» Update Archive

This edition of NACWA’s Legislative Update, current through July 1, 2013, provides information on the activities of the 113^th Congress of interest to the nation’s public clean water agencies.  For more detailed information regarding NACWA activities, click on the web links in selected news items or visit NACWA’s website.  Please contact NACWA’s Pat Sinicropi at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  or Hannah Mellman at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  with any questions or information on the Update topics.

ISSUE AREAS

Congressional Update

House Votes Down Farm Bill

The House of Representatives Farm Bill was defeated by a vote of 195 to 234 on June 20th. The bill’s failure was due in large part to proposed cuts to the food stamp program, which some Republicans and all but 24 Democrats opposed. Although the next steps for Farm Bill reauthorization are unclear at this time, the Association anticipates that the House will either consider the Senate bill next, a proposal unpopular with the House Republicans, or work on a proposal to further extend the 2008 Farm Bill. NACWA will update members as soon as more is known.

Earlier in June, the Senate approved a five-year Farm Bill which contains language NACWA, along with the Healthy Waters Coalition (HWC), had advocated for to ensure that nutrient management activities receive priority conservation funding. The language allows farmers that are part of a partnership agreement to receive five-year contracts and special payments for nutrient management-related activities. The bill also contains language that for the first time explicitly clarifies that municipal water and wastewater entities are eligible partners, and specifically cites partnerships that execute innovative water quality improvement measures as eligible for conservation funding. The HWC will be working to ensure that if the reauthorization of the Farm Bill occurs, the nutrient management language included in the Senate Farm Bill is incorporated.

Rep. Blumenauer Crafts Voluntary Trust Fund Bill

Staff for Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) told NACWA and other members of the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN) in June that work is underway to draft a bill to establish a voluntary clean water trust fund. Under Rep. Blumenauer's proposal, the makers of water-based beverages and flushable products would display a clean water logo on their products in exchange for paying a 2 to 3-cent per purchase fee into the trust fund, the proceeds of which would go entirely to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. As the bill is drafted, Republican co-sponsors are being sought. NACWA and WIN will be providing comments on the draft bill and working to help secure bipartisan support for the legislation.

Climate Change, Adaptation, and Resiliency

Obama Releases Climate Change Plan, NACWA to Ensure Wastewater a Full Partner

President Obama unveiled a comprehensive climate action plan  (CAP) which includes proposals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and better prepare the country for the impacts of climate change. Climate change has been a priority concern for the wastewater sector, and NACWA will be engaging with the Administration to ensure that as the plan is implemented, the wastewater sector is fully engaged. In response to the CAP, NACWA sent this letter to the President and key administrative offices, detailing how wastewater managers are the new first responders to climate-related events and the Administration should consider the expertise of the sector when identifying how best to target new climate change policies and investments. More information on the CAP can be found in this Advocacy Alert, and we will provide updates on this initiative as they become available.

Federal Budget and Funding

Efforts Continue to Maintain Tax-Exempt Status of Municipal Bonds

The U.S. Conference of Mayors convened a third meeting in June with NACWA and dozens of other national associations across infrastructure sectors to ensure that Congress does not scale back, or eliminate, the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds. The Obama Administration’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget proposes a 28% benefit cap on tax-exempt municipal bond interest, an action that would have enormous financial consequences for infrastructure projects, including those in the water and wastewater sector. The coalition is planning a large media campaign for later this summer to better educate Members of Congress about the importance of the current tax-exempt status.

In addition to NACWA’s work with the coalition, the Association is analyzing the potential impacts to the Nation’s clean water agencies from the proposed changes. Current analyses detail how such a tax policy shift would impact municipalities as a whole, but there is little information on how it will impact the water sector specifically. NACWA’s analysis, funded through the Association’s Targeted Action Fund (TAF), will serve as a key tool in advocacy efforts as budget discussions proceed. NACWA anticipates that the analysis will be completed in advance of the Summer Conference and will share it with the membership at that time.

130 Representatives Sign on to Letter Opposing Changes to Muni Bond Tax Exemption

Representatives Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) and Randy Hultgren (R-IL) were successful in securing 130 signatures for their “Dear Colleague” letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), urging them to support municipal bonds and oppose proposals to cap or eliminate the tax exemption for municipal bond interest. More information on this letter can be found in NACWA Advocacy Alert-AA 13-08. NACWA would like to thank all of its members that contacted their representatives and urged them to support this initiative.

White House Holds Forum on Financing Green Infrastructure

The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and EPA convened a forum entitled Financing the Water Infrastructure of the Future on July 1 to explore innovative financing opportunities for green infrastructure with a specific focus on public-private partnerships. The agenda included presentations from CEQ, EPA, the National Economic Council, the Government Accountability Office, and a number of local organizations. The forum featured a strategy session to discuss policy priorities, which Ken Kirk, NACWA’s Executive Director, and a number of NACWA member agency representatives, including Chicago, Philadelphia, Onondaga County, and Milwaukee participated in. The meeting underscored the Administration’s continued support for green infrastructure as a viable tool in the municipal toolbox to deal with wet weather challenges and the need to think creatively to maximize collaborative financing for these efforts.

Congressional Research Service Releases Water Infrastructure Funding Report

The Congressional Research Service released a report in June 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 should more money 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.

CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS

• On June 18, Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz testified before the House Science, Space and Technology Committee on the administration’s top priorities in energy and science. At the hearing, Moniz discussed the critical importance of the Energy-Water nexus and the Department’s work to develop a plan to incorporate the nexus into research and development activities in the Department, and collaboration with other agencies and stakeholders.