Copy

BACWA Bulletin - February 2016

Table of Contents

Meetings

  • BAPPG, 2/3
  • Asset Management Infoshare, 2/4
  • Permits Comm, 2/16
  • Executive Board, 2/19
  • Operations and Maintenance Infoshare, 2/24
  • Visit the Calendar for details.

Thanks to those who attended BACWA's Annual Members' Meeting

BACWA hosted our Annual Meeting for our member agencies on January 15, 2016, at the Boy Scout Facility in San Leandro. Meeting presentations are now posted on our website. If you attended the meeting, please fill out this survey so we can continue to improve our Annual Meeting in the future.

Biannual Arleen Navarret Award goes to Karri Ving, SFPUC

 BACWA congratulates Karri Ving, recipient of the 2016 Arleen Navarret Award. Karri has been a major force in leading the SFPUC to develop a learning culture around the concept of resource recovery. This award was created in honor of Arleen Navarret because of her commitment to the clean water community and dedication to improving the health of the San Francisco Bay. The award is granted to emerging leaders in BACWA's community, and is intended to further the professional development of the awardee.  Karri was presented the award at BACWA's Annual Member's Meeting in January.

Tentative Order offers Alternate Monitoring Program

The Regional Water Board has posted a Tentative Order outlining an Alternate Monitoring Program for POTWs that discharge to the San Francisco Bay. This Order, when adopted, will allow POTWs to reduce monitoring frequencies for specified chemical analyses, and eliminate the requirement to perform routine sensitive species screening for chronic toxicity . For agencies that seek coverage under the Order, the cost savings from the monitoring reductions will be transferred directly to the Regional Monitoring Program in the form of a fee surcharge. The Tentative Order lists the surcharge for each agency, calculated based on the cost per each test that would be charged by a contract laboratory, and the reduction in testing frequency for that agency. It is imperative the all agencies review the Tentative Order to verify their monitoring frequencies listed in Tables F-2 and F-3. Agencies will opt into the alternative monitoring program for a five-year period, but the surcharge would be levied on an annual basis. BACWA has provided a comment letter on the Tentative Order. Comments on the Tentative Order are due on February 1.

BACWA is collecting comments on the State Recycled Water General Order

The State Water Board has proposed a Water Reclamation Requirements for Recycled Water Use (State General Order) that will replace 2014-0090-DWQ General Waste Discharge Requirements for Recycled Water Use. Some agencies in our Region have stated that they do not want to seek coverage under the 2014 State General Order, since its requirements are more onerous than Region 2's recycled water General Permit 96-011. State Water Board Member Steve Moore discussed the State General Order at BACWA's Annual Members' Meeting and invited the recycled water community to work with the State Water Board to improve it during this revision cycle.  The BACWA Recycled Water Community has formed a workgroup to put together comments on the State General Order by the deadline of February 22.  The State General Order will be heard by the State Water Board on April 19.  For more information about the BACWA workgroup, contact Rhodora Biagtan.

Updated Regulatory Issues Summary now posted

Each year before the Annual Members Meeting, BACWA updates its Key Regulatory Issues Matrix, a tool to familiarize its members, and their governing bodies, with the regulatory issues facing BACWA and its member agencies. The Matrix has been updated and posted to the website.  If you have any questions about the issues described therein, please contact Lorien Fono, BACWA Regulatory Program Manager.

Please send BACWA your updates to the Truck Fill Guide

BACWA is updating its Truck Fill Guide, which provides a summary of existing recycled water fill programs, requirements, and relevant information that a recycled water truck hauler would want to know before visiting a fill facility. The resulting guide is a resource that can be used by Caltrans, water districts and contractors in the Bay Area. The original survey was completed in January 2015, but many agencies have expanded their programs in the interim in response to the drought.  Please send any updates to Sherry Hull by February 16.

Please respond to BACWA survey on Private Sewer Lateral Ordinances

Several agencies have adopted ordinances or other formal policies governing private sewer lateral inspection and repair.  The Regional Water Board has expressed interest in finding out how many agencies have ordinances requiring lateral inspection and repair, and in the past has looked favorably on agencies with such ordinances when considering enforcement. Agencies that are considering developing such an ordinance would benefit from information about the details of how others in the Region implement these ordinances and policies.  The BACWA Collection System Committee has developed a survey to gather information about private sewer lateral ordinances. Your agency can respond to the survey by following this link. The results of the survey will be shared with the BACWA Collection Systems committee, or by contacting Lorien Fono.

BACWA joins in letter asking FDA to end recommendation to flush medications

Improper disposal of medicines by flushing contributes to pharmaceutical pollution in the aquatic environment.  Medicine take-back programs are the safest way to get rid of unwanted medications.  However, there are conflicting messages on medicine disposal coming from the Food and Drug  Administration (FDA), the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). BACWA has joined over 100 environmental and health organizations, agencies, activists, and state legislators from around the country in signing a letter urging the FDA to end its recommendation that certain medications be disposed by flushing, and to clarify that secure medicine take-back programs provide the best disposal method for leftover household medications.The signatories to this letter urge the FDA to work with the EPA, the DEA, and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to develop clear and consistent guidance to consumers on safe disposal of leftover household medications.

BACWA submits NPDES Compliance Letter to Regional Water Board

Each year, BACWA provides a letter to the Regional Water Board outlining its activities on members' NPDES requirements that are most efficiently fulfilled as a group. The purpose of this letter is to report on behalf of BACWA members that those requirements are being met, including permit provisions related to: (A) Receiving Water Quality Monitoring, (B) Total Maximum Daily Load and Site Specific-Objective Support, (C) Mercury and PCBs Watershed Permit Support, (D) the Copper Action Plan, and (E) Nutrient Watershed Permit Support. The letter covering the 2015 calendar year was sent to the Regional Water Board on January 22, 2016, and distributed to our member agencies for inclusion by reference in their Annual Reports.

What's new in BACWA's Committees

 

AIR Committee

The AIR Committee next meeting is scheduled for March 9 at the CH2MHill Offices in Oakland.  This meeting will include a presentation and discussion of regulatory updates. View previous meeting materials.
 

BAPPG

The BAPPG Annual Report for 2015 is now available. The next BAPPG meeting, on February 3, 2016, will feature a presentation on EBMUD’s sewer lateral program, as well as a round table discussion on public relations. View notes from previous meetings.
 

Collections Systems Committee

At the January Meeting, the committee finalized the private sewer lateral survey, discussed above, as well as metrics for defining a well performing collection system. The Regional Water Board is contemplating considering whether an agency is defined as well performing when determining enforcement actions. For more information, see previous Collections Systems Committee Reports.
 

Permits Committee

The January Permits Committee Meeting featured a discussion about the Tentative Order for the Alternative Monitoring Program (described above), and development of BACWA's response. For more information about committee activities, please see previous Permits Committee Reports.
 

Recycled Water Committee

The January Committee meeting featured a presentation by the San Francisco Estuary Partnership (SFEP) on the Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan (CCMP). The committee was concerned that the CCMP's Recycled Water elements had been developed without sufficient stakeholder input. Going forward, SFEP has committed to involving the reuse community in developing its recommendation. For more information about committee activities, please see Recycled Water Committee meeting notes.
 

Upcoming Events


North Bay Water Association Meeting
Friday, April 22, 2016
Embassy Suites
1075 California Boulevard
Napa, CA 94559

 

BACWA External Representation

Collaboration with outside groups and initiatives is an important facet of BACWA's mission. Below is a list of BACWA's representatives to these  technical, regulatory, and management groups:
Copyright © 2016 BACWA Bay Area Clean Water Agencies, All rights reserved.


unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences 

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp