News

EPA/Army Corps Extends Federalism Consultation Comment Period

The EPA and the U.S. Department of the Army (the agencies) have initiated a federalism consultation for a rulemaking that restores the WOTUS regulations in place prior to the 2015 Clean Water Rule, with updates to be consistent with relevant Supreme Court decisions. The agencies announced this week that that the comment period for this consultation is extended to 60 days, beginning August 5, and ending October 4, 2021.

The next call of the ACWA WOTUS/NWPR Workgroup will be on September 8, 2021 from 2:00 to 3:30 PM ET. If you would like to join the Workgroup and participate in the call please contact Jasper Hobbs or Julia Anastasio.

Compliance Tips for Small, Mechanical Wastewater Treatment Plants

This advisory is directed to owners and operators of small publicly owned wastewater treatment works (POTWs) and small private wastewater treatment plants, both commonly referred to as wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). It is intended to provide small WWTPs with information that will help them comply with their National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit effluent limits.

EPA Releases SepticSmart Week Social Media Guide

EPA’s Decentralized Wastewater Program is pleased to provide the 2021 SepticSmart Week Social Media Guide. This guide includes updated social media posts, new blog posts, proclamations, a new MOU Partner SSW recognition document, all new Quick Tip videos, press releases, COVID resources, examples from previous years, and much more. The Decentralized Wastewater Program thanks the MOU partners who have contributed to the content in this guide.

As a reminder SepticSmart Week is September 20 – 24 this year. You can find the guide here.

2021 Update of the Human Health Benchmarks for Pesticides (HHBPs)

EPA has published its 2021 update of the Human Health Benchmarks for Pesticides (HHBPs) in drinking water or source water. This update reflects the latest toxicity information available through the pesticide registration and registration review processes and the latest information on potential exposure. HHBPs enable EPA’s state, tribal, and local partners to better determine whether the detection of a pesticide in drinking water or source water may indicate a potential health risk and to help prioritize monitoring efforts. EPA first published HHBPs in 2012 and issued updates in 2013 and 2017. The 2021 Update brings the number of HHBPs to 430. EPA provides HHBPs for informational purposes for use by states, tribes, water systems, and the public. HHBPs are not legally enforceable federal standards.

Key changes since EPA’s last HHBP update, in 2017, include:

All 430 benchmarks were calculated with updated exposure assumptions;
104 pesticides previously listed in the HHBP table now have updated toxicity values;
HHBPs for 43 pesticides that were not previously listed in the table were added based on new toxicity values; and
EPA expanded the 2021 HHBP table to include 24 non-food use pesticides for which data are available; these pesticides have available data because they were registered previously for food-use.

View the 2021 Update of HHBPs table and associated fact sheet and technical document.

Last Call: National Biosolids Data Report Update

ACWA is helping get the word out about the National Biosolids Data Project, one of the most comprehensive inventories of biosolids use and management data in the United States. The initial 2007 report (using 2004 data) is currently being updated. This involves two surveys: one of states (biosolids coordinators and/or other staff), and one of wastewater facilities. The deadline for both surveys is August 31, 2021.

Supporting the State Survey: Instructions and the online survey can be found here, and you may check your state’s survey completion progress on the bottom-right of the National Biosolids Data Project’s homepage. State biosolids coordinators received outreach about the survey recently and earlier in 2021, but any state staff with time to help complete it are encouraged to participate. Survey data will support an update to the state summary data page and the final nationwide report.

Supporting the Facility Survey: Contact Ned Beecher for a reminder email that can be distributed to wastewater facilities and biosolids managers.

Contact Ned Beecher (603-323-7654 x2 or ned.beecher@nebiosolids.org) if you have questions, or to let him know how he can help you get the survey done.

PFBA IRIS Assessment Released for Public Comment

The IRIS Toxicological Review of Perfluorobutanoic Acid (PFBA) and Related Compound Ammonium PFBA – a “short chain” PFAS – has been released for public comment and external peer review. It concludes PFBA exposure is likely to cause thyroid, hepatic, and developmental effects in humans, and could not determine whether PFBA exposure could cause reproductive and other noncancer effects in humans. You can download the assessment on EPA’s webpage here.

