Provided by the Water Environment Federation,
Alexandria, VA

Attack on Water Systems Seen As Improbable, But Not Impossible
The potential for terror attacks that target water and wastewater systems was a major topic of discussion during WEFTEC, the Water Environment Federation's annual conference held this week in Atlanta. Security was the focus for speakers during the conference's opening session and at two technical sessions that attracted standing room only audiences. Most speakers, and those commenting from the audience during the question-and-answer sessions, agreed that the current threat to water infrastructure was minimal but that additional precautions were justified in the wake of September 11 and the more recent anthrax incidents.
Tracy Mehan, EPA Assistant Administrator for Water said he was now part of a "war government" and described his agency's effort to coordinate between the FBI, Centers for Disease Control, and local water suppliers under a Presidential directive aimed at protecting critical infrastructures. He said that Americans should feel confident that officials are taking necessary steps to ensure the continued safety of drinking water supplies.
Diane Van De Hei, Executive Director of the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), said that her organization has asked Congress for $100 million to help water suppliers conduct vulnerability assessments and prepare response plans. She said that most major systems had emergency response plans in place, but there was a need to review and strengthen these plans in light of recent events. AMWA is serving as the point of contact for the water sector in distributing alerts and advisories from the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC).
Patrick Karney, Executive Director of the MSD of Greater Cincinnati (Ohio), reviewed his agency's involvement in mock disaster training exercises and recommended that wastewater utilities be more involved in Local Emergency Planning Committees. He said that agencies should review maps of their collection systems in light of the location of important landmarks and public buildings.
Other experts, including consultants with security experience, said that cities needed to rely on a combination of high-tech and low-tech measures to guard against contamination or disruption. Mike Cook, director of the EPA Office of Wastewater Management, said that basic assumptions about the design of water and wastewater facilities would need to be rethought to provide for greater physical security. Nancy Wheatley, chair of the WEF Government Affairs Committee and session moderator, pointed out that security and emergency response planning is just one component of a proactive approach to utility management. (TW)

Whitman Addresses Security During Visit to Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission
EPA Administrator Whitman discussed the security of the nation's water systems during a visit to the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission consolidated laboratory in Silver Spring, Maryland on October 18. Whitman sought to address fears about water security by stating that the possibility of successful contamination of a water system is small. "It would take large amounts of contaminants to threaten the safety of a city water system. Because of increased security at water reservoirs and other facilities around the country-and because people are being extra vigilant as well-we believe it would be very difficult for anyone to introduce the quantities needed to contaminate an entire system." WSSC General Manager John R. Griffin explained that in response to the events of September 11 they have strengthened an "already solid foundation of safety and security measures."
EPA has been working to make sure water utilities receive information on the steps they can take to protect their sources of supply and their infrastructure through partnerships with water and wastewater organizations, including the Association of Metropolitan Water Authorities (AMWA). AMWA's Executive Director, Diane van de Hei, was at WSSC with Whitman. EPA is also working with the FBI to advise every local law enforcement agency in the country of steps they can take to help watch for possible threats to water systems. Whitman held a conference call with governors on October 18 to discuss how EPA can assist them in protecting water systems. (SRT)

Water Infrastructure Promoted As Part of Economic Stimulus Package
Spending for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements is being promoted on Capitol Hill as one component of a proposed $75 billion economic stimulus plan that could be debated as early as next week. Sources say that while the House of Representatives is likely to include only tax cuts as part of its stimulus legislation, the Senate may be more inclined to include spending programs including infrastructure. Last week, eleven members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee wrote to the Senate leadership supporting the inclusion of $1 billion to $5 billion in water infrastructure assistance. Rep. James McGovern (D-MA) is reported to be drafting a water infrastructure amendment to the House bill but it is not certain that the House leadership will allow such an amendment to be considered.
The precise structure of the assistance is still being considered; with some suggesting direct grants to cities and others studying how the existing water and wastewater state revolving funds (SRFs) could be used as a vehicle for providing quick access to construction funds. Issues such as state and local matching, and the use of the existing formula for allocating funds to states are being discussed. EPA has provided technical assistance on these questions to congressional staff, but the official Bush Administration position supports tax cuts only. It is estimated that $1 billion in infrastructure spending could create as many as 42,000 jobs. (TW)

