Clean Water Current

On November 24, EPA Region 1 issued the final Great Bay Total Nitrogen General Permit (GP) for 13 eligible wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs) that discharge nitrogen within the Great Bay watershed in New Hampshire.

Several pieces of legislation are making their way to the House and Senate floors this week for final consideration as Congress hopes to conclude its work for this session before the holidays.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week released a proposed guidance memorandum providing information on the application of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund to the Clean Water Act Sec. 402 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) recently issued an opinion denying NACWA member the City and County of San Francisco’s appeal of a Clean Water Act (CWA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued by EPA Region 9 and the California Regional Water Quality Control Board for its combined sewer system discharges.

As Washington gets set for a new Administration and Congress next year and a busy legislative agenda ahead, the advocacy voice of the public clean water sector will be more critical than ever to ensure our policy goals are heard under what is expected to be a divided government.

The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, a research center at Duke University that focuses on applied environmental policy research, is engaged in a research project to better understand the role and use of State Revolving Funds (SRFs) in the nation’s water service systems. Specifically, the project is conducting a series of studies to understand:

A spin-off of University of Arizona’s Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering, AquaVitas, was awarded a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) contract to provide additional support for COVID-19 wastewater surveillance on November 13.

EPA’s Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water, Dave Ross, recently signed a memorandum addressed to EPA Regional Administrators recommending an interim strategy on PFAS specifically for federally issued National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permittees. However, it is likely many state permit writers will also follow the memo’s recommendations.

With Congress set to adjourn for the year by mid-December, the House and Senate are working quickly to finalize all outstanding remaining legislation. Congressional focus is on “must pass” legislation to fund the government past its current December 11 expiration date.

(December 2, 2020) –NACWA submitted comments November 19 on EPA’s Draft Inventory of US Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks:1990-2019 as part of the expert review process.

A workgroup of NACWA members met on November 23 to discuss Action 2.2.4 of EPA's Water Reuse Action Plan

With the continued uncertainly around COVID-19, the National Water Policy Fly-In partners have made the decision to not hold an in-person event in 2021.

Raftlis recently completed a nationwide utility survey, with the assistance of NACWA and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), to better understand the financial impact on water sector utilities from the COVID-19 pandemic.

NACWA was invited this week to meet with members of the Biden-Harris transition EPA Agency Review Team (ART) and provide input on key priorities the Association thinks the incoming presidential administration should focus on when taking office.

With Congressional leadership continuing to discuss the next phase of COVID-19 relief, NACWA and other water sector advocacy groups sent a letter to Congress this week emphasizing the need for directing federal assistance to households struggling to pay their water bills, the challenges presented by broad water shutoff moratoriums and the need for aid to utilities to recover from the pandemic.

As the deadline fast approaches to fund the government past its current December 11th expiration date, the Senate recently introduced its Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) appropriations bills.

NACWA filed comments this week supporting the US Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) proposal to establish new streamlined Clean Water Act Section 404 permits for the construction, maintenance and removal of water and wastewater infrastructure and water reclamation and reuse facilities.

Market-based approaches like water quality trading have been a priority for the current political leadership of EPA’s Office of Water since day one, but other issues have diverted their attention from taking any significant action.

EPA held a two-day stakeholder event November 10 and 12 to brief state regulatory authorities, tribes and wastewater utilities on the Agency’s efforts to-date to define the biosolids problem formulation for PFOA and PFOS—two of the more commonly understood and researched PFAS constituents.

NACWA hosted its annual National Clean Water Law & Enforcement Seminar this week in a virtual format, where top environmental attorneys and utility leaders from across the country gave presentations and engaged in discussions on the major legal challenges facing the clean water community in 2020 and beyond.