The assessment will undergo an independent external scientific peer review. Additionally, EPA announced the solicitation for the nominations of members to a PFAS IRIS Review Panel that will review all five assessments. The same peer review panel will conduct all five (5) PFAS IRIS assessments.

Comments may be submitted for 60 days at Docket ID EPA-HQ-ORD-2020-0675, once the docket is established on Regulations.gov.

Release of the National Coastal Condition Assessment 2015 Report

This week, EPA released the NCCA 2015 Report, entitled “National Coastal Condition Assessment: A Collaborative Survey of the Nation’s Estuaries and Great Lakes Nearshore Waters,” and the accompanying “NCCA 20015 Technical Support Document” (TSD), and updated NCCA Data Dashboard.

You may access all of the information here. Data for this report are available on the NARS Data page, here. Find a number of key messages from the report below.

EPA wishes to thank the entire water quality monitoring community for their efforts over the years, including working with EPA on planning and identifying ways to improve the survey, conducting field work, conducting lab work, supporting analysis, reviewing reports/other products and so much more. EPA now looks forward to completing the field work for NCCA 2020 (2021) and releasing data to state partners.

Estuaries

Most estuarine waters are in good biological condition with low levels of contaminants in sediments.

More than 75% of the estuarine area has good sediment quality based on measures of chemical contaminants found in sediments and laboratory tests of toxicity. Sediments serve as critical indicators of estuarine condition because they can accumulate contaminants that may enter the food web via bottom-dwelling organisms.

Most estuarine waters have low levels of bacteria and microcystin and are safe for recreation.

For information on bacteria and algal toxins in specific water bodies, people should check with local or state health departments before swimming, boating, or fishing.

Nutrient pollution is widespread in the nation’s estuaries.

Excess nutrients were found in 2/3 of the estuarine area. Eutrophication can contribute to harmful algal blooms, red tides, and fish kills.

High contaminant levels in Prey Fish in estuaries could pose a risk for the food-web.

The levels of contaminants in prey fish in 75% of the estuarine area could lead to adverse effects, such as stunted growth or reduced reproduction, in fish and wildlife that eat them.
This indicator assesses threats to wildlife that consume fish as their primary source of food. It does not equate to risk to humans

Mercury was detected in all estuarine fish fillet plug samples collected, but was above human health benchmarks in only 2% of the area.

This indicator was not assessed in 43% of estuarine area, where fish appropriate for human consumption were not caught.

Great Lakes Nearshore Waters

Most Great Lakes waters have low levels of contaminants in sediments.

However pockets of highly contaminated sediments are still found in some Great Lakes harbors and tributaries.

Most Great Lakes waters have low levels of bacteria and microcystin and are safe for recreation.

For information on bacteria and algal toxins in specific water bodies, people should check with local or state health departments before swimming, boating, or fishing.

Nutrient pollution is widespread in the Great Lakes.

Eutrophication is a persistent problem in the Great Lakes with almost half of the nearshore area in fair or poor condition; Lake Erie experienced the most eutrophication, with 67% of the nearshore waters in fair or poor condition.

Great Lakes fish contain high levels of contaminants.

100% of the assessed nearshore area contained fish with detectable levels of PFOS, mercury, and PCBs in their fillet tissue and exceedances of health-based benchmarks ranged from 5% to 79%.
People should consult local fish consumption advisories before eating their catch.

High contaminant levels in Prey Fish in the Great Lakes could pose a risk for the food-web.

The levels of contaminants in prey fish in 66% of the Great Lakes nearshore area could lead to adverse effects, such as stunted growth or reduced reproduction, in fish and wildlife that eat them.
This indicator assesses threats to wildlife that consume fish as their primary food source. It does not equate to risk to humans

For more information on the NCCA, please click here.

Update to Sanitary Survey App: Data Export Tool

This week, EPA announced the availability of a Data Export Tool for EPA’s Sanitary Survey App for Marine and Fresh Waters. This new tool makes downloading data quick and easy because it includes all data and photos for one or more surveys in one file. More information and instructions on the Data Export Tool can be found here.

