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

WEF Celebrates World Water Monitoring Day on the Anacostia River
The Water Environment Federation (WEF) joined with Earth Conservation Corps (ECC) to host World Water Monitoring Day 2006 today on the Anacostia River in Washington, DC. Ben Grumbles, Assistant Administrator for U.S. EPA’s Office of Water, led local dignitaries, water quality professionals, environmental groups and 40 students from Washington, DC-based Ketchum Elementary School in hands-on testing of the river’s water quality.  World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD) is an international outreach program held annually between September 18 and October 18 that builds public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources.   EPA chose the occasion to announce the first recipients of its new grant program, the Anacostia River Urban Watershed Partnership Grants. Developed in collaboration with the US Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration, the program is designed to support the protection and restoration of urban water resources through a holistic watershed approach to water quality management. The funding – totaling approximately $1 million – was awarded to the District of Columbia Department of Transportation, the Anacostia Watershed Society, and Prince George’s County, Maryland for projects related to the restoration of the Anacostia River and watershed.  For more information, visit www.WorldWaterMonitoringDay.org.  (SRT) 

U.N. Report Reports Proliferation of Dead Zones
There are about 200 low-oxygen "dead zones" threatening fisheries worldwide, according to a report by U.S. scientists attending a United Nations meeting on marine pollution in China.  A primary cause of the problem: nitrogen-rich farm runoff.  Algal blooms can also be triggered by nutrients from sewage, animal wastes and atmospheric deposition from the burning of fossil fuels. The best known low-oxygen, or hypoxic, area in the U.S. has spread over more than 6,000 square miles in the Gulf of Mexico.  The dead zone emerges each spring and summer, as snowmelt from the Missouri and Atchafalaya rivers reaches the gulf.  Other hypoxic areas have appeared off South America, China, Japan, southeast Australia and New Zealand.  Robert Diaz, a professor at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, told the U.N. meeting that the full list of new or newly registered dead zones would be available in early 2007. Diaz said the list would include areas in the Archipelago Sea, Finland; the Fosu Lagoon, Ghana; the Pearl River Estuary and the Changjiang River, China; the Mersey Estuary, United Kingdom; the Elefsis Bay, Aegean Sea, Greece; Paracas Bay, Peru; Mondego River, Portugal; Montevideo Bay, Uruguay; and the Western Indian Shelf.  The data presented at the Beijing conference shows that nitrogen exports to the marine environment from rivers are expected to rise globally by 14 percent by 2030 when compared with the mid 1990s. To download a copy of the report, visit: http://www.gpa.unep.org/document_lib/en/pdf/report2-webversion_(global_soe).pdf. (SHJ)

EPA Reports Acid Rain Program Success
EPA released its Acid Rain Program 2005 Progress Report on October 16, marking the 11th year of the program. Since 1995, the program has significantly reduced acid deposition in the United States by decreasing sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions. According to EPA, overall compliance with the Acid Rain Program has been consistently high, nearly 100 percent, with no units out of compliance in 2005.  In 2005, SO2 emissions from electric power generation were more than 5.5 million tons below 1990 levels.  NOx emissions were down by about 3 million tons below 1990 levels.  The Acid Rain Progress report summarizes human health and environmental improvements due to the program and includes sections on compliance strategies, surface water quality monitoring, environmental justice, and EPA's framework for accountability. Complete emission and allowance data, as well as atmospheric deposition and air quality maps can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/airmarkets.  To view the Acid Rain Program 2005 Progress Report, visit: http://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/cmprpt/arp05.  (SJH)

EPA Invites Public Participation in Development of Nanotechnology Program
This week EPA sent letters to organizations and individuals inviting participation in the design and development of a stewardship program that will help the agency better understand the potential risks and benefits of nanotechnology.  Nanotechnology is the science of creating or modifying materials at the atomic and molecular level to develop new or enhanced materials and products. The stewardship program will complement the agency's new and existing chemical programs under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  "By bringing people together to address this emerging technology, we can be well positioned to ensure the responsible development of nanotechnology, while at the same time, realizing its promise for a better tomorrow," said Jim Gulliford, assistant administrator for Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances at EPA.  Development and implementation of this program will include public scientific peer consultations to discuss risk management practices and characterization for nanoscale materials; an overall framework document describing the TSCA program for nanoscale materials; a document on distinguishing the TSCA Inventory status of "new" versus "existing" chemical nanoscale materials; a concept paper describing EPA's thinking for the Stewardship Program; workshops examining the pollution prevention opportunities for nanoscale materials; and a public meeting to discuss these documents and program elements.  Additional information about the Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program under TSCA is at http://epa.gov/oppt/nano/index.htm. (SRT)

Guide to Disposing of Drinking Water Treatment Plant Waste
A new guide to help drinking water treatment plants properly dispose of their solid waste by-products is now available from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  The eight-page guide gives step-by-step recommendations on identifying whether solid waste is hazardous, determining the regulatory status (based on size) of a treatment plant that produces waste, and waste disposal options.  It also provides EPA references and websites to learn more about federal regulations regarding solid waste disposal under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.  To view the guide, visit: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/arsenic/pdfs/guide_arsenic_disposalhazardous-nonhazardous.pdf.    (SJH)

EPA Requests Nominations for Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List
EPA announced in the October 16 Federal Register that it is requesting nominations of chemical and microbial contaminants for possible inclusion in the third drinking water Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 3). EPA is requesting information that shows the nominated contaminant may have an adverse health effect on people and that the contaminant occurs or is likely to occur in public water systems. Nominations must be received on or before December 15.  Nominations can be submitted through the CCL3 nominations website at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ccl/ccl3.html or by mail. To view the Federal Register notice, visit: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-WATER/2006/October/Day-16/w17099.htm. (SJH)

Red Tide Algae Research and Funding in Florida
Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) said on October 16 that he would submit a bill next session to consolidate red tide algae research and funding under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  "Right now we have congressmen running around getting appropriations for research in their own back yards," Mack told the Lee Republican Women Federated group. "I believe we ought to pool the research, run it through NOAA's peer review. Let the scientists determine where the money goes, not the politicians."  Red tide is a natural phenomenon caused by single-cell alga called Karenia brevis, which produce a powerful neurotoxin. Increased coastal development is linked to increasingly larger blooms of K. brevis. NOAA announced last week that it would give Florida $4.7 million in grant money over the next five years to study the Gulf Coast red tide situation. Officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute will lead the study and be aided by scientists from the University of Miami, Mote Marine Lab, the University of South Florida, Old Dominion University, and the University of Maryland. (SJH)

NOTE:  There will not be an issue of This Week in Washington on October 27.

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/GovernmentAffairs/TWIW/.