» Clean Water Current Archive

April 24, 2009

NACWA Opens Dialogue to Broaden Support for Draft Watershed Act

NACWA began outreach efforts this week to solicit input into and support for its proposed Twenty-First Century Watershed Act by convening representatives from key environmental organizations for a detailed briefing and discussion.  LaJuana Wilcher, former EPA administrator for water and former commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection, facilitated the dialogue which focused on the nuts and bolts of how the NACWA proposal relates to current Clean Water Act programs and work on the ground.  NACWA’s Strategic Watershed Task Force developed the draft legislation as a way to move water quality improvement efforts toward a holistic approach that can provide more effective tools at the federal, state and local level, addressing all sources of water quality impairments — point and nonpoint.  While representatives of the environmental organizations in attendance had significant concerns with some provisions of the draft bill, their commitment to working with NACWA toward legislation that could be widely embraced was clear.  NACWA will continue to work with this stakeholder group and others to further refine the proposal and broaden support for it.

NACWA, Municipal Groups Urge Streamlined EPA Process for Buy American Waivers

Representatives from the public utility community, including several NACWA members, met with EPA this week to discuss the Agency’s development of waiver guidance regarding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s (ARRA) “Buy American” provisions.  NACWA members said the waiver process must remain streamlined in order to ensure that ready-to-go projects can proceed without delay.  EPA’s response to these concerns was encouraging and indicated a commitment to ensuring that its regions, which will have responsibility for individual project waiver applications, take no more than two or three weeks to review individual waiver requests.  NACWA also received some encouraging news that state involvement in waiver application review will be fairly limited and likely will not impede the EPA regions’ timelines.  The overall structure of the review process remains unchanged from NACWA’s report in the April 10 Clean Water Current.  This issue will be further discussed by EPA, congressional, municipal, and state representatives at the National Clean Water Policy Forum, May 3-6, in Washington, D.C. (See related article).  NACWA will also distribute EPA’s final waiver guidance to members when it becomes final, possibly next week.

On a related note, the White House Office of Management & Budget’s (OMB) interim final guidance on the ARRA, on which EPA’s upcoming waiver guidance relies heavily, was published in the Federal Register yesterday.  Any comments are due June 22.  In line with Legislative Alert 09-09, NACWA requests that any members who are sending comments to OMB on this guidance also send a copy to NACWA’s This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

NACWA Participates in Effort to Develop Water Sector Emergency Response Tool

NACWA members are playing an important role in the Preparedness, Emergency Response, and Recovery CIPAC (Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council) Workgroup that met this week to continue work developing an all-hazards consequence management planning (CMP) guidance document for the water sector.  Patricia Cleveland, manager of operations for the Northern Region of the Trinity River Authority of Texas and a NACWA Board member, as well as the association’s representative on the Water Sector Coordinating Council, co-chairs the workgroup.  Talyon Sortor, assistant general manager for the Fairfield-Suisin Sewer District and vice chair of NACWA’s Security and Emergency Preparedness Committee, is also a member of the workgroup.   The CMP guidance will be a useful tool to help wastewater and drinking water utilities of all sizes in their emergency preparedness planning.  The document will likely include action checklists and major lessons learned for consequences resulting from all types of hazards, along with references to existing documents that contain more detailed information.  The workgroup will also evaluate preparedness, emergency response, and recovery priorities for the sector and identify actions needed to implement priorities.  Work on this project will be completed by the end of the year.

CSO Workshop Focuses on Enforcement Trends, Green Infrastructure Issues

The annual Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Workshop, put on by NACWA and the Wet Weather Partnership this week in Chicago, focused on recent legislative and regulatory developments affecting CSO communities.  The workshop kicked off with lively discussions on a variety of timely issues such as federal/state enforcement trends, recent CSO long-term control plan (LTCP) developments, and the use of green infrastructure to control wet weather flows.  The workshop featured remarks from Dick Lanyon, general superintendent of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, and a congressional update from NACWA’s Keith Jones.  Mike Shapiro, EPA acting assistant administrator for water, also spoke, saying that implementing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s (ARRA) is agency’s top priority.  The remainder of the workshop addressed a variety of issues ranging from financial capability and affordability to managing wet weather flows from satellite systems.

NACWA Launches New Clean Water Funding Website

NACWA has launched the Clean Water Funding Network, a website that serves as a one-stop shop for news, communication tools, and utility discussions related to financing wastewater infrastructure.  Open to all clean water utilities, even those who are not NACWA members, the Clean Water Funding Network provides a forum for local and state perspectives and news related to federal funding developments.  The site includes access to letters, press releases, fact sheets, and other resources that will help utilities communicate with their elected officials and local news media on the need for federal clean water funding.

Network members will stay informed through conference calls, periodic emails, and the website, which was developed and is being updated by NACWA to address the lack of clean and safe water funding in the face of an immense and expanding need.  Please make sure one or more representatives from your agency joins the network today at www.cleanwaterfunding.org.  For more information, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it at 202-833-4655.

NACWA Encourages Policy Forum Attendees to Schedule Meetings on Hill

The final details for the 2009 National Clean Water Policy Forum, hosted by NACWA and the Water Environment Federation (WEF), are nearly complete with top-notch speakers, including EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Nancy Sutley, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and Joseph Romm, editor of climageprogress.org, lined up to discuss issues of importance to the clean water community.  In addition, the Policy Forum will feature panel discussions among key congressional staff on the priorities in the 111th Congress, the division directors within EPA’s Office of Water, and representatives from several leading NGOs activist groups.  The third annual Utility Executives Summit will also take place with a focus on implementing provisions of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.  NACWA and WEF are also hosting a Capitol Hill reception, Tuesday, May 5, from 6-7:30 p.m. in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing room, 416 Dirksen Senate Office Building.  NACWA sent Member Update 09-06 encouraging those attending the policy forum to invite their senators or representatives to this event and included a link to the NACWA invitation.  NACWA members are also encouraged to set up meetings with their congressional members and with EPA staff to let them know the concerns of the clean water community.