Clean Water Current

As Congress continues to discuss the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Homeland Security budget, NACWA offered testimony formally requesting $1 billion for the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program.

Colorado lawmakers joined six other states this month in agreeing to label widely used disposable wipes, warning consumers that they should not be flushed.

NACWA is gathering member input to provide U.S. EPA with specific ideas on the types of clean water utility projects that can both advance greenhouse gas reduction goals and support clean, safe, reliable water services.

As part of a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Safe Water Project sponsored tour, NACWA met with a small delegation of officials from the Government of the Republic of the Philippines this week to discuss the substantial progress clean water utilities in the United States have made under the Clean Water Act over the last fifty plus years and the current challenges facing the sector.

EPA recently announced a new website that lists the status of each state’s requests for the five different Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding streams.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently provided NACWA staff an update on their efforts to ensure that the $1.138 billion provided by Congress in 2020 and 2021 for low-income water customer assistance – the first time Congress has funded this critical need – are spent down as required by the end of this year.

The United States EPA is hosting monthly webinars this Spring connecting staff from the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program with prospective borrowers, including municipalities, corporations, and partnerships, in addition to private and non-governmental organizations that support borrowers.

NACWA submitted a letter to EPA last week concerning the Agency’s potential development of a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) enforcement discretion and settlement policy related to PFAS.

A concerning bill under consideration by the Arizona legislature, Senate Bill 2669, now no longer includes provisions to curtail where biosolids can be land applied in the state.

An eleven-member Science Advisory Board (SAB) panel on biosolids met yesterday to discuss EPA’s ‘Charge Questions’ and review its draft biosolids risk assessment framework.

The U.S. EPA is currently developing guidance for its new Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction Fund, which was created through the Inflation Reduction Act. NACWA hopes to see clean water emphasized in this major new program so that water utility projects can benefit from the Fund in the coming years.

Last week, Congressmen David Kustoff (R-TN) and Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) introduced the Investing in Our Communities Act. The bipartisan legislation aims to restore the option to advance refund tax-exempt municipal bonds.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is administering the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP), has released a survey for water and wastewater utilities to help the Department better understand the scope of water and wastewater debt around the U.S.

NACWA submitted testimony to Congress last week formally requesting an additional $1 billion in supplemental funding for the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) in Fiscal Year 2024.

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing March 22 on EPA’s fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget proposal. EPA Administrator Michael Regan was the Committee’s only witness.

NACWA participated in a March 22 public listening session on planned changes for the way EPA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulate certain pesticide products.

While clean water utilities strive to achieve triple bottom line environmental, social and economic benefits for their communities, understanding what state and federal agencies mean when they use terms such as “environmental justice” and “disadvantaged communities” can be challenging.

NACWA submitted a letter last week to the Arizona Legislature on a very active bill that would restrict where Class B biosolids can be land applied in the state. The Arizona legislation marks a continuation of concerning action at the state level across the country to limit biosolids management options.

NACWA submitted comments March 17 on EPA’s Draft Inventory of US Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2021 as part of the public review process. The annual Inventory provides nationwide estimates for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for different sectors, including wastewater treatment, and is intended to be used only for informational purposes.

In a judgment issued the day before the rule took effect, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on Sunday enjoined the Biden administration’s revised Clean Water Act (CWA) definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) in two states – Texas and Idaho.