Clean Water Current Archive

NACWA’s Board of Directors approved a new environmental justice statement for the Association as part of its meeting in late July.

Your people are the heart, the core, and the future of the clean water sector. Now you have a path for investing in that future: Core Leadership.

NACWA and the California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA) are collecting information from utilities to support changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program’s classification of fuel produced through co-digestion of biosolids and food waste.

Earlier this year, EPA and the Department of the Army announced their intent to revise the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Biden Administration with the goal of developing a new rule that is durable and supports human health, environmental protection, and the economy.

Early this week the bipartisan group of 22 Senators who have been negotiating with President Biden and the White House on a bipartisan infrastructure bill released legislative text and quickly began to advance it through the Senate with the support of leadership.

NACWA congratulates Kishia Powell, Chief Operating Officer for DC Water, as she takes the helm of the Association as NACWA’s newly elected President for 2021-2022.

NACWA is pleased to announce the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its Report to Congress on Integrated Plans to Comply with the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act (WIIA) of 2019 on July 12. The Report was sent to both the Senate’s Committee on Environment and Public Works and the House’s Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and is also now publicly available on EPA’s Integrated Planning website.

The U.S. House of Representatives advanced legislation this week, The PFAS Action Act of 2021 (H.R. 2467), that directs EPA to list certain PFAS substances as hazardous materials under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) – also knows as the Superfund law. Unfortunately, the legislation did not include important exemptions and protections for the municipal water sector that would protect utilities from costly PFAS cleanups

Senators this week are continuing to work out the final details and ways to pay for the bipartisan infrastructure legislative package they hope to bring to the full chamber for a vote before the August recess.

On Wednesday, July 21st, bipartisan legislation led by Reps. Lowenthal (D-CA) and McClain (R-MI) was introduced to help address the problem of non-flushable wipes in sewer systems. The Wastewater Infrastructure Pollution Prevention and Environmental Safety Act (WIPPES) would direct the Federal Trade Commission, in consultation with U.S. EPA, to issue regulations requiring wipes manufacturers to include Do Not Flush labeling on non-flushable wet wipes packaging.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Community Services has set a new date for a webinar for water and wastewater utilities to learn more about the emergency Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP): Thursday, August 12th from 3:00-4:00 PM Eastern. We expect a registration link from HHS within the week, which NACWA will include in the next Current.

NACWA’s 2021 Utility Leadership Virtual Event took place this past Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by the Annual Association Business Meeting and Awards Presentation.

As the Senate focuses its work on turning the high level bipartisan infrastructure framework released in late June into actual comprehensive legislation, NACWA sent a letter to Congressional Leadership last week urging that the highest level of funding for clean water infrastructure be provided in the form of direct investment.

In the last Clean Water Current, NACWA included a save-the-date for Thursday, July 22nd for a one-hour webinar to be hosted by the Department of Health and Human Services for water and wastewater utilities to learn more about the emergency Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP).

Have you registered for NACWA’s upcoming Utility Leadership Virtual Event? Happening next week on July 20 and July 21, NACWA is hosting this free leadership event that will explore how water sector leaders have an opportunity to highlight the essential role they play in their communities and to influence how infrastructure conversations ultimately play out on the national stage.

EPA has approximately $5.5 billion in credit for Fiscal Year 2021 that could finance over $11 billion in water infrastructure projects through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program.

NACWA has asked EPA to consider the risks to utility operations and the aquatic environment when evaluating pesticides for classification as a Minimum Risk Pesticide. This classification exempts certain pesticides from registration and other regulatory requirements under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). EPA is currently considering potential modifications to the Minimum Risk Pesticide Program.

The US Water Alliance recently kicked off a survey on climate resiliency as part of a larger Climate Resilience Through One Water: Framework and Utility Action Guide project.

Prospects for an infrastructure deal began to solidify late last week with an announcement between the White House and a bipartisan group of 21 Senators on June 24th that a deal had been struck on an infrastructure package.

The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Community Services, which is administering the emergency Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP), is planning a webinar on July 22 to discuss this new program with clean water and drinking water utilities.