Clean Water Current

EPA this week rescinded its October 2020 rule establishing certain internal agency procedures and requirements concerning the issuance, revision and withdrawal of guidance documents, including those related to public engagement and petitions for review. According to EPA, the rule deprived the Agency of necessary flexibility to issue timely and reliable guidance to the public.

Building on the positive infrastructure discussions between the White House and Congressional leaders last week, Congress is continuing its work on infrastructure this week with hearings in both the House and Senate. Senate Republicans are also finalizing their new counteroffer to President Biden’s plan, which they are expected to release in the coming days.

In comments on an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM), NACWA supported EPA’s step towards developing effluent limitation guidelines (ELGs) and pretreatment standards for discharges of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from PFAS formulators and manufacturers. EPA published the ANPRM, which applies to the Organic Chemicals, Plastics, and Synthetic Fibers (OCPSF) point source category, on March 17.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a subset agency within the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), published an update on the toxicological profile for 10 specific PFAS chemicals on May 5.

The U.S. Treasury released initial guidance for the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (CSLFRF) on May 10. The CSLFRF is the $350 Billion pot of funding provided in the COVID-19 American Rescue Plan Act signed into law in March 2021 that includes water and sewer infrastructure as an eligible use.

Infrastructure discussions ramped up this week between the White House and Congress as President Biden and Democrat and Republican Congressional leaders met to discuss a potential bipartisan path forward on a comprehensive infrastructure package.

Following the announcement by U.S. EPA Administrator Michael Regan during Water Week about the formation of a new EPA Council on PFAS, NACWA is preparing a letter to the Council’s co-chairs – EPA’s Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator Radhika Fox and EPA Region 1’s Acting Administrator Deb Szaro – highlighting the Association’s priorities and recommendations for federal next steps on addressing PFAS.

NACWA’s Water Quality Committee met virtually last week and discussed a variety of issues including wastewater based-epidemiology, PFAS, and activity in the environmental justice landscape.

EPA recently hosted a Listening Session with a broad array of stakeholders from the water sector, including NACWA. Approximately twenty groups were represented, including environmental NGOs as well as community and environmental justice (EJ)/community advocate organizations to discuss water affordability issues. Radhika Fox, EPA’s Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator of Water, hosted the session with other senior EPA staff present as well.

The Senate took an important first step last week towards passing comprehensive infrastructure legislation with the overwhelming passage of the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 (DWWIA), S. 914.

Administrator Michael Regan announced last week during Water Week the formation of a new EPA Council on PFAS (ECP) that will build upon the momentum already happening under the Agency’s PFAS Action Plan. The ECP will be co-chaired by EPA’s Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator Radhika Fox and EPA Region 1’s Acting Administrator Deb Szaro.

The NACWA Board of Directors met this past Thursday, April 29. Over the course of the virtual meeting, the Board discussed several important items, including preliminary approval of the Association’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 General Fund budget and Targeted Action Fund Budget. NACWA will be sending members more information about the preliminary budgets for review and comment soon.

With water policy dominating legislative talks in both the House and Senate, as well as in President Biden’s proposed infrastructure legislation, NACWA has been working tirelessly with the various media outlets to accurately frame the discussions around clean water investment. Over the course of the past two months, NACWA has featured extensively in all major D.C. policy news outlets.

The National Governor’s Association (NGA) convened a two-day virtual roundtable event that brought together some of the country’s stormwater funding and financing experts to specifically address equity considerations. Discussions covered existing funding mechanisms like state revolving funds to the newly created sewer overflow and stormwater reuse municipal grant program to establishing a stormwater utility and developing equitable fee structures.

Since $638M in first-ever low-income water customer assistance was signed into law in December – followed by a second tranche of $500M provided in March – utilities have been waiting for the funding to start flowing to help customers in need. NACWA has been in conversation with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) staff standing up the new program, dubbed the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program, or LIHWAP, and offering recommendations, but limited details had been released by the agency until recently.

President Biden delivered his first major address before a joint session of Congress last night to promote the key tenants of his Build Back Better proposal, the American Families Plan, and the American Jobs Plan. He specifically mentioned the importance of clean and safe water for all Americans, and his proposal includes over $100 billion in water infrastructure investment.

One of President Biden’s earliest hires at U.S. EPA, Radhika Fox, has been officially nominated for the role of Assistant Administrator of the Office of Water. NACWA has submitted a letter to Congress in support of her nomination as we believe she will be a strong champion for the clean water sector.

In January 2021, NACWA member utility Charleston Water System (CWS) in South Carolina filed a lawsuit in federal district court against multiple manufacturers, distributors and retailers of so-called “flushable” wipes seeking to have the court enjoin them from labeling their products as “flushable” in light of the damage those wipes have caused to sewer systems.

The water sector once again united this year for Water Week, a yearly event to celebrate the importance of water and advocate for making water a top national priority. This year, due to COVID-19 concerns, events were held virtually.

The deadline has been extended to May for drinking water and wastewater utilities to complete a survey on cybersecurity. The survey is sponsored by national water sector associations, including NACWA, and responses are urgently needed to inform the association advocacy efforts related to cybersecurity.