EPA Releases New Nutrient Pollution Resources

On Friday, August 13, EPA released two resources — in addition to the 304(a) Recommended Nutrient Criteria for Lakes and Reservoirs — to assist the agency’s state, territorial and authorized Tribal partners to address adverse effects of nutrient pollution, including freshwater harmful algal blooms (HABs).

First, EPA has published a new ArcGIS StoryMap entitled, “Tracking CyanoHABs” that will allow the public to learn about and track reported cyanobacterial HABs (cyanoHABs) in freshwaters across the country. CyanoHABs can harm ecosystems and contaminate freshwaters with toxins that can lead to serious human health impacts. There is scientific consensus that the incidence of cyanoHABs has increased in the nation’s freshwater systems in recent years, in part due to climate change. The Tracking CyanoHABs story map creates a single online resource for information about cyanoHAB events across the U.S. It consolidates freshwater advisory and closure information from state environmental and health agencies into user-friendly, interactive maps. In addition, the story map includes links to information on freshwater HABs causes and effects; several EPA tools on HABs preparedness and response; and state and local HAB resources such as the laboratories that perform analysis of water samples for cyanotoxins. We hope these maps can help the public better understand the occurrence of cyanoHAB events and our public and private sector partners further explore the causes of cyanoHAB formation.

Second, to help states, territories and authorized Tribes protect swimmers from two cyanobacterial toxins (cyanotoxins) produced by cyanoHABs, EPA has also published Final Technical Support Document: Implementing the 2019 Recommended Recreational Water Quality Criteria or Swimming Advisories for Microcystins and Cylindrospermopsin. This document explains how states, territories, and authorized Tribes may adopt EPA’s 2019 recommended criteria for the two cyanotoxins into their water quality standards or use the criteria in swimming advisory programs. The document also addresses implementation of the 2019 criteria recommendations through other Clean Water Act programs including identifying and listing of impaired waters, and TMDL development.

To view the final technical support document for implementing EPA’s 2019 recreational HABs criteria, click here.

To view the Tracking CyanoHABs Story Map, click here.

Association Updates

Monday August 23: ACWA and ASDWA Call with EPA Office of Research and Development

ACWA leadership and members are encouraged to attend a call on Monday, August 23^rd at 3:00pm EST with EPA Office of Research and Development and the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators to discuss the Safe and Sustainable Water Resources (SSWR) Research Program. Please contact Jake Adler for registration information.

ACWA WOTUS/NWPR Workgroup Monthly Call

The next ACWA WOTUS/ NWPR Workgroup call is September 8, 2021 from 2:00 – 3:30 PM ET. Please contact Jasper Hobbs or Julia Anastasio for registration information.

ACWA ACWA EPA Planning, Program Guidance and Metrics Committee

The next meeting of the ACWA EPA Planning, Program Guidance and Metrics Committee is September 9, 2021 from 3:00 – 4:00 PM ET. The call will focus on the FY 2023-2024 National Water Program Guidances. The EPPGM was formed in 2020 to focus on the development of EPA’s Strategic Plan, National Program Managers Guidance, and Metrics that impact state water quality programs. The Committee will serve as a forum for state to state and state to EPA discussion and information sharing on the latest developments in EPA’s strategic planning development, national program managers guidance and metrics for measuring results. The EPPGM is open to state program directors. If you are interested in participating in the September 9th call, contact Julia Anastasio.

ACWA Legal Affairs Committee Quarterly Call – September 2021

The next call of the ACWA Legal Affairs Committee is September 9, 2021 from 2:00 – 3:00 PM E.T. To participate in the call, please contact Julia Anastasio for registration information.

Meetings and Webinars

2021 Virtual Water Quality Modeling Workshop

ACWA, in partnership with USEPA will be holding a 3-day virtual workshop on Water Quality Modeling. This workshop will take place September 20 – September 22, 2021, from 1-5 PM EST.

Sessions will take place through Zoom and registration is required. This workshop is limited to State, Federal, and Tribal participants. We encourage you to distribute this information widely to your partners.

