Member Pipeline - Regulatory - Update (January 2002)
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Printer friendly version| To: | Members, Affiliates, Regulatory Policy Committee, Legal Affairs Committee |
| From: | National Office |
| Date: | January 22, 2002 |
AMSA's National Office is pleased to provide you with the Regulatory Update. This Update provides a narrative summary of relevant regulatory issues and actions current to January 22, 2002. A Regulatory Digest of activities currently tracked by AMSA can be found on AMSA's web site at www.amsa-cleanwater.org. If you have any questions or comments, please contact the AMSA National Office at 202/833-AMSA or info@amsa-cleanwater.org.
Revised Web Site Page Offers One-Stop Access to AMSA's Regulatory
Activities
AMSA has significantly enhanced the Regulatory Digest portion of the
Association's web site to offer our members a faster and more comprehensive way to access
current regulatory activities and communications. The Regulatory Digest now offers a
complete, up-to-date summary of AMSA's regulatory activities. The Regulatory Digest also
contains background descriptions on each issue, concise timelines, and the current status
of each initiative, including web links to all of AMSA's related correspondence and access
to key U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) documents. The Regulatory Digest
is located at: http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/regupdates/reg_digest.cfm.
Biosolids
Deadline for Final Rule on Dioxin in Land Applied Biosolids Still in
Question
AMSA, EPA, and environmental petitioners recently modified the
Gearhart v. Whitman Consent Decree deadline which had previously required the Agency to
finalize regulations for dioxins in land-applied biosolids by December 15, 2001. An
initial agreement between the parties extended the deadline to March 1, 2002 to allow the
litigants more time to discuss and agree upon a later deadline for the Agency. Following
EPA's proposal of the 300 parts per trillion dioxin limit for land-applied biosolids in
December 1999, the additional time is needed because the Agency has generated and received
significant new information on dioxins and their presence in these biosolids. This
information includes AMSA's 2000/2001 Survey of Dioxin-Like Compounds in Biosolids:
Statistical Analyses (Final Report) (see AMSA Regulatory Alert 01-19
at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/regalerts/ra01-19.cfm),
a revised EPA risk assessment to support a final rule, and the Agency's own 2001 dioxin in
biosolids survey. Matters are complicated by the fact that in spring 2002, EPA is expected
to approve a new and significantly more stringent Agency-wide cancer value for dioxin. EPA
plans to use this new value, if approved, in any land-applied biosolids rule. The use of
this revised cancer value may impact EPA's new risk assessment for the rule.
Accordingly, AMSA and the parties have been aggressively negotiating a further extension of the deadline beyond March 1, 2002. On January 11, 2002, the parties reached an agreement in principle on language that will provide EPA more time to finalize the rule and provide additional notice and comment opportunities on new scientific information, including AMSA's data, and other developments since the rule's proposal in December 1999.
AMSA will update the membership when the new deadline for EPA's completion of the rule is finalized and accepted by the court. At that time, AMSA will outline the process for additional notice and comment and the Association's plans for developing comments. These plans will include comprehensive reviews of EPA's survey data, assessment of the impact of the new dioxin cancer value, and evaluation of the Agency's new risk assessment to ensure that the final regulation is realistic and scientifically sound. For further information, contact Alexandra Dunn at 202/533-1803 or adunn@amsa-cleanwater.org.
EPA Issues Final Part 503 Rule for Incineration and Surface Disposal
On December 21, 2001, EPA provided final notice of its decision not to
regulate dioxin in sewage sludge that is placed in a surface disposal unit or fired in a
sewage sludge incinerator (SSI). In addition to EPA's proposed land application standard
for dioxins (see related story above), the Agency also assessed the risk of exposure to
dioxin in sewage sludge that is placed in a surface disposal unit or incinerated in a SSI.
