Clean Water Current

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.

As controversy continues to roil Washington, DC, infrastructure proponents are looking to re-center attention and debate on the White House’s Infrastructure Plan but continue to encounter road blocks.

Only one week to go until Water Week 2018, and there is still time to register for the week’s premier event – the National Water Policy Fly-In. Make your plans today to join your clean water colleagues and help elevate water as a national priority!

NACWA wrote the Administrators for EPA Regions 1 and 2 on April 2 to express concerns with ongoing work related to nutrient impacts in Long Island Sound. In the 1990s, EPA worked with the states in the Long Island Sound watershed to develop a total maximum daily load (TMDL) consistent with the process laid out in the Clean Water Act. Since issuance of the TMDL in 2000, there has been significant progress in improving water quality in the Sound.

Susan Bodine, Assistant Administrator for the EPA Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance (OECA), issued a memo on March 23 – Interim Procedures for Providing Early Notice of Civil Judicial Referrals – to the EPA regional offices requiring early notice and case collaboration on cases recommended for referral to the US Department of Justice (DOJ).

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied, on March 30, a Petition for Rehearing en banc that was filed by NACWA Member Agency the Maui County Department of Environmental Management in the Hawaii Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui litigation.

With increases in water infrastructure funding via the recently-passed FY18 Omnibus Spending Package, there seems to be a growing awareness and respect among DC lawmakers for the importance of clean water.

Registration is now open for NACWA’s 2018 National Pretreatment Workshop, scheduled for May 15 – 18 in Providence, RI. This can’t miss event for pretreatment professionals will focus on topics that promise to be important for pretreatment programs in the future, as well as issues that are currently affecting these programs.

A bipartisan Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) Omnibus legislative package was signed into law last week that provides significant increases for clean water infrastructure and related programs and funds the Federal Government for the remainder of the fiscal year through September 30th.

The International Water Services Flushability Group (IWSFG) met on March 20-21 to consider comments received on the second draft of the IWSFG flushability standard.

In the wake of the Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) Omnibus legislative package approved last week that provided significant increases for clean water infrastructure, NACWA and the water sector are continuing to build on this momentum through increased advocacy as Congress begins the FY19 appropriations process.

NACWA was invited to speak at the Federal Policy Conference of the Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities (CIFA) on March 27, providing a public clean water utility perspective on clean water funding and financing issues, the potential for a federal infrastructure package, and ideas for streamlining the State Revolving Fund (SRF) program.

NACWA hosted a conference call March 22 with Great Lakes utilities and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) staff to discuss public notification requirements for combined sewer overflows (CSOs) into the Great Lakes, as prescribed in a final rule published by EPA on January 8.

NACWA is a member of the National Network for Water Quality Trading, which works to foster a dialogue and improve consistency, innovation, and integrity in water quality trading.

With Congress seeking to increase water infrastructure funding levels in the FY18 Omnibus Spending Package, there seems to be a shift in DC—in awareness, attention and respect for the importance of clean water.

Congress is staring down another critical federal funding deadline this week, with the current Continuing Resolution funding the government expiring on Friday, March 23rd. This means Congress either needs to pass its final Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) omnibus funding package by then or pass yet another short-term Continuing Resolution to avoid a government shutdown.