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March 11, 2010 Earmark Circumlocutions – this week, the House Democrat decided to ban
all earmarks for “for-profit” organizations, the Senate Democrats quickly
denounced
this policy, and the House Republicans decided to take a
pledge to oppose ALL earmarks.
This last policy by the House Republicans is causing our Dear
Colleague sponsors to adjust their previously agreed upon strategy contained
in the Dear Colleague letters. Our
Dear Colleague sponsors are considering options on how to move forward on the
letters, which should be determined by midday on Friday. New Jersey Joins the Elite Club of Three – states along with Oklahoma and Massachusetts, completing delegation support letters (proof). Washington and California are on track to join this exulted group. SRF Reauthorization Update - Senate Republicans are blocking floor
consideration of a bill (S. 1005) boosting EPA’s water infrastructure funding
programs for fiscal years 2011-15 because of concerns that the agency has broadened
application of Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements beyond what Congress
allowed in EPA’s FY10 spending bill.
The bill authorizes $20 billion over five years for EPA’s clean water
and drinking water state revolving loan funds (SRFs) and revises the formula
for allocating funds among the states. Republicans want to ensure that the
agency’s policy does not apply to future SRF funds and they also want to
block the policy from applying to state contributions to the SRF. The agency
issued the policy Nov. 30 as part of the requirement in its FY10
appropriations law to apply prevailing wage requirements to projects funded
through the clean water and drinking water state revolving loan funds (SRFs).
The agency’s policy says that Davis-Bacon requirements apply not only to all
SRF contracts not finalized by Oct. 1, 2009 -- the start of FY10 -- but to
all assistance agreements executed on or after Oct. 30, 2009 and prior to
Oct. 1, 2010. USDA Secretary Announces $5 Million in Funding for the Virginia-based
Rural Community Assistance Partnership, Inc (more). EPA Stands By Limiting Arsenic Analysis - EPA is rejecting consumer calls for a
broader scientific review of its draft assessment on arsenic’s cancer risks
and defending the study that the agency says is largely based on a 2001
review of the metal’s risks by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Experts say critics of EPA’s study now
have an uphill battle to convince the Science Advisory Board (SAB) to review
the study more broadly than they have been asked to by EPA, adding that
critics continue to mull their options on Capitol Hill. EPA says SAB, not EPA, makes the final
decision on what it will review. March 6, 2010 TMDL
Flexibility – In response to unworkable TMDL in rural New Mexico, EPA
responds with the following to Congressional inquiry: “States may revise a
TMDL to account for new information or circumstances that may come to light
the implementation of the TMDL (see recent news reports).” EPA Discounts Peer-Review Published Arsenic Science (more). The federal law that
directs EPA to determined how to weight science “mandates” that EPA, “Use of science in decision making. In
carrying out this section, and, to the degree that an Agency action is based
on science, the Administrator shall use the best available, peer-reviewed
science and supporting studies conducted in accordance with sound and
objective scientific practices... The Administrator shall specify…
peer-reviewed studies known to the Administrator that support, are directly
relevant to, or fail to support any estimate of public health effects and the
methodology used to reconcile inconsistencies in the scientific
data." And last week, it was reported that EPA
rejected calls for a broader scientific review of its draft assessment on
arsenic’s cancer risks and defending the study that is largely based on a 2001
review of the metal’s risks by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). EPA Office of Research & Development
(ORD) chief Paul Anastas says SAB, not EPA, makes the final decision on what
it will review. “While we ask the SAB to respond to our charge questions,
there is nothing that precludes SAB from responding to comments from the
public or other interested parties,” Anastas said March 3. At issue is EPA’s draft “Toxicological
Review of Inorganic Arsenic” that includes a cancer slope factor, a measure
of a substance’s cancer risk from lifetime exposure, of 25.7 mg/kg/day -- a
17-fold increase from the current safety standard and a seven-fold increase
from a 3.67 per mg/kg/day standard EPA’s water office uses for developing
drinking water standards for arsenic.
