EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the Agency’s new Water Sector Workforce Initiative as part of WEFTEC this week, highlighting the important role the water workforce plays in the nation’s daily life and reinforcing the importance of continued training and investment in the workforce.

NACWA was recently asked to speak on a panel at the Ground Water Protection Council’s (GWPC) 2020 Annual Forum. The GWPC, which represents state groundwater regulatory agencies nationwide, invited NACWA to present on the nexus between groundwater regulation and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program.

NACWA’s Stormwater Management Committee convened virtually on September 30 and discussed a number of priority issues, including EPA’s recent proposed rulemaking for a new allocation formula to deliver municipal grant dollars to states.

This Thursday, October 8, from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. ET, EPA’s Office of Water is hosting a complimentary webinar on the Agency’s Water Utilities Financial Impact Tool and 2020 COVID-19 Water Sector Survey.

As the presidential election season swings into high gear, NACWA sent letters last week to the Trump campaign and the Biden campaign outlining key priorities the public clean water sector would like to see discussed on the campaign trail.

The U.S. House of Representatives is set this week to pass another round of COVID-19 relief legislation. The latest iteration is an updated and “pared-down” version of the HEROES Act that passed the House in May.

NACWA joined other municipal and state groups on September 24 for a meeting hosted by EPA’s Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations to hear from Office of Water staff on the Agency’s new affordability proposal and to engage in a dialogue with EPA’s Municipal Ombudsman.

Convening for the third time this year, NACWA’s Water Quality Committee meet virtually via Zoom on September 23.

Much has been, will be, and should be said about the life and passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Ginsburg had a groundbreaking legal career, followed by thirteen years of service on the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and an impressive twenty-seven more as an Associate Justice on the Nation’s highest court - the second woman ever to hold that title. During all of which she was, in the words of Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., “a tireless and resolute champion of justice.”