Based on this assessment, EPA concluded that no numeric limits, or additional management
practices, for dioxins are needed for sludge disposed of in these ways, and therefore
proposed to take no action. In its December 21, 2001 final Federal Register
notice, EPA confirms its earlier assessment that no additional regulation is necessary for
these disposal techniques to protect public health or the environment. Though the risk
assessment for this decision uses the Agency's current cancer value for dioxin (developed
in 1985), EPA indicated in the December 21, 2001 notice that its "no action"
conclusion would not have changed even if the assessment applied the more stringent cancer
value being considered in the Agency-wide dioxin reassessment. The majority of the
comments EPA received on the proposal supported the Agency's decision. For further
information, contact Chris Hornback at 202/833-9106 or chornback@amsa-cleanwater.org. A copy
of the notice can be found at:
http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-WATER/2001/December/Day-21/w31342.pdf.
Pretreatment
EPA Extends Deadline and Announces Public Meetings for Proposed
Electronic Record Rule
On January 3, 2002, EPA extended by thirty (30) days the comment
period on its proposed rule establishing conditions for electronic reporting and the
maintenance of electronic records. The comment period will now close on February 27, 2002.
EPA also announced the dates and locations for two public meetings to seek comment on the
proposed rule's recordkeeping provisions and ascertain whether the recordkeeping
requirements should be removed from the current proposal. AMSA staff attended the first
meeting on January 17 in Washington, DC, and provided the Agency with a better
understanding of how the rule would impact POTWs. AMSA, along with the majority of
stakeholders in attendance, recommended that the recordkeeping provisions be removed from
the proposal and revised. A second meeting will be held on January 31, 2002, 10 a.m. to
5:30 p.m. (CST) at the Holiday Inn Select, Irving, Texas. For additional details on the
proposed rule and the public meetings please see AMSA's Regulatory Alerts RA 01-22 (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/regalerts/ra01-22.cfm)
and 02-2 (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/regalerts/ra02-02.cfm).
For further information, contact Chris Hornback at 202/833-9106 or chornback@amsa-cleanwater.org.
Water Quality
AMSA Highlights Errors in EPA's Methodology for Estimating the Costs
of the TMDL Program
On December 7, 2001, AMSA submitted comments on EPA's draft report, The
National Costs of the Total Maximum Daily Load Program. Mandated by Congress, the
report sought to estimate the costs of implementing pollution control measures to develop
and implement total maximum daily loads (TMDLs). EPA estimated the annual cost of the
program to be between $2 billion and $4 billion annually, and the average cost of
developing a TMDL to be about $52,000. While supportive of EPA's efforts to estimate the
cost of the program, AMSA's comments were critical of a number of assumptions the Agency
made regarding the POTW community. For example, EPA assumed that POTWs with any form of
treatment beyond secondary, either in place now or planned for a future upgrade, would
incur no additional costs in implementing the TMDL program. AMSA provided EPA with a
number of examples to demonstrate that this assumption is unwarranted. AMSA will continue
to work with the Agency to ensure that the final report, and any cost estimates associated
with the new TMDL proposal, eliminate or narrow these assumptions and more accurately
account for costs incurred by POTWs. AMSA's comments can be found at:
http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/advocacy/comments/12-10-01tmdl.pdf.
For further information, contact Chris Hornback at 202/833-9106 or chornback@amsa-cleanwater.org.
AMSA Comments on Proposed Revisions to Mercury Method 1631
On December 10, 2001, AMSA submitted comments on EPA's proposed
revisions to mercury Method 1631. The revisions were designed to improve the reliability
of the method and make it more consistent with other EPA-approved methods. In addition to
highlighting a number of technical issues and providing a number of suggestions for
improving the method, AMSA commented on the proposal's recommendation to make all of the
clean techniques and quality control (QC) procedures mandatory. AMSA supported EPA's
decision to make the provisions mandatory as long as permittees have the option to elect
not to implement the provisions. AMSA indicated that POTWs are extremely familiar with
their effluent characteristics and understand the level to which clean techniques must be
followed to ensure accurate results. Permittees also assume the liability associated with
their sampling and recognize the consequences of poor data. EPA and state regulators do
not have the same level of understanding and are not directly liable for inaccurate
sampling. Requiring the use of these provisions by EPA and state regulators will reduce
the risk that enforcement decisions are based on contaminated sampling results. AMSA's
comments can be found at:
http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/advocacy/comments/12-11-01AMSAW-01-05 Comments.pdf.