The risk assessment, which the agency released Feb. 21, is based in
large part on a controversial Taiwanese study -- the largest existing data
set on arsenic exposure -- which EPA used to support its arguments in 2001
when the agency tightened its drinking water standard for arsenic to 10 parts
per billion (ppb). EPA’s draft study
has drawn broad criticism from the White House Office of Management &
Budget (OMB) and some within EPA who say it may fall short of addressing 2007
recommendations from the agency’s SAB to thoroughly analyze risks of the
metal, especially the risks at low doses. While EPA has agreed to have the
SAB reconsider the draft assessment, the agency limited the scope of the SAB
review to a focused review on how EPA responded to key SAB recommendations in
its 2007 report. The biggest question
about the cancer risks of arsenic is whether the fundamental science on
arsenic is at a point where we can do anything more to figure out whether there
really are risks at low dose and whether the linear dose-response model is
appropriate. NAS and SAB both identified research that “suggested” a
nonlinear pattern but sided with a linear model in the face of continuing
uncertainty. Scientist Samuel Cohen
has presented research purporting to rule out modes of action that would
result in cancer risks at very low doses. Cohen’s research shows direct DNA
reactivity, the only possible mode of action that would result in cancer
risks at very low exposure, has been ruled out (see presentation). Appropriations Update – current cosponsors and Oklahoma
joins Mass in completing state delegation letter (see more) EPA Extends Comment Period In the Very Contentious Case
of Proposed Water Quality Standards in the Sunshine States (more)
– Florida Rural Water and other are suing to half the proposed EPA
regulations. Private Water Company Calls for Tax Break to Private
Water Supplies in Congressional Jobs Bill (more). The Cato Institute's report on "The Corporate Welfare
State: How the Federal Government Subsidizes U.S. Businesses." USA Today Headlines, “Tap water
contaminant 'castrates' frogs… an herbicide that contaminates the tap water
consumed by millions of Americans has been found to produce gender-bending
effects in male frogs, "chemically castrating" some and turning
others into females, a study shows. Frogs in the experiment were exposed to
amounts of the weed killer atrazine that are comparable to the levels allowed
in drinking water by the Environmental Protection Agency (more).” NPR interview lead scientists on this
issue (NPR). Discarded One Ton Gas Chlorine Tank Ruptured – in Indio, California, sent five workers to the
hospital. The District Attorney's office is now trying to determine whom this
container belonged to (more). Congress Urges EPA to be Reasonable on Water Regulations – but EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson is rejecting
Congressional calls to review drinking water requirements for low-income
areas that cannot afford treatment plant upgrades, saying Safe Drinking Water
Act (SDWA) standards are health-based protections and there are other means
to provide financial assistance to utilities. At a Feb. 24 House appropriations subcommittee hearing, Rep Simpson
(ID) raised concerns of rural areas frustrated at high costs associated with
making small reductions in contaminants. Simpson said his constituents are
asking, “Why are we spending this ungodly amount of money to reduce our
arsenic levels from 12 to 10 and sometimes 11 to 10?” Simpson’s questions came the day before
Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) reintroduced legislation, S.
3038, that would make reasonable requirements on small systems that
cannot afford the pricey upgrades that are often required by more stringent
EPA drinking water regulations. But
Administrator Jackson replied at the House hearing that “it’s EPA’s job to
promulgate regulations that protect human health and the environment. And the
levels of arsenic that are detrimental to human health and the environment
are no different depending on which community you’re in.” Senator Inhofe's bill would limit EPA’s
enforcement ability, blocking the agency to take an enforcement action
against a system serving less than 10,000 people without first ensuring that
it has sufficient funds to meet the requirements of the regulation. The bill also directs EPA to take
additional considerations into account when deciding whether to force a rate
hike, particularly that “the affordability criteria are no more costly on a
per-capita basis to a small water system than to a large water system.” More Toxic Water Articles from the New York Times,
this week’s headline, “Rulings
Restrict Clean Water Act, Foiling E.P.A.” The Washington Post features, “Manure becomes pollutant as its volume grows unmanageable” Rural Water and Security and Emergency Response – your state associations have been the vanguard in
providing these critical services.
And your colleagues from MS (Kirby), LA (Pat), AR (Dennis), and TX
(Tommy) presented to the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency on this
topic this week to see if rural water and FEMA could begin a new partnership
to assist the country’s water suppliers during emergencies (see briefing
book). Montana Senator Tester to EPA: Big city water standards
drain rural, frontier communities - "we
need to make sure that we’re not eliminating the ability of communities to provide
water or they will disappear (more)" February 28, 2010 Appropriations Update – Mass Rural Water finalizes Dear Colleague letter. (see more) Regulatory Relief Introduced in U.S. Senate – U.S. Senator Inhofe (OK), together with Senators Crapo (ID), Barrasso (WY), Vitter (LA), and Risch (ID), introduced S.3038, the Small System Drinking Water Act of 2010, a bill to assist small communities comply with Federal drinking water standards, and require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to utilize all of its resources provided by the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act amendments (SDWA). "My goal is to ensure that small towns across the country have safe, affordable drinking water and that the laws are fair to small and rural communities," Inhofe said. "Today there are simply too many regulations coming out of Washington that come with a steep price tag for local communities. It is unreasonable to penalize and fine local communities because they cannot afford to pay for regulations we impose on them especially given all of the misguided spending coming out of Washington today. Forcing systems to raise rates beyond what their ratepayers can afford only causes more damage than good." (more) Chemical Security Legislation in the Senate – a bipartisan group of senators is pressing legislation to extend the DHS current chemical facility security rules by five years, warning that a competing House bill to expand chemical security programs at DHS and EPA would impose costly burdens on the economy. Four Senators introduced S. 2996, a bill to extend for five years DHS' Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) – rules that cover high-risk chemical facilities, but exempt water utilities. The House passed H.R. 2868 in November, which included a provision to require facilities that pose the greatest risk to conduct an inherently safer technology (IST) review, which could result in changes to local disinfection-type preferences. We have not heard any comments from the Senate Environmental Committee on how this bill will affect the movement of any chemical security legislation to regulate water supplies. AWWA released this letter this week opposing any inherently safe technology review of local disenfection choices (letter). The Senate Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on Wed. focusing on the effectiveness of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program and how best to reauthorize it. See rural water’s thoughts on this question. And rural water and AWWA, et al. statement on the topic as well (water sector statement). February 24, 2010 Public Private Partnerships – the future of private water growth (more)? Global Water Roundup – Water Ravages Portuguese Island (see
video) – at least 42 people have died in floods and mudslides caused by
torrential rain. Haiti - heavy
rains Haiti's capital worsened squalid camps and highlighted the urgent need
for shelter, aid workers are racing against time to provide only basic
protection when the rainy season begins around May (more). Italy:
sabotaged oil storage tank causes spill of tons of oil into Po river. Local municipalities forced not to use the
water. (more).
