Congressional negotiators are working furiously against the clock to hammer out agreements to pass critical bills to avoid a government shutdown, raise the debt limit, and advance infrastructure investment legislation.

In comments submitted to EPA on September 24, NACWA, the American Water Works Association (AWWA), and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) offered support for the Agency’s efforts to use the Toxic Substances Control Act’s (TSCA) Section 8(a)(7) reporting and recordkeeping requirements as a means to broaden the universe of understanding on PFAS, where it has been discharged, and its uses.

The NACWA Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Committee will be holding a meeting on Tuesday, October 5, 2:00-3:00 pm ET to discuss EPA’s Preliminary Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 15 and NACWA’s comment on the Plan, which are due October 14.

In a memorandum sent last week to the EPA Regions and Water Division Directors, EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water Radhika Fox revoked the previous administration’s January 2021 guidance document, “Applying the Supreme Court’s County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund Decision in the Clean Water Act Section 402 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit (NPDES) Program.”

NACWA submitted initial comments to EPA and the Department of the Army on September 20 urging the agencies to maintain existing and added exclusions for waste treatment systems, stormwater control features, wastewater recycling structures, and groundwater as the agencies begin another effort to revise the definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS).

The House and Senate reconvened this week as both chambers work to iron out spending and policy differences on the reconciliation bill and on a short-term spending measure to avert a government shutdown on October 1st.

Following recent high profile cybersecurity incidents, the White House in July released its National Security Memorandum on Improving Cybersecurity for Critical Infrastructure Control Systems, outlining a plan to promote industrial control system (ICS) security in critical infrastructure sectors.

NACWA joined with other organizations in the municipal governance space last week on a letter to the U.S. Treasury Department seeking clarification on the taxability of certain utility financial assistance.