For further information, contact Chris Hornback at 202/833-9106 or chornback@amsa-cleanwater.org.
AMSA Expresses Concerns With EPA's Nutrient Guidance for Estuarine and
Coastal Waters
On December 10, 2001, AMSA also submitted comments on EPA's Nutrient
Criteria Technical Guidance Manual: Estuarine and Coastal Marine Waters. While the
November 14, 2001 memorandum from Geoffrey Grubbs to the states and Regions clarified a
number of implementation issues surrounding the nutrient criteria, AMSA continues to have
concerns with the scientific foundation of EPA's approach to developing the criteria. A
copy of the memorandum can be found as an attachment to AMSA Regulatory Alert RA 01-20
at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/regalerts/ra01-20.cfm.
AMSA's primary concern with the estuarine guidance is the document's reliance on a
reference condition (i.e., an estuary or coastal waterbody that is minimally impaired or
unimpaired by human-related nutrient enrichment) for developing the criteria. AMSA argues
that effects-based criteria, which can be developed without knowing the reference
condition of a waterbody, are more meaningful as they can account for its assimilative
capacity, and therefore account for the actual effects of nutrients on the biological
community. AMSA's comments can be found at:
http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/advocacy/comments/12-11-01ncgmcomments.pdf.
For further information, contact Chris Hornback at 202/833-9106 or chornback@amsa-cleanwater.org.
AMSA Submits Substantial Comments on EPA's Proposed Whole Effluent
Toxicity Methods
On January 11, 2002, AMSA submitted comments on EPA's proposed test
methods for measuring whole effluent toxicity (WET). For more than a decade, AMSA has
played a key role in the national dialogue on WET. In addition to its own advocacy
initiatives, AMSA continues its active participation in the WET Coalition in an effort to
collaborate and share information with other regulated entities. Together, the Coalition
and AMSA prepared over 170 pages of comments on EPA's proposal. AMSA's comments expressed
concern over EPA's continued failure to recognize the deficiencies in the WET test methods
that were highlighted during the Agency's Interlaboratory Variability Study, and the
implications those deficiencies have for permittees. Of utmost concern to AMSA was EPA's
failure to adhere to mandatory test protocols and the Agency's approval of tests and
endpoints that have not been sufficiently validated in accordance with the Agency's own
data quality objectives. AMSA will continue to press EPA to make the necessary revisions
to the methods, and to highlight ways to improve a number of WET implementation concerns.
AMSA's comment letter and the WET Coalition comments can be found at:
http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/advocacy/comments/011502wetcomments.pdf.
For further information, contact Chris Hornback at 202/833-9106 or chornback@amsa-cleanwater.org.
AMSA Outlines Priority POTW Issues for Proposed Water Quality Trading
Program
In late December, AMSA met with David Batchelor, EPA's Senior Policy
Advisor to Assistant Administrator for Water Tracy Mehan, to discuss the Agency's plan to
develop a water quality trading policy. This policy would provide incentives for voluntary
trading among watershed pollutant sources. During the meeting, Batchelor requested AMSA's
input on how to make its trading program workable for publicly owned treatment works
(POTWs). In response to EPA's request, members of AMSA's Water Quality and Legal Affairs
have developed a preliminary list of priority POTW concerns and requisite components of a
trading program. A copy of the list, submitted to EPA on January 18, is located at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/outreach/012202batchelor_letter.pdf.
This list was submitted to EPA on January 22. The initial draft of the water quality
trading policy is due out in mid-February for stakeholder comment, and is expected to
complement EPA's revisions to the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) rule. AMSA will remain
very involved in the stakeholder process to ensure that POTW concerns are fully
incorporated. For further information, contact Greg Schaner at 202/296-9836 or gschaner@amsa-cleanwater.org.
