The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on August 24 received EPA’s proposed rulemaking for sewage sludge incinerators (SSIs) that would subject these processes to control emissions of toxic air pollutants under Section129 under the Clean Air Act for the first time. The agency had previously exempted SSIs from other proposed and final rules establishing new source performance standards for hazardous air pollutants in a 2005 rule that set performance standards for a variety of small incinerator classes, and EPA did not include them in other standards proposed earlier this year covering boilers, process heaters, and incinerators. The proposed rule would apply to wastewater treatment systems that use incinerators to burn sewage sludge. EPA’s proposal would set technology-based emissions limits under 40 CFR Part 60 for sewage sludge incineration units. Read more
The DEA will be collecting potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs for destruction at sites nationwide on Saturday, September 25th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time. The service is free and anonymous, with no questions asked.
According to the DEA’s August 19th press release, “this initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are increasing at alarming rates, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away – both potential safety and health hazards.”
For more information and to view a list of nationwide collection sites, please visit www.dea.gov.
The Water Environment Federation proudly announces the winners of the 2010 WEF Excellence Awards. The awards will be presented at the WEF Awards and Presidential Celebration Reception during WEFTEC® 2010, WEF’s 83rd annual technical exhibition and conference, this October in New Orleans, La. Read more
By Pei-Chin Low, 2010-11 CWEA President & Executive Committee Chair
I am pleased to announce the opening of nominations for the 2011 CWEA Board of
Directors positions. Your local section and committee officers will have received the
Executive Committee request for nominations for CWEA Directors and Officers by the
time you receive this notice. However, to broaden the notification, this request is going
out to the CWEA membership. Below is a summary of the nomination process – and how
you can become involved in selecting your leaders. See the CWEA website at
www.CWEA.org for more information. Follow the path: Member & Leader Resources/I’m
a Leader/I’d like to be a Leader/Join CWEA Board/Nomination Information. Read more
Come get Scared Safe at the 2010 Northern Regional Safety Training Day. This Training Day will be held from 9:00am-4:00pm at the Yolo County Fair Grounds on Wednesday, October 27, 2010. Take advantage of the many opportunities to discover methods you can use to reduce risk and liability while increasing quality and productivity. There are many safety topics you can learn from such as Danger on the Streets, Ladder Safety and Infectious Diseases. Make sure you visit the Scared Safe Haunted House Exhibit in the Agriculture Building during the lunch and breaks. You will have a most unforgettable Scary Day.
Click here for information on exhibiting and sponsorship opportunities that are currently available.
Register early at the $95 member rate (rate goes up on 10/12/2010) and save at: www.cwea.org/conferences.
As you know from earlier E-bulletin posts, EPA may be making changes to the way it regulates municipal sanitary sewer collection systems and sanitary sewer overflows. CWEA, along with its partner organizations – BACWA, CASA, CVCWA, SCAP, and Tri-TAC – has submitted a comment letter to assist EPA in protecting our water resources while keeping our workforce strong.
Some key points include:
- We have a unique perspective on the advisability and effectiveness of a new federal regulatory program for SSOs, because for the past four years, our locally-owned systems have been operating under a comprehensive statewide program that requires permitting, planning and online reporting of SSOs. We have a strong interest in
ensuring that any new federal program is compatible with the California requirements and that the significant investments already made in collection system infrastructure, planning and reporting are not undermined. Read more
Questionable sampling techniques have led to murky conclusions about the contents of waste water. Article from nature.org by Hannah Hoag
Chemicals flushing into sewer systems have been in the news for years. From opiates and hormones to heart medications, studies have detected a range of pollutants. Tests of sewage from hospitals have uncovered antibiotics, and investigations of sewage systems have exposed widespread illicit drug use in cities worldwide.
But now a group of water-management scientists claim that some of these studies may be making exaggerated claims, producing dramatic variation in concentration estimates or not detecting substances because of fundamental flaws in sampling protocols.
Does your organization serve a population of 2,500 or less? If so, the Design and Performance Provisions, System Evaluation and Capacity Assurance Plan, Monitoring and Program Modifications, Program Audits and Communication Program elements and the final SSMP will be due by August 2, 2010. If you are a publicly owned collection system with more than one mile of pipeline you must have developed a SSMP after August 2, 2010 deadline. In order to be compliant, this August 2nd deadline requires you to have a developed and implemented your SSMP regardless of the population you serve
The next phase of the SSMP for collection systems under the statewide program will be state conducted audits. Audits will occur at least every two years. Your organization must prepare and retain a SSMP report on file. All audits will concentrate on how adequate the SSMP and the enrollee’s compliance with the SSMP requirements including identification of any deficiencies in the SSMP and steps taken to correct them. The due date of an audit is every two years from the date your agency obtained approval from their governing body. May 2011 will be the first audit date for an agency serving a population of 100,000 or more. August 2011 will be the first due date for agencies serving populations between 10,000 and 99,999.
Do you have an interesting topic or research project you want to share with your fellow water and wastewater colleagues at the Annual Conference 2011 in Ontario? Here is your chance to submit your abstracts today and get your message out there. Have an idea, but aren’t sure if it will fit into the program? Click here to see a list of suggested topic to get you started. Want to see sample abstracts? Click here to see samples. Not sure how to submit your abstracts? Click here and we will show you step by step! What are you waiting for? Submit your abstracts online NOW!
The Annual Conference 2010 proceedings are now available online! You can search by presentation or author to find the sessions you enjoyed, or may have missed. The search tool allows you to search by presentation titles and authors from Annual Conference 2009 and Annual Conference 2010.
Check out the photo gallery to see pictures from the Operations Challenge, 5-S Induction Ceremony and other exciting moments from the conference!
