Clean Water Current

Two key pieces of legislation NACWA strongly supports have been introduce on a bipartisan basis in the Senate and House in recent days.

EPA announced its Preliminary Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 14 in an October 24 Federal Register notice.

The Water Research Foundation (WRF), the American Water Works Association (AWWA), and NACWA joined together this week to release a guide that can help drinking water utilities and clean water utilities evaluate potential utility partnerships.

Over the past several months, the strong advocacy efforts by countless NACWA members have played a pivotal role in educating Members of Congress and their staffs about the problematic PFAS provisions included in the House passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (H.R. 2500).

EPA announced 38 projects on Oct. 22 that have been invited to apply for the third round of Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program loans. The total combined amount of the loans is almost $6 billion, which will be leveraged to finance over $12 billion in water infrastructure investment.

In current litigation challenging EPA's approval of the Montana nutrient variance, EPA (through the Department of Justice) has filed a motion under Federal Rule 59(e), asking the district court judge to amend his judgment in the case.

EPA’s proposed Methods Update Rule was published in the Federal Register on October 22. The proposed rule will update several categories.

EPA held an in-person and online public listening session Oct. 21 on its recent proposed water quality trading policy that was published in the Federal Register in September.

NACWA CEO, Adam Krantz (center) was pleased to present six Peak Performance Awards to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago to its Commissioners, Executive Director Brian Perkovich (front, far right), and key MWRD staff.

The New England Regional Pretreatment Coordinators Association (NERPCA) held its annual workshop October 22-23, with over 150 attendees from public clean water utilities and state regulatory agencies.

After a two-week home state and district work period, Congress is back in session this week with a busy legislative agenda ahead before the Thanksgiving recess that includes several key items for the public clean water sector.

NACWA met last week with Jeffrey Bossert Clark, Assistant Attorney General (AG) for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler signed proposed revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) on October 10 which will impact public water systems under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

The White House released two new administrative orders last week that seek to provide the regulated community with more predictability related to federal agency regulatory guidance documents and enforcement actions.

The Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force (HTF) issued its second Point Source Progress Report in early October, documenting progress made by HTF states in adopting nutrient monitoring and discharge limits and progress in reducing point source discharges.

NACWA provided an update on national stormwater trends last week at the Southeast Stormwater Association’s (SESWA) annual regional conference in Chattanooga, TN.

The North Carolina Pretreatment Consortium held its annual conference October 14-16 in Asheville, NC, with over 150 attendees from public clean water utilities, regulatory agencies, and private companies.

With Congress home again this week on its October recess, NACWA members are encouraged to continue outreach to their congressional representatives on PFAS.

The NACWA Security & Emergency Preparedness Committee held a web meeting on October 1 to discuss issues with unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), commonly referred to as drones.