AMSA April 2004 Regulatory Update

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The Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (AMSA) is pleased to provide you with the April 2004 Regulatory Update. This Update provides a narrative summary of relevant regulatory issues and actions current to May 3, 2004. Unless another contact person is specifically listed, call Chris Hornback, AMSA’s Regulatory Affairs Director, at 202/833-9106 or email him at chornback@amsa-cleanwater.org with any questions or input you have concerning the Update topics.

Top Stories

AMSA Continues Push for Final Pretreatment Streamlining Rule, Meets with Key Agencies
After nearly a decade of advocacy by AMSA, particularly by its Pretreatment & Hazardous Waste Committee leadership, EPA is now poised to finalize its long-dormant Pretreatment Streamlining Rule. Most recently, AMSA national office staff and Guy Aydlett, Chair of AMSA's Pretreatment & Hazardous Waste Committee and Director of Water Quality at the Hampton Roads Sanitation District, Virginia Beach, Va., met on April 15 with key officials from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Small Business Administration (SBA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) to show AMSA’s continued support for EPA’s proposed Pretreatment Streamlining Rule. The purpose of these meetings was to explain the Association’s positions on critical aspects of the rule, including the option to convert concentration-based limits to mass-based limits and the need for additional flexibility in defining “significant industrial users” and “significant noncompliance.”

AMSA was encouraged by the outcome of both meetings, as all parties agreed to the need for a final pretreatment streamlining rule, though work must still be done on some of the specifics. AMSA sent Acting Assistant Administrator for Water, Benjamin Grumbles, and Director of the Office of Wastewater Management, James Hanlon, a March 16 memorandum (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/outreach/2004-03-16streaml.pdf), which highlighted the Association’s preferred approach for the rule. At press time, the Pretreatment & Hazardous Waste Committee leadership is working to finalize a survey that will be sent soon to AMSA members to gather important additional data in support of AMSA’s pretreatment streamlining positions. AMSA will provide this information to OMB, SBA, and EPA. For more information, please contact AMSA’s Will Pettit at 202/833-3280 or wpettit@amsa-cleanwater.org.

Errors in EPA Enforcement Database Resurface, Members Urged to Review Facility Data
Erroneous public agency member compliance records were included in a recent U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) publication, entitled Troubled Waters: An Analysis of Clean Water Act Compliance, January 2002 - June 2003 (http://uspirg.org/uspirg.asp?id2=12718&id3=USPIRG). These records were obtained from EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) database (http://www.epa.gov/echo/), which gives the public and industry direct access to the environmental compliance records of more than 800,000 regulated entities nationwide, including water and wastewater treatment facilities. One member informed AMSA that the PIRG report listed some 15 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit violations for their facilities because of false compliance information in EPA’s ECHO database. Publications of this sort can damage the reputation and credibility of publicly owned treatment works (POTWs). AMSA once again urges members to review their facilities’ records found both in the PIRG report and, more importantly, in the ECHO database. For more information, please see AMSA’s Regulatory Alert 04-09 (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/regalerts/ra04-09.cfm).

Key Wet Weather Issues Discussed at CSO Workshop
AMSA and the CSO Partnership co-sponsored a workshop on combined sewer overflow (CSO) issues in Chicago, Ill., April 19-20, which coincided with the tenth anniversary of the publication of EPA’s CSO Control Policy. The workshop was very well attended by municipal, state, and federal officials, as well as engineers, consultants and lawyers, who discussed the progress that has been made in CSO control over the past decade and the challenges that remain.

At the workshop, key EPA officials provided insight on several wet weather issues. Walker Smith, Director of Regulatory Enforcement at EPA, reiterated that wet weather issues will remain the number one enforcement priority for fiscal years 2005-2007 and Jim Hanlon, Director of EPA’s Office of Wastewater Management, noted that the agency is working to release in the coming weeks a memo clarifying language in the Wet Weather Quality Act of 2000 that states that all CSO permits "shall conform to" the CSO Control Policy. Hanlon also announced that he had signed an April 16 memo (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/outreach/2004-04-16hanlon.pdf) to regional Water Management Division Directors which provides guidance on implementing a partial remand of the Stormwater Phase II regulations by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The April 16 memo gives guidance on issuing new stormwater permits, including making Notices of Intent (NOIs) publicly available, requiring the opportunity for a public hearing, and permitting authority reviews of NOIs. The memo also provides guidance for general permits already issued for municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s). AMSA will provide more detail on the April 16 memo in a forthcoming Legal Alert and will notify the membership when EPA issues its “shall conform to” memo.

