EPA released on August 20 a draft clean water strategy that outlined plans for new rules and other initiatives to prevent water quality from degrading, better manage pollution from animal feeding operations, expand coverage of municipal stormwater permits, and promote green infrastructure. The draft document, Coming Together for Clean Water: EPA’s Strategy for Achieving Clean Water, reflects in part the realization that although the clean water program has traditionally focused on controlling point-source pollution from industrial plants, some of the most significant factors in water degradation today are agriculture, stormwater runoff, habitat, and hydrology. The draft strategy was developed following an EPA forum in April. EPA is taking comment on the draft through September 17. The draft strategy lays out a plan to focus on five broad areas:
- Systematically assessing U.S. waters to provide a baseline for tracking progress,
- Enhancing the agency’s ability to restore degraded waters and ecosystems,
- Increasing the focus on protecting healthy waters,
- Reducing new pollution, and
- Enhancing the resiliency of watersheds. Read more
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
WEF’s Solid Waste Workgroup prepared comments for EPA’s proposed rulemaking on the definition of solid waste that was published in the June 24, 2010 Federal Register.
Public comments are due to EPA by Tuesday, August 3. In the event you wish to weigh in and also submit an email to the EPA RCRA docket in support the WEF comment letter, please highlight your support and use the following transmittal information below when submitting your email:
TO: rcra-docket@epa.gov.
SUBJECT: Attention Docket ID EPA–HQ–RCRA–2008–0329
Re: WEF Comments on the Proposed Rule on Identification of Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials That Are Solid Wastes, ATTN: RCRA Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–RCRA–2008–0329
You can say in your email that your agency or organization has reviewed WEF comment letter submittal and supports the Federation’s comments on EPA’s proposed rulemaking. Please cc any transmittal to me so that I may have this for our files.
On behalf of WEF staff, I would like to personally express our appreciation for the outstanding leadership of the RBC Solid Waste Work Group and Air Quality/Government Affairs team in preparing these comments. The next step, obviously, will be EPA’s final rulemaking determination along with an upcoming proposed rulemaking in the next few weeks on the MACT standards for sewage sludge incinerators that will require reviewer input and comment as well. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions. Thanks.
Sam Hadeed, Water Environment Federation
Session to be held August 24 & 26, 2010 (1 pm – 2:30 pm EDT)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold two public listening sessions on potential changes to the water quality standards regulation before proposing a national rule. The current regulation, which has been in place since 1983, governs how states and authorized tribes adopt standards needed under the Clean Water Act to protect the quality of their rivers, streams, lakes, and estuaries. Potential revisions include strengthening protection for water bodies with water quality that already exceeds or meet the interim goals of the Clean Water Act; ensuring that standards reflect a continued commitment to these goals wherever attainable; improving transparency of regulatory decisions; and strengthening federal oversight.
WEF has submitted comments to to help EPA determine whether and how to modify the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) regulations as they apply to municipal sanitary sewer collection systems and sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs).
The Water Environment Federation (WEF) fully endorses EPA’s decision to collect information and views in support of developing a comprehensive program addressing sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) and peak flows. These critical environmental management issues must be effectively addressed in order to improve both the quality of our nation’s waters and the health and safety of local communities. WEF stands ready, as always, to technically support EPA in these efforts.
Read the full comment letter. WEF also contributed a presentation on benchmarking sanitary sewer maintenance programs.
Comments are due August 2. Visit EPA’s site for more information.
EPA has launched a new website to encourage public participation in electronic reporting rulemaking for the NPDES program. Electronic rulemaking is expected to reduce errors and increase efficiency, both for permitted agencies and EPA. The new website includes a discussion forum in which the public may log in and leave feedback or ask questions. The website intends to better solicit and compile public input, even before proposed rules are published in the federal registry.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) on July 15 introduced a comprehensive legislative package that would help to prevent debilitating terrorist attacks at America’s chemical, drinking water, and wastewater facilities. This legislation requires plants to assess their vulnerability and develop plans to address those vulnerabilities, and requires the highest-risk facilities to put in place Inherently Safer Technology (IST) to increase public and environmental safety. The Secure Water Facilities Act and Secure Chemical Facilities Act would require changes for the highest-risk facilities, preventing undue burdens on small, low-risk facilities while protecting against the greatest threats. Some of the changes that can be implemented at water and chemical plants include reducing the amount of lethal gases stored on-site or minimizing the use of dangerous chlorine gas.
CWEA staff joined 1,000 participants across the country at EPA’s July 14 public listening session webcast on its efforts to initiate rulemaking to address sanitary sewer overflows and to resolve longstanding issues concerning peak flows. Visit www.epa.gov/npdes/sso to see EPA’s presentation, which provided an overview of the rulemaking being considered. An audio transcript will be posted soon.
Written comments are due by August 2, 2010.
EPA is seeking input on the following questions:
- Should EPA clarify its standard permit conditions for SSO reporting, recordkeeping, and public notification?
- Should EPA develop a standard permit condition with requirements for capacity, management, and operations & maintenance programs based on asset management principles?
- Should EPA require permit coverage for municipal satellite collection systems?
- What is the appropriate role of NPDES permits in addressing unauthorized SSOs that are caused by exceptional circumstances?
- What is the appropriate role of NPDES permits in addressing unauthorized SSOs that are caused by exceptional circumstances?
- How should EPA address peak flow diversions at POTW treatment plants?
- How should municipalities balance all of the needs to meet water quality requirements?
EPA announced on July 8 that it is launching a new on-line tool for scientific collaboration and knowledge sharing that was built by Purdue University with support from the agency. The Integrated Environmental Modeling Hub (iemHUB) allows environmental researchers to analyze environmental problems and combine environmental models so that a better understanding of the environment can be developed – everything from keeping beaches clean to predicting climate effects. EPA uses integrated modeling assessments to inform decision making in support of its broad mission of protecting human health and safeguarding the environment. With the website, the agency is providing a state-of-the-art resource to the environmental modeling community. The iemHUB supports the development of integrated models and their use in conducting research and informing the decision making process. The iemHUB is being released by the EPA-supported Community of Practice for Integrated Environmental Modeling (CIEM). The Community of Practice is an informal collaborative organization that was set-up by EPA and other scientists to advance the state of the science and technology related to integrated modeling.
The Clean Watersheds Needs Survey (CWNS) 2008 Report to Congress (PDF) summarizes the results of EPA’s 15th national survey of capital costs to address water quality or water quality related public health problems. The total wastewater and stormwater management needs for the nation are $298.1 billion as of January 1, 2008. This amount includes $192.2 billion for wastewater treatment plants, pipe repairs, and buying and installing new pipes; $63.6 billion for combined sewer overflow correction; and $42.3 billion for stormwater management. Small communities have documented needs of $22.7 billion. In addition to the $298.1 billion in wastewater and storrnwater needs, other documented needs for nonpoint source pollution prevention ($22.8 billion) and decentralized wastewater (septic) systems ($23.9 billion) are included in Appendix A of the report. An estimated $334.5 billion and $81.5 billion in needs are potentially eligible for assistance from EPA’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund and Nonpoint Source Control Grant programs respectively. PDF files of individual chapters and appendices are also available. For more information about CWNS 2008 Report see:
- CWNS 2008 Report to Congress Fact Sheet and
- Frequently Asked Questions about the CWNS 2008 Report to Congress
