Clean Water Current

NACWA joined with a coalition of water sector organizations June 15 on a letter to oppose proposed cuts in the Trump Administration’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 budget to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant program.

The wipes industry is trying to block the District of Columbia’s wipes legislation, the Nonwoven Disposable Products Act of 2016, through the Congressional appropriations process. DC’s legislation is the first in the US to address the problems caused by flushable and non-flushable wipes.

EPA has taken action in a legal case involving development of total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) that could have national legal ramifications, and in which NACWA will soon be participating.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt sought to defend the Administration’s proposed EPA budget last week as he testified before the House Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations subcommittee.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a confirmation hearing June 13 for Susan Bodine, President Trump’s nominee to lead EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA).

A legal challenge to water quality trading appears to have been beaten back in Pennsylvania, but the plaintiffs in the case have indicated they are looking for additional opportunities to attack the practice.

EPA signed the final Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Dental Category, also known as the “Dental Amalgam Rule,” for a second time on June 9. The final rule is significantly different than the proposed rule, due in part to the extensive comments submitted by NACWA.

NACWA met June 7 with the Director of EPA’s Office of Wastewater Management, Andrew Sawyers, and his senior staff to discuss a range of issues, including NACWA’s May 15 input on regulatory areas needing improvement.

Based on recent conversations with EPA (see related story), NACWA is forming a workgroup of members to provide input/ideas on the how the application/paperwork process around the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF) can be streamlined.

Last week, Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) introduced the bipartisan Agriculture Environmental Stewardship Act to promote the use of sustainable biogas facilities.

NACWA met with specific Congressional offices last week to advance clean water priorities this year—particularly targeting Clean Water Act improvements, Integrated Planning, and infrastructure investment.

NACWA hosted more than 100 participants for the most recent installment of its Hot Topics in Clean Water Law webinar series.

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has recently denied a request by EPA to stay a February federal district court order that requires EPA to federalize the development of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) to address West Virginia water bodies with high conductivity levels.

NACWA, together with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, National League of Cities, National Association of Counties and other key stakeholders met June 1 with representatives from the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) to discuss NAPA’s ongoing study on affordability-related issues in the clean water sector.

NACWA’s “Toilets Are Not Trashcans” campaign reached a significant milestone with the publication of the Second Edition of Code of Practice: Communicating Appropriate Disposal Pathways for Nonwoven Wipes to Protect Wastewater Systems by INDA (Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry) and its European counterpart, EDANA.

NACWA, along with several California water organizations, filed an amended complaint on May 30 in Southern California Alliance of Publicly Owned Treatment Works v. EPA

According to an Arkansas news source, the town of Fort Smith recently got unanticipated relief on over $120,000 in stipulated penalties for sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) that had been assessed pursuant to the city’s 2015 federal wet weather consent decree.

Let us bring the latest in clean water law to you! Join us for NACWA’s Hot Topics in Clean Water Law webinar, scheduled for this Wednesday, June 7, from 2:00 pm -3:30 pm ET.

The Trump Administration released its full Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) Budget Proposal May 23, and the Proposal aligns closely with the preliminary FY18 Budget outline released in March—calling for significant cuts to a large number of discretionary non-defense agencies and programs. The largest proposed cuts are to the EPA, which would see a 31% cut in funding and 20% cut in staffing.

The newly released FY18 Presidential Budget Proposal provided additional – but very limited – detail on an Infrastructure Investment Initiative, which remains a stated priority for the Trump Administration.