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Water Headlines for March 23, 2006Benjamin Grumbles Water Headlines is a weekly on-line publication that announces publications, policies, and activities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water. In This Week’s Water Headlines:
Extended Term Financing through the CWSRF Affirmed by EPAThe Office of Water issued a statement affirming EPA’s policy to allow states to purchase or refinance municipal debt through Clean Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRF) with terms exceeding 20 years. The Clean Water Act (CWA) authorizes the CWSRF program to provide loans for water quality purposes with terms up to 20 years. However, since the CWA does not directly limit the term of transactions for purchasing or refinancing local debt, it has been EPA’s policy to permit purchase or refinance transactions to exceed 20 years. In 2005, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) performed a financial audit of the Utah clean water state revolving fund. The OIG found that Utah was violating the CWA by purchasing communities’ bonds with 30-year repayment terms. The OIG recommended that Utah restructure these agreements and that EPA cease allowing states to follow EPA’s policy on extended term financing. Based on a review of the statute, the legislative history, EPA regulations and consultation with the Office of General Counsel, EPA concluded that the CWA does allow a State managing the CWSRF to purchase municipal debt obligations where the terms exceed 20 years. The statement issued by the Office of Water upholds the extended term financing policy by allowing states to use, as appropriate, the practice of purchasing local debt with terms greater than 20 years and maintains this flexibility for other states that wish to take advantage of the practice. A copy of the Policy Statement on Extended Financing Terms Under the Clean Water Act State Revolving Fund Program is available on the OWM web site at http://epa.gov/owm/cwfinance/cwsrf/law.htm. Recipients of 2006 National Wetlands Awards AnnouncedSix wetlands educators, scientists, and conservationists were selected as recipients of the 2006 National Wetlands Awards for exemplary contributions in conserving or restoring the Nation's wetlands. The winners will be honored at a Capitol Hill presentation on May 10th in the Caucus Room of the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C. This year's awardees are: Royal Gardner (Florida) - Education and Outreach; Curtis Richardson (North Carolina) - Science Research; Alan Ammann (New Hampshire) - Conservation and Restoration; The Higel Family (Colorado) - Landowner Stewardship; Francisco Abarca (Arizona) - State, Tribal, and Local Program Development; and Chester McConnell (Alabama) - Wetland Community Leader. The National Wetlands Awards Program celebrates individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary dedication, innovation or excellence in wetlands conservation. Awardees hail from all regions of the country, and their work accomplishes wetland protection at the regional, state and local levels. For more information on the National Wetlands Awards Program, the 2006 awardees, or for information on the awards presentation, please contact Roxanne Thomas at the Environmental Law Institute at thomas@eli.org or wetlandsawards@eli.org. Assistant Administrator Speaks at 2006 Symposium in North CarolinaBenjamin H. Grumbles Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water spoke at the Carolina Environmental Program 2006 Symposium on Thursday, March 16 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He discussed protection of public health through drinking water suppliers, the challenges of the future, including aging infrastructure, emerging contaminants, availability of water, and watershed protection. To read the speech visit www.epa.gov/water/speeches. New Class V Webpage for Large Capacity Septic SystemsThe Office of Water’s Underground Injection Control Program has launched a new Class V webpage for Large Capacity Septic Systems. The page is designed to give owners and operators of Large Capacity Septic Systems an overview of the Underground Injection Control Program and help them learn how to comply with Class V regulations. The page also describes EPA’s approach to improving the management and performance of onsite and decentralized systems nationwide. To learn more about Class V Large Capacity Septic Systems go to: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/uic/classv/class5_types_lcss.html. For more information please contact Sue Kelly at 564-3887. Subscribe to Water HeadlinesPlease forward this message to your friends and colleagues who share an interest in water-related issues and would like to hear from EPA's Office of Water. To subscribe to the Water Headlines listserve: Send an email message, leave the subject line blank, and address it to: In the body of the message write: Subscribe Water Headlines first name last name (Please leave one blank space between each word, do not include any other message, and use your actual name- i.e. Subscribe Water Headlines Robert Jones)
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