China - authorities use fish to try to clean up the lake severely polluted by
sewage as well as industrial and agricultural waste, triggering a blue-green
algae plague tainting the drinking supply of millions of residents (more). Locally made ceramic pots filters provide
economical household drinking water treatment in Yemen (more from
NPR). EPA In Congress Defending Their Budget and Environmental
Policies – see this
week’s Senate testimony by EPA Administrator. Most of the Senate interrogatory focuses on climate change,
however, Senate Boxer inquired about small communities’ ability to comply
with the arsenic rule (77:30 into the video). And Senator Klobuchar talks about small community compliance in
Minnesota at 107:45 on the time indicator. February 23, 2010 What Does EPA’s New Sustainability Policy Mean for Water
Supplies…? Here is what David with AZ rural water (and a sitting Member on
the EPA Advisory
Committee) posits: this could be where EPA will start pushing the
"Full Cost Pricing" of water rates and tie that into their
sustainability formulas. Also don't
be surprised if consolidation doesn't come to the front of the pack again as
a way to achieve sustainability. At
the most recent NDWAC meeting I expressed concerns regarding the impact of
green energy programs and how underwriting these initiatives will most likely
be detrimental to rural systems attempts to become, or continue to be,
sustainable. EPA Includes Plans For Water Utility Sustainability In Budget - EPA has included plans in its fiscal year 2011 budget request to create sustainability requirements for drinking water and wastewater utilities receiving state revolving fund (SRF) loans for infrastructure maintenance, repair and upgrades. The agency will “produce new guidance to improve state capacity development programs,” and will “develop information to promote voluntary restructuring of unsustainable water systems,” EPA says in its congressional justification documents for the FY11 request. February 22, 2010 Climate Change and Your Water Supply – NRWA has been appointed to the EPA advisory panel to make recommendations
on how water supplies and EPA should manage climate change. As the process advances our representative
on panel raise the point that is unclear is there is a difference between
climate change and emergency management planning – that relying on there
"climate change" is creating redundancy in how water systems
currently manage their resources. And
the need analysis the data used to conclude that a water system needs to
expand (see more). February 21, 2010 Arsenic Science Evolution – EPA is seeking a “focused” Science Advisory Board (SAB) review
of its draft study on arsenic's cancer risks to examine whether the agency properly
addressed criticisms from a prior SAB review of the study, but many are
attacking the proposed review as too narrow and ignoring key scientific
disputes they have with the study. EPA's draft assessment found arsenic
cancer risks at a level that would likely trigger tough regulatory
requirements. According to EPA's
Federal Register notice on Feb. 19, EPA has sent its Integrated Risk
Information System (IRIS) assessment of inorganic arsenic to SAB for a new,
second peer review to assess how the agency applied the board's criticisms of
the study in its 2005 review. Some
experts believe emerging research shows an exposure threshold below which the
metal is largely harmless, undercutting EPA's draft findings that there is no
safe exposure level. The Federal
Register notice is seeking SAB and public input only on EPA's response to
SAB's 2005 review on the draft arsenic study. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack Announces
Funding for 47 Rural Water Projects in 19 States – funded through the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act, are expected to provide construction jobs and create
infrastructure needed to support community growth (more
from USDA). February 17, 2010 1926(b)
News – Larry with TN rural water asks if we should build alliances with
other small community and rural associations in reaction to the recently adopted
resolution by the National League of Cities opposing 1926(b). Thank you Larry, and we will immediately
initiate a dialogue with NLC to better understand the reason for their
resolution. A similar initiative was
advanced with NLC in the 90s, which we were able to handle through dialogue
with NLC – our longtime ally. We will
update you on the dialogue. Also this
week, the Rural Water Alliance released this
video on 1926(b). Environmentalists Becoming Disappointed
