Clean Water Current Archive

NACWA joined with the California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA) in filing an amicus brief earlier this week with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) in support of Member Agency the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s Petition for Review of a Clean Water Act (CWA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued by EPA Region 9.

EPA published a notice in the Federal Register on April 10 seeking public comment on the WaterSense Program and requesting information on any data, surveys, or studies to help assess consumer satisfaction with WaterSense labeled products.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently issued two memos – one on March 31 and one on April 13 – outlining its policy to temporarily suspend certain affirmative civil debt collection and enforcement activities, including those related to environmental consent decrees and settlement agreements, through May 31, 2020 to “mitigate the financial impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.”

In a final rule published in the Federal Register on April 15, EPA is finalizing a suite of changes to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) eRule to be consistent with current municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4s) permit requirements.

NACWA and the water sector continue to engage with Congress on a daily basis to ensure future stimulus legislation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic includes assistance to public clean water utilities. This assistance will help clean water agencies maintain critical services during the coronavirus pandemic and to mitigate projected losses of revenue and impacts to scheduled investments.

The COVID-19 pandemic has offered NACWA and its members the chance to highlight the importance of the water sector and its workforce. Beginning at the onset of the pandemic, NACWA launched the hashtag #H20Heroes on Twitter to acknowledge its water professionals standing on the frontline of this crises.

NACWA’s Small and Mid-Size Utility Executive Workgroup hosted a call on April 6 as a follow-up to the Association’s COVID-19 Webinar. Nearly 50 utility executives came together to discuss best practices and continuity of operation resources as well as financial implications related to the coronavirus pandemic.

In recent comments, NACWA asked EPA to consider aquatic impacts of pet flea shampoos and treatments that contain methoprene, a chemical that is used in pet flea treatments.

The ink had barely dried on the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which passed into law Friday, March 27th, when policymakers turned their focus to the next phase of coronavirus response and recovery this week.

NACWA hosted a webinar with over 1000 attendees on April 2 to highlight top utility leaders’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and engage in a question and answer session.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) this week published guidance on how it intends to implement the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), including a directive that public works personnel be considered “emergency responders” under the law.

EPA issued a news release on March 30 to encourage Americans to only flush toilet paper. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and toilet paper shortages, wastewater utilities have seen an increase in flushing of wipes and other materials.

EPA’s newly appointed Municipal Ombudsperson, Jamie Piziali, met virtually with NACWA staff on March 30 to discuss NACWA’s long-standing work on Integrated Planning initiatives, including the importance of having an Ombudsperson office within EPA’s Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations serve as a liaison between EPA Headquarters, municipalities, state regulators and EPA Regional Offices.

The Water Sector Coordinating Council (WSCC) met on March 25 to discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on the water sector and met the following day with the Water Government Coordinating Council (GCC). The WSCC and GCC had originally planned to meet in person on these dates but moved to a web meeting format due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

NACWA and its members have been active in their outreach to the media during this extraordinary time.

In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and in recognition of the concerns raised by NACWA members and many others concerning the worker shortages and compliance limitations it may cause, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) on March 26 issued a temporary policy outlining how the Agency “intends to exercise its enforcement discretion with respect to certain compliance situations.”

NACWA and the broader water sector joined together in a formal request to Congress this week to aid water and wastewater utilities in overcoming the challenges posed by coronavirus.

NACWA is hosting a free webinar regarding the impacts of COVID-19 on clean water agencies, with all utilities invited to participate. The webinar will be held April 2 from 2:00 – 3:30 PM ET.

Washington State became the first state with a wipes labeling law on March 25, when Gov. Jay Inslee signed Washington’s HB 2565.

NACWA met with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) via conference call on March 19 to discuss the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS), the regulatory program that manages security of high-risk facilities that possess any of 300 chemicals of interest above a specified threshold.