Appeals Court Overturns Permit Shield Case in Favor of Municipality
A federal appeals court held October 10 indicated that a municipal sewage treatment facility is not liable for violations of Maryland's thermal discharge limits because those limits were not listed in the facilities approved NPDES permit. The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Piney Run Preservation Association v. County Commissioners of Carroll County, (4th Cir. No. 00-1283), vacated an earlier U.S. District Court decision that imposed a $400,000 civil penalty on the county commissioners for violating 290 violations of thermal limits in Maryland. However, the appeals court ruled that the 1990 NPDES permit was expressly complied with by the county commissioners and the district court erred by not deferring to the EPA's permit shield policy. EPA's permit shield policy does not allow dischargers to be in violation of a pollutant that is not listed in its approved permit so long as that pollutant was "within the contemplation" of the permitting agency at the time the permit was issued. Since the county commissioners proved it had submitted information about its heat discharges when applying for the permit, the appeals court held finding the county in violation of a pollutant not listed in an approved permit would be unreasonable. The appeals court stated the Clean Water Act is unclear regarding this issue and therefore the court must defer to the EPA for its interpretation. WEF and AMSA filed an Amicus or "Friend of the Court" brief on behalf of the county commissioners. (JKS)

EPA Delays TMDL Rule Effective Date: Adds Examples of Approved TMDLs to Web Site
EPA finalized a rule establishing April 30, 2003 as the effective date of the revisions to EPA's Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Program (NPDES) regulations published in the Federal Register on July 13, 2000. The final rule was published October 18 and also changed the date on which States are required to submit the next list of impaired waters from April 1, 2002 to October 1, 2002 (66 FR 53043). EPA proposed both of these actions on August 9 and requested public comments. Of the individual comments received regarding EPA's proposal to delay the effective date of the July 2000 rule, a majority supported EPA's action. Other comments expressed concerns that postponing the effective date of the rule would significantly delay progress towards cleaning up impaired waters. In the final rule, EPA disagreed; "the pace of TMDL establishment has increased greatly over the last few years with almost twice as many TMDLs approved or established by EPA in 2001 as in 2000." A copy of the final rule is available at www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl/defer/.
This week EPA updated their TMDL web site to include examples of approved TMDLs for ten broad pollutant types such as nutrients, sediment, pathogens, and metals. The site contains selected examples of TMDLs approved by EPA and can be searched by key word or pollutant type. The case studies are available at www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl/examples/. (SRT)

EPA Reschedules Meeting on Draft Strategy for Waterborne Microbial Disease
EPA has rescheduled a stakeholder meeting on the Draft Strategy for Waterborne Microbial Disease for November 6. The draft Strategy explains suggested approaches to reducing microbial pollution of the Nation's waters and is available at http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/microbialdraft.pdf EPA is accepting written comments on the draft strategy by November 15. For information about the meeting, please contact Ms. Harriet McCollum (703) 684-0123 or hmccollum@sciences.com. (SRT)

"Traditionally terrorists like direct targets. They like to kill people directly and water is an indirect target. I'm going to continue drinking my tap water, but we need to take extra steps. We need to take precautions." - Bruce Babbitt, former Interior Secretary and Arizona governor, speaking in Atlanta at the opening session of WEFTEC, the Water Environment Federation Annual Conference, October 15, 2001.

This Week in Washington is provided by the Water Environment Federation, Alexandria, VA. To receive This Week in Washington by e-mail, contact Lisa Scott, (703) 684-2400 ext. 7741, lscott@wef.org. For more information on this week's stories, please contact the WEF Government Affairs staff member whose initials appear at the end of the item in which you are interested. TSW - Tim Williams (703) 684-2437, twilliams@wef.org; JKS - Jim Sullivan, (703) 684-2436, jsullivan@wef.org; SRT - Sharon Thomas, (703) 684-2423, sthomas@wef.org; SJH - Sam Hadeed (703) 684-2418, mailto:shadeed@wef.org. This Week in Washington is available on-line at http://www.wef.org/GovtAffairs.