» Clean Water Current Archive

June 7, 2013

House Urged to Maintain Tax-Exempt Status of Municipal Bonds

NACWA, along with the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), sent a letter to members of the House of Representatives this week, asking them to sign onto a letter  by Representatives Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) and Randy Hultgren (R-IL) urging Congress to reject proposals to alter the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds.  The Obama Administration’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Budget request includes a proposal to implement a 28-percent benefit cap on municipal bond interest for high income taxpayers.  NACWA and AMWA are also working on a joint white paper analyzing the impacts the potential scaling back of the tax exemption would have on the water sector and participating in a U.S. Conference of Mayors-led coalition of over 50 national associations working to maintain the tax-exemption.  The Association will continue to provide frequent updates on this initiative. 

 NACWA Talks Advocacy with New York and Oregon Utility Groups

Earlier this week, representatives from NACWA’s National Office attended the Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies’ (ORACWA) Stormwater Summit in Eugene and the New York Water Environment Association’s (NYWEA) spring meeting in Syracuse.

The day-long Stormwater Summit was an opportunity for over 100 Oregon stormwater professionals, including many NACWA members, to hear from experts on issues ranging from pesticide stewardship to the implications of stormwater on the conservation of Pacific salmon.  NACWA spoke about federal stormwater trends, encouraging Oregon utilities to inform the Association’s advocacy initiatives on stormwater fee challenges, MS4 audits, and untraditional TMDLs.  

NACWA met with NYWEA’s Utility Executive Committee where the focus was on integrated planning (IP) and discussions agencies are currently engaged with state regulators to ensure greater permit rationality and flexibility.  The Association discussed the importance of the EPA’s IP initiative on a national scale, and there was a broad agreement that NACWA host one of its Regional IP Workshops in New York in the fall.  NACWA also discussed its expanding legal portfolio and its collaborative Water Resources Utility of the Future initiative. 

 NACWA Seeks Support for Innovative Water Technologies

NACWA met this week with a representative of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) – a program funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) – to learn more about the Agency’s work to promote and fund the research and development of advanced energy technologies.  Acting on NACWA’s Targeted Action Fund (TAF) project, The Water Resources Utility of the Future: A Blueprint for Action , the Association sought to learn more about whether the clean water community could take advantage of ARPA-E funding for energy generation projects, and whether a new program – modeled on ARPA-E – could be created at EPA to further the development and deployment of additional innovative water-related technologies, such as those to reuse water and recover nutrients for commercial uses.  At the meeting, NACWA learned that ARPA-E is focused on groundbreaking, transformative technologies in the energy space, in contrast to the Blueprint’s focus is on ensuring wider adoption of existing, innovative technologies.  The Association will, however, continue to explore the ARPA-E model, as well as the creation of a new program – potentially leveraging available funds from several federal agencies, to help incentivize the greater adoption of innovative technologies.  The membership will be kept apprised of developments as they occur. 

 Congressional Research Service Releases Water Infrastructure Funding Report

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report this week outlining a number of options for financing future water infrastructure projects – and suggesting that a combination of funding mechanisms is needed to meet the nation's water infrastructure needs.  The report, Legislative Options for Financing Water Infrastructure, discusses six policy options included in recent legislative proposals, including increasing funding for the State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs; creating a federal water infrastructure trust fund; implementing a Water Infrastructure Finance & Innovation Act (WIFIA) program; creating a national infrastructure bank; lifting private activity bond restrictions on water infrastructure projects; and, reinstating the authority for the issuance of Build America Bonds.

Despite a general consensus that more investment in water infrastructure is needed, the report found that each option has significant – albeit different – drawbacks resulting from the current economic and political climate.  NACWA’s position, as informed by its Money Matters . . . Smarter Investment to Advance Clean Water™ campaign, is that not only more money should be put on the table by the federal government but, more importantly, that federal regulations and enforcement must become more flexible to account for the real affordability challenges being faced by communities.  The report demonstrates Congress’ continuing interest in solutions to upgrade our nation’s wastewater and drinking water systems.

 Coalition Opposes Cuts to Agricultural Conservation Programs

This week, NACWA joined 26 other water and conservation organizations on letter   urging the House Appropriations Committee to oppose cuts to mandatory Farm Bill agricultural conservation programs in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Agriculture Appropriations bill.  The letter notes that, over the past decade, the Conservation Title of the Farm Bill has been disproportionately targeted for severe cuts in appropriations bills.  Maintaining conservation funding in FY 2014 will help farmers voluntarily address their key resource concerns, deliver demonstrated environmental benefits, protect the soil to provide lasting food security, and improve the economy in rural areas.  NACWA continues to track developments on the Federal budget and its impact to agricultural conservation funding as they occur.  

