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Advisory Board

Charles V. Weir

The Washington Post article EPA to Regulate Nanoproducts Sold As Germ-Killing said

The Environmental Protection Agency has decided to regulate a large class of consumer items made with microscopic “nanoparticles” of silver, part of a new but increasingly widespread technology that may pose unanticipated environmental risks, a government official said yesterday.
 
Until now, new products made with tiny germ-fighting particles of silver did not have to pass muster with regulators…
 
Among those disagreeing with the initial ruling to not regulate nanosilver was Chuck Weir, chairman of Tri-TAC, a technical advisory group for wastewater treatment plants in California. Those plants are subject to penalties if the water that leaves their stations is toxic to aquatic organisms.
 
In a letter to Jones in January, Weir asked the EPA to rethink its decision on nanosilver. “Silver is highly toxic to aquatic life at low concentrations and also bioaccumulates in some aquatic organisms, such as clams,” Weir wrote.
 
Under pressure from other groups as well, the EPA decided to reconsider.

Charles V. Weir is the 2006–2007 Treasurer of the Water Environment Federation (WEF), an international organization of water quality professionals headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.
 
Chuck is currently General Manager of East Bay Dischargers, a joint-powers public agency that provides wastewater treatment and disposal services to southern and eastern Alameda County, located on the east side of San Francisco, California.
 
With more than thirty years experience in the operation, maintenance and management of wastewater treatment systems, he has also held positions with the City of Sunnyvale, California, State Water Resources Control Board, and the City of Riverside, California.
 
A WEF member since 1973, he has been a member of the Board of Trustees, House of Delegates and served as vice chair and chair of the Long Range Planning Committee. Chuck has also been a member of the Government Affairs Committee, the Awards, & Technical Practices Committee, presented papers at WEFTEC, and served as editor of WEF’s MOP OM-10, Activated Sludge manual.
 
In addition, he has also been an active member of the California Water Environment Association (CWEA) serving as president, treasurer, board member and chair of several CWEA committees including long range planning and operator training and technical certification.
 
A recipient of several WEF awards, including the prestigious WEF Service Award (1992 and 2000), Quarter Century Operators’ Club (1999), Outgoing Director Award (2004), Arthur Sidney Bedell Award (2004), and Past Chair Award from the Long Range Planning Committee (2005), Chuck is a member of the Select Society of Sanitary Sludge Shovelers. A Grade V Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator in California, he has a B.S. in chemistry and biochemistry from the University of California and is a credentialed California Community College instructor.