Clean Water Current

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing on July 11, entitled “The Long-term value to U.S. Taxpayers of Low-cost Federal Infrastructure Loans.”

EPA published a supplemental notice last week in the Federal Register providing additional clarification and reasoning for its repeal of the 2015 Clean Water Rule. EPA originally noticed its intent to repeal the Clean Water Rule in July 2017.

An op-ed published in The Hill newspaper last week by two NACWA utility members highlights the important role that Congress can play in helping to advance and ensure a qualified water workforce in the United States.

The Water Environment Federation (WEF) is asking utilities to help assemble baseline data on the amount of resource recovery taking place at facilities in the country by completing a survey by August 10.

The EPA extended the public comment period on July 3 for their advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM): Increasing Consistency and Transparency in Considering Costs and Benefits in the Rulemaking Process. This ANPRM seeks more information on how costs and benefits are to be considered by the EPA and whether the Agency can increase consistency and better improve transparency across all environmental statutes.

Building upon the recent PFAS National Leadership Summit in Washington DC, EPA announced on June 27 that the Agency would expand its community engagement on per- and poly-fluoroalkl substances by holding more local workshops this summer in Pennsylvania, Colorado and North Carolina.

Former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt submitted his resignation late last week, and EPA Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler was named Acting Administrator effective July 9.

The Senate passed its version of the 2018 Farm Bill prior to the July 4 recess, and the bill included several key priorities that were advocated for by NACWA and its Farm Bill Working Group. The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support by a vote of 86-11.

The EPA’s Water Security Division is hosting several webinars which may interest public clean water utilities.

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a unanimous decision in Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition (OVEC) v. Pruitt on June 20, reversing the trial court’s application of the constructive submission doctrine to West Virginia’s development of total maximum daily loads (TMDLs). The court’s reasoning embraces NACWA’s position in the case that application of the constructive submission theory to the TMDLs in question was not appropriate.

After several weeks of the House’s 2018 Farm Bill being held up due to controversial unrelated immigration legislation, the House last week passed its version of the Farm Bill by a slim two-vote threshold. In May, the same version of the legislation failed to pass, as a faction of House Members demanded a vote first on the immigration legislation in exchange for their support for the Farm Bill.

NACWA was well represented at an event hosted by the Brookings Institute on June 21 to discuss water workforce issues. The gathering was built around the recent release of a report, entitled Renewing the water workforce: Improving water infrastructure and creating a pipeline to opportunity, that provides a first-of-its-kind analysis of jobs involved in the construction, operation, and maintenance of the country’s water infrastructure.

Several pieces of legislation have been introduced recently in support of advancing water technology innovation.

NACWA hosted the latest installment of the Hot Topics in Clean Water Law webinar series on June 20, with over 130 attendees participating. The webinar featured a panel of expert clean water attorneys, with discussion focused on recent litigation surrounding climate change impacts and a case study of how utilities can respond.

EPA published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) in the Federal Register on June 13, requesting public comments on Increasing Consistency and Transparency in Considering Costs and Benefits in the Rulemaking Process.