ARCHIVE SITE - Last updated Jan. 19, 2017. Please visit www.NACWA.org for the latest NACWA information.
ARCHIVE SITE - Last updated Jan. 19, 2017. Please visit www.NACWA.org for the latest NACWA information.
December 18, 2009 House Approves $2 Billion for Water in Jobs Bill; NACWA to Seek More Funds in SenateThe Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) would each receive $1 billion under the Jobs for Main Street Act of 2010 (H.R. 2847) approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday. NACWA and the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN) pushed for the inclusion of water and wastewater funding in the bill that Congress intends as a means to address the persistent unemployment rate by creating jobs for infrastructure projects around the country. The legislation passed the House by a vote of 217-212 and will likely be taken up by the Senate after the holidays.
NACWA Releases Enforcement White PaperNACWA released its Clean Water Act Enforcement: Challenges and Opportunities in the 21st Century white paper this week, urging EPA to move beyond traditional enforcement efforts and focus on issues such as a watershed approach, increased federal funding for water infrastructure, and revised affordability guidance to better address our nation’s continuing water quality issues. The paper, distributed to the NACWA membership via Legal Alert 09-05, provides the Association’s perspective on the current clean water enforcement approach and responds to EPA’s recent Clean Water Enforcement Action Plan, as well as series of newspaper articles and congressional hearings focused on Clean Water Act (CWA) enforcement efforts.
NACWA to File Comments on Draft Stormwater Information Collection RequestNACWA will file comments early next week on EPA’s draft Information Collection Request (ICR) for municipal separate stormwater sewer system (MS4) utilities and provide feedback both on EPA’s general approach in the ICR as well as on specific questions included in the ICR’s MS4 questionnaire. NACWA’s comments, developed by the Association’s Stormwater Management Committee, express concern about the amount of time and staff resources MS4 utilities will need to spend completing the MS4 questionnaire and suggest EPA consider ways to shorten the survey. The comments recommend ways EPA can improve the overall accuracy of the data collected and make the data more meaningful. Additionally, the comments provide suggested wording and technical changes to specific questions on the questionnaire for improved clarity, including changes to the definitions of many of the terms used in the survey. The draft ICR is EPA’s first step in an extended regulatory process over the next three years to revise the national stormwater rule. NACWA through its Stormwater Management Committee will be actively involved in advocacy efforts related to development of the rule, starting with the comments submitted regarding the draft ICR. A copy of the comments will be available on the Stormwater Management page of NACWA’s website by Dec. 23.
NACWA Members Provide EPA With Hands-on Look at POTW IncineratorsThe City of Greensboro, N.C., and the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD), both NACWA member agencies, hosted regulators from the EPA Office of Air Quality, Planning and Standards (OAQPS) this week to provide an overview of their incinerator operations. OAQPS is working to develop maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standards for sewage sludge incinerators (SSIs) under Section 129 of the Clean Air Act and has to meet a very tight, court-ordered deadline of December 2010 for finalizing the standards. NACWA arranged the tours to ensure those developing the standards understand the unique aspects of sewage sludge incineration.
NACWA Index Survey Responses Due ASAPIt’s not too late for you to complete the 2009 NACWA Index survey! 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 them before the holiday season. Additional information and other options for completing the survey are available via Member Update 09-18.
First of NACWA’s Flow Series Web Seminars to Address Stormwater ManagementNACWA’s Flow Series of web seminars kicks off in January with an engaging presentation looking at the latest trends in stormwater management and providing important information for both stormwater and clean water utilities. This informative web seminar, Stormwater Management: What Really Works?, scheduled for Jan. 13 at 2 pm EST, will look at how communities can develop and implement effective stormwater management techniques. Melissa Keeley, an expert on stormwater management and a professor at George Washington University in Washington, DC, will be the featured speaker and will examine both the challenge of billing for stormwater services, and the potential for stormwater billing techniques to be used to encourage on-site stormwater management. She will also discuss effective stormwater management techniques being used both in the United States and internationally. These include traditional methods such as retention basins and holding ponds, but also newer, greener techniques such as rain gardens, vegetative swales, and green roofs. She will particularly focus on how various policy incentives, including tax breaks or stormwater fee structures, can be used to encourage the use of green infrastructure as an on-site stormwater management technique. Keeley will also review the challenges of engaging multi-agency support for green solutions to stormwater management and specifically explore these challenges in the context of the Green Area Ratio instrument.
Look for NACWA’s “Advocacy Alerts” in Your Inbox Starting In 2010In recognition of the increasingly interwoven nature of NACWA’s advocacy efforts, members will be receiving “Advocacy Alerts” on NACWA’s priority legislative, regulatory and legal issues starting in January 2010. The new Advocacy Alerts will replace the Regulatory Alerts, Legislative Alerts, and Legal Alerts that members have been receiving. NACWA’s Regulatory and Legislative Updates will continue to be delivered on a monthly basis. Please keep in an eye out in your email inbox for these Advocacy Alerts starting next month!
This is the final issue of the Clean Water Current for 2009. The next issue of the Clean Water Current will be published Jan. 8, 2010. NACWA wishes all its members a safe and happy holiday and looks forward to a wonderful new year! |
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Winter Conference
Next Generation Compliance …Where Affordability & Innovation Intersect
February 4 – 7, 2017
Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel
Tampa, FL