Clean Water Current

EPA announced this week that it will be holding two teleconference calls to brief the public on the continued development of a report on the funding aspects of stormwater.

NACWA’s Board of Directors and leaders of the Association’s standing committees met this week in Austin, TX for the Fall Strategic Leadership Meeting to review the Association’s current advocacy priorities, discuss where those priorities may need change moving forward, and lay the groundwork for revisions to the Association’s Strategic Plan.

EPA released its Systematic Review Protocol on November 7 for five additional PFAS chemicals.

EPA’s proposed new Lead and Copper Rule was published today in the Federal Register, initiating a 60-day public comment period that will close January 13, 2020.

Top congressional appropriators have agreed to another Continuing Resolution (CR) that will fund the federal government through December 20, 2019. A vote is expected next week.

The NACWA Energy Workgroup held a web meeting on November 7 to discuss the current status of food waste co-digestion under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and a case study on a public-private partnership to generate energy with anaerobic digestion at publicly owned treatment works (POTWs).

NACWA was pleased to host a delegation, sponsored by the US State Department, of Palestinian water professionals from the West Bank on November 7.

NACWA staff attended a briefing this week on Capitol Hill hosted by the American Public Works Association (APWA) entitled “Water Issues and Public Works: A Discussion on Water Infrastructure, Regulatory Issues, and Emerging Contaminants.”

The US Supreme Court is holding oral arguments today in the most important Clean Water Act litigation to reach the High Court in over a decade. The central legal question at issue is whether the transmittal of pollutants via groundwater can trigger Clean Water Act liability.

The US Senate overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan multi-bill Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) appropriations package last week, which included the Interior & Environment Appropriations measure to fund the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and key clean water programs.

EPA is seeking information from utilities on the benefits they have received from using the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). To collect this information, the Agency has developed a survey form and partnered with NACWA to distribute it.

The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee held a markup Oct. 29 of an amended H.R. 1497, the Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act of 2019, and passed the legislation with strong bipartisan support.

NACWA and the Montana League of Cities and Towns (the League) filed an appeal with the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit of the March and July federal district court rulings in a case brought by an environmental group challenging the EPA’s approval of Montana’s general nutrient variance for municipal dischargers.

EPA held a regulatory briefing Oct. 25 for intergovernmental associations on the Agency’s proposed Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) Long-Term Revisions.

The US Senate this week is debating a multi-bill Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) appropriations package which includes the Interior & Environment Appropriations measure to fund the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and key clean water programs.

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).