Air Quality

AMSA’s Advocacy Efforts Reflected in Final Risk Management Program Amendments
On April 9, 2004, the Agency published a final rule (http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2004_register&docid=fr09ap04-8.pdf) amending its risk management program submittal requirements for chemical facilities, including POTWs, covered under Clean Air Act Section 112(r) (69 Fed. Reg. 18819). AMSA submitted comments on the proposed changes to EPA on September 15, 2003 (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/outreach/2003-09-15RMPCmts.pdf). The final amendments are consistent with the Association’s recommendations and will reduce administrative burden and cost while ensuring plant security. For more in-depth information on the amendments, see AMSA’s Regulatory Alert 04-07 (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/regalerts/ra04-07.cfm), or EPA’s RMP website (http://yosemite.epa.gov/oswer/ceppoweb.nsf/content/RMPS.htm?OpenDocument). If you have questions, please contact Will Pettit, AMSA’s Regulatory Analyst, at 202/833-3280 or wpettit@amsa-cleanwater.org.

Biosolids

WERF Releases Biosolids Research Summit Report, Incident Response Workshop Tops List
On April 15, the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) released its final Proceedings from the Biosolids Research Summit (http://www.werf.org/pdf/03HHE1.pdf) held in July 2003. The focus of the summit was to develop an agenda that addresses research gaps in biosolids management identified in the 2002 National Research Council (NRC) report, Biosolids Applied to Land: Advancing Standards and Practices (NRC report). The top priority from the summit was a study to evaluate the need for rapid response investigations of reported health effects potentially resulting from biosolids land application practices. WERF has already committed $200,000 to move forward with the study and plans to hold a workshop with key stakeholders to discuss the issues. This concept was also embraced in EPA’s December 31, 2003 response to the NRC report (68 Fed. Reg. 75531) (http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2003_register&docid=fr31de03-73.pdf). AMSA will follow WERF’s activities as it continues to move the summit agenda forward and will alert the membership when more information is made available pertaining to the incident response workshop.

Water Quality

AMSA’s Advocacy in Support of Mercury Test Method Helps Yield Long-Awaited Agency Proposal
On April 6, 2004, after over six years of advocacy by AMSA, EPA proposed to approve Method 245.7 for the analysis of mercury in wastewater. In addition to Method 245.7, the Agency proposed to approve a long list of new and updated test procedures for the analysis of pollutants under the Clean Water Act (CWA) (69 Fed. Reg. 18166). Regulated and regulatory entities alike use these EPA-approved methods for determining compliance with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit or other monitoring requirements. The proposal would introduce new technologies to the NPDES program, update versions of previously approved methods, and remove certain outdated methods.

If approved, Method 245.7 will provide many POTWs with a cost-effective alternative for monitoring mercury in their influent and effluent. Currently, POTWs are encouraged to use Method 1631 for mercury detection, a more sensitive but expensive method. Given that the detection and quantitation levels for Method 245.7 are higher than those for Method 1631, the new performance-based method will not be an option where limits are extremely low, such as in the Great Lakes, but will provide POTWs with more choices for mercury analyses.

The Agency is seeking comments on the proposed rule until June 7, 2004. For more information on the proposal and EPA’s request for comments, please see AMSA’s Regulatory Alert 04-08 (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/regalerts/ra04-08.cfm). To facilitate the Association’s comment effort, please submit any comments to Will Pettit, AMSA’s Regulatory Analyst, at wpettit@amsa-cleanwater.org by May 17, 2004.

EPA Ramps Up Clean Beach Efforts, Works to Promulgate Bacteria Standards for Coastal States
In an April 20 press release, EPA officially announced its decision to promulgate bacteria standards for 24 coastal states and territories that had not updated their existing water quality criteria as of April 10, 2004, a deadline imposed by the Beaches, Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act of 2000. EPA has committed to propose federal standards for bacteria, consistent with its 1986 criteria, for the states and territories that have not yet done so by June 30, 2004. This rule will ultimately impact POTWs discharging to coastal waters. AMSA urges members in the affected states, who have not already done so, to begin to evaluate whether their plants will be able to comply with limits based on the new standards. To assist the membership, AMSA developed a table, found in AMSA’s Regulatory Alert 04-10 (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/regalerts/ra04-10.cfm), outlining the status of all 35 coastal states and territories.

