Conceived jointly by the Narragansett Bay Commission’s Pretreatment and Public Affairs departments and brought to life by animator Rafael Cuello, NBC’s education program, MR. CAN vs The Grease Beasts and its eponymous protagonist, aim to educate the public about proper household grease disposal. In the 2017-2018 school year, MR. CAN was integrated into the curriculum of the award-winning environmental education program, The NBC Watershed Explorers, which reaches economically-disadvantaged students in the state...

(January 22, 2019) - The current EPA Acting Administrator, Andrew Wheeler, returned to the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee last week to testify before Senators at his confirmation hearing. President Trump formally nominated Mr. Wheeler earlier this year to lead the Agency, where he has been Acting Administrator since his predecessor, Scott Pruitt, resigned in July 2018.

(January 22, 2019) - With the recent enactment of the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act – which among other things specifically codifies integrated planning concepts into the Clean Water Act – we’ve already seen landmark victories in the clean water policy landscape. Now is the time to get more involved and engaged as the public clean water sector continues to shape water policy in 2019.

(January 22, 2019) - Mark your calendars and make your plans, Water Week 2019 is March 31 – April 6, with its signature event, the National Water Policy Fly-in, set for Wednesday April 3rd to Thursday, the 4th.

NACWA joined with 90 national and regional organizations on Jan. 10 in sending a letter to U.S. House and Senate leadership urging that water funding and financing be incorporated into any infrastructure package considered in the 116th Congress, which began this month.

Now in its fourth week, the current partial government shutdown, which includes the EPA, is now the longest in US history with no end in sight. While negotiations continue, strong divisions between President Trump and Congressional Democrats on border security issues and funding have provided little headway in resolving the funding impasse and moving to re-open the federal government. NACWA legislative staff will continue to provide updates as they occur.

- President Trump announced, on January 11, his nomination of Andrew Wheeler—who is now the acting Administrator of the EPA—to become his permanent selection for EPA Administrator. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold an initial hearing on Wheeler’s nomination on Wednesday, January 16, before the process heads to the full Senate for a floor vote, which will occur at a later date.