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AMessage from
NACWA’s President
& Executive Director
2
A
s we celebrate the 40th anniversa-
ry of the Clean Water Act (CWA),
we must renew our commitment to
work every day to ensure that the Act
remains relevant in an era far different
from the one in which it was originally
conceived. Forty years ago, the U. S.
was facing a water pollution crisis.
In response, the federal government
drafted legislation and provided fund-
ing to ensure significant water quality
improvements.
Today we are facing a different sort
of crisis. Federal money continues to
dry up. Costs continue to increase.
And requirements have become more
stringent – in some cases in ways
unrelated to the achievement of water
quality goals. We also have many new
challenges to address – among them
climate change, population growth,
and wet weather and related runoff,
particularly as this relates to nutrients
– arguably one of the biggest clean wa-
ter issues we face. All under the same
legislation drafted four decades ago.
Although we still have work to do to
improve our Nation’s water quality,
we also need to inject some much
needed common sense into the CWA.
This includes providing the flexibility
necessary to meet requirements in a
way that is best for a given commu-
nity – allowing for both prioritization
and the best use of limited dollars;
use of alternative methods such as
green infrastructure; and application
of a watershed-based approach that
takes a more holistic view of pollutant
sources and solutions.
To achieve these goals, NACWA has
been hard at work.
We have continued to make headway
on our ongoing campaign,
Money
Matters … Smarter Investment to Advance
Clean Water
TM
. This campaign has
provided framework for NACWA and
its Money Matters Task Force to push
for regulatory prioritization reform
under the CWA so that communities
can make the best use of their limited
funding to meet their obligations. One
tangible result of these efforts has been
the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency’s (EPA) recent release of its
Integrated Planning Framework. This
initiative could allow community lead-
ers to make decisions based on what
is best at the local level. We are proud
that NACWA and its members played
a critical role in the development of the
framework.
NACWA has also taken very seriously
the role clean water utilities will play
in the future. Tomorrow’s clean water
agencies will likely be resource recovery
entities, energy-producers, and fertilizer
generators – using green infrastructure
and emerging technologies to achieve
water quality goals. Today’s clean
water utilities understand that, in order
to achieve true sustainability, they must
continue to find ways to improve their
operations and the environment – and
NACWA is here to help. You’ll be hear-
ing more about our efforts focused
on the Water Resources Utility of the
Future over the next several months.
On the nutrient front, NACWA set the
stage for a national Farm Bill that will
encourage better nutrient management
practices by farmers. The Associa-
tion also engaged in two lawsuits that
seek to compel EPA action to address
nutrient impairment and could have
profound implications for municipal
clean water utilities.
NACWA also has embarked on the
single largest litigation effort in its
history over EPA’s rule to regulate
air emissions from sewage sludge
incinerators (SSIs) under the Clean
Air Act (CAA). Not only are the SSI
air emission standards illegal and
scientifically flawed, but they impose
overly stringent and costly limits that
many agencies will not be able to meet