EPA DRAFTS OUTLINE TO GUIDE STATE SOURCE WATER PROTECTION EFFORTS

EPA intends to provide states with far-reaching discretion to develop source water assessment and protection programs, according to a set of new draft agency recommendations which also call for states to link their programs with emerging drinking water regulations, such as the groundwater disinfection rule. Sources say that linking the source water protection to other critical drinking water programs may, in some cases, provide states with additional incentives to develop strong programs since such efforts could provide meaningful regulatory relief...

EPA TO DRAFT COST-BENEFIT FRAMEWORK FOR DRINKING WATER RULES

EPA is drafting a broad framework for calculating cost-benefit analyses for drinking water regulations required under the new Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). EPA intends to leave the crux of the framework's key principals up to the public through a series of stakeholder forums, marking a precedent for how early the public will participate in such processes. The 1996 SDWA reauthorization bill was one of the first pieces of environmental legislation to mandate cost-benefit studies with each new regulation. Because...

EPA, ATSDR SEND FINAL WARNING TO MICHIGAN TO REVISE FISH ADVISORIES

EPA and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) have sent their final letter to Michigan Gov. John Engler asking that the state re-think its pulling of fish advisories for salmon. The agencies for the past several months have been attempting to convince the state to reinstate its warnings for salmon. The agency decided to revoke the advisory, which restricts the amount of fish that can be eaten because of chemical contamination, due to its finding that PCBs...

EPA, ENVIRONMENTALISTS PRAISE FOOD SAFETY LAW'S ENDOCRINE PROVISIONS

Environmentalists and EPA staff involved in water issues are pleased by a new provision in the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA), which would require EPA to establish a screening and testing protocol to determine a chemical's potential for causing endocrine disruption. Endocrine disrupting chemicals can mimic hormones and cause reproductive problems in humans and wildlife. The agency has convened a stakeholder panel under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). The Keystone Center, to get broad input on how such...

HOUSE SLOWS ENDANGERED SPECIES ACTION IN LIGHT OF SENATE MOVEMENT

As Endangered Species Act (ESA) reform legislation moves quickly through the Senate ( see related story ), action by the House is much less certain. Sen. Dirk Kempthorne (R-Idaho), a key member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has drafted a bill that would give EPA and other federal agencies the authority to do "self consultations" ( see related story ). Under current law, federal agencies are required to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)...

EPA AND OTHER AGENCIES PLAN TO MEET ON ESA CONSULTATION CONSISTENCY

EPA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) are developing a policy on when and how the Office of Water (OW) must consult the other two agencies on the impact rules, regulations and permits have on endangered species and their habitats. But even as the three agencies develop the policy, a soon-to-be-introduced Endangered Species Act (ESA) reauthorization bill likely to alter the terms of these negotiations significantly ( see related story ). ESA...

EPA WANTS PUBLIC INPUT ON NEW MEASURES OF ENFORCEMENT SUCCESS

EPA is planning to convene a broad public dialogue on environmental enforcement, in hopes of crafting new measures of success for the Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance that go beyond simply tallying enforcement actions and penalty dollars collected. The agency has been trying to redefine the goals of its enforcement program for years, and industry sources say the agency's decision to convene a public dialogue on the subject proves how difficult it is to wean the agency from traditional...

STATES SEE GAP BETWEEN WATER ENFORCEMENT, REINVENTION ACTIVITIES

States plan to urge the Office of Water (OW) to address a "disconnect" between its regulatory reinvention activities and EPA enforcement activities during a Jan. 15 meeting, where the parties will discuss performance partnership grants (PPGs) and agreements, state officials say. Members of the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA) have established the State/EPA Operating Committee to facilitate regular formal discussions about priorities and outstanding issues. At the meeting, the groups are expected to discuss PPGs...

EPA APPEALS RULING NARROWING PENALTIES UNDER CLEAN WATER ACT

EPA has appealed a federal court ruling in a Clean Water Act case that drastically narrows the amount of fines EPA can seek from dischargers who are violating the Clean Water Act. EPA filed the appeal Dec. 31 in the U.S. Appeals Court for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta. EPA's action follows an Aug. 20, 1996 ruling in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in the matter of U.S. v. Avatar Holdings, Inc. and Florida Cities...

PULP AND PAPER INDUSTRY SUES EPA OVER ENDANGERED SPECIES AGREEMENT

A key trade association has sued EPA over its approval of Louisiana's water permitting program, charging that the agency has agreed to an unlawful expansion of the Endangered Species Act that could prevent dischargers from obtaining water quality permits. The American Forest & Paper Association (AFPA) Dec. 24 filed the lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. The citation is American Forest & Paper Association v. Jane N. Saginaw, Regional Administrator. U.S. EPA, Region VI (96-60874)...

