Clean Water Current

EPA last week released a copy of its final action establishing procedures and requirements for how the Agency will manage the issuance of guidance documents, as well as a public petition process for the withdrawal or modification of existing guidance or reinstatement of rescinded guidance.

The prospects for Congress passing another comprehensive COVID-19 package before the end of the year were already fading in recent weeks, as NACWA reported earlier this month. The passing on September 18th of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the highly partisan debate surrounding a new Supreme Court nomination is further tempering expectations for other significant bipartisan legislation, including COVID-19 relief, being passed by Congress this year.

With the end of the federal fiscal year on September 30th fast approaching, Congress is moving to pass a short-term continuing resolution (CR) in the coming days. The CR will avoid a government shutdown and fund all federal agencies, including EPA, at current spending levels until December 11th

In early August, EPA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) began evaluating how EPA is addressing harmful algal blooms (HABs) and the Agency’s operational efficiency in using federal funds to achieve greater public health and environmental protections. OIG recently reached out to NACWA to help inform this review.

As with most conferences this year, the Water and Finance Conference went virtual over two weeks from September 8 to September 17. NACWA, a partner of the event, participated in two sessions during the conference — a session on evolving federal and state regulations against the backdrop of funding opportunities and a session on long-term sustainability in a time of uncertainty.

NACWA hosted the latest Hot Topics in Clean Water webinar last Wednesday, September 16 with a focus the ongoing battle over “flushable” wipes.

Thanks to years of tireless effort by NACWA, its members and the Association’s water sector partners, EPA has taken a major step toward overhauling its financial capability assessment methodology to better account for the impacts on economically disadvantaged communities.

Conference negotiations between the House and Senate on a final Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) 2020 bill have ramped up over the past week with clean water provisions and billions of dollars in potential funding now coming into focus.

NACWA joined with the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) this week to send a letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler flagging the significant financial challenges facing many clean water utilities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and asking the Agency to exercise flexibility in working with utilities whose capital budgets have been impacted by significant economic disruption.

Per Executive Order 13132, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to convene a federalism consultation for public and stakeholder engagement on particular issues that will have a significant and substantial compliance cost for the regulated community.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently opened the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) application period, with applications due on November 4, 2020.

NACWA is joining this week with water sector partners like the Value of Water Coalition and otherwater and core infrastructure organizations, to celebrate Infrastructure Week 2020.

The deadline for an important survey on the economic impacts of COVID-19 to water sector utilities has been extended.

During late August and the Labor Day recess, limited negotiations between Congressional leadership and the White House continued around priority issues for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 funding and additional COVID-19 relief.

NACWA submitted comments September 3 to EPA on the Agency’s new proposed allocation formula for the Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grants Program. These comments come after EPA issued a notice in early August seeking public feedback on a proposed allocation formula for distributing grant money to states through this program, which has recently been funded for the first time.