The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) released a pre-publication version of its upcoming proposal to reissue and modify its streamlined Clean Water Act Section 404 permits, known as the “nationwide permits,” or “NWPs.”

The U.S. House last week passed its first Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) omnibus appropriations package, H.R. 7608, that includes funding for USEPA and unprecedented increased levels of federal investment in clean water, including $8.5 billion in funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), which is nearly five times that of current levels.

In another positive step for the water sector on the PFAS legislative front, last week the U.S. House passed its version of the Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that excludes the contentious PFAS provisions NACWA and the water sector have advocated against over the past year in order to ensure the ongoing and proper science-driven regulatory process is able to play out.

While the House Democratic majority pushed through its HEROES Act, a comprehensive COVID-19 relief package back in May, the Senate did not start negotiations on its next proposed phase until last week and got off to a rocky start as the Republican majority struggled to reach agreement within the party and the White House.

Politico, a leading political publication that influences federal policy in Washington, DC, has used the inaugural issue of its recently unveiled sustainability publishing vertical to highlight several of the key water issues facing the country.

Jeffrey Clark, head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Environment and Natural Resources Division, sent a memorandum this week outlining a new policy “strongly disfavoring” federal enforcement in civil Clean Water Act (CWA) cases where a state has previously instituted a civil penalty proceeding under an analogous state law arising from the same operative facts.

Members of the US Department of Agriculture’s Multistate Research Committee, known as W4170, recently completed a rebuttal of the November 2018 EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) report on biosolids land application.

In a webinar on July 23, EPA staff from the Office of Research and Development (ORD) provided a progress update on developing analytical methods for PFAS.

NACWA hosted the third and final session of its three-part webinar series, Partnerships to Reduce the Impacts from COVID-19 on the Water Sector on Tuesday, July 28.

KC Water works to highlight the vital role water plays in everyday life by leveraging the annual awareness effort by the Value of Water Campaign — Imagine A Day Without Water – to help its community better understand the importance of clean and safe water. Recognizing access to clean water is often taken for granted, KC Water produced a short video, social media graphics and promotional items to highlight the simple daily tasks and luxuries that would not be possible without the essential resource.