EPA, NRC KICK OFF STUDY OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL IN SEWAGE SLUDGE

EPA and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced plans last week to undertake a national survey of sewage sludge and ash for levels of radioactive material. The two agencies plan to use the results of the study to determine whether further restrictions on NRC licensees is necessary for providing adequate protection against radioactive material in sewage sludge. The question of which agency has proper authority over the regulation of radioactive materials in sewage sludge is unresolved. Some publicly owned treatment...

SEWER DISTRICT SETTLES MAJOR CLAIM OVER REGULATION OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL

The recent settlement of a Clean Water Act case on the regulation of radioactive materials in publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) may pave the way for local sewerage authorities to pursue additional POTW liability cases against dischargers of radioactive material, observers say. The case is seen as a prime example of the long-standing statutory dispute between some local sewer districts and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) over the regulation of radioactive materials. While the NRC claims that the Atomic Energy...

WATER PROGRAMS OUTLINE LONG-TERM RESEARCH NEEDS IN ORD MEETING

The Office of Water (OW) and the Office of Research and Development (ORD) met last month to iron out long range research strategies for developing technologies and answering key questions expected to emerge regarding future OW program priorities, agency sources say. Initial discussions between the two offices show that EPA will place a greater emphasis on water quantity issues in its long range planning, as well as traditional program areas, the sources say. In last month's meeting, OW staff relayed...

OFFICE OF WATER ESCAPES UNSCATHED FROM '97 BUDGET PROCESS

The FY 1997 Office of Water (OW) budget has emerged largely unscathed from this year's funding process, according to agency sources. OW's 1997 workplan retains four principal funding priorities, which include: implementing the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) amendments; increasing the focus on technical support for total maximum daily loads (TMDLs); finishing the promulgation of wet weather regulations; and strengthening efforts to promote and develop tools for watershed protection. EPA sent their final 1997 budget workplans to Congress last...

ANTIDEGRADATION LAWSUITS MAY BE NEXT ENVIRONMENTAL LEGAL STRATEGY

States and EPA should expect a wave of lawsuits over policies to protect water quality from degradation, according to grass roots activists with the Clean Water Network, the umbrella environmental organization for water issues. This state-by-state approach would parallel the total maximum daily load (TMDL) legal strategy that has successfully pushed EPA to reconsider the national TMDL policy. Under the Clean Water Act (CWA), EPA requires states to use "antidegradation" regulations to manage discharges so waters remain "fishable" and "swimmable."...

KEMPTHORNE DRAFTS NEW ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT LEGISLATION

Senate Republicans are drafting an Endangered Species Act (ESA) reform bill that would dramatically increase the number of water projects EPA could undertake without interagency consultation. At press time, Senate Republican staffers were poised to circulate to Democrats draft ESA legislation that will likely reduce the number of instances in which federal officials -- including managers at EPA's Office of Water (OW) -- would have to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) about activities likely to affect...

Water Policy Report - 01/15/1997

Wed, 1997-01-15 00:00

EPA, STATES FAIL TO RESOLVE DISPUTE OVER CLEAN WATER ACT PERMIT

EPA and two Southeastern states have failed to resolve a long-standing dispute over a Clean Water Act permit which would set tough new discharge limits on a paper facility, and as a result, the issue is now being discussed among top EPA and administration officials. Some observers are urging EPA to resolve the dispute by requiring, for the first time, that the facility obtain a strict enforceable permit that limits its ability to discharge color into surrounding waters. At the...

KEY HOUSE MEMBER CHALLENGES EPA ON VOLUNTARY CLEANUPS

A key member of Congress is raising concerns that EPA's new "baseline criteria" for state voluntary cleanup programs may have the effect of deterring cleanups, and has formally requested that the agency answer a host of questions about the new policy. Agency sources say the guidance is intended to encourage, not hinder, voluntary cleanups by giving states some indication of what federal regulators consider minimum requirements. For over a year, EPA has been in negotiations with states in an attempt...

EPA CONSIDERS EXTENDING COMPLIANCE DEADLINE FOR KEY AIR TOXICS STANDARD

EPA is considering delaying a looming compliance deadline for a key air toxics standard in part because the extension will allow the agency to complete a project that may help companies in California circumvent federal regulations that duplicate an existing state air rule. The extension is also being considered because technology vendors are having a hard time providing electroplating companies around the country with the kinds of equipment that will be needed to comply with the air toxic standard. EPA...

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