This year’s workshop will feature 2 tracks that attendees may choose from:

Data Visualization.
Using Open-source scripting to streamline modeling tasks.

Registration and agendas for each track may be found on ACWA’s events page.

You may contact Jasper Hobbs with any questions: jhobbs@acwa-us.org

2021 Virtual Nutrients Permitting Workshop

ACWA will be holding a virtual Nutrients Permitting Workshop: Permitting for Restoration
October 26-28, 2021, 1-5 PM EST.

This workshop is part of a series of meetings focused on nutrients permitting through a grant between EPA, ACWA, and WEF. The workshop series is intended to help support states and EPA to further identify obstacles to nutrient permitting program implementation, highlight opportunities for program improvement, showcase innovations, and assist with analysis of training, guidance, tools, and other support material needs.

This workshop will have days dedicated to the restoration of lakes, rivers, and estuaries.

Registration and a draft agenda may be found on ACWA’s events page.

You may contact Jasper Hobbs with any questions: jhobbs@acwa-us.org

Introduction to Cyber Security Workshop

Recent cyber-attacks on water and wastewater systems have manipulated treatment processes, disabled process control and business enterprise systems, and stolen proprietary data. Cybersecurity best practices and incident response planning can prevent or mitigate many of these attacks and are essential to the sound operation and management of water and wastewater systems. The U.S. EPA is sponsoring a series of free virtual workshops on water sector cybersecurity. These workshops consist of two half-day sessions.

The first day will include:

Current information on cyber threats and risk drivers
Resources to bolster cybersecurity
Key findings from cyber vulnerability assessments of water and wastewater systems.

The second day will include:

Incident response exercises for cyber-attacks on water and wastewater systems
Identifying planning and procedural actions that enhance cybersecurity and mitigate risk in water and wastewater systems.

The U.S. EPA is offering three different opportunities to participate in this workshop. Workshop participation is open to water and wastewater systems, government officials, and others involved in water sector cybersecurity.

Workshop Dates, Times, and Registration Links:

Continuing education credits have been applied for in all 50 states. Participants must attend both days in full to receive the credits.

September 15th (1:00-4:30 pm EST)
September 16th (1:00-5:00 pm EST)
Registration Link

October 13th (1:00-4:30 pm EST)
October 14th (1:00-4:30 pm EST)
Registration Link

November 3rd (1:00-4:30 pm EST)
November 4th (1:00-5:00 pm EST)
Registration Link

For more information or questions regarding workshop registration, please contact: Sarah Bartlett at sbartlett@horsleywitten.com

EPA Office of Research and Development: Cumulative Impacts Listening Sessions for State and Local Governments

Regions 1-5: Monday, September 20, 3-5 pm ET | Register Here
Regions 6-10: Thursday, September 23, 1-3pm ET | Register Here

EPA ORD will hold virtual listening sessions to better understand the concerns facing state and local environmental and health agencies with respect to cumulative impacts. ORD plans to hold separate listening sessions with tribes. The purpose of these sessions is to give states and local agencies the opportunity to convey concerns and research interests early in EPA’s research planning process. This input can help inform the research needed to better protect human health and the environment in ways that assess and account for cumulative impacts. Addressing cumulative impacts includes research that considers and accounts for how persistent poverty, inequality, and stressors from the built, social, and natural environment affect exposure and response to environmental pollutants. In line with the 2009 National Academies of Science publication, Science and Decisions Advancing Risk Assessment (often referred to as the NAS “Silver Book”), assessments for management of cumulative impacts start with the decision context. It will be essential to identify critical decisions and determine how those decisions may add to or subtract from baseline conditions, including how baseline conditions themselves may change because of other factors, such as land use change and climate change. Cumulative impact assessments provide information on how decisions could affect marginal and total changes to human health and wellbeing.

In an effort to accommodate as many presenters as possible, ORD will ask for one person to present on behalf of their agency (others can register and participate in the session). ORD also invites state & local agencies to send written comments to Erin McCabe and Lisa Matthews by September 24.