with President (NYTimes). EPA Steps-in to Regulate Water Quality in Florida – and ignites controversy (see EPA rules and public meeting schedule). Last year, EPA agreed to set specific limits on phosphorus and nitrogen in Florida waters to settle an ongoing lawsuit. It’s the first time the EPA has stepped in and set water quality standards for a state. The proposed regulations are out for public review and comment, and they are drawing opposition and support. Public radio features the issues this week (hear broadcast). FL Rural Water (and other water associations) take strong stand in opposition EPA’s rules (see comments). Broad
Water Coalition Presses for More Private Activity Bonds for Water Projects
(see letter to
Senate urging for inclusion of legislation in Senate Jobs Bill). Can TMDLs Be Made to Be Reasonable and Locally Supported? Today we asked EPA to see if we can work together to make such objective happen… in a test case on the Mora River in New Mexico where a TMDL is resulting in some unintended consequences. And where an aggressive non-point source & septic system management program would be less expensive, more environmentally beneficial, and promote greater environmental justice in the community & river. We asked EPA if they would consider working with us on the implementation of an alterative compliance plan for the Mora River. It is likely that many similar situations will occur as the TMDL program matures and, if successful, this case study could be used by many more communities to realize economic and environmental benefits for TMDL compliance (more on Mora). Mandatory Misleading of the Public? – this week, Cleveland was mandated to inform 113,000 consumers that their water violated federal health standards (more). However, “there was no impact on the cleanliness or quality of the water… and at no time was the public health jeopardized.” In a different federal agency (USDA), the government official says about public notification for food, “We do not believe that obligatory [GMO] labeling is necessary, because it would suggest a health risk where there is none…mandatory [public notice] labeling could mislead consumers about the safety of these products (cite).” EPA Fines NE Dairy $350,000 for Discharging
to City System – and fines
city $150,000 and the cost of wind turbine and solar panels for local school
(more). February 14, 2010 Louisiana Rural Water’s Movie About… Water (see LRWA PSA televised in the state) February 14, 2010 TMDLs and Adverse Impacts
– the Mora River (NM) TMDL is causing quite a stir in Congress – highlighting
the impacts of EPA’s TMDL program that result in harming low-income
communities and resulting in negligible environmental benefits (see their latest missive
to Congress).
CDC Lowers Their Estimate on Disease Outbreaks Resulting from Public Water Supplies – but fails to correct the New York Times on the reliance on CDC’s outdated assumptions. According to NRWA’s representative attending EPA’s recent climate change meeting in Las Vegas, CDC said that their estimates of 40 percent certain disease outbreaks from water supplies has been reduced to about 10 percent now that they look at how the data is recorded. Our representative on the EPA Advisory panel said this is a direct result of NRWA questioning the data during these EPA Advisory panel deliberations (nice work!). Feel free to thank rural water Paul for staying with this issue so the public gets the accurate information (even if the NYTimes doesn’t…..). FYI – we did respond, but the NYTimes chose not to include the full perspective. NPR’s Comprehensive Discussion on All Things Water – from the Diane Rehm show featuring: Steven
Solomon, author “Water,” the environmental change at the Wilson Center, and
the chief of water at the World Bank (listen to discussion
on NPR).
NOAA
Expansion of Authority to Handle Climate Change (New
York Times) Louisiana Rural Water’s Movie About… Water (see LRWA PSA televised in the state) Private
Activity Bonds Legislation Gains Traction – according the private water
industry, H.R. 537, water private activity bond bill is gaining significant
support largely due to its jobs-making potential (see NAWC
report). State rural water
associations are backing this bill in order to increase the amount of
tax-exempt funding available to their membership. Notably FL and TX rural water associations are backing this
legislation as well as other state associations. February 12, 2010 Appropriations Update (more) States to Meet Stimulus Deadline
For Spending EPA Stimulus Funds – after officials warned that many states may miss a key stimulus
law contracting deadline that would have forced EPA to reallocate some of
their water infrastructure funds, most states now appear poised to meet their
targets after officials in several states made late gains to complete their
contracting requirements in time for the Feb. 17 deadline. House Clean Water Act committee chair,
Rep. Oberstar (MN) said he is confident that all states expect to meet the
Feb. 17 deadline and an EPA corroborated the assessment. The stimulus law required states to have
the water funds (SRF) "under contract" or EPA is required to
reallocate the funds to compliant states.
