» Clean Water Current Archive

August 8, 2014

NACWA, Clean Water Administrators Discuss Trading, Innovative Financing

NACWA participated on a panel with EPA and state regulatory leaders at the Association of Clean Water Administrators’ (ACWA) annual meeting in Oklahoma City. The Association encouraged the group’s support for market-based approaches to address increasingly complex clean water challenges, especially nutrients and stormwater. Noting that while examples of water quality trading are increasing at a fairly slow pace, NACWA said that it is vital that states and the federal government support these programs and encourage their expansion, even in the absence of national regulatory drivers.

ACWA represents state and interstate clean water regulatory agencies and is a vital partner with NACWA on a host of issues discussed at this conference, including funding/financing, Water Resources Utility of the Future issues – especially in the energy and reuse arenas – and affordability/integrated planning efforts. Julia Anastasio, ACWA’s new Executive Director, is a valued colleague in the water sector and has a strong and continuing relationship with NACWA from her former position with the American Public Works Association.

NACWA Weighs in on Toledo Water Shutdown

NACWA sent out a press release to the media this week as events in Toledo unfolded. Recognizing that additional information will continue to inform the situation, NACWA underscored the need for continued investment to ensure water quality, as well as support for viable watershed-based solutions to deal with increasingly complex water challenges. NACWA noted that to completely address remaining water quality impairment, “greater attention and resources must be focused on nonpoint sources of pollution resulting from storm water runoff from agricultural lands and urban areas.”

As Julius Ciaccia, former NACWA President and Executive Director of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, noted in the release, “[e]arly indications are that agricultural interests are committed to work with the utility community to solve this national problem, but it’s going to take time, money, and a growing understanding by Congress that we need more flexibility to craft watershed-based solutions. Toledo is not alone in facing this challenge.”

NACWA also pointed to its successful efforts to address the nutrient challenge by obtaining critical point-nonpoint partnership provisions in the Farm Bill to implement innovative nutrient management solutions (see related story); increasing its support for water quality trading; and the use of innovative agreements, like one NACWA will soon enter into with a federation of milk producers on the use of partnerships to increase the use of biodigesters and other nutrient management techniques.

Cybersecurity Workgroup Formulates Water Sector Strategy

A Water Sector Cybersecurity Workgroup has been convened by the Water Sector Coordinating Council (WSCC) and the Government Coordinating Council (GCC) to improve the resiliency of water and wastewater utilities by developing a strategy to promote and facilitate the use of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity. The Framework was developed in response to the February 2013 Executive Order 13636, Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity.

The Workgroup held its first in-person meeting this week. One of NACWA’s representatives to the WSCC, Patty Cleveland, Assistant Regional Manager with the Trinity River Authority, Texas, and Vice Chair of the WSCC, serves as Co-Chair of the Workgroup, and Nelson Sims, Security Analyst, from NACWA member agency DC Water is a member. Government agencies including EPA, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and NIST are also participating. The Workgroup will be recommending approaches on cybersecurity-related outreach and training for utilities; assessing gaps in guidance, tools, and resources; and, identifying methods to measure success for improving cybersecurity at utilities. A final Workgroup report will be available by the end of the year.

NACWA Security Committee Meets on Chemical Security, Cybersecurity, and Emergency Preparedness

NACWA’s Security & Emergency Preparedness Committee held a web-based meeting this week to discuss issues including chemical security, cybersecurity, and emergency preparedness. Although Congress is considering an extension of the current Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program, which currently includes an exemption for water and wastewater utilities, there continue to be calls by some in Congress to remove the utility exemption. A June from a federal working group report to the President, Actions to Improve Chemical Facility Safety and Security – A Shared Commitment , recommended that the exemption for water and wastewater utilities be removed. The report also recommended possible regulation to encourage the use of inherently safer technologies (IST), which could include replacement of chlorine gas disinfection at utilities (see NACWA Advocacy Alert 14-13).

The Committee discussed NACWA’s position on chemical security issues, and agreed that the Association should continue to assert that utilities should be exempt from CFATS due to their unique function to protect public health and the environment – and that any necessary regulation related to security should come from EPA, rather than the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Committee also reaffirmed NACWA’s position that IST choices must be made at the local level. NACWA will be submitting comments on the June report that state these positions and include example from utilities that have conducted thorough analyses of their security measures and chemical use options. Please email Cynthia Finley at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you would like to provide information about your utility for these comments.

The Committee also received updates about the work being conducted on cybersecurity by the federal government and the Water Sector Coordinating Council (WSCC) (see related story) and the resources available to utilities to evaluate and improve their cybersecurity. Information about the new version of VSAT, which is available for download at www.vsatusers.org, was also provided. The next Security & Emergency Preparedness Committee web meeting will be held in early December.

USDA Invites NACWA Members to Submit Full RCPP Applications

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) this week identified which Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) would be invited to submit full proposals as part of the final stage in the RCPP application process.  The RCPP was established in the 2013 Farm Bill and encourages partnerships between agricultural producers and municipal entities, such as water and wastewater utilities, to help farmers tackle various conservation and environmental issues on a regional scale.  Almost $400 million will be available in the first full year to support this work.  The application process was extremely competitive: almost 600 pre-proposals, requesting more than six times the available funding, were submitted.  There were 230 applicants that were invited to submit full proposals, which are due to NRCS by October 2.  At this time, NACWA is aware of three of its utility members involved in partnership projects that have been invited to submit full proposals – the City of Cedar Rapids, the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District, and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.  NACWA will provide updates on the RCPP program as the application process continues.  Agencies with information to share regarding the RCPP application process are invited to contact Hannah Mellman at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

NACWA Blog of the Week: Texas’ Unlikely Greenhouse Gas Story

Guest blogger, Julie Nahrgang, Executive Director of the Water Environment Association of Texas (WEAT) and Texas Association of Clean Water Agencies (TACWA) discusses a Texas size tale of unintended consequences.  How did a state typically positioned on the side of light environmental regulation – adopt some of the toughest regulation of greenhouse gases in the country?  Read on to find out more, or better yet, subscribe to The Water Voice and never miss a post!