» Clean Water Current Archive

April 22, 2011

NACWA Hosts Facilitated Session with Key Groups on Draft Money Matters Legislation

Members of NACWA’s Money Matters Task Force and representatives of key stakeholder groups joined together at the Association’s office in Washington, DC, this week for an all-day facilitated discussion on draft legislation being developed as part of the Money Matters — Smarter Investment to Advance Clean Water campaign.  Groups in attendance to provide their input included members and staff of the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA), the American Public Works Association (APWA), and the Water Environment Federation (WEF).   LaJuana Wilcher — former EPA Assistant Administrator for Water and Secretary of the Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet —facilitated the session and worked with NACWA to craft the initial draft of the legislation that was the subject of the meeting.  The legislation seeks to create a new process that provides municipalities and states with the ability to prioritize competing Clean Water Act (CWA) requirements in a manner that is affordable and focused on maximizing water quality benefits.

The discussion focused on the financial challenges municipalities and states are currently facing in implementing and complying with CWA requirements and the unique opportunity politically to move this type of legislation.  The discussion made it clear that the legislation has to ensure that there is no back-sliding in terms of water quality gains made to date under the CWA.  The key to this process would be municipalities and states being the drivers behind prioritization of program implementation and the targeting of limited ratepayer money to those projects that would best build on existing water quality gains and yield the greatest water quality bang for the buck.  Other key input focused on the need to make the source of pollutants the central factor in setting priorities and employing adaptive management at the municipal level to ensure that efforts that are not working can be altered or replaced by others that will yield increased water quality. 

The discussion was lively and open and the groups left with an overall consensus that the timing was right for this type of legislative effort and it would need to move forward quickly.  In line with this, NACWA will be revising the draft legislation in advance of its National Environmental Policy Forum in May and will be holding a Money Matters Member Roundtable at the Policy Forum on Monday, May 9, 3:00-4:30 where LaJuana Wilcher will walk through the legislation and engage members in a strategic discussion on its provisions and how best to garner Congressional support.  NACWA plans to share the revised version of the bill with the full membership in advance of the Policy Forum and thanks the participants in the facilitated session for their insightful comments.  If you have any questions about this effort or about the legislation please contact Adam Krantz at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  

NACWA to Comment on EPA Environmental Justice Initiative, Seeks Member Input

EPA is currently working to develop a list of potential tools and recommendations for better integrating environmental justice (EJ) considerations into the permitting process and into permit conditions.  Last summer, EPA launched Plan Environmental Justice 2014 — a roadmap to help EPA integrate EJ concerns into the Agency’s programs, policies, and activities.  NACWA provided comments  to EPA on the Plan, highlighting the issue of affordability as a key element that has, to date, been missing from EPA’s EJ programs.  EPA’s EJ efforts have been, in large part, focused on the disproportionate impact of environmental pollution on economically disadvantaged communities, but the Agency’s regulatory mandates and the very real financial burdens they represent for those same disadvantaged populations are also important.  NACWA stressed in its comments that EPA must also take into consideration the ability of these communities to continue to pay rising sewer bills that result from programs designed to meet EPA mandates. 

 Since releasing its Plan EJ 2014, EPA has been working on several Plan-related efforts across the Agency focused on advancing EJ.  One of those elements is the EJ Permitting Initiative, through which the Agency wants disproportionately burdened communities to have full and meaningful access to the permitting process in order to ensure that permits issued under EPA’s authority address EJ issues to the greatest extent practicable.  In addition to seeking comments on the draft implementation plan  for the EJ Permitting Initiative, EPA is also asking for comment on a draft list  of tools and recommendations.  Included in the draft list are potential permit conditions, including enhanced monitoring and the availability of facility-specific data, and other provisions designed to address community concerns.  In addition to comments on the implementation plan and the initial draft list of tools and recommendations, EPA is seeking examples of past permits/permit processes that examined issues relating to EJ.  NACWA plans to provide comments on the EJ Permitting Initiative by May 6 and requests that any member input or comments be sent by May 3 to Chris Hornback at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

NACWA Briefs State Nutrient Workgroup on Clean Water Community Concerns

NACWA staff and the leadership of the Water Quality Committee briefed the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators’ (ASIWPCA) Nutrient Policy Committee this week on the findings from NACWA's Nutrient Summit last fall.  NACWA previously outlined some of the key themes from its Summit for state water regulators during ASIWPCA's mid-year meeting in March.  With NACWA's issue paper  summarizing the discussions at the Summit now complete, the call with ASIWPCA's Nutrient Policy Committee focused on the key areas where NACWA and ASIWCPA members share common interest and may be able to work together. 

