Clean Water Current

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. 

The WIPPES Act addresses the pervasive but ultimately preventable problem of the flushing of non-flushable wet wipes. Many of these products are composed of manufactured plastic fibers or other strong fibers, and while these products are not marketed as flushable, consumers frequently flush them into sewer systems as a means of disposal. 

To help advance these bills, NACWA strongly encourages members to customize Senate and House template letters to send to their respective Representatives and Senators, as well as to advocate with their policy-makers how these bills would benefit their utility and community/ratepayers.  You can find contact information for your Member of the House of Representatives here, and for your Senators here.

Please contact Danielle Cloutier, NACWA’s Director of Legislative Affairs, for more information on how to support these bills.  Other questions about wipes can be directed to Cynthia Finley, NACWA’s Director of Regulatory Affairs.