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ACWA introduced
State Action Track
, a web-based tool
that allows Member Agencies and Affiliated to search
and track regulations and bills across a variety of clean
water topics by state.
State Action Track
is really two tools,
one that tracks state legislation and the other, state regulation,
providing members with real-time reports
of clean water bills (or regulations, respec-
tively) by state and by issue.
State Action Track
demonstrates NACWA’s commitment to in-
creasing state and regional collaboration by
enhancing our ability to monitor state and
regional issues and inform our effective fed-
eral advocacy.
State & Regional Initiatives on the Rise
Development of the tool is the most recent in a series of efforts by
NACWA and its members to be informed and engaged in state and re-
gional clean water issues. Over the last year, the Association has hosted
Integrated Planning Workshops
in six U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) regions that brought together hundreds if utilities and
regulators. Many were co-hosted with state advocacy groups like the
Oregon Association of CleanWater Agencies (ORACWA) or New York
Water Environment Association (NYWEA). NACWA continues to send
staff and members to speak at conferences hosted by clean water ad-
vocates around the nation, including meetings in
California, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky, to name
a few. The Association’s bimonthly
CleanWater
Exchange
is distributed to state and regional groups
to inform them of NACWA’s federal advocacy ini-
tiatives and garner both engagement and feedback.
The Association also plans a formal coalition of
state and regional organizations to further enhance shared positions
on issues and leverage combined advocacy efforts. State or regional
clean water group that have yet to benefit from the Exchange, join the
coalition, or are interested in learning more about NACWA’s advocacy
are invited to contact the Association at
New Legislative & Regulatory Tracking Tool to
Benefit Association Members
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n early October, NACWA Executive Director, Ken Kirk, an-
nounced that the Association was stepping its efforts to protect
the pipes, pumps, plants, and personnel at
clean water agencies with a targeted initia-
tive aimed at reducing the harmful materials
that are flushed or drained into the sewer sys-
tem. The Association’s
Toilets are Not Trash Cans
initiative will focus its sights on wipes, pharma-
ceuticals, paper towels, feminine hygiene prod-
ucts, dental floss, FOG (fats, oils, and greases),
as well as product additives such as triclosan.
Through the initiative, NACWA will focus on
changing consumer behavior and work collab-
oratively with its members and other groups
to ensure that manufacturers and consumers
understand that toilets are not trash cans. As
part of this effort, the Association will also be
working with industry and retailers to improve
labeling and product stewardship through a
facilitated technical workgroup on flushable
wipes. On November 19, NACWA’s Board of
Directors authorized Targeted Action Funds (TAF) to support the
technical workgroup as a means to move toward consensus on flush-
ability standards for wipes and other products that are likely to be
flushed. The workgroup will consist of representatives fromNACWA,
the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the American Public Works
Association (APWA), and INDA (the trade association of the nonwoven
fabrics industry).
Attention on Wipes on the Rise
Wipes and other non-dispersible products have received tremendous
media attention recently, including a multitude of
newspaper articles and local television spots fea-
turing NACWA and its member utilities (see
for media links and other
information). The Association will continue to
directly address this expensive problem, build-
ing on the work that it has done in the past years
with the Water Environment Federation (WEF),
the American Public Works Association (APWA),
and INDA (the association of the nonwoven fab-
rics industry) to improve flushability guidelines
and product labeling with the “do not flush” logo
as one strategy to keep these products out of the
sewer system.
These efforts to protect pipes, pumps, plants,
and personnel will be a key focus at upcoming
NACWAmeetings and members whose systems
are being impacted by wipes or other products
should contact Cynthia Finley at
to share their stories and become active in the NACWA working
group on wipes and appropriate NACWA committees.
NACWA Launches
Toilets Are Not Trash Cans
Initiative
@ WORK
