A special open panel discussion featuring NACWA Board Members is set to make the case for water infrastructure investment during national Infrastructure Week (May 13 – 20, 2019). The panel—entitled, The Future is Now: Smart Water Infrastructure, scheduled for May 15 in Washington, DC—features NACWA Board Members Kyle Drefuss-Wells, CEO of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, and Ted Henefin, General Manager of the Hampton Roads Sanitation District, among other panelists. They will make the case for smart water infrastructure investment, as the White House and Congress engage in talks over a possible $2 trillion national infrastructure package.

NACWA’s Communications & Public Affairs Committee held a teleconference presentation, Crisis Communications Strategy for PFAS: The Emerging Public Issue, on May 1, with guest speaker, Stephanie York, a Vice President of the crisis communications firm, Hennes Communications—one of the top crisis management firms in the country. An audio recording of the session is now available on NACWA Engage Forum, as well as a PFAS one-page primer/fact sheet that was used during Water Week.

NACWA participated in two sessions at the ALI-CLE 2019 Clean Water Act Conference last week, co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute. The conference provides in-depth legal analyses, policy perspectives, and insights on the challenges environmental attorneys and related professionals in water law are facing today.

The Region 8 Pretreatment Association (R8PA) held its Annual Conference from April 30 – May 2, with over 150 attendees from public clean water utilities and state regulatory agencies. The workshop provides an opportunity for pretreatment professionals to learn about regulatory updates, hear case studies from other utilities, and network with one another.

NACWA hosted its quarterly conference call with its State and Regional Exchange Network on Tuesday, April 30. The call featured representatives from numerous state and regional clean water organizations discussing the status of wipes legislation being proposed in California, as well as a wide range of other clean water issues which are playing out on the state level. These issues could have national implications and can benefit from grassroots support.

Congressional work continues this week to advance federal spending bills for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20), which starts October 1. The House Appropriations Committee announced how it will divide up total discretionary federal spending across the 12 spending bills, and early indications are there will be a strong 4.5% increase to the overall Interior-Environment spending which includes EPA’s budget.

On April 30, NACWA, along with the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the Water Environment Federation (WEF), provided US EPA with their final report outlining a proposed new approach to evaluating affordability and financial capability. The report, Developing a New Framework for Household Affordability and Financial Capability Assessment in the Water Sector, is now available for members only. NACWA’s contribution to the project was funded through the Association’s Targeted Action Fund.

President Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) met today to discuss the possibility of a bipartisan infrastructure deal, and early reports indicate they reached agreement on the outlines of a $2 trillion infrastructure package. In advance of the meeting, NACWA was active in the media pushing for inclusion of water as a key component of any agreement.

Following two weeks of working in their respective Districts, Members of the House of Representatives and Senate return this week to Washington, DC, with a focus on figuring out what can be accomplished over the next few months until the Fourth of July recess—and before the 2020 campaign season fully dominates the conversation.

With strong bipartisan support, The US House of Representatives passed the Local Water Protection Act (H.R. 1331) earlier this month by a vote of 329-56.