Clean Water Current

NACWA joined eight public clean water agency members and two state associations on an amicus curiae brief last week in support of member utility the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s (SFPUC) appeal of problematic language in its Clean Water Act (CWA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.

NACWA staff met with EPA’s Office of Wastewater Management (OWM) on September 20 to catch up on a variety of efforts underway at the Agency.

NACWA has been active over the past week to push back against PFAS regulatory action that could have potentially significant negative impacts on the clean water sector.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee and Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee held a legislative hearing September 27 entitled “Proposals to Enhance Product Safety and Transparency for Americans.”

A concerning legislative effort in Massachusetts has resurfaced. A bill has been reintroduced in the state Senate, S.2053 (previously S.2566), An Act Establishing a Moratorium on the Procurement of Structures of Activities Generating PFAS Emissions, which would place a moratorium on any existing or potential new structure that may generate PFAS emissions until both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection promulgate air regulation standards for PFAS – actions which are likely years away.

In two separate announcements this past week, U.S. EPA announced two important funding opportunities available to water sector utilities.

For those NACWA members that are traveling to WEFTEC 2023 in Chicago next week, we look forward to seeing you there!

NACWA has been invited to testify before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee on September 28 to discuss the critical importance of federal infrastructure funding, in particular the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), for local communities.

NACWA filed comments last week with EPA’s full Science Advisory Board (SAB) in advance of its meetings on September 21 and 22 to conduct a final review of EPA’s draft Standardized Framework for Sewage Sludge Chemical Risk Assessment. This is the last step the SAB will take before offering concluding recommendations to EPA Administrator Regan.

NACWA is requesting information from its members about the use of generators that meet EPA’s Tier 4 emission standards.

NACWA is pleased to release its 2023 Annual Report, which documents the Association’s advocacy accomplishments and member engagement while outlining our vision for the year ahead.

NACWA is pleased to be offering a number of free webinars for member over the next few weeks. Check out the offerings below and register!

As Congress ramps up its legislative work for the fall, NACWA is in full force on Capitol Hill to advocate and ensure any PFAS legislation includes a targeted exemption for public clean water utilities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), and that any spending bills include the highest levels of federal clean water funding.

NACWA was pleased to join with other major water sector associations on a Sept. 7 letter to President Biden calling on him to ensure that his Administration holds polluters – and not local communities and their water ratepayers – responsible for the costs of addressing PFAS pollution and contamination.

NACWA General Counsel Amanda Aspatore took a quick trip to New Jersey to discuss biosolids with utility representatives at the New Jersey Water Environment Association (NJWEA) Autumn Technology Transfer Seminar.

The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) offers free cyber vulnerability scanning for drinking water and wastewater utilities, and a new factsheet explains the details of this program.

The U.S. EPA and Army Corps of Engineers recently issued a new final rule amending their Jan. 2023 definition of "Waters of the United States" (WOTUS), which outlines which waters fall under the federal purview of the Clean Water Act.

In August 28 comments, NACWA asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to thoroughly evaluate the effectiveness and environmental impacts of at-home disposal methods for unused opioid medications before encouraging their widespread use.

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued final guidance to federal agencies on August 18th on how to implement the Build America, Buy America (BABA) requirements in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced $379 million in funding for the second year of a four-year, $1 billion cybersecurity grant program for state, local, and territorial governments.