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To:
Members & Affiliates
From:
National Office
Date:
January 2000
The National Office is pleased to provide you with the January 2000 Regulatory Update. This Update provides an overview of relevant regulatory issues current to January 12, 2000. As you review this month's Update, you will notice that we have modified the format to improve its readability. A narrative summary of activities or actions that have occurred during the past month is provided in this cover, while attached is a Regulatory Digest summary of all regulatory activities that are currently being tracked by AMSA. If you have any questions or comments on the new format, please contact the National Office.
Proposes Dioxin Standards for Land Application of Biosolids
On December 23, 1999, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule to limit dioxin and dioxin-like compounds in biosolids that are land applied. Specifically, EPA proposes to set a limit of 300 part per trillion (ppt) toxic equivalents (TEQ) for 29 specific congeners of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans, and coplanar PCBs, and to require minimum monitoring, record keeping and reporting requirements for dioxins in biosolids that are land applied. The proposed rule does not contain additional limits for biosolids that are being placed in surface disposal units or incinerated.The proposed rule would require facilities which prepare biosolids for land application to test the biosolids for dioxins, and also to perform periodic monitoring to determine the level of dioxins. The proposal sets a limit of 300 parts per trillion toxic equivalents of dioxins, above which biosolids may not be applied to the land. All facilities would be required to test the level of dioxins present in their biosolids before the biosolids could be land applied except: 1) treatment plants treating less than one million gallons per day of wastewater, and, 2) small businesses which prepare less than 290 dry metic tons of sewage sludge annually. The proposed rule would require facilities finding levels of dioxins between 30 and 300 ppt in their biosolids to monitor annually for dioxins, while facilities that find less than 30 ppt of dioxins would be required to monitor once every five years.
In 1994, 114 biosolids samples from POTWs owned/operated by AMSA members were analyzed for dioxin, furans and 3 coplanar PCBs. The average dioxins concentration was 113 ppt (TEQ), while the mean concentration was 78 ppt (TEQ). Three of the 114 samples in the AMSA study had dioxins
concentrations in excess of 300 ppt TEQ. AMSA's Biosolids Committee is taking a lead on preparing the Association's comments on the proposal. The National Office distributed a pre-publication version of the proposed rule via Regulatory Alert RA 99-24. Comments from the membership are due back to the National Office by January 28, 2000. EPA has requested comments on the proposal no later than February 22, 2000. CONTACT: Mark Hoeke, AMSA 202/833-9106, or Al Rubin, EPA 202/260-7589.
Additional Notes: The numerical value for the ceiling concentration for dioxins in Table 1 on page 72061 of the Proposed Part 503 Standards for the Use or Disposal of Sewage Sludge at 64 Fed. Reg. No. 246 pp. 72045-72062, December 23, 1999 is erroneously stated as a result of a typesetting error. The correct value is 0.0003 mg./kg toxic equivalents (TEQ). This is equal to 300 parts per trillion(ppt) TEQ. The preamble to this proposed rule states the correct numerical value as 300 ppt TEQ. EPA issued a formal Notice of Correction in the Federal Register on January 11, 2000 at 65 Fed. Reg. No. 7 page 1676. EPA has also released the “Risk Analysis for the Round Two Biosolids Pollutants,” one of several documents supporting the proposed rule.
AMSA Opposes Great Lakes Mixing Zone Ban
On December 3, AMSA submitted comments on EPA's proposed elimination of mixing zones in the Great Lakes region. The Association opposes a blanket mixing zone prohibition for several reasons. AMSA's comments express concerns that the ban will present an expensive challenge to municipalities already faced with the prospect of funding competing clean water priorities with limited municipal funds and the lack of economic justification for the ban. AMSA argued that the proposal will force many facilities to install new or expanded treatment systems when mixing zones are eliminated for BCCs, and that considerable local resources may be expended on controls which may have negligible impact on resolving water quality issues. AMSA also recommended that the development and implementation of mixing zones should be addressed on a site-specific basis that considers relative information on the duration and exposure of species residing within the relatively limited mixing zone area.In the October 4 Federal Register, EPA proposed amending the Final Water Quality Guidance for the Great Lakes System to prohibit mixing zones for bioaccumulative chemicals of concern in the Great Lakes System. These chemicals include mercury, dioxin, PCBs and others. For existing discharges, the regulation would prohibit mixing zones for these chemicals starting 10 years after the publication date of the final mixing zone rule. New discharges containing bioaccumulative chemicals would be immediately subject to the mixing zone prohibition. EPA had promulgated a mixing zone provision similar to this proposed regulation in 1995, but an industry lawsuit required EPA to complete a cost-benefit analysis before proposing the ban. In announcing this proposal on September 24, 1999, EPA Administrator Carol Browner indicated that the Agency will be reviewing “the use of mixing zones for bioaccumulative toxic chemicals to determine if they should be phased out nationwide.”
