Clean Water Current Archive

Senators Merkley (D-OR) and Collins (R-ME), and Representatives McClain (R-MI) and Peltola (D-AK), recently introduced S.1350/H.R. 2964, the Wastewater Infrastructure Pollution Prevention and Environmental Safety Act (WIPPES) Act, to help address the problem of non-flushable wipes in sewer systems.

NACWA recently signed on to a joint letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan asking that the Agency finalize its proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) rule that would allow electricity produced from biomass to qualify for credits in the RFS program. Electricity produced at wastewater treatment utilities would qualify for these “eRINs,” which could benefit utilities that produce electricity from biogas.

In a significant win for the clean water utility sector, Senator Lummis (R-WY), along with her colleagues Senators Wicker (R-MS), Boozman (R-AR), Cramer (R-ND), Ricketts (R-NE), Mullin (R-OK), Sullivan (R-AK) and Graham (R-SC), introduced legislation May 3 that would provide clean water and drinking water utilities a targeted exemption from liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for PFAS chemicals designated as hazardous substances.

Efforts are advancing to provide addition funding for the current temporary Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP), which is set to expire at the end of this year.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced $41 million in new technical assistance funding to help communities address urgent wastewater challenges.

On Tuesday, May 23, NACWA and legal affiliate Baker Botts will hold a free webinar to walk through opportunities for clean water agencies to leverage funding made available through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). NACWA will be releasing a Guidebook to Clean Water Agency IRA opportunities in conjunction with the webinar.

NACWA joined with a collation of water sector associations on April 24 to release a policy memo and detailed report calling for the establishment of a permanent federal Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP).

NACWA and its partners concluded a success Water Week 2023 this week, including important conversations with federal officials and many office visits on Capitol Hill. The cornerstone event of Water Week, the National Water Policy Fly-In, was headlined by a full slate of key Members of Congress and federal agency officials shaping national water policy in Washington.

Bipartisan legislation was introduced April 27 by Senators Merkley (D-OR) and Collins (R-ME), and Representatives McClain (R-9-MI) and Peltola (D-AK), to help address the problem of non-flushable wipes in sewer systems.

NACWA’s Board of Directors gathered in Washington, DC this week for its Spring meeting.

NACWA and six other water sector associations submitted joint comments April 24 on potential changes to the way EPA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulate certain pesticide products.

NACWA members and hundreds of other water professionals from across the country are set to descend upon Washington, DC next week to kickoff Water Week 2023 and the cornerstone event, the National Water Policy Fly-In.

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.