Clean Water Current Archive

As with most conferences this year, the Water and Finance Conference went virtual over two weeks from September 8 to September 17. NACWA, a partner of the event, participated in two sessions during the conference — a session on evolving federal and state regulations against the backdrop of funding opportunities and a session on long-term sustainability in a time of uncertainty.

NACWA hosted the latest Hot Topics in Clean Water webinar last Wednesday, September 16 with a focus the ongoing battle over “flushable” wipes.

Thanks to years of tireless effort by NACWA, its members and the Association’s water sector partners, EPA has taken a major step toward overhauling its financial capability assessment methodology to better account for the impacts on economically disadvantaged communities.

Conference negotiations between the House and Senate on a final Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) 2020 bill have ramped up over the past week with clean water provisions and billions of dollars in potential funding now coming into focus.

NACWA joined with the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) this week to send a letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler flagging the significant financial challenges facing many clean water utilities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and asking the Agency to exercise flexibility in working with utilities whose capital budgets have been impacted by significant economic disruption.

Per Executive Order 13132, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to convene a federalism consultation for public and stakeholder engagement on particular issues that will have a significant and substantial compliance cost for the regulated community.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently opened the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) application period, with applications due on November 4, 2020.

NACWA is joining this week with water sector partners like the Value of Water Coalition and otherwater and core infrastructure organizations, to celebrate Infrastructure Week 2020.

The deadline for an important survey on the economic impacts of COVID-19 to water sector utilities has been extended.

During late August and the Labor Day recess, limited negotiations between Congressional leadership and the White House continued around priority issues for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 funding and additional COVID-19 relief.

NACWA submitted comments September 3 to EPA on the Agency’s new proposed allocation formula for the Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grants Program. These comments come after EPA issued a notice in early August seeking public feedback on a proposed allocation formula for distributing grant money to states through this program, which has recently been funded for the first time.

NACWA will be hosting a legal hot topics webinar, Wipe Out: How States and Municipalities are "Flushing" the Wipes Dilemma, on September 16 from 2:00-3:30 p.m. EST. The webinar will provide information about recent legislative and legal actions related to wipes, along with an overview of technical issues, public education efforts and media coverage of the wipes issue.

With input from the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) and NACWA, Raftelis, a NACWA Affiliate Member, has developed an online questionnaire that will help develop an up-to-date understanding of the trends and revenue impacts utilities around the country are experiencing related to delinquent customer accounts and lower system usage resulting from the economic fallout of COVID-19.

NACWA recently submitted comments responding to a notice published in the Federal Register by EPA proposing to update its Ambient Water Quality Criteria Recommendations for Lakes and Reservoirs in the Conterminous United States and seeking input on its new methodology which will replace the Agency’s 2000-2001 ecoregional criteria.

With input from the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) and NACWA, Raftelis, a NACWA Affiliate Member, has developed an online questionnaire that will help develop an up-to-date understanding of the trends and revenue impacts utilities around the country are experiencing related to delinquent customer accounts and lower system usage resulting from the economic fallout of COVID-19.

EPA is offering a free webinar on September 1 for interested applicants to the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program.

NACWA utility members are sharing information on the Association’s Engage peer-to-peer platform regarding sewer service disconnections during the COVID-19 pandemic, flexible payment arrangements, and assistance programs.

NACWA held an initial call with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) lead COVID-19 watershed-based epidemiological (WBE) surveillance team on Friday, August 14.

On August 13th, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that his Chamber will adjourn until Labor Day, dashing final hopes for passage of another phase of federal COVID-19 relief before the fall.

As Members of Congress return to their home states and Congressional districts until after Labor Day for the August recess, Congressional staff have begun the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) 2020 conference negotiation process in hopes of hammering out a final bill for House and Senate passage this fall.