NACWA submitted comments March 13 on EPA’s Draft Inventory of US Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2018. The annual Inventory provides nationwide estimates for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for different sectors, including wastewater treatment, and is intended to be used only for informational purposes.

Congress continues working around the clock to reach agreement on its next round of coronavirus stimulus legislation – and NACWA is pleased that proposals under consideration include water/wastewater assistance.

As the impacts from the COVID-19 outbreak continue to spread across the country, NACWA is committed to providing the highest level of service and resources to its members during this difficult time. Member utilities are doing incredible things to keep their staff and communities safe and their utilities providing service without disruption that all clean water agencies can benefit from.

As the economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic further reverberate throughout the entire U.S. economy, NACWA staff have been in continual engagement with Congress to advocate that any legislative stimulus package must include assistance for hard-hit public clean water utilities.

As part of the ongoing federal response to COVID-19, the President yesterday signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (HR 6201). This $100 billion law is considered “Phase 2” of the COVID-19 response.

Given the significant public health and travel restrictions in place as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, NACWA’s Executive Committee and executive staff made the difficult decision this week to cancel or postpone all of the Association’s in-person meetings through the end of July.

In an announcement made on March 16, EPA officially named Ms. Jamie Piziali as the Agency’s first Municipal Ombudsman to assist states and local governments in carrying out integrated planning efforts.

Almost two years after EPA published its initial Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science proposed rulemaking, EPA announced a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) on March 3 to further clarify details on what the Agency plans to achieve.

A Hawaii circuit court judge recently dismissed a lawsuit filed against the mayor of the County of Maui challenging his decision not to settle the case currently before the US Supreme Court concerning whether pollution reaching navigable waters via groundwater or other diffuse media is subject to Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) requirements.