To inform the public on the consequences of fats, oils and grease (FOG) in the wastewater collection system, the Department of Environmental Services, City and County of Honolulu hit the television airwaves with The F.O.G. Zone. Using the television series The Twilight Zone as inspiration, this 30-second educational video informs residents that the proper disposal of grease and other FOG-related foods is in the trash can, rather than down the kitchen sink.

A major bipartisan effort to address PFAS chemicals advanced last week, as a package of bills that had been passed by the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee was successfully attached to the Senate’s National Defense Authorization Act. The Defense bill passed the Senate on an 86-8 vote.

The US House of Representatives passed a Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) spending package on June 25, which includes significant increases for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other agencies. The bill (H.R. 3055) would provide $9.5 billion to EPA in FY20, a roughly $1.5 billion increase over current (FY19) spending. This spending would be the second-highest EPA budget in history.

NACWA presented at a workshop last week in Los Angeles hosted by member utility LA Sanitation and Environment (LASAN) to discuss how integrated planning (IP) has the potential to more strategically help Los Angeles, and communities across the country, better manage costs and prioritize their clean water investments.

NACWA member utility the Louisville/Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) released the first ever water equity roadmap for the metropolitan Louisville area on June 27.

NACWA joined the WateReuse Association, the American Water Works Association, the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, the Water Environment Federation and the Water Research Foundation to submit comments to EPA on July 1 to inform EPA as it develops its Water Reuse Action Plan (WRAP). Through this joint sector effort, comprehensive input was compiled and prioritized.

Just this past Saturday, June 22, marked the 50th anniversary of the now famous Cuyahoga River fire. Though it was not the first time the river was ablaze, the 1969 fire proved to be a turning point for water quality in the United States and a major impetus for today’s Clean Water Act.

After months of consideration and bipartisan negotiation, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee last week marked up and unanimously passed via bipartisan agreement a comprehensive PFAS legislative package, the PFAS Release Disclosure and Protection Act of 2019 (S. 1507), to respond to growing public concerns about PFAS.

NACWA joined a host of public clean water associations in filing an amicus brief on June 24 that defends the legality of water quality trading.

The US House of Representatives is expected to complete its work this week on several more of the 12 annual Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) appropriations bills for federal funding. The House finished debate last week, and passed a “minibus,”—a reference to a smaller “omnibus” spending bill—which incorporated four of the twelve annual bills, including funding for the US Army Corps of Engineers and US Department of Energy, among others.

NACWA joined with other organizations from the water sector last week to discuss workforce challenges facing clean water and drinking water utilities in a meeting with senior EPA Office of Water officials.

The US House of Representatives began floor consideration last week of the first set of Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) funding bills with several key agencies addressed in this first package, including the Department on Energy (DOE) and the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).