» Clean Water Current Archive

December 11, 2009

Water Funding Remains Under Consideration as Job Creation Discussions Continue

As President Obama and Congress negotiate a domestic jobs creation package, NACWA has continued its efforts on Capitol Hill to ensure key lawmakers include funding for water and wastewater infrastructure.  NACWA had a positive discussion this week with staff of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment and urged the inclusion of clean water funding in any jobs bill.

NACWA has also been working closely with the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN) to broadly distribute a letter of support to House and Senate leadership urging them to include up to $20 billion for water infrastructure in the pending jobs creation package.  While no bill has been formally introduced, the request by NACWA and WIN is receiving serious consideration at the highest levels, greatly increasing the likelihood of its inclusion in any job creation effort approved by Congress.  NACWA has been in front of the issue for weeks beginning in November with a meeting with Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.).

Meanwhile, the need for water and wastewater infrastructure funding was raised during an oversight hearing this week before the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee.  In an exchange with Pete Silva, EPA assistant administrator for water, about whether failing infrastructure contributed to violations of drinking water standards, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) strongly urged that water infrastructure funding be included in the jobs package.  “I would ask that within the administration, you use whatever efforts you’ve got to ensure water and wastewater are included in the jobs plan,” the senator said to the EPA officials at the hearing. “It is very sad for me, representing Rhode Island, where we have a nearly 13 percent unemployment rate, to see decrepit infrastructure and unemployed people side by side, and we can’t connect the dots.”

NACWA continues to provide congressional leaders with information on projects that are ready to proceed to construction.  We are using the list compiled last year  for efforts associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) as a resource.  NACWA members are strongly encouraged to submit any new projects for inclusion on this list, or advise the association of projects that have been completed that should be taken off the list.  Please feel free to contract This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with this information or at 202-833-4655.  NACWA will keep members informed of any new developments as they arise.

In related infrastructure funding news, last week the concept of a national infrastructure bank received a cool reception on Capitol Hill.  In conference negotiations for the Fiscal Year 2010 Transportation appropriations bill conferees dropped a provision seeking to establish a national infrastructure bank, largely due to the complexity of such a proposal.

NACWA Discusses Peak Flow Blending With EPA Staff

NACWA met this week with staff from the EPA Office of Wastewater Management to discuss the status of the peak flow blending issue, and in particular, the Agency’s next steps for finalizing the 2005 proposed policy and the recently released draft utility analysis guidance.  EPA has been briefing Pete Silva, assistant administrator for water, on a suite of wet weather issues, including blending.  Silva is expected to decide early next year whether to move forward with finalizing the 2005 proposed peak flows policy.  EPA staff indicated that they are currently focused on revising the draft utility analysis guidance to address the comments NACWA and others submitted on an earlier version.

NACWA’s comments  criticized the draft guidance and EPA’s efforts to implement the draft peak flows policy through guidance before either was finalized.  EPA intends to release the utility analysis guidance again for a more formal round of comments sometime next year.  NACWA indicated during the meeting that its Board of Directors supports pursuing a final policy on blending based on the agreement crafted by NACWA and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).  However, NACWA’s support would be conditioned on the understanding that EPA will in fact publish a final policy after working to address the many unresolved issues that have arisen since the policy was proposed in 2005.  Meanwhile, permits that EPA has objected to due to the handling of peak flows appear to be in a holding pattern until a more formal statement of agency policy is issued.  NACWA will alert the membership to any new developments.

NACWA Hosts Meeting of State/Regional Clean Water Groups on Advocacy Priorities

NACWA met this week with more than 15 state and regional groups representing public clean water agencies to discuss their priority advocacy issues and to further improve the coordination of efforts at the national level.  States from throughout the country were represented and shared common challenges and a desire for new, sound water-quality approaches.  The groups expressed frustration at the increasing level of federal regulatory and enforcement activity coupled with the federal government’s general disregard for the financial affordability constraints communities, both large and small, are facing.  Of particular interest to the state/regional organizations was the need for a more defined and proactive municipal position on nutrient control, which is affecting virtually all utilities of all sizes.  The group also focused on the need for a more effective watershed-based approach that brings all pollutant sources to account in an equitable manner and balances expenditures with verifiable water quality benefits.  The organizations also encouraged a more unified water sector that is better positioned to advocate for federal funding.  The groups agreed that they would benefit from more frequent and regular communication with each other and NACWA to help advance shared priorities.  NACWA currently sends out its Clean Water Exchange twice a month to state/regional groups across the country and plans another meeting with the groups as part of it National Clean Water Policy Forum in April, among other cooperative activities.

NACWA Index Survey Responses Due Next Friday, December 18

NACWA is asking its public agency members to complete the 2009 NACWA Index survey by next Friday, Dec. 18.  The Index has been published annually by NACWA since 1992 to track average annual single-family residential service charge increases as measured against the rate of inflation and provides valuable information for wastewater agencies and a wide variety of policymakers and experts.  The brief Index survey should take less than 15 minutes to complete through the new web response form.  The more responses NACWA receives, the more representative the Index is of the wastewater treatment community as a whole, so please complete the survey by Dec. 18.  Additional information and other options for completing the survey are available via Member Update 09-18.

Upcoming NACWA Events to Offer Valuable Information for Clean Water Utilities

NACWA is hosting a number of important and interesting events in 2010 that will provide valuable information for clean water agencies as they grapple with new and ongoing challenges.

• The Flow Web Seminar Series – four innovative web seminars addressing some of the hottest topics in wet weather and stormwater management.  Designed as a central element in NACWA’s Wet Weather Advocacy Project (WWAP), the Flow Series features experts discussing a variety of topics, listed below, of interest to public utilities charged with the management of wet weather flows.
• Stormwater Management: What Really Works? — Jan. 13, 2010, 2-3 p.m. EST
• Climate Change: It’s All About Water! — March 10, 2010, 2-3 p.m. EST 
• Water Quality: The True Impact of Stormwater Runoff! — June 9, 2010, 2-3 p.m. EDT
• Green Infrastructure:  What’s Legal? – Sept. 8, 2010, 2-3 p.m. EDT

 
Register for all four seminars for only $800 and engage all the key members of your staff in this unique offering.  Can’t make all four?  Don’t worry.  You can pick and choose which seminars to attend for only $250 each.
 

• NACWA’s 2010 Winter Conference, Transcending Tradition… The Expanding Roles & Relationships of the Clean Water Utility, Feb. 2-5, 2010 in Austin, Texas, will examine the expanding roles clean water agencies must play, especially as they seek to balance challenges of an aging workforce, tough economic times, and growing capital program challenges.  Headlining the program will be keynote speaker and New York Times best-selling author, Chip Heath.  Heath’s remarks will focus on his new book SWITCH: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, which will be released after the conference.  Discussing change at every level — individual, organizational, and societal — Heath asserts that all change efforts have something in common: for anything to change, someone has to start acting differently.  Make your plans today by registering and check NACWA's website for the most up-to-date information on the Winter Conference.