Clean Water Current

Last week, House Congressional committees completed work on their respective portions of the next COVID-19 relief package under the budget reconciliation process.

EPA announced the availability of the public review version of the Draft Inventory of US Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks:1990-2019 in the February 12 Federal Register. NACWA submitted comments on the Inventory in December 2020, during the expert review phase, and the Association will also submit comments during the public review phase.

In the wake of a cybersecurity incident at the Oldsmar, FL drinking water utility, the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center (WaterISAC) is offering a free two-month trial for water utilities, with no payment information required.

In a win for Montana municipal wastewater dischargers, a District Court that previously ruled the state’s nutrient water quality standards variance for municipal dischargers must require compliance with stringent numeric criteria by the end of its term has determined that the state may hold off on revising the variance while the case is being heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Given the multitude of issues the biosolids community is facing today, it is once again time to conduct a second National Biosolids Survey and collect more up-to-date and accurate information on biosolids regulation, quality, end use, and disposal.

(February 10, 2021) Last week, NACWA staff met with program leads from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) who will be shaping the $638 million low-income water and wastewater ratepayer assistance funding secured in the December FY2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act.

This week, the Senate impeachment trial of former President Trump is set to begin and will likely remain the primary focus in Congress for now.

NACWA and AMWA’s joint Affordable Water, Resilient Communities campaign kicked-off impactfully last Monday, February 1.

Oregon has become the latest state to pursue wipes labeling legislation, with HB2344 introduced on January 11 and a public hearing held on February 9.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) last week issued a memorandum withdrawing nine enforcement policies established by the Trump administration, including the controversial ban on the use of supplemental environmental projects (SEPs).

Earlier this week, NACWA and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) partnered to kicked off a joint Affordable Water, Resilient CommunitiesTM campaign. Spurred by an increasing amount of legislation and media attention around the issue of water affordability, as well as the opportunities presented by a new presidential administration and a new Congress, the campaign launches with three distinct goals...

Congress ramped up its legislative work this week with the passage of a budget resolution that is being used as the legislative vehicle for the latest round of COVID-19 relief through a process known as reconciliation. The Senate also held a confirmation hearing February 3 for Michael Regan, who has been nominated by President Biden to serve as the next EPA Administrator.

NACWA convened its first Board of Directors meeting of 2021 on February 3.

EPA announced its Final Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 14 in the January 11 Federal Register. The Plan is published every two years to outline EPA’s planned studies and rulemakings related to effluent guidelines and pretreatment standards for industrial dischargers.

NACWA joined fellow public sector organizations to sign onto two letters last week outlining the critical importance of tax-exempt municipal bonds and general infrastructure spending for the public sector and nation as a whole.

NACWA joined AMWA, WEF and AWWA on January 28 to present a joint webinar on upcoming legislative and regulatory priorities for the water sector.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a new environmental justice speaker series by featuring The Mapping Inequality Project on March 4, 2021 at 12:00 – 1:00 pm EST.

EPA announced last week that it is now accepting applications for grants under its new Innovative Water Infrastructure Workforce Development Grant Program. Applications will be accepted until March 26, 2021.

NACWA was thrilled to congratulate Radhika Fox last week on her appointment as Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Water. Fox will serve as the office’s senior political leader until an Assistant Administrator is nominated by the Biden Administration and confirmed by the Senate.

Days before the start of the new Biden Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed and issued a pre-publication notice of the 2021 Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP) for industrial stormwater discharges on January 15.