Clean Water Current

(March 5, 2019) - The Senate voted last week to confirm Andrew Wheeler as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, in a mostly party line vote of 52-47. Wheeler had been serving as the acting administrator since July 2018.

Prior to being President Trump’s nominee to lead the agency, Wheeler had long worked on environmental regulation and policy. He served as a senior congressional aide to Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) and as a career staffer with EPA on toxic substances, as well as tenure working with energy companies.

NACWA looks forward to further engaging with Administrator Wheeler on its members’ advocacy initiatives, including recent Water Resources Development Act (WRDA)-related priorities, and the implementation of Integrated Planning, which was codified into law early this year.

In a related development, NACWA also met last week with Andrew Sawyers, Director of EPA’s Office of Wastewater Management (OWM), and his senior staff.  The discussion focused on a variety of issues including EPA’s plans to implement the Integrated Planning legislation, FY 2020 federal appropriations, and permitting/water quality concerns.  The meeting was very productive and NACWA will stay engaged with EPA on these important issues. 

Members with any questions can contact Chris Hornback, NACWA’s Deputy CEO.