Clean Water Current Archive

NACWA and AMWA’s joint Affordable Water, Resilient Communities campaign kicked-off impactfully last Monday, February 1.

Oregon has become the latest state to pursue wipes labeling legislation, with HB2344 introduced on January 11 and a public hearing held on February 9.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) last week issued a memorandum withdrawing nine enforcement policies established by the Trump administration, including the controversial ban on the use of supplemental environmental projects (SEPs).

Earlier this week, NACWA and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) partnered to kicked off a joint Affordable Water, Resilient CommunitiesTM campaign. Spurred by an increasing amount of legislation and media attention around the issue of water affordability, as well as the opportunities presented by a new presidential administration and a new Congress, the campaign launches with three distinct goals...

Congress ramped up its legislative work this week with the passage of a budget resolution that is being used as the legislative vehicle for the latest round of COVID-19 relief through a process known as reconciliation. The Senate also held a confirmation hearing February 3 for Michael Regan, who has been nominated by President Biden to serve as the next EPA Administrator.

NACWA convened its first Board of Directors meeting of 2021 on February 3.

EPA announced its Final Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 14 in the January 11 Federal Register. The Plan is published every two years to outline EPA’s planned studies and rulemakings related to effluent guidelines and pretreatment standards for industrial dischargers.

NACWA joined fellow public sector organizations to sign onto two letters last week outlining the critical importance of tax-exempt municipal bonds and general infrastructure spending for the public sector and nation as a whole.

NACWA joined AMWA, WEF and AWWA on January 28 to present a joint webinar on upcoming legislative and regulatory priorities for the water sector.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a new environmental justice speaker series by featuring The Mapping Inequality Project on March 4, 2021 at 12:00 – 1:00 pm EST.

EPA announced last week that it is now accepting applications for grants under its new Innovative Water Infrastructure Workforce Development Grant Program. Applications will be accepted until March 26, 2021.

NACWA was thrilled to congratulate Radhika Fox last week on her appointment as Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Water. Fox will serve as the office’s senior political leader until an Assistant Administrator is nominated by the Biden Administration and confirmed by the Senate.

Days before the start of the new Biden Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed and issued a pre-publication notice of the 2021 Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP) for industrial stormwater discharges on January 15.

In one of its last actions before the inauguration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized its guidance memorandum, “Applying the Supreme Court’s County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund Decision in the Clean Water Act Section 402 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Program.”

In a one-page, per curiam decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last week overturned the Trump administration’s Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, which loosened carbon dioxide emission guidelines for coal-fired power plants. The rule had been challenged by environmental and health organizations as well as a number of states.

The 117th Congress began on a somber and disconcerting note for the country last week. Undaunted, Members of Congress and their staff are moving forward in a bipartisan fashion with important policy work. There is hope and optimism throughout the water sector to build on the success at the end of last year and advance key clean water legislation over the next two years.

NACWA partnered with the WateReuse Association this week to file comments on EPA’s recently released draft guidance memorandum, “Applying the Supreme Court’s County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund Decision in the Clean Water Act Section 402 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Program.”

NACWA is getting significant utility interest in the new funding provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Act signed into law December 27th, 2020 – including a historic first time appropriation of federal funding to aid water ratepayers.

It has been almost 15 years since the first ever comprehensive National Biosolids Survey was conducted.

EPA announced its Final Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 14 in the January 11 Federal Register. The Plan is published every two years to outline EPA’s planned studies and rulemakings related to effluent guidelines and pretreatment standards for industrial dischargers.