6
DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014
Inside
FY2014 Budget Passes,
Funds the SRFs Above
President’s Request....................... 2
Leading Sector Organizations
to Host Water Policy
Forum & Fly-In .............................. 2
NACWA Active in Litigation,
Legal Advocacy.............................. 3
2014 Off to a Busy Start on the
Regulatory Front............................ 4
NACWA Members - One Voice
for Clean Water............................. 5
Engage 2.0..................................... 5
Representative Bob Latta (R-OH) joined with his
colleague Representative Tim Walz (D-MN) to
introduce the Clean Water
Affordability Act on January 14.
R
epresentatives Bob Latta (R-OH) and TimWalz (D-MN) introduced legislation on January 14
to ensure that clean water agencies that are facing unprecedented financial challenges have the
flexibility they need to undertake clean water projects in a manner that minimizes financial
impacts on stressed ratepayers and strapped municipal budgets.
H.R. 3862,
would codify the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s
(EPA) Integrated Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater Planning Approach Framework to help commu-
nities meet their regulatory obligations under the Clean Water Act in a prioritized and sustainable man-
ner. Under the integrated planning approach, communities could create a schedule of priority projects
for wastewater and stormwater permit obligations to ensure available funds go to those projects yielding
the greatest water quality benefit first. The bill would also extend permit terms up to 25 years to support
the commitments a community makes under its integrated plan.
H.R. 3862 would also require EPA to revise all guidance documents regarding financial capability. In
line with these revisions, the legislation seeks to broaden the manner in which financial capability deter-
minations are conducted to more accurately reflect a community’s financial challenges including age of
population, unemployment rate, poverty rate, fiscal health and other considerations. Currently, Median
Household Income (MHI) is used as the predominant indicator of financial capability for a community.
Relying on a more narrow matrix and the MHI indicator does not allow for determinations to take into
full account the significant and diverse fiscal constraints faced by communities and their ratepayers.
Finally, the legislation would make some key changes to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF)
loan program, including 1) an extension of the repayment period for authorized clean water investments
to up to thirty years, 2) authorizing additional subsidization such as principal forgiveness for communi-
Bipartisan Clean Water Affordability Bill
Introduced in House
Winter Conference Agenda
to Focus on Critical Drivers
for Clean Water
N
ACWA’s 2014 Winter Conference,
Compliance, Collaboration
& Cost . . . Critical Drivers for Clean Water
, is just around
the corner. Slated for February 2 – 5, 2014 in Santa Fe,
N.M., the conference will spotlight how utilities across
the country are exploring more holistic approaches to meeting Clean
Water Act obligations and rehabilitating their aging water infra-
structure. Rather than focusing on individual requirements one at a
time, utilities today having considerable success addressing multiple
requirements while collaborating with other agencies and the com-
munity.
A
Clear
Commitment to America’s Waters
National Association of
Clean Water Agencies
1816 Jefferson Place, NW
Washington DC 20036-2505
p
202.833.2672
f
202.833.4657
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