House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) sent letters on November 17 to the states rated best and worst at investing clean water state revolving fund money provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Recovery Act (Pub. L. No 111–5) requires that clean water projects financed by the statute be under construction or under contract by February 17, 2010. The governors of the states that had the lowest investment rates as of September 30 received letters stating that their states were falling far behind others in putting to work their wastewater infrastructure funds. Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Utah, and the District of Columbia all received letters for their poor performance, putting zero projects out to bid. Minnesota, Colorado, and Arizona, which led the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's rankings, received letters praising their performance. Minnesota has 96.5 percent of its allocated funds in projects under way, Colorado has 90.2 percent in projects under way, and Arizona has 83.8 percent in projects under way, plus an additional 5 percent in projects under contract. The Recovery Act provided the clean water state revolving funds with nearly $4 billion to help states finance high-priority clean water infrastructure projects. To date, EPA has awarded more than $3.9 billion to all state revolving funds. About $800 million of these funds are under contract.

·        Table ranking state use of Recovery Act funding for clean water infrastructure

·        Clean Water SRF: ARRA Reporting Summary Project List  (November 15, 2009)

EPA announced in the November 17 Federal Register that it is exempting local government and other entities that file electronically for EPA grants and other financial assistance from its Cross-Media Electronic Reporting Rule standards after discovering the rule unintentionally applied to some forms of that aid. The exemption will exempt applicants for, and recipients of grants, cooperative agreements and other forms of financial assistance pursuant to EPA financial assistance regulations from the standards. The rule provides a legal framework for electronic reporting under all EPA environmental regulations. It does not require electronic reporting, but it sets criteria for system functions, such as electronic signature validation, for those entities that choose to report electronically. The financial assistance exemption will affect governments, nonprofit organizations, international organizations, commercial firms, individuals, and other entities eligible for EPA financial assistance that submit the information electronically. Electronic reporting includes documents submitted by fax, diskette, compact disc, digital video disc, or tape.

EPA announced on November 16 the launch of a new Green Homes Web site to help people make their homes greener with tips on reducing energy consumption, carbon footprints, waste generation and water usage, as well as improving indoor air quality.  The latest federal survey of American housing (2007) reported 128 million housing units across the U.S., accounting for nearly 54 percent of national energy use and nearly 31 percent of all U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, the most common greenhouse gas contributing to climate change. 

Many green building practices and technologies have yet to make a dent in the existing residential market, in part because it is hard for people to find clear, consolidated, readily accessible, and credible information. The Green Homes Web site addresses that need by providing guidance on approaches to greening each room of the home as well as the surrounding yard.  Information also is available on building new homes and finding an energy efficient mortgage, which takes into account the savings derived from energy efficient homes to enable the applicant to qualify for better terms. Renters will find information to help them identify a green property before moving in and tips for working with their landlord to add green features to an existing property. Users can also find references, such as a list of common green home terms, and links to dozens of EPA Web sites with more specific information on a wide variety of green home topics.

WEF will hold a December 16 Webcast from 2:00 – 3:30 pm EST - Microconstituents in Biosolids: Presence, Gaps, and a Glimpse into the Future. This webcast will offer a snapshot of what is currently known about the presence of microconstituents in biosolids, what the key information gaps are in determining what detection really means, and what needs to be considered regarding biosolids when planning for a sustainable future. The latter goal will be achieved through a thought-provoking presentation on biosolids sustainable practices. Presentations will also include a discussion of the results of the U.S. EPA Targeted National Sewage Sludge Survey (TNSSS) Report. Additionally, related portions from a State of the Science Report being developed by the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) will be presented, explaining what is known regarding potential effects associated with microconstituents in biosolids, and what gaps in key information need to be filled to perform hazard assessments.

Moderator and speakers will include:

·         Moderator:Tom Granato, PhD - Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Cicero, IL

·        Bill Toffey – Effluential Synergies, LLC

·        Rick Stevens – U.S. EPA

·        George O’Connor, PhD -  University of Florida

·        Open Q&A

Registration Information:Registration Form; Online Registration Webcast registrants can earn 1.5 Professional Development Hours (PDHs) by using WEF’s new online 3-step process emailed to Registrants in advance of the webcast. Registration deadline is December 14, 2009.

A water blog prepared by Chris Peot, Biosolids Manager, District of Columbia Water & Sewer Authority (DC WASA) was posted on the WEF web page on November 16 and will appear for two weeks. The water blog topic - Biosolids Recycling Works for Us- describes DC WASAs land application program and discusses some of the misperceptions about the practice and inaccuracies that have appeared in the media. DC WASA has been a National Biosolids Partnership (NBP) environmental management (EMS) certified agency since September 2004.

EPA announced on November 19 that it is accepting grant applications for a total of $3.4 million in funding for environmental education projects and programs.  EPA expects to award approximately 100grants ranging from $5,000 to $200,000 and will accept applications until December 15, 2009.  The purpose of the Environmental Education Grant Program is to promote environmental stewardship and help develop knowledgeable and responsible students, teachers and citizens.  The grants provide financial support for innovative projects that design, demonstrate, or disseminate environmental education practices, methods, or techniques. Projects should involve environmental education activities that go beyond disseminating information.

The Environmental Education Grant Program provides funding to local education agencies, state education or environmental agencies, colleges or universities, not-for-profit organizations, or noncommercial educational broadcasting entities. Tribal education agencies, which are controlled by an Indian tribe, band or nation, may also apply, including a school or community college.  Since the program began, EPA has provided more than $45million in funding to more than 3,000agencies and organizations.

The grass is not, in fact, always greener on the other side of the fence. Fences have nothing to do with it. The grass is greenest where it is watered. When crossing over fences, carry water with you and tend the grass wherever you may be.

- Robert Fulghum(1937 - ), It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It

Note: TWIW will not be published on November 27 in observance of the Thanksgiving Day holiday.

This Week in Washingtonis provided by the Water Environment Federation, Alexandria, VA and is available on-line.  To receive by e-mail, please contact the Editor -Sam Hadeed - at shadeed@wef.org or call 703.684.2418 with questions.

November 19 was World Toilet Day. To help raise awareness for the 2.5 billion people who don't have access to sanitation, thousands of people over the world squatted for one minute. Squatting is actually a very healthy bathroom stance, but it's also a symbol of the problems in the developing world, where a lack of sanitation forces people to squat in fields, on train tracks, or in other open places. Open defecation is one of the worst problems facing the developing world.  With open defecation, people accidentally create breeding grounds for disease. Lack of toilets causes some of the world’s most destructive diseases. Pneumonia and diarrhea, two sanitation-related illnesses, are the leading killers of children in the world today by a landslide. It is estimated that some 1.8 million people die from fecally-transmitted diseases every year.