WEF Legislative Activities

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Rolf Webb
5 years ago
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2 Who Are We? The Water Quality People Over 36,000 members worldwide Hosts of the largest wastewater conference in the world WEFTEC Partners for water Leaders in innovation

3 WEF Legislative Activities Infrastructure Funding Issues: Clean Water SRF The House Appropriations Committee and Transportation & Infrastructure Committee plan to look at what changes can be made to the CW SRF to make it more self-sustaining, but not weaken the program s effectiveness; Re-authorization legislation not likely, and opening up the Clean Water Act is not likely, so any changes the CW SRF will be incremental, similar to the changes made in the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) of 2014;

4 Infrastructure Funding Issues President s FY16 Budget Proposal included $1.11B for CW SRF and $1.18B for DW SRF; FY16 Budget also included funding for a new Water Infrastructure Finance Center at the EPA to promote P3 projects; WEF, NACWA, AWWA, and AMWA sent a letter in November asking the EPA and OMB to fund the SRF programs equal to FY15, which were $1.45 B for the CW SRF and $905 for the Drinking Water SRF. We expect to send a letter this month asking for increased funding in the FY16 budget to $1.45B for CW SRF and the President s amount for the DW SRF.

5 Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) There was $2.2 million in the FY15 budget for the EPA to hire staff and continue to create the program, but no funding for loans yet. EPA expects to hire up to 30 people in the year ahead to staff the program; FY16 Budget included $5M for the EPA to continue to create the new program, but no funding for loans and loan guarantees; The WEF, NACWA, AWWA, and AMWA are likely to send a letter this month asking for $25 million for WIFIA in the FY16 appropriations; In 2015 WEF is working with the other water associations to address the restriction on the use of tax-exempt funding on projects that receive WIFIA financing. Under the current WIFIA law, a WIFIA loan can only cover up the 49% of a project, and the other 51% cannot be with taxexempt financing. We are going to try to lift that restriction in either the surface transportation bill or next WRRDA bill later this year.

6 Changes to the Tax-Exempt Municipal Bonds With a Republican majority in both the House and Senate, Congress may attempt to take up tax reform legislation in 2015, and there may be a push to change the structure of taxexempt muni bonds; The President proposed changes in the FY16 Budget proposal to cap the deductibility rate for high-income individuals at 28%. Currently there is no cap; Nearly half of all tax-exempt muni bonds are purchased by high income individuals directly or through mutual funds, and about 80% of water infrastructure is financed with tax exempt muni bonds; As WEF has done over the last several years, it will continue to work with a large coalition of municipal organizations (water, roads, public building, hospitals, airports, schools and universities, and elected officials) that oppose changes.

7 WEF Regulatory Activities Clean Water Rule (a.k.a. Waters of the United States) The EPA is now calling the Waters of the US rule the Clean Water Rule. The EPA is now expected to release the final rule in the Summer Congress is very engaged on the Rule. The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee and the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee held a rare joint hearing on Feb. 4, with the EPA, Corps of Engineers, and state and municipal officials testified. EPA assured it will clarify a number of the rule s language including language related to Green Infrastructure, ditches and MS4s. Expect either stand-alone legislation to halt the rule, or a rider in the FY16 appropriations bill to de-fund the EPA from implementing it.

8 Electronic Reporting Last December, EPA issued a supplemental notice to the proposed rule on electronic reporting under the Clean Water Act discharge permit program. The Dec. 1 supplemental notice sought to clarify who may receive the initial reports and respond to concerns that only states with very high participation from National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit holders in electronic reporting would be designated as initial recipients of the electronic reports, among other concerns (79 Fed. Reg. 71,066). WEF filed comments which are posted in WEFCOM. Comments center on the timeframe for implementation and the special care EPA should take with the biosolids components of the e-reporting framework.

9 EPA s Development of a Water Quality Criteria for Viruses WEF, WERF and NACWA continue to collaborate to help address issues related to EPA s development of water quality criteria for bacteriophages which are viruses that infect and lyse bacteria. After a dialogue on this issue at WEFTEC where utilities discussed implementation issues related to such criteria and the organizations willingness to coordinate with EPA as it looks to develop a method of detection and set criteria. WEF, WERF, NACWA and utilities have continued to tell EPA about how treatment requirements might change to implement such criteria and costs associated with a complete overhaul of treatment trains, particularly disinfection, at wastewater treatment plants. WEF and WERF are considering conducting research that will help utilities better understand how viruses may be addressed. In more recent discussions, a number of different WEF Committees have agreed to coordinate through a Task Force to help address these issues.

10 EPA s New Memorandum on the Financial Capability Assessment Framework for Municipal Clean Water Act Requirements On November 24, EPA issued a Memorandum to the Regions on the Financial Capability Assessment Framework for Municipal Clean Water Act Requirements (FCA). This Framework is part of EPA s efforts to implement the Integrated Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater Planning Approach Framework. EPA had received comments and experiences of a variety of stakeholders and financial experts. The FCA Framework identifies the key elements EPA uses in working with permittees to evaluate how their financial capability should influence schedules. The FCA Framework also provides examples of additional information that may help some communities provide a more accurate and complete picture of their financial capability as is envisioned in the FCA guidance. WEF is continuing to work with EPA and other organizations to help implement the broad flexibility focused on in the FCA framework designed to support the 1997 Combined Sewer Overflows -Guidance for Financial Capability Assessment and Schedule Development document.

11 EPA s New Memorandum on TMDL Wasteload Allocations for Stormwater Sources and NPDES Permit Requirements In November of 2014, the EPA issued a new memorandum that updates aspects of EPA's November 22, 2002 memorandum from Robert H. Wayland, III, Director of the Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds, and James A. Hanlon, Director of the Office of Wastewater Management, on the subject of "Establishing Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Wasteload Allocations (WLAs) for Storm Water Sources and NPDES Permit Requirements Based on Those WLAs." This memorandum replaces the November 12, 2010, memorandum on the same subject; the Water Division Directors should no longer refer to that memorandum for guidance.

12 Continued - Background November 12, 2010, EPA issued a memorandum updating and revising elements of the 2002 memorandum to better reflect current practices and trends in permits and WLAs for stormwater discharges. On March 17, 2011, EPA sought public comment on the November 2010 memorandum and, earlier this year, completed a nationwide review of current practices used in MS4 permits and industrial and construction stormwater discharge permits. As a result of comments received and informed by the reviews of EPA and state-issued stormwater permits, EPA is in this memorandum replacing the November 2010 memorandum, updating aspects of the 2002 memorandum and providing additional information in the following areas: Including clear, specific, and measurable permit requirements and, where feasible, numeric effluent limitations in NPDES permits for stormwater discharges; Disaggregating stormwater sources in a WLA; and Designating additional stormwater sources to regulate and developing permit limits for such sources.

13 Adaptation from Extreme Events The Virginian Pilot, December 5, 2010

14 Innovation Leadership Innovation Forum for Technology (LIFT)

15 LIFT Focus Areas Shortcut Nitrogen Removal P-Recovery Energy from Wastewater Digestion Enhancements Biosolids to Energy Collection Systems New Green Infrastructure

16 Creating the Space Continuous dialogue on the regulatory path forward for technologies Broad stakeholders collaboration Coordination with other groups EPA participation is essential Nutrients technologies may be first