Working Together to Improve Citizen Science Data Quality: A Webinar for Government Agencies

Tuesday, September 14, 2021 | 1:00–2:00 pm ET

Citizen science provides an opportunity for government agencies to expand data collection efforts in collaboration with community members to answer environmental and public health questions. Citizen science encompasses a wide variety of projects — from community science activities to public participation in scientific research. One of the best ways government agencies may contribute to these projects is to provide quality assurance guidance so the project data can be used for their intended purpose. Join this webinar to learn about successful state/federal agency-citizen science group collaborations and quality assurance resources to support these efforts.

Register Online

Having difficulty with the online registration process? Please email registrar@aphl.org or call 240.485.2727 from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm ET.
For program content information, please email webinars@aphl.org.
For more information, please email sarah.wright@aphl.org.

Rainfall, Urban Flooding, and Building Resiliency in Midwestern Cities

Hosted by: Current

Tue, August 31, 2021 | 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM EDT | Register Here

With greater amounts of rain falling in increasingly severe storms, Midwestern cities face serious surface flood risks, from overflowing rivers to flooded basements. Urban flooding from extreme precipitation events overwhelm stormwater systems, threaten public health, and damage hundreds of thousands of homes, often in marginalized neighborhoods. Cities like Chicago and Cleveland are in the midst of decades-long billion dollar capital programs to capture extra stormwater and prevent flooding, but climate change has exacerbated the problems these massive engineering projects were designed to solve. To protect property, health, and the environment, urban areas in the Midwest must absorb more precipitation – but in cost-effective, efficient ways. Adapting to water and building flood resiliency is a challenge, but one where resiliency solutions are achievable for communities both large and small. Building on the stormwater and drainage approaches laid out in the Adaptation-for-All Guide, this Dutch-U.S. panel will discuss strategies, technologies, and practices to build resiliency against surface flooding.

Public Meetings and Pre-proposal Recommendations on Revising the Definition of “Waters of the United States”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army recently announced upcoming community engagement on the agencies’ plans to write a new definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act to better ensure clean and safe water for all. EPA and Army are committed to providing certainty by developing a reasonable, effective, and durable definition of WOTUS that protects public health, the environment, and downstream communities and economies, while supporting agriculture and other industries.

Public meetings will be held on August 18, 23, 25, 26, 31 and September 2, 2021. The meeting on August 25, 2021 is for small entities, including small governments and small non-profits. In addition, the agencies are initiating Federalism and Tribal consultations for the foundational rule that would restore the regulations defining WOTUS that were in place for decades until 2015, with updates to be consistent with relevant Supreme Court decisions.

EPA’s WOTUS website includes registration links for the August public meetings, here.

In addition, the agencies are requesting feedback on how to better engage to ensure input is received from communities with environmental justice interests. How does the jurisdictional status of waters affect communities that are overburdened with environmental pollution? How is the implementation of NWPR impacting low-income communities, and other disadvantaged communities? Can the jurisdictional status of waters be linked to environmental justice concerns, and, if so, what is the basis? Pre-proposal feedback can be provided to the agencies during the public meetings or via the docket. The docket closes on Friday, September 3, 2021.

Evaluating Benefits of Stormwater Capture and Use: Why and How?

This webcast is the fourth in a series of meetings exploring opportunities and challenges associated with stormwater capture and use (SCU) across the U.S. Co-hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Pacific Institute, the webcast will bring together experts in SCU project planning, funding, and benefits evaluation. We will explore why evaluations of project benefits are critical to building support for SCU projects and obtaining project funding, and how practitioners actually evaluate these benefits. This effort is part of the national Water Reuse Action Plan’s Action 3.3, through which the EPA and other organizations are building the nation’s capacity to benefit from stormwater capture and use. You can register for the event here.

Job Opportunities

Deputy Assistant Director | Arizona Department of Environmental Quality

Location: Phoenix, AZ

Closing Date: Open until filled

The Deputy Assistant Director is responsible for overseeing the division’s operations and serves in a senior leadership role to support the Division Director through long-range strategic planning, displaying sound program and operational judgment. The position is also responsible for driving employee performance and development, employee motivation, strategic program planning, budget management, and developing and maintaining a culture of Lean Continuous Improvement.