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.

June 1, 2007

EPA Pushes States to Adopt Numeric Water Quality Standards for Nutrients
On May 25, EPA released a memo urging states to develop and adopt numeric water quality standards for nutrients.  Categorizing nutrient pollution as a “national problem,” EPA urged states to speed up their efforts and strongly recommended that priority waters, those water bodies at the greatest risk of nutrient pollution, be addressed first.  According to EPA, numeric standards will lead to easier and faster development of TMDLs, quantitative targets to support trading programs, increased effectiveness in evaluating the success of nutrient runoff minimization programs, and measurable, objective water quality baselines.  Benjamin Grumbles, EPA Assistant Administrator for Water, sent the memo, which describes the Agency’s “commitment to accelerating the pace for progress,” to directors of state water programs; programs covering water bodies such as the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay; and to authorized tribal water quality programs.  In the memo, EPA stated that nutrient criteria should address “causal (both nitrogen and phosphorus) and response (chlorophyll-a and transparency) variables” and encouraged the adoption of standards for all four parameters.  The Nutrient Pollution and Numeric Water Quality Standards memo is available by sending a request to sthomas@wef.org.  WEF, working with EPA, has developed a workshop to help states develop nutrient TMDLs.  The next available workshop will be held in August in Alexandria, VA.  (MB)

Drinking Water Protection Plan Released by EPA and DHS
On May 29, EPA and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a plan to protect drinking water utilities from potential attacks marked by natural disasters and terrorists.  The voluntary, activities-focused plan, Water: Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources Sector-Specific Plan as Input to the National Infrastructure Protection Plan, functions as a “playbook” for water utilities and the government, says Diane VanDe Hei, Executive Director of the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies.  The plan depicts the mission, protective efforts, research priorities, indicators of progress, and necessary activities to improve the protection of our nation’s water infrastructure. The Water Sector Government Coordinating Council, consisting of EPA and DHS members, and the Water Sector Coordinating Council, representing private water utilities, have collaborated in drafting the plan over the last year. On May 29, in addition to the water sector plan, the DHS released 16 other sector-specific plans supporting national infrastructure protection. The others include agriculture and food, banking, commercial nuclear reactors, energy, government facilities, and telecommunications. The 17 sector-specific plans compose the most recent risk management framework for national infrastructure overseen by the DHS. The water plan is available at www.dhs.gov/xprevprot/programs/gc_1179866197607.shtm.  Additional information is also available at WEF’s Water Security web page. (MB)

EPA Offers $7.9 Million Grant to Provide Environmental Assistance for Livestock Operators
On May 25, EPA announced that it is seeking applications for a $7.9 million grant to provide technical assistance to livestock operators, including animal feeding operations, for the prevention of discharges to water and reduction of air emissions.  The grant recipient will provide livestock operations with two types of technical assistance at no cost to the operator: (1) comprehensive assessments of water and air quality environmental challenges and recommendations for strategies to mitigate these challenges; and (2) development or review of the facility's nutrient management plan, which specifies the amount of manure that can be applied to crops so the potential for runoff to water bodies is minimized.  All livestock operations in the United States are eligible to receive assistance from the grant recipient.  EPA estimates that there are 238,000 animal feeding operations in the U.S. which generate more than 500 million tons of animal waste annually.  The deadline for grant applications is July 9. Additional information about animal feeding operations and the grant solicitation is available at www.epa.gov/npdes/afo.  (SJH)

Online Site Registration Now Open for World Water Monitoring DayTM
Online site registration is now open for World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD) 2007.  Held annually from September 18 through October 18, WWMD is an international outreach program that builds public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world by engaging communities in performing monitoring tests on local rivers, streams, estuaries and other water bodies.  An easy-to-use test kit allows individuals to sample local water bodies for a core set of water quality parameters including temperature, acidity (pH), clarity (turbidity) and dissolved oxygen.  Field results are then put into an international database and summarized on the program's Web site.  The WWMD kits contain a step-by-step instruction booklet, one set of hardware, and enough pH and dissolved oxygen reagent tablets to perform 50 tests.  Developed in 2002 by America’s Clean Water Foundation (ACWF), the program was formally adopted by WEF in July 2006 to provide a larger platform for program delivery.  For more information about the program, site registration and to order monitoring kits, please visit www.WorldWaterMonitoringDay.org.  (SRT)

EPA Renews Federal Advisory Committee to Examine Detection and Quantitation Approaches in CWA Programs
EPA announced on May 29 that it is renewing the Charter for the Agency's Federal Advisory Committee on Detection and Quantitation Approaches and Uses in Clean Water Act (CWA) Programs (FACDQ) for another two years to allow the committee to complete its work.  The purpose of the FACDQ is to provide advice and recommendations to the Administrator on policy issues related to detection and quantitation and on the scientific and technical aspects associated with monitoring and reporting chemical pollutants under the Clean Water Act.  The announcement is at www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-WATER/2007/May/Day-29/w10234.htm.  (SJH)

EPA Issues Preliminary Applications Notice for Water Contamination Warning System Pilots
On May 29, EPA announced that it plans to request applications in June for cooperative agreements to support contamination warning system demonstration pilots.  The pilots will be part of the Agency's Water Security (WS) initiative (formerly WaterSentinel), which addresses the risk of contamination of drinking water distribution systems.  The purpose of the pilots is to demonstrate warning systems that achieve timely detection and appropriate response to drinking water contamination incidents.  Local governments or institutions that operate community water systems serving at least 750,000 people will be eligible to compete for the cooperative agreements.  The Federal Register notice is available at www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-WATER/2007/May/Day-29/w10241.htm.  (SJH)

Quote of the Week:
“We have been marketed to the point that children believe they can’t drink water out of the tap.”

 - Ann Cooper, director of the Berkeley, CA school district’s nutrition services, discussing the replacement of commercially bottled water with large containers of tap water and cups in all its schools (The New York Times, May 30, 2007).

This Week in Washington is provided by the Water Environment Federation, Alexandria, VA.  To receive by e-mail, contact Sharon Thomas at sthomas@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, twilliams@wef.org;  SRT - Sharon Thomas, sthomas@wef.org; SJH - Sam Hadeed, shadeed@wef.org; PS - Patricia Sinicropi,  psinicropi@wef.org; MB - Maya Buchanan, mbuchanan@wef.org.  This Week in Washington is available on-line at www.wef.org/GovernmentAffairs/TWIW.