EPA’s April 20 announcement also outlined the Agency’s “Clean Beaches Plan,” designed to accelerate progress at the federal and state level to meet all of the requirements of the BEACH Act. More information on the “Clean Beaches Plan” is available on the EPA’s website (http://www.epa.gov/beaches/plan.htm).

In a related matter, on April 28, EPA announced the availability of an additional $10 million in grants to help coastal states monitor water quality at beaches and upgrade contamination notification programs. These funds were originally authorized under the 2000 BEACH Act. AMSA will continue to keep the membership informed of developments related to the BEACH Act and the impending release of EPA’s implementation guidance for its 1986 criteria.

AMSA Meets with USGS to Urge Funding Increase for Water Quality Assessment Program
AMSA and other key water and wastewater stakeholders met April 29 to discuss the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. At issue was the Administration’s decreased funding for the program, which may ultimately undermine the scientific foundation of the long-term project, which began in 1991 and is expected to be completed in 2011. The NAWQA Program is the primary source for long-term, nationwide information on the quality of streams, groundwater, and aquatic ecosystems. The information it generates is used by numerous federal, state, and local agencies, including the EPA for water quality management decisions. The program relies on 42 study units (reduced from the original 59 units due to prior budget cuts) and tracks water quality parameters in those units over time. For the past three years AMSA has actively participated in efforts to encourage the Congress to restore funding to the program following deep, proposed cuts in the President's budget request. Although funding for the NAWQA Program has not been cut over the last few years, it has not kept pace with rising inflation and nondiscretionary costs, creating a gap between what the program actually needs and what it receives annually – the current gap is estimated to be approximately $21 million. Significant downsizing of the program is already planned for this year, and without a significant infusion of additional funds to close the gap, the NAWQA program may have to further reduce the number of study units – a result that may jeopardize the validity of the entire program. AMSA will work with other stakeholders to ensure Congress understands the importance of the program and the need for added funding.

Conferences & Awards

Last Chance to Attend AMSA’s National Environmental Policy Forum & 34th Annual Meeting
AMSA’s 2004 National Environmental Policy Forum & 34th Annual Meeting, May 22-26, 2004, in Washington, D.C., will provide a unique opportunity to interact with EPA, congressional officials, and key Association leadership in order to further national water quality policy and discuss current regulatory issues. The technical committee meetings, a panel with key EPA Office of Water officials, regulatory roundtables on key POTW issues will provide an excellent opportunity for AMSA members to discuss issues critical to their agencies and to POTWs nationwide with fellow public agency members and key EPA and political staff. Also, with the November elections on the horizon, the Policy Forum offers a unique opportunity for the wastewater treatment community to help shape future national clean water policy. Numerous AMSA priorities, including security, wet weather initiatives, and infrastructure funding have received significant attention from both Capitol Hill and EPA, and the Policy Forum is the key meeting to demonstrate the unity of the POTW community on these issues.

While the hotel deadline has passed, rooms may still be available at the conference rate by contacting the Renaissance Washington DC Hotel directly at 202/898-9000. If there is any difficulty, please contact AMSA’s Nirah Forman at 202/833-8418. More information and a detailed agenda are available on AMSA’s website (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/meetings/04nepf/). AMSA hopes to see you at the Policy Forum, May 22–26, 2004 in Washington, DC!

AMSA Members Eligible for Clean Water Act Recognition Awards
EPA continues to accept nominations for its National Clean Water Act Recognition Awards (69 Fed. Reg. 13826). These awards honor municipalities and industries for outstanding and innovative technological achievements in wastewater treatment and pollution prevention programs. Eligible programs include operations and maintenance at POTWs, biosolids management, pretreatment programs, stormwater management, and combined sewer overflow controls (CSO), among others. This is a prime opportunity for AMSA members to educate the public on the contributions that POTWs make to clean water, and garner additional public support and recognition for wastewater treatment efforts. EPA recognizes award winners each year during the Water Environment Federation’s Technical Conference (WEFTEC). AMSA also honors those POTWs receiving pretreatment awards at the annual National Pretreatment Coordinators Workshop. Nominations are due to the Agency no later than June 18, 2004. Applications and program information are available on EPA’s website (http://www.epa.gov/owm/intnet.htm).