Clean Water Current

NACWA met with senior EPA Office of Water and Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance staff again last week to discuss compliance issues for combined sewer overflow (CSO) communities that reach the end of their long-term control plans (LTCPs).

After months of consideration and bipartisan negotiation, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee released final text of a comprehensive piece of legislation late last week to respond to growing concerns about PFAS.

NACWA hosted the second Hot Topics in Clean Water Law Webinar of the year on June 11, focusing on PFAS-centric issues happening federally in the legislative, regulatory, and legal space.

NACWA’s Small & Mid-Size Utility Workgroup met on June 12 to discuss the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), and the Association’s efforts to not only advocate for funding on behalf of its members, but also for a more streamlined process for utilizing that federal funds.

NACWA and the WateReuse Association submitted comments on June 7 to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the application of the Clean Water Act (CWA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program to the release of pollutants that originate from a point source, but are conveyed to navigable waters by a nonpoint source such as groundwater [84 Fed. Reg. 16810 (Apr. 23, 2019)].

President Trump signed a long-awaited legislative package (H.R. 2157) on June 6, which provides $19.1 Billion in supplemental disaster relief to states and communities impacted by recent natural disasters. These include Hurricanes Florence and Michael, Typhoon Yutu, and wildfires and earthquakes that occurred in 2018.

NACWA, along with the Water Environment Federation, the American Water Works Association, and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, met with various individuals representing the solid waste and recycling sectors on June 4 in an effort to foster a continued dialogue that public wastewater treatment facilities and landfills are passive receivers, and not sources, of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

EPA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced a Memorandum of Understanding last week to streamline coordination between FEMA and the EPA-funded State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs, allowing the SRFs to help restore vital water infrastructure more rapidly during times of disaster.

NACWA and several member utilities joined the California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA) in a June 3 meeting with EPA to discuss the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. EPA attendees included Clint Woods, Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation, and Jeff Lape, Deputy Director of the Office of Water’s Office of Science and Technology.

In comments submitted on June 6, NACWA supported EPA’s proposed label language for chlorine gas used as an antimicrobial in swimming pools, hot tubs, and spas. Since excess chlorine can potentially interfere with the biological processes used to treat wastewater or have adverse aquatic impacts if discharged into storm drains, the Association agreed with EPA’s proposed instructions: “Before draining a treated pool, spa, hot tub, or fountain, contact your local sanitary sewer and storm drain authorities and follow their discharge instructions.”

The Association and its hundreds of public clean water agency members across the country are mourning the victims, many of whom were public utility employees, of the shooting late last week in Virginia Beach, VA. The senseless attack took the lives of 12 people.

After a weeklong Memorial Day work period, Congress gets back to work this week in DC for what is expected to be a busy summer ahead. In the House, several Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) appropriations bills are anticipated to come before the full chamber for a vote, including the Interior & Environment Appropriations bill, which passed through the committee in late May.

NACWA’s specialty conference for clean water communicators, Strategic Communications:H2O (StratComm), convened in Cleveland, OH this week, with more than 120 participants from all over the country—the largest turnout ever in its three year history.

Many NACWA members across the country have been affected by severe weather events in the last few weeks, seeing their communities suffer often devastating impacts. For those members, and the communities they serve, please know that we are here to support you. If there is any way that NACWA staff or our national network of utilities and experts can be useful to you, we encourage you to contact us at 202-833-2672 or utilize our online Engage forum.

The EPA announced an application process for $14 million worth of grants to help reduce nutrients in the Great Lakes Basin. The grants will be focused on reducing nutrients from agricultural and stormwater runoff and are being issued pursuant to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) action plan. NACWA has successfully advocated in recent years for strong federal funding for EPA’s geographical programs like the GLRI and is pleased to see the funds being made available.

The House Appropriations Committee passed its Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) Interior & Environment Appropriations bill on May 22, which funds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and included a significant increase for key EPA programs. This occurred on the same day President Trump broke off discussions with Congressional leaders on a comprehensive infrastructure package.

Important bipartisan legislation was introduced by US House Representatives Lori Trahan (D-MA) and Darin LaHood (R-IL) on May 15 to extend the authorization of the Clean Water Act, Section 221 Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Control Grants, which provides grants to states and municipal entities for treatment works to intercept, transport, control, treat, or reuse municipal combined sewer overflows; sanitary sewer overflows; and/or stormwater.

US House Representatives Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) and Steve Stivers (R-OH)—Co-Chairs of the bipartisan House Municipal Finance Caucus—introduced The Investing in Our Communities Act (H.R. 2772) on May 15, which would amend the federal tax code to reinstate the option for a single advance refunding of municipal bonds.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) held a legislative hearing on May 22, to consider numerous bills for addressing PFAS concerns that have been introduced this congressional session.

Over 200 pretreatment professionals met in Tacoma, WA May 14 – 17 for NACWA’s annual Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Workshop, which featured presentations by EPA staff, utilities, and consultants. NACWA extends a big thank you to all the participants, and especially to Member Utility the City of Tacoma Environmental Services Department for being such welcoming hosts!