Clean Water Current Archive

The Water Environment Federation (WEF) hosted its inaugural Stormwater and Green Infrastructure Symposium last week in Fort Lauderdale, FL. During the technical sessions, EPA gave a financing update, and stated that the expert consultants to help advise and inform the Environmental Financial Advisory Board (EFAB) workgroup on stormwater funding should be finalized this week.

The P3Great Lakes Initiative is seeking municipalities from the Great Lakes basin states—Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio Pennsylvania and New York—to finance green stormwater infrastructure via Environmental Impact Bond (EIB).

NACWA participated in the Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies’ (ORACWA’s) annual Stormwater Summit on May 8, providing an overview of national legislative, regulatory, and legal developments impacting municipal stormwater utilities.

A special open panel discussion featuring NACWA Board Members is set to make the case for water infrastructure investment during national Infrastructure Week (May 13 – 20, 2019). The panel—entitled, The Future is Now: Smart Water Infrastructure, scheduled for May 15 in Washington, DC—features NACWA Board Members Kyle Drefuss-Wells, CEO of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, and Ted Henefin, General Manager of the Hampton Roads Sanitation District, among other panelists. They will make the case for smart water infrastructure investment, as the White House and Congress engage in talks over a possible $2 trillion national infrastructure package.

NACWA’s Communications & Public Affairs Committee held a teleconference presentation, Crisis Communications Strategy for PFAS: The Emerging Public Issue, on May 1, with guest speaker, Stephanie York, a Vice President of the crisis communications firm, Hennes Communications—one of the top crisis management firms in the country. An audio recording of the session is now available on NACWA Engage Forum, as well as a PFAS one-page primer/fact sheet that was used during Water Week.

NACWA participated in two sessions at the ALI-CLE 2019 Clean Water Act Conference last week, co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute. The conference provides in-depth legal analyses, policy perspectives, and insights on the challenges environmental attorneys and related professionals in water law are facing today.

The Region 8 Pretreatment Association (R8PA) held its Annual Conference from April 30 – May 2, with over 150 attendees from public clean water utilities and state regulatory agencies. The workshop provides an opportunity for pretreatment professionals to learn about regulatory updates, hear case studies from other utilities, and network with one another.

NACWA hosted its quarterly conference call with its State and Regional Exchange Network on Tuesday, April 30. The call featured representatives from numerous state and regional clean water organizations discussing the status of wipes legislation being proposed in California, as well as a wide range of other clean water issues which are playing out on the state level. These issues could have national implications and can benefit from grassroots support.

Congressional work continues this week to advance federal spending bills for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20), which starts October 1. The House Appropriations Committee announced how it will divide up total discretionary federal spending across the 12 spending bills, and early indications are there will be a strong 4.5% increase to the overall Interior-Environment spending which includes EPA’s budget.

President Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) met today to discuss the possibility of a bipartisan infrastructure deal, and early reports indicate they reached agreement on the outlines of a $2 trillion infrastructure package. In advance of the meeting, NACWA was active in the media pushing for inclusion of water as a key component of any agreement.

Following two weeks of working in their respective Districts, Members of the House of Representatives and Senate return this week to Washington, DC, with a focus on figuring out what can be accomplished over the next few months until the Fourth of July recess—and before the 2020 campaign season fully dominates the conversation.

With strong bipartisan support, The US House of Representatives passed the Local Water Protection Act (H.R. 1331) earlier this month by a vote of 329-56.

The WateReuse Association convened a water sector gathering on April 18, in Los Angeles, where a variety of water industry experts could discuss the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) current draft discussion framework for development of a National Water Reuse Action Plan.

NACWA participated in the annual Wet Weather Partnership Conference last week, held April 24 -26 in Louisville, KY, and provided an update on legislative and regulatory developments.

A state bill to address the labeling of both “nonflushable” and “flushable” wet wipe products is moving the through the California Legislature, recently passing out of two committees. California State Assembly Bill 1672 (AB 1672, Bloom) is being sponsored by the California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA) and would establish labeling requirements and performance standards for wet wipes based on the International Water Services Flushability Group (IWSFG) flushability specification.

Dozens of clean water professionals participated in two courses offered by NACWA in Hawaii last week, NPDES Permit Program Overview for Permittees and Pretreatment Program Overview. Each two-day course provided comprehensive instruction and allowed for plenty of discussion about specific issues faced by the participants. NACWA thanks Member Agency City and County of Honolulu for its assistance with organizing the training.

NACWA participated in the Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities (CIFA) 2019 Water Infrastructure Investment Summit last week, and was joined by EPA officials in a panel discussion about the importance and positive impact of the Integrated Planning law, which became law earlier this year.

NACWA submitted comments on April 15 regarding the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) and the US Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE’s) proposed new Waters of the United States (WOTUS) definition.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a statement on April 15 clarifying the application of Clean Water Act (CWA) permitting requirements to groundwater. EPA’s Interpretative Statement concludes that Congress excluded releases of pollutants to groundwater from the CWA’s permitting requirements, and instead left regulation of those releases to the states and EPA’s other statutory authorities.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in a letter dated April 4, 2019, that it was approving Idaho’s new and revised human health criteria, which is essentially a complete reversal from the position taken by the last administration.