An EPA report is showing rapid progress in January and February by
states - EPA said that 94 percent of the $4 billion in clean water SRF monies
and 95 percent of the drinking water SRF monies are under contract. ASDWA says a few states will miss the
deadline. February 11, 2010 Senate Leaders Released a Draft of the
Chamber's Jobs Bill Today
(see proposal)
– it appears there is no water infrastructure funding in this initial
proposal (see Wash
Post coverage). This Senate plan
differs from the House Jobs bill passed in December. It is smaller and more
focused on the private sector, rather than on direct spending by federal and
state governments. The House bill
included infrastructure spending of $48.3 billion for roads, bridges,
modernized public buildings, and water projects. Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation (SD) - without
power or water or heat for nearly two weeks (USA
Today) February 9, 2010 Good Natured Senator Brown – Today on Washington, Mass Rural Water ran into newly elected Senator Brown (MA), who took their camera at arms length and photographed this picture with Mass Rural Water. 1926(b) News – Oklahoma Rural Water initiatives campaign to opposed National League of Cities’ recently adopted policy to change 1926(b) in Congress (see ORWA’s letters). Attorney Steve Harris said that he hopes other state associations send a similar letter. Steve also commented that he has pending cases in Missouri and Oklahoma where the issue relates to sewer service provided by the "water district" - which has statutory authority to provide both water and sewer service. We are considering how to address this issue at the national level. February 3, 2010 Appropriations
Update – Senate Dear Colleagues update, 4th bullet, first
column (see
more). February 2, 2010 Chemical Security Webinar – the main feedback we received; don’t quit your day job for news casting, resources:
AWWA
Breakdown of EPA’s Budget Request – released yesterday (more). February 1, 2010 Rural
Water Funding Levels in President’s FY2011 Budget (more). January 31, 2010 The President's Budget Released Tomorrow - we will post the budget levels for rural water priorities tomorrow – here. The President will be hosting a YouTube interview on the budget he’s filing. The President has signaled that his budget will freeze most domestic discretionary spending and make cuts in 120 programs (some Corps projects, preservation programs, NASA, etc.) Senate
to Take Up Jobs Bill this Week - Senate
Democrats are expected to announce the details of a jobs package this week –
as encouraged by the President in his State of the Union address. The package will likely include several
energy incentive provisions with funding in four major job creation
categories: small business export promotions and lending, energy efficiency,
infrastructure, and the public-service sector - an approximately $80 billion
package (see outline of
possible proposal). The latest
proposal does not appear to include water infrastructure funding (EPA or
USDA). Concerned that the jobs bill
may not provide any funds to EPA’s water infrastructure program, two key
members of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee (EPW) are
seeking to include a $6 billion boost for the programs when the bill is
crafted and debated in the coming weeks.
Senators Cardin (MD) and Whitehouse (RI) are urging for $3 billion
each to EPA’s wastewater and drinking water state revolving loan funds (SRF)
in the jobs bill. The House version
of the bill included $1 billion each for EPA’s wastewater and drinking water
SRF programs, with provisions for green infrastructure, prevailing wage rules
and Buy American requirements like the 2009 stimulus package. EPA Continues to Require Misleading Public Notices – this week a NC water systems was compelled to issue the following statement, "Unfortunately, confusing language which the EPA required the city to use in the public notice about not meeting turbidity standards created unnecessary alarm among the city's water customers (more)." KY Attorney General Warms Consumers of Mail Solicitation from Home Service USA – that look like a notice from their local water utility. The notice is actually a solicitation from a private business offering what appears to be a warranty service. The mailer suggests that the recipient is required to pay an additional fee for the maintenance and repair of their water line (more). New Small Cities Association Evolves (their homepage) Rural Water and Climate Change Policy – rural water NH Board Member, Paul Whittemore was in DC this week to attend the International Water Association's (et. al) conference on water supply and climate change (more). One of the keynote speakers at the conference was a former professor at the University of East Anglia who demonstrated a computer model for small water supplies on how to plan for climate change using his own personal water supply, which relies on a cistern capturing runoff water from his home's roof (more). This week, Paul is headed to Las Vegas to attend the EPA National Drinking Water Advisory Committee panel on the impacts of climate change on water supplies, which will make recommendations to the agency on the issue. January 28, 2010 House Dear Colleague Letter Circulated in House (click Dear Colleague letter, first column) Non-sequitur; EPA Mandates Water Supplies to Add Hexavalent Chromium and Aluminum to Drinking Water (more) – claiming it is safe, but requires communities to remove naturally occurring arsenic and can not say what levels of arsenic are unsafe (more). January 26, 2010 Impact of
President Spending Freeze
- The White House announced this week a plan to freeze non-military,
discretionary spending for the next three years but cautioned that it would
not be an across-the-board chill. OMB
has gone line by line through the budget to identify programs that are not
working or a lower priority. All
rural water funding is "discretionary" spending. Details of the spending proposal won't be
released until next week, when the White House releases its budget for fiscal
year 2011. The White House will
provide a list of programs to Congress, but it will be up to lawmakers to
decide whether to move forward with any spending cuts. EPA
Administrator Travels to Rural Mississippi – and reassures consumers that brown tap water is not dangerous (more). Security Measures Report - the Water Sector Coordinating Council's (WSCC,
with two rural water appointees) released their
metrics report. According to the
report: * 87% of drinking
water and 85% of wastewater utilities have integrated security and
preparedness into budgeting, training, and manpower responsibilities; * 88% of drinking water and 85% of wastewater
utilities receive screened, validated, and timely security threat information
from one or more sources; * 93% of drinking
water and 92% of wastewater utilities secure and monitor the perimeter of
areas containing hazardous materials; * 94% of drinking water and 94% of wastewater
utilities secure and monitor the shipping, receipt, and storage of materials
for the facility. January 22, 2010 Movie:
Flammable Tap Water – GASLAND, a film
on natural gas drilling. The producer
sets off on a 24 state journey to uncover the consequences of natural gas
drilling including water that can be lit on fire, chronically ill residents,
pools of toxic waste, and gas explosions (movie trailer). NRWA/AWWA Webcast on Reducing Electric Costs in Water Supplies (Jan 27) – water utilities typically use a lot of energy to deliver drinking water to customers. This webcast presents ways to most efficiently integrate water system load control practices with power supplier operations and pricing rules (more). January 18, 2010 EPA Forms Climate Change Advisory Committee – to assess the impacts on water supplies
and what should be done about it.
