» Clean Water Current Archive

Febrary 5, 2010

NACWA Winter Conference Highlights New Roles for Utilities

NACWA’s Winter Conference, Transcending Tradition. . . . The Expanding Roles & Relationships of the Clean Water Utility, took place this week in Austin, Texas with strong attendance and a program that explored the new arenas in which clean water agencies are taking a leadership role.  Among the topics explored was “waste as a resource”, with presentations focusing on opportunities in the wastewater treatment process to create new energy sources and to mine phosphorus from biosolids as world phosphorus supplies, so vital to fertilizing crops and pastureland, diminish at an alarming rate.  Reusing wastewater for potable and non-potable purposes was also discussed as a burgeoning area for the nation’s municipalities, especially in water-poor regions.

Highlights included the opening session’s keynote address by best-selling author and professor Chip Heath, who set the tone for the conference with his presentation, Switch: How to Change When Change Is Hard.  In his interesting and thought provoking analysis, Heath acknowledged that utilities are demonstrating their leadership as change agents despite the fact that such changes are often difficult and unpredictable.  Other highlights included several industry leader keynote addresses. Craig Goehring, CEO of Brown and Caldwell, explored how the principles behind the Ten Attributes of an Effectively Managed Utility, are vital to meeting 21st century challenges but also have significant application in a corporate setting, including his own company.  J. Joseph Burgess, President and CEO of Insituform Technologies, Inc., discussed the positive trend he is seeing toward regional/watershed approaches, while noting the important role that clean water agencies are playing – and must continue to play – throughout these changing times as purveyors of common sense.    

NACWA Board Adopts Updated Strategic Plan, Takes Action on Priority Issues

With the goal of positioning the Association for the future, NACWA’s Board of Directors met in Austin this week and adopted an updated Strategic Plan.  The Plan identifies key goals, objectives, and strategies in Legislative, Regulatory, and Judicial Advocacy, Sustainable Water Resource Management, and Membership Development and Engagement.  The adoption of the Plan culminates a six-month process that included both qualitative and quantitative surveys of the membership, as well as meetings among the Association’s Standing Committee leadership and Board of Directors.  The newly adopted Strategic Plan will be available on NACWA’s website next week.

On the advocacy front, NACWA’s Board of Directors took several actions supportive of POTW interests.  The Board voted unanimously in favor of a Targeted Action Fund (TAF) request to support NACWA efforts to minimize the impact of new EPA rules on the practice of incineration, and possibly land application.  The Board also voted in support of TAF funding for continued data analysis and research efforts to lay the foundation for a potential petition to EPA seeking the development of a sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) policy, a strategy that will receive ongoing consideration by the Association in the coming weeks.  A robust discussion during the Legislative Policy Committee Meeting, and a call for comments from members, set the stage for a planned conference call later this month during which NACWA’s Board will consider the Association’s engagement in Chesapeake Bay legislation that has been introduced in the House and Senate.  In other action, the Board also approved Sustainable Resource Management — Lessons from Clean Water’s Past & Present as the theme for NACWA’s upcoming 2010 Summer Conference & 40th Anniversary Annual Meeting, July 20-23, in San Francisco, Calif. and selected Tucson, Ariz. as the location for the 2012 Winter Conference and Philadelphia, Pa. as the site of the 2012 Summer Conference.

Many of NACWA’s Standing Committees met in Austin and had lively discussions on the range of vital clean water issues, including nutrients, watershed approaches, biosolids incineration, and federal funding (see article below), to name a few.  Many of these committees will meet again in April at NACWA’s National Environmental Policy Forum in Washington, D.C.  Please join us there and add your voice to these vital national policy discussions.  NACWA extends its thanks to everyone who joined us in Austin and helped make this conference such a success. 

Dean Marriott Appointed to NACWA Board

NACWA’s Board also took action this week to appoint Dean Marriott, Director of the City of Portland Oregon’s Bureau of Environmental Services, to fill a Region 10 Board Seat, open as result of change in employment by Charlie Logue, who recently relocated to Renewable Water Resources in South Carolina.  Marriott will serve the remainder of Logue’s term and be eligible for re-election to the Board in 2012.  NACWA welcomes Dean Marriott to its Board and thanks Charlie Logue for his service.  We are pleased to report that Charlie Logue will continue his leadership of the Association’s Watershed Task Force and its efforts to pursue 21st century watershed legislation. 

Administration’s Proposed Budget Includes Solid Clean Water Funding; Jobs Bill Advances

President Obama outlined his spending priorities for the coming year when he released his fiscal year (FY) 2011 budget proposal to Congress this week.  The president's spending plan would provide $10 billion for EPA, a slight decrease from the $10.3 billion provided to the agency last year.  The budget request also includes $2 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and $1.287 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), representing a slight decrease from FY10 enacted levels of $2.1 billion for the CWSRF and $1.38 billion DWSRF.  Also included in the President's request is $274 million for Section 106 pollution control grants, $63 million to implement the President's Executive Order for the continued restoration of the Chesapeake Bay and $300 million for continued restoration of the Great Lakes.  On February 1, NACWA distributed an Advocacy Alert (AA-04) outlining these funding levels and will do a more thorough review of other provisions in the budget that could impact clean water agencies and share this with members soon.  NACWA will also be seeking to ensure that these funding levels, at a minimum, are maintained as Congress takes up the proposed White House budget. 

In related news, NACWA is working, conjunction with other stakeholders from the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN), to canvas the Senate to build support for a "Dear Colleague" letter seeking $3 billion in CWSRF funds and $3 billion in DWSRF funds via a jobs package.  NACWA's original goal was to secure signatures from 30 members of the Democratic Caucus to exhibit to Senate leadership that water infrastructure funding in the Senate’s job creation efforts is a priority shared by a majority of their caucus.  After extensive outreach, NACWA and its partners reached this goal, gaining the support of 30 Democratic Senators.  NACWA expects Senate leadership to unveil the first in a series of job creation proposals in the near future, possibly even today or early next week.  NACWA will continue to press for clean water funding as Congress develops its jobs package.