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BACWA Bulletin - February 2015

Table of Contents

Committee Calendar

The Nutrient Optimization/Upgrade Studies consultant team will begin plant site visits in April

As part of the effort associated with Nutrient Optimization/Upgrade studies required by the Nutrient Watershed Permit, BACWA's consultant team led by HDR will be visiting each POTW participating in the studies.  Site visits will begin the week of April 6 and continue through September, 2015. The HDR team will soon be contacting each agency to schedule their site visit.

BACWA posts risk reduction Request for Proposals

In compliance with the mercury/PCB watershed permit, BACWA is seeking proposals from non-profit organizations, tribes, or local government agencies to increase awareness and understanding of fish contamination issues, and reduce exposure to chemicals from eating fish caught in San Francisco Bay.  Proposals are due May 22, 2015.

Nutrient Technical Workgroup meeting to be held April 22

The Nutrient Technical Workgroup (NTW) provides technical input on the work elements identified in the Nutrient Management Strategy. These workgroup meetings are anticipated to bring together stakeholders and experts on a variety of topics, including the assessment framework, monitoring plan development, modeling, science plan development and special studies design.  The next meeting will be held at SFEI on April 22.  To join the NTW mailing list and receive future announcements, please contact Emily Novick.
 

BACWA comments on numeric chronic toxicity limits in Las Gallinas Tentative Order

On January 15, 2015, the EPA issued a formal objection letter to the Regional Water Board concerning the need for chronic toxicity limits in Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District's permit. In response, the Regional Water Board has issued a Tentative Order for Las Gallinas that includes both numeric triggers as well as limits of 2.7 TUc (average month) and 5.3 TUc (maximum day) for chronic toxicity.  They will likely continue to impose numeric chronic toxicity limits in the permits of dischargers whose toxicity testing results show reasonable potential by exceeding their triggers.  This will impact most shallow water dischargers in our Region.  BACWA provided a comment letter to the Regional Water Board, requesting that if they must impose numeric effluent limits for chronic toxicity, they engage in a collaborative process with BACWA to develop an implementation strategy.
 

BACWA posts 2013/2014 Annual Report

BACWA has posted its Annual Report for Fiscal Years 2013 and 2014, in compliance with its Joint Powers Authority Agreement.  The Annual Report summarizes BACWA's budget and accomplishments for those Fiscal Years.
 

The Department of Water Resources has kicked off the Proposition 84 2015 Funding Round

DWR has kicked off the final round for Integrated Regional Water Management Planning (IRWMP) Proposition 84 funding.  They have posted a draft Project Solicitation Package and Guidelines. Approximately $40M is available for the SF Bay Area across all functional areas. The Bay Area IRWMP Project Screening committee (PSC), which will select projects for the Bay Area Regional submittal, has issued a request for project concept submittals, with a deadline of April 20. Materials relating to the request for submittals can be found on the Bay Area IRWMP website. BACWA will develop a nutrient-themed and recycled water submittal for this round of funding. 

Bay Planning Coalition to host 2015 Decision Makers Conference April 9

The theme of the 28th Decision Makers Conference is “Growing the Bay Area’s Maritime & Industrial Economy to Secure a Sustainable Future,” and the proceedings will feature three key panels:

  • Laying the Foundation:  The Competitive Value of the Northern California Maritime & Industrial Economy
  • Framing the Issues:  Challenges and Risks to the Bay Area Maritime and Industrial Economy
  • Building the Future:  Solutions to Ensure Sustainable Growth of the Bay Area Industrial Economy
The Conference will be held at the Oakland Scottish Rite Center.

State Water Board to hold Proposition 1 workshops in April

The State Water Board, Division of Financial Assistance, will hold the Proposition 1 Water Recycling Funding Program (WRFP) Public Workshop at three California locations in April 2015. Proposition 1 allocates $725 million in funding for recycled water and desalination projects.  The workshops will present the draft amended WRFP guidelines and the proposed plan to implement Proposition 1 Water Recycling funding.  Stakeholders will have the opportunity to provide State Water Board staff with feedback and input on the draft guidelines.
 

Baywork to host Any Size/Any Asset Workshop April 22

On Wednesday, April 22, Baywork will host a workshop on Maintenance & Asset Management at the Foster City Community Center. Experts in the field of asset management will be discussing their best practices, innovations, and lessons learned in this important systematic discipline. The keynote speaker will be Kurt Vause, Vice Chair of AWWA's Asset Management Committee.

What 2 Flush summit to be held in San Diego May 1

Agencies face a significant challenge in dealing with inappropriate items that people flush down the toilet, from medicines, to nondispersible wipes, to trash.  The What 2 Flush Summit will explore approaches to tackling this issue.   For more information, contact Alec Mackie.

CASA's 2015 Public Policy Forum to be held April 27

The California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA) is hosting its 2015 Public Policy Forum on April 27 and 28 at the Sheraton Grand in Sacramento. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from state elected officials and subject matter experts on important issues such as the future of renewable energy in the state and the latest developments with Proposition 218. The theme of the event is “The Power of Water”. For more information regarding the Public Policy Forum, please visit CASA's website.

What's new in BACWA's Committees


Recycled Water Committee

The Recycled Water Committee will meet on April 1 to select projects that will be included in the BACWA submittal to the Bay Area IRWMP Project Screening Committee (see Proposition 84 segment above).  For more information, please contact Cheryl Munoz, Committee Chair.
 

BAPPG

At the next BAPPG meeting on April 1, Dr. Kelly Moran will be presenting an update on pesticides, including pyrethroids and fipronil, as well as the fate and transport of compounds of emerging concern.


AIR Committee

The next AIR Committee meeting will be held at Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) headquarters in San Francisco on May 13.  Supervising Air Quality Engineer Brenda Cabral will represent the BAAQMD, and she will also bring in subject matter experts from BAAQMD staff.  Note that the agenda for this meeting is still in development and will be distributed prior to the meeting date, once it has been finalized. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Elyse Engel by May 8.
 

Permits Committee

Lila Tang of the Regional Water Board attended the March 10 Permits Committee meeting. She proposed introducing uniformity in how agencies with dry weather discharge prohibitions are regulated, specifically in the length of the discharge prohibition, and the procedure to get an exception for a discharge during the dry season. Staff from agencies with dry weather discharge prohibitions met with Lila again on March 24.  Based on the feedback from this meeting Regional Water Board staff will propose permit language to share with the group.
 

Laboratory Committee

A presentation was given by Dr. Stephen L. Clark of Pacific EcoRisk at the March 11 meeting. His talk covered an overview of Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) as required by EPA, and confounding factors leading to false positives. His recommendations for avoiding unnecessary accelerated monitoring are: critical evaluation of data, comprehensive review of the tests, elimination of interferences, and Toxicity Reduction Evaluation. The second part of his talk was “Key Points of the State Board Toxicity Policy and the TST Statistic Related to the Laboratory". His recommendation was to select a laboratory with stringent quality control program to assure reliable test results.

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 © 2015 BACWA Bay Area Clean Water Agencies, All rights reserved.


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