EPA Publishes Final Stormwater Regulations
On December 8, 1999 EPA published in the Federal Register its final regulations on the Phase II stormwater program. The stormwater regulations will require more than 5,000 small municipal separate stormwater systems (MS4s) (systems which serve populations under 100,000 that are located in urbanized areas), to implement a stormwater quality management program under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. Regulated municipalities will have three (3) years and three (3) months to obtain NPDES permits. The Phase II requirements will also increase the number of construction sites regulated by NPDES permits by lowering the acreage threshold from five acres to one acre.EPA is emphasizing that the Phase II program will focus on best management practices (BMPs), providing municipalities with the flexibility to decide which practices work best in their particular locality. Municipal Phase II stormwater programs are to be composed of six minimum control measures, including public education and outreach, public involvement and participation, illicit discharge detection and elimination, construction site stormwater runoff control, post-construction stormwater management, and pollution prevention.
While POTWs with service areas entirely made up of combined sewers are excluded from the new stormwater requirements, AMSA members with both combined and separate systems are regulated by the Phase II program. NPDES permits will only affect the areas serviced by separate storm sewers. Also, regional authorities seeking responsibility for implementing the minimum practices for their service areas will need to evaluate the general permitting and co-permitting options provided in the rule to assess the best approach for their situation. The structure of the final Phase II rule allows a regional authority to act as the permittee only if it is the operator of the MS4. A copy of the final rule was sent to the AMSA membership via Regulatory Alert RA 99-23. CONTACT: Greg Schaner, AMSA 202/296-9836 or George Utting, EPA 202/260-9530.
EPA Publishes Final Freshwater Ammonia Criteria
On December 22, EPA announced the publication and availability of the 1999 Update of Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Ammonia (1999 Update), containing EPA's recommended ammonia criteria for the protection of freshwater aquatic life. These criteria are EPA's current recommendations for States, Territories, and authorized Tribes to use as guidance in adopting water quality standards. In August 1998, EPA published the 1998 Update of Ambient Water Criteria for Ammonia and asked for public comment. The 1999 Update incorporates revisions made in response to comment on the 1998 Update, and supercedes all previous freshwater ammonia criteria.The new criteria reflect revisions of several elements in the 1984 criteria, including the pH and temperature relationship of the acute and chronic criteria and the averaging period of the chronic criterion. As a result of these revisions, the acute criterion for ammonia is now dependent on pH and fish species, and the chronic criterion is dependent on pH and temperature. At lower temperatures, the dependency of the chronic criterion is also dependent upon the presence or absence of early life stages of fish. The temperature dependency in the 1999 Update results in a gradual increase in the criterion as the temperature decreases, and criterion that is more stringent, at temperatures below 15°C, when early life stages of fish are expected to be present. EPA's recommendations in the 1999 Update represent a change from both the 1984 chronic criterion, which was dependent mainly on pH, and from the 1998 Update, in which the chronic criterion was dependent on pH and the presence of early life stages of fish.
A copy of the document, 1999 Update of Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Ammonia (EPA-822-R-99-014) was distributed via AMSA Regulatory Alert RA 00-1, and may be obtained directly from the U.S. EPA by contacting: National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP) at 1-800-490-9198. The document is also available on the Internet at: http://www.epa.gov/ost/standards/amonsub.cfml.
EPA Responds to AMSA Concerns on Nutrients
In a December 27, 1999 response letter to AMSA, Geoff Grubbs, Director of EPA's Office of Science and Technology states the Agency's current belief that the “fundamental process for developing nutrient criteria is sound.” Grubb's letter was in response to a November 19 AMSA letter sent to EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Chuck Fox, expressing significant concerns with EPA's draft nutrient technical guidance documents for various water-bodies (i.e., rivers and streams, lakes and reservoirs). The documents are being developed as part of a nationwide EPA nutrient control strategy which mandates adoption of numeric nutrient criteria in state water quality standards by 2003. In the November 19 letter, AMSA urged EPA to reevaluate its proposed approach to setting numeric nutrient criteria and requested a formal public comment period on the draft criteria guidance.Grubbs responded to AMSA concerns that the Agency has relied too heavily on the use of reference waterbody conditions in the development of nutrient criteria. In the response letter, Grubbs states that “the draft technical guidance manuals describe five essential elements of the nutrient criteria development process including: physical classification of waterbodies, an investigation of historical data and other information, establishment of the reference condition, use of empirical and simulation models, expert assessment, and attention to downstream effects” and that “reference conditions are just one element that must be brought into the final decision.”
AMSA's Nutrient Workgroup formally presented its concerns on the guidance documents to EPA officials at a meeting on January 5, 2000. During the meeting, the workgroup highlighted the potential problems with EPA's empirical approach and emphasized that the methodologies for developing water quality criteria and sediment guidelines have significantly stronger scientific justification. AMSA members also stressed that the present framework of the nutrient guidance will produce nutrient criteria which are not adequately linked to aquatic life or other beneficial uses. Because of these concerns, the workgroup strongly recommended that EPA consider alternative approaches to implementing nitrogen and phosphorus criteria. One approach suggested was to use nutrient concentrations, chlorophyll, and other water quality measurements as a screening tool to identify river stream segments that may require a more detailed evaluation.
Grubbs did indicate that the Agency will provide a 60-day public comment period on the draft guidance documents upon notice in the Federal Register in late January 2000 for the lakes/reservoirs guidance and by late January/early February 2000 for the rivers/streams guidance. AMSA members will receive a summary of the January 5 meeting, and a copy of both AMSA's November 19 letter and EPA's response in a forthcoming Regulatory Alert.
AMSA Readies Comments on EPA's Proposed TMDL Regulations
AMSA member agency representatives met at the National Office on January 6-7 to finalize the Association's comments on EPA proposed package of substantially revised TMDL regulations and guidance. Because the TMDL package presents a complicated array of technical and legal issues, members and leadership from AMSA's Regulatory, Legal Affairs and Water Quality committees collaborated on the development of AMSA's comments. While the comments will be a thorough review of the entire proposal's potential impacts on POTWs, they will emphasize the need for EPA to narrow the scope of the listings envisioned in the proposal to include only those waters that are not meeting pollutant-based water quality standards. In addition, AMSA will recommend that a clear linkage be made between the TMDL rule and water quality standards use reviews and revisions. AMSA's comments will strongly support the proposal's inclusion of nonpoint sources, requirements for public participation in the impaired waters listing and TMDL development process and TMDL implementation plans. The deadline for comments on the proposed TMDL program revisions is January 20.In addition, since publishing the proposed regulations August 23, 1999 in the Federal Register, EPA has been asked by the States to postpone the required April 2000 update of the states' 303(d) lists. EPA may make a decision on this issue prior to issuing the final TMDL rules. AMSA believes that any list developed under the new regulation should not be required earlier than two years after the date of final promulgation of the TMDL rule. Because the the public participation and listing methodology requirements cannot be fulfilled by the various states in less than two years, AMSA supports a 2-year extension to the current April 2000 deadline.