NRWA’s New Hampshire Board Member has been appointed to EPA panel –
next meeting is scheduled for February 3-4 (see announcement, agenda, and
minutes from previous meeting). Florida Becomes
First State Regulated by EPA’s Phosphorus/Nitrogen Standards - in
the waters of a state (EPA
announcement). EPA released proposed water quality
standards for Florida, the first such standards proposed for any state and
are the result of legal action by environmental groups, which led the EPA to
agree to draw up these proposals.
Could Alabama
and Wisconsin
be next? TMDLs and Good Intentions – article submitted to
rural water magazine. EPA Stimulus Funding Obligation Deadline Looming – many are concerned
that their states will not spend the ARRA funding by the February 17th
deadline including this California Congressman (more). California may lose millions of ARRA funds
allocated to the SRFs. According to
EPA, California has been slow to spend ARRA funding. The state was obligated $283,116,500 for
the CWSRF, but has only $181,073,759 under contract and $18,880,616 in
project outlays. The State was obligated $159,008,000 for the DWSRF, but has
only $74,376,300 under contact and $667,323 in outlays. California must have the remaining CWSRF
and DWSRF funding under contract by February 17th. We will post the spending for each state
tomorrow.
The NRWA Hosted 2010 Water Summit, a
Success – the largest national water organizations convened in DC last
week to discuss the future of water from the policy and public perspective
(see agenda
and concept
paper). The forum resulted
in agreement among the associations to begin the process of crafting a joint
policy on a national water strategy for the next 50 years. 1926(b) Under Attack, Again - The OK Municipal League (OML) resolution
proposing legislation that would remove the monopoly enjoyed by rural water
districts was adopted by the National League of Cities in their meeting held
in November in San Antonio. The
resolution seeks to amend federal law to enable OML members to compete with
rural water districts abutting the municipality (see statement from OML). Lead 1926(b)
Attorney Urges Rural Water Systems – to take action to thwart OML’s 1926(b) initiative (see statement). Key Governors and Mayors Push for Federal
Infrastructure Bank – Building America’s Future
(BAF), co-chaired by Gov. Schwarzenegger, Rendell, and Mayor Bloomberg is
advocating for the development of a large national infrastructure bank and
will soon host a press conference featuring Governor Rendell and several
members of Congress to encourage Congress to act now on the development of
national infrastructure bank that covers many sectors, including water and
wastewater. EPA Administrator Jackson Outlines
Administration’s Agenda on
Thursday - before the Women’s National Democratic Club in Washington (see
video). January 8, 2010 No Water in Perry County KY – no water for hundreds when a major supply main
from the nearby city of Hazard failed. Emergency management officials
provided cartons of drinking water to the area as quickly as possible, but
the supply ran out fast (more). January 7, 2010 Senate to Take Up More Water Funding in Coming Weeks – key Senators plan to wrap-up work on job-creation legislation and appear set to ignore a House-passed measure and pass their own bill. Just before the holiday break the House passed their version of a jobs bill that included $2 billion in EPA Water Funds - and none for USDA's rural water grant and loan program. It looks like the Senate will press for passage of the package shortly after final Senate passage of healthcare legislation, which could occur as soon as late January. New Fact Sheet from EPA – Small Water Systems A Vital Component of WARNs. Maryland and Virginia recently agreed to a WARN systems (more form AWWA). And EPA’s Emergency Response Homepage for your review. EPA has released a 2-page description summarizing their role under the National Response Framework (NRF) and their support roles in Emergency Support Function Annexes. NPR Features Water This Week – today covering “water refugees” from the drought in the Middle East and the coming conflict over water (more). Help Wanted in the Water Business – A 2005 water industry study suggested that nearly 40% of our workforce (in U.S. public treatment plants and water utilities) is going to be retiring in the next 10 years (more). January 2, 2010 New Water Book – makes a case that many
21st-century conflicts will be fought over water. In Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power and Civilization,
Steven Solomon argues that water is surpassing oil as the world's scarcest
critical resource (more
from NPR). EPA to Lower the Water Quality Criteria for Ammonia - potentially cutting current values in half. According to environmental engineer Bill Kramer, “this is probably going to affect a lot of wastewater systems.” EPA’s conservative determinations, as they apply the water quality criteria, are discussed in the proposal but basically EPA takes the position that the one hour in-stream concentration cannot exceed the acute criteria value and the 4 day average cannot exceed the chronic criteria value – and both of these events cannot occur more than once every three years. Kramer said, “The problem with this is that the acute test is a 48-96 hour test. The endpoint for the test is when 50% of the test organisms are killed. They expose various organisms to a series of dilutions of the pollutant to find the concentration at which 50% of the organisms die at the 48 or 96-hour test endpoint. With chronic it is a 28-day test. So saying you can’t exceed acute criteria more often than once per hour over a three year period is far away from an exposure level that would cause any harm. The criteria are based upon constant exposure for 2 to 4 days. Likewise 4 days vs. 28 days on the chronic side.” (EPA announcement). Indiana