Wet Weather
EPA Circulates Draft Wet Weather Guidance Setting Out Regulatory
Positions
On December 21, 2001, EPA's Office of Water (OW) released draft
guidance addressing several critical wet weather issues for Regional and state review. The
draft guidance, titled NPDES Requirements for Municipal Wastewater Treatment During
Wet Weather Conditions, advises states and EPA Regions on how to address the
following issues in a wastewater treatment plant's National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) permit:
- Discharges from emergency overflow structures located within municipal sanitary sewer collection systems;
- Discharges from wet weather treatment facilities, referred to by EPA as peak excess flow treatment facilities (PEFTF); and
- Blending or recombination designs at publicly owned treatment works (POTW) treatment plants.
AMSA has been anticipating the release of certain portions of this draft guidance for several weeks. The National Office has worked closely with Agency staff on the blending and PEFTF issues, and has actively encouraged Assistant Administrator Tracy Mehan to issue a final blending policy as soon as possible. AMSA understands that this document is on the fast track to be finalized, even though the Agency is not indicating yet when a final guidance should be expected. Although OW is actively seeking comment from the Regions and states on the draft guidance (these comments were due to EPA by January 21), it is not inviting outside comments. However, on January 10, AMSA sent comments to EPA on the blending provisions (see below), and the National Office plans to meet with OW staff to detail additional issues and concerns regarding the PEFTF and emergency overflow structure provisions. AMSA encourages you to review this document and to inform us of any issues or concerns you have with these draft provisions. For further information, please refer to AMSA Regulatory Alert RA 02-1 at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/regalerts/ra02-01.cfm, which includes a synopsis of the draft guidance and potential implications for members. Please forward any comments to Greg Schaner at gschaner@amsa-cleanwater.org, or call with questions at 202/296-9836.
AMSA Supports Finalizing Blending Policy, Outlines Additional Concerns
On January 10, AMSA submitted comments to EPA encouraging the Agency
to move forward with a final policy on blending. A copy of AMSA's letter can be found at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/regalerts/ra02-01b.pdf.
The draft policy, included in EPA's December 21 draft wet weather guide (see above story),
details the required criteria to be used by states in authorizing POTW blending designs in
the NPDES permit. Among the list of criteria for authorizing blending is the requirement
to meet secondary treatment standards, to document that information on the treatment
scheme was included in past permit applications, and to use blending only when flows
exceed the capacity of storage and treatment units. The draft policy also indicates that
flows routed around the biological treatment units and not meeting the policy's minimum
criteria are prohibited bypasses. AMSA's comments are generally supportive of EPA's
issuance of a final blending policy. However, AMSA raises concerns regarding the practical
implication of imposing unnecessary operational limitations on treatment designs that are
working well and meeting standards. The letter also provides numerous recommendations on
how the language can be clarified, and summarizes results from last year's blending survey
of AMSA members. For further information, contact Greg Schaner at 202/296-9836 or gschaner@amsa-cleanwater.org.
AMSA Begins Project to Develop Peak Flow Capacity Determination
Process
In early January, AMSA initiated a Technical Action Fund (TAF) project
under the auspices of the Wet Weather Issues Committee to develop scientifically
supportable and realistic requirements for collection system capacity determinations and
POTW blending. AMSA believes, and EPA acknowledges, that the current absence of any
consensus on how capacity determinations are made and collection systems are designed for
peak flows has undermined efforts to develop SSO regulations and issue final blending
policy. For instance, EPA's proposed SSO rule will contain detailed requirements for
facilities to develop Capacity, Management, Operations and Maintenance (CMOM) programs.
AMSA believes that this provision for a locally developed performance standard is
appropriate, but clear guidance is needed that establishes how the regulatory community
will judge both the collection and treatment standards. Through this project, AMSA will
propose prototype methodologies developed for POTWs and collection system owners and
operators to follow when setting 1) site-specific peak flow capacity in the collection
system, and 2) in designing a treatment plant for peak wet weather flows. The project will
conclude in early July 2002. For further information, contact Greg Schaner at 202/296-9836
or gschaner@amsa-cleanwater.org.