 Water Reuse Key NACWA Priority at Bureau of Reclamation Meeting

As part of a stakeholder meeting with the Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Michael Connor and key staff, NACWA received key updates on budget and high priority Bureau issues, including the WaterSMART grant program for water reclamation and reuse projects.  The WaterSMART grant program has provided $161 million in cost-share funding to municipalities and water districts for conservation projects in the American West.  The program’s Water and Energy Efficiency grant category includes those projects that save water or facilitate transfer to new uses, such as water reuse.  Water reuse projects have been selected for these grants in the past, and in an era of ever-decreasing availability of federal financing, NACWA is committed to informing members how the WaterSMART program may be a viable funding source for their qualified water reuse projects.  More information on the program can be found on the WaterSMART website.  The Association will continue to explore tools and resources available for clean water agencies interested in water reuse projects. 

 Security & Emergency Preparedness Committee Convenes via Webinar

NACWA’s Security & Emergency Preparedness Committee held a web meeting this week to discuss cybersecurity and other recent activities related to utility security.  Since the February 2013 release of the Executive Order (EO) for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, and the accompanying Presidential Policy Directive 21 (PPD-21), cybersecurity has been a national focus.  The Committee received an update of the activities related to the EO and PPD-21 being conducted by the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies.  NACWA has submitted comments on an initial request for information regarding the Cybersecurity Framework that will be developed as prescribed in the EO.  Patty Cleveland, Assistant Regional Manager with the Trinity River Authority, Texas, a NACWA Board member, and Vice Chair of the Water Sector Coordinating Council (WSCC), described the measures taken at her utility to improve cybersecurity for both control systems and business operations.  

The Committee also discussed an episode of the popular TV show NCIS-LA that aired on April 9 and focused on intentional contamination of both bottled and municipal drinking water.  The episode has raised many questions within the water sector about how utilities and EPA would respond to this type of contamination, and the WSCC is currently working with EPA and DHS to ensure that the water sector is appropriately prepared for this type of incident.  The next meeting of the Committee will be in September and will focus on case studies of the security measures taken by NACWA members at their facilities.  To join the Security & Emergency Preparedness Committee – or any other of the Association’s issue-driven committees – please visit www.nacwa.org/joincommittee.

 Comments Sought on NACWA’s FY 2014 Preliminary Budget & Dues

On May 23 NACWA’s membership was forwarded Member Update 13-08 which described key aspects of the FY 2014 budget and the Association’s plans for the coming fiscal year (October 1, 2013 – September 30, 2014).  The FY 2014 budget development process included a thorough review of revenues and expenditures, with special attention was paid to the critical role the Association’s Targeted Action Fund (TAF) plays in accomplishing key objectives and its incredible return on investment.  In FY 2014, membership dues are projected to generate $577,756 in new revenue – of which $500,000 will be allocated to NACWA’s Targeted Action Fund (TAF).  The Association’s smallest Member Agencies will see their dues increase by $190 – and our largest Member Agencies’ dues will increase by $7,620 – capped at $60,000.  All Member Agencies that voluntarily contributed the recommended amount to the TAF in FY 2013 will see their annual payment to NACWA go down.

The Association’s Board of Directors encourages all members to review the preliminary FY 2014 General Fund budget and provided comments as directed in MU 13-08 by midnight Eastern Time on Friday, June 14, 2013.  All comments will be carefully considered prior to final action on the FY 2014 General Fund budget when NACWA’s Board of Directors meets on July 14, 2013 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

 NACWA Issues May Healthy Waters Update

NACWA forwarded the May Healthy Waters Update   this week to members of the Healthy Waters Coalition, a diverse group of municipal and state water and wastewater organizations, as well as conservation and sustainable agriculture.  The Coalition is focused on strengthening links between working agricultural lands and the quality of our Nation’s waters – with specific emphasis on agricultural nutrient run-off.  The Update provides an overview of press coverage on key studies and research, and significant federal/state/local activities related to nutrient issues.  A full archive of past monthly Healthy Waters Updates, can be found here.  NACWA members interested in receiving the Updates are invited to email the Healthy Waters Coalition at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 NACWA Blog of the Week:

Starting a Regional Stormwater Management Utility

Have you subscribed yet to NACWA’s Blog?   If not you may be missing great new posts that are made to The Water Voice each Wednesday.  This week’s post features guest bloggers from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) – Manager of Watershed Programs and NACWA Stormwater Committee Chair, Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells and Senior Communications Specialist & Social Media Coordinator John Gonzalez.  Dreyfuss-Wells and Gonzales discusses the beginnings of NEORSD’s Stormwater Management Program.  The considerations of time, energy, and experience that went into the creation of the NEORSD’s regional stormwater management program are creatively compared to a job search.