Environmental Group Sues State Over Clean Water Programs - for allowing CAFOs to spread manure on
farm land as fertilizer and ignoring that most farm fields have pipes or
drainage tile that can transport manure into waterways (more). December 31, 2009 EPA Rejects FOIA Request to Release Arsenic
Deliberations (EPA
letter) – on Dec. 4 in response to a request from Dr. Steven Lamm, who
has published studies on the analysis of EPA Data
that contradict EPA claims that arsenic in drinking water is more dangerous
than previously concluded by the agency (that resulted in the 10ppb drinking
water standard). Earlier this summer, EPA drafted a new
hazard assessment for arsenic that sets a new cancer slope factor that is a
20-fold increase over the current slope factor. Dr. Lamm made the FOIA request because EPA has not released the
science (their new analysis) that lead to this new conclusion. Dr. Lamm studied the same data set and
found no similar scientific finding (this analysis has been submitted for
peer-review and publishing - see Dr. Lamm’s analysis and request to EPA). December 30, 2009 Rural Water Seeks Membership on EPA’s Farm, Ranch, and
Rural Communities Committee – to press for more environmentally progressive
and more economical implementation of EPA TMDL programs (more). Federal Court Rejects Using RCRA (or Superfund) to Sue to Stop Non-point Source Pollution – a federal judge in Oklahoma dismissed RCRA claims in suit against chicken processors along the Illinois River watershed. (Oklahoma v. Tyson Foods Inc., 12/15/09). Tyson had argued that poultry litter did not meet the law's definition of solid waste. OK AG said, “This has been a good two days for the polluters and a bad two days for the Illinois River Watershed… the peril facing the Illinois River Watershed due to the reckless disposal of poultry waste. Saving this important natural resource is the goal of our lawsuit and that remedy remains available to the court.” USDA Announced $116.9 Million in Water Projects - funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Altogether, USDA has announced $ 2.08 billion for Recovery Act water and environmental project loans and grants, benefiting people throughout the country (more). In Selma, AL, the grant will expand the water system to approximately 100 new residential customers in an unserved area. Gaseous Chlorine Fire at Small Water Supply - (see news coverage and video). EPA to Regulate Pharmaceuticals Under SDWA - shifting course on their long-standing policy toward pharmaceutical residues in the nation's drinking water, taking a critical first step toward regulating some... listing some pharmaceuticals as candidates for regulation in drinking water... EPA has put 13 pharmaceuticals on the Contaminant Candidate List. Commercial interests selling the equipment to manage waste drugs said the EPA should be more aggressive about enforcing hazardous waste laws (more from AP news, EPA’s new list, and FDA’s Flush list). NYTimes’ Photos of a Thirsty Planet (more). “The problem is that you have growing population, greater consumption of water per person and expanding deserts due to global warming,” said Times’ photojournalist. December 22, 2009 House Passes Jobs Bills with $2 Billion in EPA Water Funds - the jobs bill, which House lawmakers originally hoped to attach to a must-pass fiscal year 2010 defense appropriations bill but opted to pursue as a stand-alone measure after Senate opposition, includes $1 billion for wastewater projects and $1 billion for drinking water projects. Senate lawmakers will certainly address the issue early next year. The Senate has not crafted a jobs bill to date. The House passed bill adopts funding conditions that mirror those contained in the economic stimulus law that policymakers enacted earlier this year, including eliminating state matching requirements, requiring 20 percent of the funds to be spent on “green” infrastructure, requiring projects to procure American-made products, setting strict timelines for the monies to be spent and allows EPA to fund projects without requiring states to provide matching funds but also requires EPA to take back any funds from states where projects are not under contract or construction within eight months of enactment. The House did not include funding for the USDA rural water grant and loan program. This issue will be reconsidered in the Senate (more).
December 18, 2009 Privatization - From the private water companies, "seems like everyone’s
talking about public-private partnerships (PPPs) these days, and the U.S.
Conference of Mayors is no exception.... one mayor explained how he was once
intrigued by the prospect of partnering with a private identity but the combative
actions and accusations of what he called 'a whacked-out national group'
soured him on the idea. He challenged the presenters to utilize the power of
one of their own national groups to distribute positive stories of how PPPs
are helping in the fight to rebuild city water infrastructure." (more) Former Wisc. Rural Water Employee to Head ASDWA - Jill Jonas elected president of the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (more).
EPA Stimulus Money Not Being Spent? (more)
New York Times Slams SDWA – many drink contaminated water in U.S. (full article).
New York Times Reporter Featured on NPR Interviewed
(listen). December 13, 2009 EWG Releases Data Showing Widespread Contaminants in U.S. Water Supplies (report and media coverage).
AWWA’s Comments on EWG Data Release (more).
The Green Debate – Krauthammer says environmentalism is the progeny of communism and climate change is the parallel to central planning (more in Post), Byron York says green economics is a failure (more), VP Gore blast Gov. Palin on climate change and calls the issue a moral issue (more). Congressman Markey and Senator Inhofe have it out over IPPC and Copenhagen (Fox News Sunday).
