Clean Water Current

Water Week 2021 (April 25 to May 1) is just around the corner, and even though it will be a virtual event this year there are still lots of opportunities for you to engage!

Kishia Powell, NACWA Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of NACWA Member Agency DC Water, testified Wednesday before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) on the growing challenges facing water infrastructure and the need for increased federal investment.

EPA published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on March 17 to solicit data on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in discharges from PFAS formulators and manufacturers, the first step that may lead to effluent guidelines and pretreatment standards on PFAS discharges for these industries.

Congress yesterday passed a new, major COVID-19 relief bill with significant new funding for water, send the package to the White House for signature.

NACWA sent a letter this week to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with recommendations on how to structure the new Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program. This program was established by Congress at the end of last year.

Last Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit listened to oral arguments in NACWA’s on-going litigation in the case of Upper Missouri Waterkeeper v. EPA.

NACWA teamed up with the New York City Law Department and the Brooklyn Law school on a Clean Water Law 2021 Town + Gown webinar earlier this week.

After Washington became the first state to enact a wipes labeling law in March 2020, the number of states that are interested in similar laws has increased. NACWA is now aware of six states with active legislation California (AB818), Illinois (SB294), Massachusetts (HD1625), Minnesota (HF914), and Maine (HD1625).

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Rescue Plan Act late last week. This legislation is intended to deliver additional COVID-19 relief, including $500 million in new funding for low-income water utility customer assistance.

NACWA and its members have actively made the case for clean water policies in the media over the past few weeks, with media hits ranging from congressional testimony excerpts to highlighting the need for greater financial relief for low-income water customers.

Last week, a broad group of bipartisan Senators, led by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), reintroduced the Lifting Our Communities Through Advance Liquidity for Infrastructure (LOCAL Infrastructure) Act

NACWA hosted its 2021 Winter Virtual Event last week and drew record attendance, with over 600 participants taking advantage of the offering.

Clean water is at the forefront on Capitol Hill this week, as Congress works to address the growing affordability and infrastructure needs of the sector.

EPA published a notice in today’s Federal Register announcing an allocation formula for the Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grants Program. The funding for this Program was originally authorized 20 years ago but money was never appropriated until the 2018 and 2019 America’s Water Infrastructure Act process that secured $28 million and $40 million in appropriations, respectively.

NACWA submitted comments to EPA February 22 on the Agency’s recent Interim PFAS Destruction and Disposal Guidance. The draft Interim Guidance was a product of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY 2020 NDAA), which directed EPA to publish within one year an informational document that addresses the current state of knowledge and the scientific gaps in the destruction and disposal of PFAS.

While EPA and the 10 Regional Administrators previously signed the 2021 Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP) for industrial stormwater discharges, it never made it into the Federal Register by January 20 and was caught up in the Biden Administration’s regulatory freeze. This roadblock was removed on February 19 when EPA issued a Federal Register Notice for the final 2021 MSGP and appendices with an effective date of March 1, 2021.