Clean Water Current

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its first-ever loan from the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program last week, to NACWA Member King County, Washington.

If you made Capitol Hill visits while in Washington, DC last week for Water Week, NACWA wants to know about it!

As part of NACWA’s advocacy outreach around Water Week 2018, a special op-ed written by David St. Pierre, NACWA President and Executive Director of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, was published in The Hill newspaper, one of Washington DC’s most read and most influential “beltway” news outlets.

During the National Water Policy Fly-In on April 17 – the signature event of Water Week 2018 – EPA’s Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water, David Ross, announced that the Agency is beginning a rulemaking to address the management of peak wet weather flows with blending.

Last week was an exciting time for clean water advocacy as numerous water professionals and water sector organizations came together in Washington, DC as part of Water Week 2018!

NACWA met with Dave Ross, Assistant Administrator (AA) for the Office of Water at EPA Headquarters on April 12, to discuss Ross’ priorities for his tenure at EPA, and for NACWA to provide a brief overview of some of the Association’s top issues.

The House Committee on Agriculture has released its version of the 2018 Farm Bill, which will be marked up by the committee this week. NACWA has been actively engaged over the past several months with members of both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to ensure inclusion of NACWA’s priorities under the “Conservation Title” of the Farm Bill, many of which were included in the House bill.

A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed a district court’s dismissal of the Clean Water Act (CWA) citizen suit in Upstate Forever v. Kinder Morgan, endorsing a theory advanced by EPA that pollutants which make their way to waters of the United States via groundwater must be permitted under the CWA.

NACWA provided an update on the ongoing policy discussions surrounding the regulatory status of resources recovered from the wastewater treatment process on April 10, during the 23rd Annual Central States Water Environment Association’s Education Seminar in Madison, WI.

NACWA continues to serve as a source of information and insights for various media outlets on clean water issues.

(April 16, 2018) – Water Infrastructure Investment. Consent decrees. Integrated planning. Rate affordability. Your utility can be 100% correct on the issues, and still suffer negative blowback due to poorly executed communications on advocacy matters.

NACWA participated in a set of stormwater-centric meetings last week hosted by the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA).

EPA recently announced over $25 million in grant funds to assist small water and wastewater systems with training and other issues.

In its ongoing effort to help each member agency impact national and local water policy, NACWA is pleased to launch its newly redesigned and refurbished online tool: the NACWA Congressional Toolbox.

Registration underway open for NACWA’s 2018 National Pretreatment Workshop, scheduled for May 15 – 18 in Providence, RI.

As Congress gets back to work this week after a two-week recess and ramps up its legislative agenda, NACWA is looking to build upon the passage of a bipartisan Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) Omnibus legislative package late last month which provided significant increases for clean water infrastructure.

NACWA’s 2017 Cost of Clean Water Index indicates that the average cost of wastewater services rose 3.6 percent in 2017, eclipsing the $500 mark for the first time.

In its ongoing effort to help each utility member agency impact local and national clean water policy, NACWA is pleased to launch its newly redesigned and refurbished online tool: The NACWA Congressional Toolbox.

Jim Pletl, Chair of NACWA’s Water Quality Committee and Director of Water Quality for the Hampton Roads Sanitation District in Virginia Beach, VA, and Chris Hornback, NACWA Deputy Chief Executive Officer, provided NACWA’s perspective on “integrated planning” during an April 5 webinar entitled, Integrated Planning: A Solution for Your Utility?, which was hosted by the Water Environment Federation (WEF).

EPA announced, on April 4, the availability of approximately $5.5 billion in credit assistance for water infrastructure projects under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program. EPA estimates this financing will help support approximately $11 billion in total infrastructure investment.