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 Sends 2004 Clean Watershed Needs Survey to Congress
On Jan. 16, EPA released a report that summarizes the results of EPA's 14th national survey on pollution control capital investment needs required to meet the environmental and human health goals of the Clean Water Act.  The Clean Watersheds Needs Survey 2004 Report to Congress is required under section 516(b)(1) of the Act and is submitted every four years.  The most recent survey addressed capital needs as of January 1, 2000.

The 2004 report summarized survey data from over 30,000 water quality programs and projects, most of which are eligible for funding under EPA's Clean Water State Revolving Fund program.  According to the report, which is available at www.epa.gov/cwns/2004rtc/cwns2004rtc.pdf, the total publicly owned treatment works capital investment needs for the Nation as of January 1, 2004, were $202.5 billion.  This amount includes $134.4 billion for wastewater treatment and collection systems, $54.8 billion for combined sewer overflow corrections, and $9.0 billion for stormwater management.  Recycled water distribution, which is a new category designed to report on the increasing trend toward using recycled water for beneficial uses, had a need of $4.3 billion.  Reported in January 2004 dollars, the total 2004 capital needs represent an 8.6 percent increase since 2000.

Both New York and California reported over $20 billion in total publicly owned wastewater treatment works needs, the highest in the survey.  Florida, Illinois, and Ohio each have needs in excess of $10 billion.  EPA documented a small community-specific need of $17.0 billion. 

In addition to capital needs, the report also summarizes technical information such as flow, population, and effluent for projects related to publicly owned municipal wastewater collection and treatment, combined sewer overflow correction, municipal stormwater management, and recycled water distribution.  According to the report, the number of wastewater treatment facilities in operation in 2004 was 16,583, representing a total existing flow of 33,657 million gallons per day (mgd) and a design capacity of 46,438 mgd.  If all documented future needs were met, the report projected the Nation's total design flow capacity would be 51,646 mgd.

WEF Sends Letter to Congress on Sewer Overflow Notification Bill
On Jan. 15, WEF submitted comments to the House Water Resources Subcommittee on H.R. 2452, the Raw Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act, and to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on their version of the bill, S. 2080.  The letters applaud both House and Senate efforts to examine the problems associated with aging wastewater infrastructure and express support for the public’s right to know when sewage spills occur that pose dangers to public health.  Despite this support, WEF expressed concern that the current drafts of the bills would not have the intended improvement in public notification and might disrupt the monitoring and notification systems already established.  The letter identifies several concerns WEF has regarding the bills, including the cost and manpower potentially required to institute a monitoring and notification system that is not well defined, unintended duplications in notification requirements, and the potential for the bills to lead to substantial new requirements on local communities without any assistance to pay for them.  WEF also recommended that combined sewer systems be excluded from the legislation since they are already required to provide public notification of overflows under EPA’s 1994 CSO Policy.  WEF closed the letter by asking Congress to urge the Administration to take action on the long-delayed sanitary sewer overflow national rule.  “Comprehensive guidance for SSOs in the form of an EPA rule that provides specificity on monitoring and notification issues, provides oversight for collection systems that are not managed by POTWs (satellite collection systems) and that therefore fall outside of this bill’s reach, and that takes into account different needs of different sized systems, would offer a better solution than legislation focused on one aspect of the SSO problem.”  Send requests for a copy of either letter to mravenhill@wef.org. 

EPA Launches Green Infrastructure Plan
EPA released a comprehensive plan to reduce runoff and increase environmental and economic benefits for communities on Jan. 17.  EPA hopes that implementation of the strategy will help reduce stormwater runoff and sewer overflows by promoting green infrastructure approaches such as green roofs, tree boxes, rain gardens, and porous pavements.  The document, Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure Action Strategy 2008, explains how states, municipalities, permitting authorities, and non-governmental organizations can bring these practices into mainstream use for runoff and sewer overflow management to meet water quality goals.

EPA defines green infrastructure as an array of products, technologies, and practices that use natural systems – or engineered systems that mimic natural processes – to enhance overall environmental quality and provide utility services. 

The strategy includes 7 major implementation areas: Research, Outreach and Communication, Tools, Clean Water Act Regulatory Support, Economic Viability and Funding, Demonstrations and Recognition, and Partnerships and Promotion.  It was developed by EPA, American Rivers, the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Low Impact Development Center and is the result of an April 19, 2007, agreement between these organizations and EPA to promote green infrastructure as an environmentally preferable approach to wet weather management.  The strategy is available at www.epa.gov/npdes/greeninfrastructure/general.

EPA Announces Availability of 2008 BEACH Act Grants
On Jan. 14 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced an additional $9.75 million in beach grants in 2008.  The Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act, signed into law on October 10, 2000, amended the Clean Water Act (CWA) to incorporate provisions to reduce the risk of illness to users of the Nation's recreational waters. BEACH Act grants are available to coastal and Great Lakes states, territories, and tribes to assist in the development of effective and comprehensive coastal recreation water monitoring and public notification programs.  EPA estimates Americans make 910 million trips to coastal areas each year, spending about $44 billion. The grants are designed to make state and local monitoring and notification programs more consistent and uniform in an effort to better protect and inform the public.  Grant applicants must submit on or before March 14.  Additional information is available at www.epa.gov/waterscience/beaches/.   
 
Quote of the Week:
"Life is under no obligation to give us what we expect."
 - Margaret Mitchell

To receive This Week in Washington via e-mail, contact Martha Ravenhill at mravenhill@wef.org.