1/31/2017
In Brief / en bref...

• Update on WERF's High-Quality Biosolids Research Project.  A new fact sheet & recorded webinar describe progress on this Water Environment & Reuse Foundation project led by Material Matters. Click to the WERF biosolids page and scroll down to "Products & Tools."
• EPA has finalized Dental Effluent Pretreatment guidelines and is preparing them for publication in the Federal Register. The rule requires dental offices to use separators to remove mercury from amalgam prior to discharging into publicly owned wastewater treatment plants known as publicly owned treatment works   Learn more...
  • UPDATE, 2/8/2017:  Under a Trump adminstration executive order to curtail regulations, U. S. EPA has stopped this regulation from becoming published in the Federal Register, and it is now in limbo.  The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has filed suit, according to NACWA.
• Bob Bastian, U. S. EPA Office of Water & Biosolids Expert Extraordinaire is retiring.  Read this TPO interview...
• "Poop-powered cars" caught media & public attention in recent months, as pilot projects on hydrothermal liquifaction get going in Central Contra Costa, CA and Vancouver, BC. The U. S. Department of Energy is investing in the research and demonstration, which involves the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WERF).  See coverage by TPO and CBC news.
• WIFIA funding available:  On Jan. 10, 2017, U.S. EPA issued in the Federal Register a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the new Water Infrastructure Finance Innovation Act (WIFIA) program.  Organizations interested in applying for low-interest loans and loan guarantees have until April 10, 2017, to submit a Letter of Interest (LOI) to the EPA.  The NOFA is available here.  Additional resources are available at the EPA’s WIFIA website: https://www.epa.gov/wifia