(April 17, 2018) - NACWA provided an update on the ongoing policy discussions surrounding the regulatory status of resources recovered from the wastewater treatment process on April 10, during the 23^rd Annual Central States Water Environment Association’s Education Seminar in Madison, WI.

Utilities recovering struvite from their treatment processes have inquired as to whether the final products can be handled outside of the Clean Water Act’s implementing regulations, specifically the Part 503 regulations for biosolids. For the past several years, EPA technical staff have been inclined to classify the material as a biosolid, subject to all the same requirements as sewage sludge. But senior political staff in the Obama Administration provided clarification in January 2017 via a letter to NACWA that on a case-by-case basis, such materials could move “beyond the scope of Part 503.”

NACWA outlined for Seminar participants a potential path forward to revise existing regulations or craft new regulations to provide a clearer, more permanent pathway for these products to pass out of regulation under the Clean Water Act. Members with questions or interested in more information can contact Chris Hornback.