Clean Water Current

This question is next on the docket for NACWA's Hot Topics in Clean Water Law webinar series. The hot topic is both complex and high-stakes, as recent litigation shows.

NACWA staff and utility members of the Association — including the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Boston Water & Sewer Commission, Springfield Water & Sewer, Narragansett Bay Commission, and The Metropolitan District, Hartford — met with Alexandra Dunn, Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1, and several senior EPA staff members on February 15.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice today requesting comments on the Agency's previous statements regarding whether point source discharges through groundwater that has a direct hydrologic connection to jurisdictional surface water may be subject to regulation under the Clean Water Act (CWA).

NACWA sent a letter to House and Senate Appropriations leadership Feb. 15 requesting that strong Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 funding be allocated to the Interior & Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, which funds core clean water programs at the U.S. EPA including the State Revolving Funds, WIFIA, and related programs.

NACWA encourages all members to register for EPA’s upcoming webinar on Community Service Programs at Water and Wastewater Utilities, scheduled for March 1 from 1:00 to 2:30 PM ET.

More than 40 NACWA members from around the country convened by conference call February 14 to discuss whether to seek changes to EPA’s Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards for sewage sludge incinerators (SSIs).

The White House released its long-awaited infrastructure proposal this week, which outlines the Trump Administration's framework for rebuilding overall infrastructure in America.

Shortly after government funding expired the morning of Friday, February 9, Congress passed, and the President signed into law, a sweeping budget deal that will increase current discretionary federal spending caps for domestic and defense programs by $300 billion over the next two fiscal years, and keep the Federal Government funded until March 23.

NACWA’s members gathered in Napa, CA last week to explore the critical balance between science and cost in clean water advocacy, and the possibility of using a net environmental benefit-based approach to addressing the nation’s water challenges.

With policymakers in Washington, DC now firmly focused on infrastructure investment, it’s more critical than ever that YOU make plans to attend the National Water Policy Fly-In (April 17 – 18), the anchor event of Water Week 2018.

NACWA participated in a webinar hosted by the U.S. Water Alliance (USWA) on February 7, to discuss the national perspective on water infrastructure funding. Other speakers on the webinar provided local and state perspectives.

EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) issued a memo on January 22 -- Interim OECA Guidance on Enhancing Regional-State Planning and Communication on Compliance Assurance Work in Authorized States -- to all Regional Offices in order “to immediately begin the movement toward a more collaborative partnership between the EPA and authorized States.”

A three judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a unanimous decision in Hawaii Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui on February 1, addressing to what extent a point source discharge that reaches groundwater, and eventually discharges to a Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdictional water, triggers the requirement for a CWA Section 402 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.

Congress has begun ramping up its legislative efforts in both the House and Senate to address water infrastructure funding.

ACWA updated clean water professionals in New York this week on the current state of national clean water policy and the legislative outlook for the Trump Administration and Congress for the remainder of this year.

The US Supreme Court issued a decision in National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) v. EPA on January 22, finding that litigation over the 2015 Clean Water Rule should proceed in the federal district courts, rather than in the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

The Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force met from January 31 – February 1, to discuss progress on reducing nutrient loads to the Gulf. David Ross, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Water, provided opening remarks, noting that nutrient-related issues will be a priority for him as he works to lay out the agenda for his tenure at EPA, which officially began on January 8.

n his State of the Union Address last night, President Trump committed to supporting a plan that would generate $1.5 trillion for infrastructure investment. In an important development, the President also committed to working closely with state and local governments to invest this money – recognizing the key role that local government agencies like NACWA utility members must play to make significant infrastructure investment a reality. NACWA looks forward to working with the Trump Administration and Congress to advance a comprehensive infrastructure package.

NACWA filed comments January 29, on the latest draft of EPA’s nutrient screener questionnaire, the first phase of a planned multi-year study of the nutrient performance of secondary treatment technologies at clean water utilities.

U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt testified Jan. 30 on the agency’s agenda moving forward before a Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee oversight hearing.