This Week in Washington is a weekly publication of the Water Environment Federation’s Government Affairs department. It provides updates on the latest legislative and regulatory developments that affect the water and wastewater communities.

Provided by the Water Environment Federation, Alexandria, VA

**This Week in Washington will not be distributed over the next 4 weeks while Congress is on August recess. The next issue will resume on September 9.**

GAO Report Finds Inadequate Budget Process for EPA’s Clean Water Responsibilities

The Government Accountability Office released a report this week that finds that the EPA’s process for budgeting and allocating resources to meet its workload under the Clean Water Act is inadequate. The report is entitled Clean Water Act: Improved Resource Planning Would Help EPA Better Respond to Changing Needs and Fiscal Constraints and found that the nature and distribution the CWA workload continues to change as the scope of regulated activities grow, however EPA’s process for ensuring that adequate budgetary resources adjusts with these changes is inadequate. GAO recommends that EPA identify the key workload indicators that drive resource needs, ensure that relevant data are complete and reliable, and use the results to inform its budgeting and resource allocation. The report can be found at GAO’s website: www.gao.gov. (PS)

EPA Holds Public Meeting on Great Lakes in Michigan

On August 1 over 200 people attended a public meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan to discuss the draft plan released by the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy. This was the second of six public meetings planned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the draft strategy, which was released July 7. EPA plans to release the final strategy by December. Most of the time at the meeting was spent discussing the spread of aquatic invasive species and sewer overflows, two of the eight priority issues identified in the draft strategy. The other six priorities are deteriorating infrastructure, contaminated sediment, toxics, habitat conservation, coastal restoration, and nonpoint source pollution. Upcoming meetings are scheduled for Aug. 4 in Superior, Wis., Aug. 18 in Detroit, Aug. 23 in Cleveland, and Aug. 30 in Buffalo, N.Y. (SRT)

Denver Metro Wastewater Reclamation District Receives NBP Biosolids EMS Certification

The National Biosolids Partnership (NBP), an alliance of WEF and National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) with advisory support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), recognizes the Denver, CO Metro Wastewater Reclamation District as the eighth wastewater agency in the nation to be certified and admitted to the Partnership’s environmental management system (EMS) for biosolids program. Denver is one of more than 80 demonstration agencies participating in the NBP EMS for biosolids program. Denver’s achievement recognizes that the agency has been independently verified as having an effective biosolids EMS. The verification signifies that Denver meets the requirements for certification and admittance to the NBP EMS program and supports excellence in biosolids management practices, exceeds regulatory compliance obligations, and provides meaningful opportunities for public participation. For more information on the Denver, CO Metro Wastewater Reclamation District’s Biosolids EMS program, visit: http://www.metrowastewater.com/biosolids.asp. For more information on the NBP EMS program, visit: http://www.biosolids.org. Additional information relating to a planned EMS celebratory event will be posted on the NBP and Metro Wastewater Reclamation District’s web sites at a later date. (SJH)

Save the Date! WEF and EPA Co-sponsored Meeting on Designated Uses and UAAs Planned for September

WEF and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are co-sponsoring a 1 and 1/2 day Open Public Meeting on Designated Uses and Use Attainability Analysis on September 20-21 in Atlanta. The meeting is intended to help educate the public on current water quality standards regulations, policy, and practices related to designated uses and use attainability analysis and to provide a forum for the public to join in discussions, ask questions, and provide feedback. To reserve a room at the Westin Peachtree Plaza at a special rate, call 888.625.5144 by August 26. The meeting is free, but you need to register. Registration information and an agenda will be available soon. If you have any questions, please contact Sharon Thomas at sthomas@wef.org. (SRT)

Quote of the Week: “The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time.” --Abraham Lincoln

This Week in Washington is provided by the Water Environment Federation, Alexandria, VA. To receive This Week in Washington by e-mail, contact Lisa Jones, (703) 684-2400 ext. 7741, ljones@wef.org . For more information on this week's stories, please contact the WEF staff whose initials appear at the end of the item in which you are interested. TW - Tim Williams (703) 684-2437, twilliams@wef.org ; SRT - Sharon Thomas, (703) 684-2423, sthomas@wef.org ; SJH - Sam Hadeed (703) 684-2418, shadeed@wef.org ; PS-Patricia Sinicropi (703) 684-2416, psinicropi@wef.org . This Week in Washington is available on-line at http://www.wef.org/PolicyAction/USGovernmentAffairs/TWIW/.