Among other common concerns, NACWA and ASIWPCA have both stressed the complexity of the relationship between nutrients and water quality impacts and raised concerns over EPA's continued insistence on the application of numeric values for nitrogen and phosphorus to all waterbodies independent of what other monitoring data may be indicating.  With recent events in Florida and other states drawing attention to the general lack of progress on addressing nutrient-related impacts, members of NACWA and ASIWPCA have been working to identify rational approaches to making additional progress.  EPA’s recent memorandum  on managing nutrient pollution provides a renewed opportunity for states and clean water agencies to look for ways to combine their efforts to develop programs for addressing nutrient-related impacts.  NACWA will be meeting further with ASIWPCA in the coming weeks and months to explore key areas where the two organizations can better collaborate. 

NACWA PR Committee Call to Explore How to Garner Support for Rate Increases during Challenging Economic Times

NACWA’s Communications and Public Relations (PR) Committee is having a conference call on Tuesday, April 26 at 11:00 am Eastern to discuss public agency strategies and messages for communicating rate increases to their ratepayers during challenging economic circumstances. The call will also focus on successful efforts to garner support from state legislatures to advance legislation addressing growing Clean Water Act (CWA) affordability challenges.  Two key NACWA members — Sanitation District #1 in Northern Kentucky and the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) in Cleveland — will discuss their successful strategies and messages, as well as the many challenges, in getting rate increases approved as well as their model efforts to advance state affordability legislation.  The Committee will also discuss outcomes from the Money Matters Summit & Fly-In and the strategic next steps of the Money Matters PR campaign.  If your public agency is interested in becoming more involved in PR issues and the vital role that outreach and messaging plays in advancing NACWA’s priority advocacy initiatives, we strongly suggest that your communications staff or the appropriate person join NACWA’s PR Committee and participate in the April 26 conference call.  To become a member of the PR Committee and/or take part in the conference call on April 26, please contact Thea Graybill at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

NACWA Sets Record Straight on Role of Clean Water Agencies, MWRDGC in Chicago Tribune Article 

On a related note, NACWA successfully placed an article in the Chicago Tribune’s online editorial page responding to a March 20 article in the Tribune that mischaracterized Chicago’s clean water efforts and criticized its Deep Tunnel program.  NACWA explained the incredible record of clean water agencies across the country and of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRDGC) specifically.  The editorial response pointed out MWRDGC’s record of controlling overflows that was largely ignored in the Tribune’s March 20 article, the enormous affordability challenges that cities, including Chicago, are facing in complying with expanding Clean Water Act requirements, as well as the engineering marvel that sewer system like Chicago’s, represent.  NACWA also touted its Money Matters – Smarter Investment to Advance Clean Water campaign as the direction EPA and Congress need to head in to ensure continued viability of clean water efforts.  For a full listing of NACWA’s presence in the nation’s media outlets on the array of the Association’s advocacy priorities, see the NACWA in the News webpage.    

Make Your Plans for NACWA’s Two Upcoming Conferences. . .  Deadlines Approaching!

National Environmental Policy Forum

NACWA’s National Environmental Policy Forum offers a unique opportunity to dig deep into the latest federal legislative, regulatory, and legal developments.  Join us May 8-11, 2011 at the Westin Washington DC City Center for compelling speakers and consecutive, rather than concurrent, committee meetings ensuring the maximum benefit of information on national issues impacting your utility and ratepayers back home.   While the hotel deadline has passed for the Westin Washington DC City Center if you are still in need of a hotel room, please contact Robin Davis at 202/533-1802 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  The deadline for conference registrations to ensure your name appears on the conference participants list  is Monday, April 25.  Online registration and an up-to-date agenda  are available on NACWA’s website. 

NACWA is pleased to announce that Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Chairman of the Senate Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, and Representatives Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio) and Timothy Bishop (D-N.Y.), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee respectively, will be joining us at our Capitol Hill Reception.  Additional invitations have been sent to Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and Congressman Nick Rahall, Ranking Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.  Other guests joining NACWA at the National Environmental Policy Forum include David White, Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and The Honorable Dennis Eckart (D-Ohio), former Member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

National Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Workshop

Join your clean water colleagues for the only conference specifically designed for pretreatment professionals!  This year’s Workshop, taking place May 18 - 20 at the St. Louis Union Station Marriott, will focus on topics that promise to be important for present and future pretreatment programs.  Timely issues include the current status of effluent guidelines development, pretreatment performance measures, and other programs.  NACWA has secured a special group rate of $129 per night (single/double), at the St. Louis Union Station Marriott.  Be sure to make your reservations by Tuesday, May 3.  View the preliminary agenda , register online and find other valuable information on NACWA’s website.

NACWA wishes all of its members a happy Earth Day and holiday weekend.