December 10, 2009 Enviro Working Group and NYTimes – EWG is releasing its drinking water
contamination database at 5 p.m. on Sat. On Sun. the New York Times will run
another article in its Toxic Waters series which will profile the work of
water utilities and possibly highlight the number of contaminants in drinking
water while using the EWG tap water database as a component of that article (more info from AMWA). Gene Whatley (OK Rural Water) Stands Up for Rural Water – before the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.
EPA Announces
New Small Community Policy At Senate Heading – centered on consolidation
of small communities (more). Rural Water
Analyst Submits Article to NYTimes – disputing the claims in the paper’s
claims (more). AWWA’s Response to New York Times Drinking Water Article. Utah’s correspondence and data explanation to the New York Times.
EPA’s Nutrient Water Quality Standards for Florida - twenty-five Florida Congressman signed a letter to EPA on their state controversy over EPA’s nutrient standards for Florida. Fla. rural water says the EPA plan will have a crippling effect on many small communities and possibly cause some to have to shut down and require customers to revert back to septic systems. For example, one member, with a population of only 100 to spread the costs over and the other two are larger with populations of 2700 and 16,500. The small system would incur a cost of over $3 million to comply and it would raise the monthly rate per connection an unacceptable amount of $257.85. Two system members would incur a cost of over $20 million and $40 million with increases in monthly rates of $25 and $12. As you can see, the smallest systems are not going to be able to afford to pass the cost of compliance onto their customer base (more from FRWA).
New Mexico Congressman Raises Questions About Unreasonable TMDLs (see letter) – that are very costly but not helping the environment. Where is the utilization of EPA’s pollution trading initiative in implementing TMDLs.
New Mexico State Says 2/3 of State’s Groundwater Contaminated by Farm (Diary) Animals (more from NPR).
December 7, 2009 Rural Water Before U.S. Senate This Week - rural water and EPA's top water officials this week will explain how they are tackling pollution in the nation's drinking water supplies, especially in schools. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson in October expressing "deep concern over the adequacy of drinking water protections" in schools. The hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 10, at 10 am. Witnesses: Peter Silva, EPA assistant administrator; Cynthia Giles, EPA assistant administrator for enforcement; Matthew Larsen, USGS; Jerome Paulson, professor at the GWU; Michael Baker, ASDWA; Gene Whatley, Oklahoma Rural Water Association; and Jeffrey Griffiths, Tufts University.
Environmentalists Ask Federal Government to Crack Down on State Environmental Regulators - accusing them of going easy on water pollution discharged from businesses, sewage plants, farms and developments (more). Iowa Rural Water District Financial Woes Continue –
at the Xenia Rural Water - the central Iowa water provider faces an $871,000
revenue shortfall so far this year while expenses have been $634,000 over
budget. Together this represents a $1.5 million shortfall with a month left
in the year (more). Global Climate Change Negotiations – start this
week in Denmark. According to some
big thinkers, “any agreement that comes out of Copenhagen must promote
viable alternatives that ensure a fair share of [water] for all. And this
means ensuring that increasing water shortages and the lack of access to
water are addressed immediately.”(full
article) The History of Private vs. Public Water - Wisconsin RWA's Ed Morse sets the record straight with insight like this, "it was clear that a basic conflict existed between a company's primary goal of maximizing profits and the best interests of the community." (full article from WRWA magizaine)
More Suits to Push For Numeric Nutrient Criteria - environmental organizations are continuing their push for numeric water quality criteria by filing a suit against EPA over the agency's failure to promulgate such criteria in Wisconsin. This comes just after a subcommittee of EPA's Science Advisory Board Nov. 19 released a draft report for comment saying currently used EPA guidance on how to develop nutrient criteria for water pollution limits is neither defensible nor adequate. The board plans final deliberations over the draft report on a Dec. 3 conference call, after which the report will be presented to the full committee.
Clean Water America Alliance Advocates Major Changes to Federal Water Policy - a group including key former EPA officials and the wastewater industry is advocating a broad range of changes to encourage regional water planning and green infrastructure, an immediate inventory of the nation's water resources, and other measures (see their report). The water group's membership includes four former EPA assistant administrators for water, major companies, etc. The group suggests that energy projects need to better account for water use impacts.
Senator Lautenberg (NJ) Plans to Introduce Chemical Security Legislation - any day. The bill could a strict provision requiring companies to switch to using inherently safer technologies (IST) to reduce risks from chemical releases in the event of an attack (i.e. gaseous chlorine). Senator Lautenberg is expected to soon introduce a companion bill to the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act that passed the House last month. That bill would create a new Department of Homeland Security program to improve security at chemical plants and would also mandate that EPA draft a similar new security program for water facilities.
White House (CEQ) Water Resource Plan Places New Focus
On Social, Economic Goals - in just-proposed water resource planning
principles and guidelines for federal projects. The policy includes first-time requirements that agencies give
equal consideration to environmental, social and economic benefits, a clear
break from the existing guidance (see
new proposed principles). The
proposal includes a number of measures backed by environmentalists, including
consideration of the effects of climate change, a factor that the four
agencies under the current guidelines do not consider in water resource
planning. |
Engineer Ed’s Best Water News
Best For-Fee News
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