, then
blend it with treated wastewater so discharges meet permit limits.
Under the policy, a plant would be denied a permit to discharge into water
bodies if its operator had not explored all possible alternatives to diverting
flows around secondary treatment during wet weather. The proposal would require
that all discharged effluent meet Clean Water Act requirements. In addition, the
policy allows increased public comment on permitting and public notification
when wastewater is diverted.
Some say that there is opposition to the policy because of the costs involved in
conducting the analyses on alternatives. But NACWA spokeswoman Susan Bruninga
said conducting the studies is cheaper than the alternatives.
"Our position is that if you don't allow blending it is going to be even more
expensive because there are going to be lawsuits and we are going to have to
redesign our treatment plant," Bruninga said.
NRDC supports the policy because it slashes the amount of partially treated
sewage being discharged into waterways. The policy appeals to industry because
it provides clarity about appropriate measures to take during storms (Greenwire,
Dec. 19, 2005).
"This is going to get people to start addressing this problem that they are not
really addressing now," said NRDC director Nancy Stoner. "There are lots of
different waste treatment plants out there who are just routinely blending in
any kind of rain event. ... This will force them to minimize reliance on this
practice. Blending will only be done as a last resort."
Many wastewater plants were built to accommodate blending, NACWA's general
counsel Alexandra Dunn said. But EPA regions 3, 4, 6 and 9 determined that the
practice was subject to Clean Water Act bypass regulations, which prohibit
skipping treatment processes except in extreme circumstances.
In order to clarify the issue, EPA in 2003 issued a controversial plan would
have relaxed existing sewage treatment regulations and allowed the discharge of
large volumes of partially treated wastewater. The agency received 98,000 public
comments, many in opposition. It later dropped its efforts in lieu of the
proposal issued in December.