(Washington, DC) -- The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) filed comments today in opposition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposed 2022 Financial Capability Assessment Guidance and asking that the proposal not be finalized.

After much anticipation and NACWA engagement with the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and EPA, the Biden Administration released guidance on April 18th for how federal agencies – including EPA – should implement new Build America, Buy America (BABA) requirements set to take effect on May 15th.

The Maine state legislature passed a bill – L.D. 1911, An Act to Prevent the Further Contamination of the Soils and Waters of the State with So-Called Forever Chemicals – last week that completely prohibits the land application of biosolids and the sale of compost or other agricultural products and materials containing sludge and septage in the state of Maine due to PFAS concerns. The bill now goes to Governor Mills and she is expected to sign it.

As part of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), 172 PFAS chemicals were added to the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI), requiring certain facilities to report annual management activities involving these chemicals and releases under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.

NACWA’s Environmental Justice (EJ) Committee held its first virtual meeting on April 7 and discussed a number of current hot topics in the environmental justice space.

Both the U.S. House and Senate are on recess this week and next. This is a prime opportunity to reconnect with your Representatives and Senators and their staff as they will likely be conducting local meetings or hearing directly from constituents at public townhall meetings.

Wastewater-based epidemiology continues to show community public health value as the country deals with more emerging COVID-19 variants. Especially as clinical testing appears to be wanning at the individual level, wastewater surveillance remains a consistent predictor of disease prevalence in a given community — and a vital tool for those making public health decisions.