The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) is pleased to provide you with the November/December 2022 Regulatory Update.

NACWA co-hosted a Symposium December 13 with the Agricultural Nutrient Policy Council (ANPC), entitled Collaborative Watershed Projects to Reduce Nutrient Losses and Protect Water Quality, at the Reservoir Center for Water Solutions in Washington, DC.

NACWA joined fellow public sector organizations in sending a letter December 15 to leaders of the House and Senate calling for Congress to waive Pay as You Go Act (PAYGO) requirements on Build America Bonds (BABs).

EPA released a pre-publication version of its proposed Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS) for 2023-2025, which also contains changes to the RFS regulations that may benefit clean water utilities. The RFS program incentivizes the production of transportation fuels from renewable biomass, including biosolids. The regulatory changes could provide more options for utilities to generate these fuels.

NACWA hosted a virtual press conference on Dec. 14 to highlight the growing affordability challenges impacting communities all across the country and to emphasize the need for more federal investments in clean water. As part of the event, the Association also released a fact sheet outlining how affordability issues are growing in every corner of the nation.

Clean Water Public Utility Leaders from Birmingham, AL, Cleveland, OH, and Buffalo, NY warn Jackson Water Crisis is not an anomaly; Data shows average annual wastewater service charge for a single-family household has risen at twice the rate of inflation between 2000 and 2021.

Dating back to the Bronze Age, humans have used wastewater and stormwater for irrigation of crops. Since that time, reuse has evolved with applications moving beyond agriculture to include non-potable uses such as cooling and toilet flushing and potable uses such as groundwater and reservoir augmentation. Shifting factors such as population growth and climate change have...