AMSA Meets with EPA, NRC, and DOE on Radioactivity Guidance for Biosolids
On January 11, AMSA representatives met with officials from EPA, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and the Department of Energy (DOE) to discuss separate modeling efforts underway by both AMSA and the Interagency Steering Committee on Radiation Standards (ISCORS) to evaluate the potential for incremental increases in radiological exposure to the public and others from biosolids handling and disposal/reuse. The National Biosolids Partnership (NBP) is sponsoring the AMSA modeling effort which provides a comparative risk assessment of radiological exposure from biosolids with other sources. The dose modeling report is expected to be distributed to the AMSA membership in early 2000. ISCORS is conducting similar modeling, in addition to a sampling effort at 300 POTWs, to: 1) obtain national estimates of high probability occurrences of elevated levels of radioactive materials in biosolids and ash at POTWs; 2) estimate the extent to which radioactive contamination comes from either NRC/agreement state licensees or naturally occurring radioactivity; and 3) support future rulemaking decisions by NRC and EPA. Participants in the meeting agreed that both modeling efforts should result in similar conclusions. Additional meetings between AMSA and other ISCORS representatives are planned as modeling efforts progress.EPA Submits Outline of Draft CSO Water Quality Standards Guidance to Congress
In December 1999, EPA submitted an outline of a draft guidance document to facilitate water quality and designated use reviews for CSO receiving waters to the House Appropriations Committee, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Congress in House Report 105-769, accompanying EPA's FY 1999 Appropriations, urged the Agency to develop guidance and to provide technical and financial assistance to States and EPA Regions to conduct water quality standards reviews for CSO-receiving waters.The outline of the draft guidance, Implementation of the Water Quality-Based Provisions of the CSO Control Policy (EPA-823-R-99-015) provides information on the policy, programmatic and technical guidance the Agency is developing for public review and comment in April, 2000. The draft guidance addresses the potential Agency actions to further the integration of the development and implementation of long-term combined sewer overflow (CSO) control plans with water quality standards reviews for CSO-receiving waters.
In addition to the outline of the draft guidance, EPA has announced the availability of two additional documents — Summary of Participant Comments at the EPA-WEF Experts Workshop on Implementing the WQ-Based Provisions in the CSO Control Policy (EPA-823-R-99-016) and Summary of the Listening Sessions — Observations & Recommendations for Guidance and Technical Assistance to Facilitate Water Quality and Designated Use Reviews for Waters Impacted by Combined Sewer Overflows (EPA-823-R-99-017). These documents provide the perspectives of individuals with whom EPA consulted to identify impediments to implementing the water quality-based provisions of the CSO Control Policy and the actions the Agency should take to overcome the impediments. EPA is making the documents available on the Internet at: www.epa.gov/ost/cso. AMSA plans to distribute the outline of the draft guidance via a forthcoming Regulatory Alert.
EPA Solicits Comment on Burden Estimate for Sewage Sludge Incinerator Operators
On December 12, 1999 EPA published in the Federal Register a notice concerning Part 503 testing of biosolids incinerators and air dispersion modeling. The notice includes EPA's estimate on the total burden hours for sewage sludge incinerator owners/operators (SSIOOs) to comply with self-implementing requirements for sewage sludge incinerators under Subpart E of 40 CFR Part 503. In the notice, EPA estimates that annually, 30 SSIOOs will expend a total of 150 hours at a total cost of $2,734.50 to comply with the information collection and reporting provisions of the Phase 1 Amendments to the Part 503 Standards for the use or Disposal of Sewage Sludge. EPA is soliciting comment to evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used. EPA has indicated that the notice only applies to the POTWs that practice incineration and have not yet conducted their performance testing and air dispersion modeling necessary to determine the site-specific Part 503 limits for arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and nickel. Comments are due to the Agency by February 14, 2000.EPA to Revise Iron and Steel Guidelines
On December 3, 1999 EPA hosted a “Steel Industry Effluent Guidelines Limitations Review” meeting in Washington, DC to discuss options under consideration for revised steel industry effluent guidelines. The Agency is considering technology options for seven subcategories of the industry including: cokemaking, ironmaking, integrated steelmaking, non-integrated steelmaking, hot forming, steel finishing, and other operations. The Agency expects to promulgate production normalized mass effluent limitation guidelines for most subcategories as in the current 40 CFR Part 420. At the December 3 meeting, Rich Sustich of Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, expressed AMSA member concerns that the proposed subcategorization for steel finishing may conflict with forthcoming Metal Products and Machinery effluent guidelines to be proposed in October 2000, and that integrated “mini-mills” could be subject to two or three subcategories with different standards. AMSA plans to request additional meeting(s) with EPA to discuss its concerns. A proposal is expected in October 2000.Attachments:
AMSA Meetings Schedule Regulatory Digest For this downloadable file, you must have the Acrobat Reader. If you don't have the Acrobat Reader, click on the icon below to download a copy. After you download and install a copy, return to this page and click on the link above for the downloadable file.
