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.

EPA Inspector General Questions Estimates of Pollution Reductions From Enforcement
According to a report released on July 24 by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), the accuracy and reliability of estimates of pollution reductions resulting from EPA enforcement actions vary with the types of facilities involved. The report indicated that more reliable data were available to project reductions from oil spill and power plant cases than other Clean Water Act (CWA) and Clean Air Act (CAA) cases, respectively. OIG found that EPA’s annual projected reductions were heavily influenced by a few large cases. Less than 1 percent of the CWA cases accounted for 52 percent of the projected pollutant reductions from concluded CWA enforcement actions. Similarly, a few large power plant cases resulted in a marked increase in total estimated CAA-related reductions for fiscal years 2004-2005.

OIG was unable to determine whether EPA had achieved their total projected reductions in both CWA and CAA cases because it will take years for reductions to occur. OECA has claimed that it has achieved emissions reductions through enforcement efforts even though many of those reductions are estimated and may not be achieved for several years. According to the OIG report, “EPA's 2006 Annual Report used terms such as 'achieved,' 'reduced,' and 'actual' to describe emission reductions for that year even though the reductions were often only projected amounts.”  In response to the OIG report, OECA agreed to use more precise wording in their future reports.  The EPA OIG report  is available at www.epa.gov/oig/reports/2007/20070724-2007-B-00002.pdf.

EPA Announces Clean Watersheds Needs Survey Webcasts
In an effort to help stormwater Phase I and II communities and state permitting authorities better document stormwater capital needs, EPA is announcing a series of webcasts on the Clean Watersheds Needs Survey (CWNS).  The CWNS is a report issued to Congress every four years that documents the capital needs for wastewater, stormwater, and nonpoint sources over the next 20 years.  Although stormwater is a listed category in the CWNS, reporting of these needs by Phase I and II communities has been limited.  In preparation for the 2008 CWNS, EPA will conduct free webcasts that provide an overview of the CWNS and the process used to document and report capital project needs.  For more information, visit www.epa.gov/cwns/cwns2008.htm.

EPA Seeks Applicants for 2007 Water Efficiency Leader Awards
EPA announced in the July 20 Federal Register that it is seeking applicants for the agency’s second annual Water Efficiency Leader Awards. The awards recognize those organizations and individuals who are providing leadership and innovation in water efficient products and practices. EPA hopes the program will help to document best practices, share information, encourage an ethic of water efficiency, and create a network of water efficiency leaders. Applications must be postmarked by August 17. The 2007 application is available at www.epa.gov/water/wel/.

EPA Compliance Extensions for CAFOs in the Federal Register
EPA announced in the July 24 Federal Register a final rule that extends certain compliance dates in the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permitting requirements and Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) while the agency works to complete rulemaking.  As reported in last week’s edition, EPA is extending certain compliance deadlines from July 31, 2007 to Feb. 27, 2009. The FR notice is available at www.epa.gov/npdes/caforulechanges.

Quote of the Week:
"It is astonishing what an effort it seems to be for many people to put their brains definitely and systematically to work."
 - Thomas Edison

To receive This Week in Washington via e-mail, contact Sharon Thomas at sthomas@wef.org.