JUNE/JULY 2013
Inside
UOTF Partners Move Forward on
Energy-Water Nexus ..................... 2
Integrated Planning Workshops.... 2
Julius Ciaccia Elected NACWA
President for 2013-2014................ 3
Water Quality Trading................... 4
NACWA’s Summer Conference ..... 4
In Memoriam - Charles B. Kaiser .. 4
Key Legal Developments
Featured at Law Seminar............... 5
New Members ............................... 6
2014 Winter Conference Theme
Announced .................................... 6
Utility Excellence
Celebrated in Cincinnati ................ 7
Julius Ciaccia was elected NACWA President for
2013-2014 on July 16. Ciaccia is the Executive
Director of the Northeast Ohio Regional
Sewer District in Cleveland, Ohio.
N
ACWA Executive Director, Ken Kirk, formally announced
his plans to retire, on July 31, 2015, at the Association’s
Annual Business Meeting in July. At that time, Kirk will
have been associated with NACWA for over 35 years –
and served as its Executive Director for the last 26 years. In his re-
marks, Kirk assured the membership of his continuing commitment
to the organization saying that he certainly does “…not intend to sit
on the sidelines over the next two years.”
Kirk listed three reasons for his success at NACWA – the knowl-
edge, dedication, and vision of its Members; the clear vision and
support of a strong and dedicated Board and leadership team;
and, the knowledge, professionalism, and dedication of the
Association’s staff. Noting the passion and hard work of Member
Agencies, Kirk stated “… the members of NACWA met the
Nation’s clean water challenge head on and achieved many of the
ambitious objectives of the Clean Water Act. While the job is not
done, it has been truly inspiring for me to be part of this incred-
ible NACWA family over the years.”
Organization & Advocacy Milestones Cited
Kirk acknowledged key Association milestones – opening up
NACWA’s membership to all size utilities; creating and sustain-
ing the Targeted Action Fund; strengthening the Association’s
NACWA Executive Director Announces Retirement
White Paper Analyzes Role of Tax-Exempt
Municipal Bonds in Water Sector
I
n July, NACWA joined with the Association
of the Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA)
to release
The Impacts of Altering Tax-Exempt
Municipal Bond Financing on Public Drinking
Water &Wastewater Systems
.
The white paper exam-
ines the vital role of tax-exempt municipal bonds
in funding drinking water and wastewater infra-
structure, and estimates that President Obama’s
FY 2014 budget proposal – which recommended
scaling back the tax-exemption – would cost mu-
nicipalities approximately $6 billion in infrastruc-
ture project funding based on 2012 investment
levels.
The white paper documents that, at a time when
federal investment in water and wastewater infra-
structure is waning, tax-exempt municipal bonds
are the most important source of funding for wa-
ter and wastewater infrastructure projects in the
United States. Since 2003, municipalities have is-
sued $258 billion worth of tax-exempt municipal
bonds to fund water and wastewater infrastruc-
ture – comprising approximately 16% of all munic-
ipal bond issuance for all infrastructure projects
over this period. In 2012 alone, municipalities is-
sued more than $39 billion in state and local tax-
exempt water and sewer bonds.
The Obama Administration’s FY 2014 budget re-
quest included a proposal to implement a 28 per-
cent benefit cap on tax-exempt municipal bond in-
terest for high income taxpayers. The white paper
emphasizes the serious negative impacts, to the
water sector’s ability to finance clean water infra-
structure projects affordably, from changes to the
tax-exempt status of municipal bonds, particularly
from the Administration’s proposal. It also high-
lights several recent case studies from NACWA
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
»
A
Clear
Commitment to America’s Waters
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
»
National Association of
Clean Water Agencies
1816 Jefferson Place, NW
Washington DC 20036-2505
p
202.833.2672
f
202.833.4657
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