NACWA is encouraged by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) January 18 memorandum to its regional offices that commits the Agency to an ongoing dialogue with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, NACWA and other key stakeholders on determining the financial capability of communities to meet their Clean Water Act (CWA) obligations.  The memorandum transmits a document, EPA’s Dialogue with Local Government – Financial Capability Framework, that describes the issue and the topics that will be discussed during the dialogue.  In the coming months, based on input from the dialogue, EPA will work to develop “an approach to provide clarification” on key issues and to help ensure “consistent implementation among EPA Regions.”  EPA’s commitment to an ongoing dialogue and additional guidance is an important step forward on the issue of financial capability as well as the Agency's broader integrated planning initiative.  NACWA provided an analysis of the memorandum to the membership via Advocacy Alert 13-01 and issued a press release on this development today.  While there were no surprises in EPA’s memorandum – much of what the document covers has been stated before in previous Agency communication – NACWA believes the commitment to an ongoing dialogue and additional guidance is an important step forward.  The new effort, however, stops short of a wholesale revision of the 1997 financial capability guidance and NACWA plans to continue its legislative efforts to compel EPA to revise the guidance.

On Tuesday, by a vote of 241 to 180, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a $50.7 billion or emergency spending package aimed at helping those devastated by Hurricane Sandy.  The bill includes funding to help water and wastewater utilities in New York and New Jersey undertake measures to build resiliency against future natural disasters.  The bill’s baseline measure proposed by House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers provides roughly $17 billion for immediate recovery efforts, including funds directed to transit systems in New York and New Jersey, and to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund.  The House also voted on 13 amendments to the relief bill, the largest of which was proposed by Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) and adds $33.67 billion in additional aid for long-term recovery efforts.  Frelinghuysen’s amendment includes $500 million in funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and $100 million in funding for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) to enhance water system resiliency to future extreme weather events.

One thing to note with regard to the emergency SRF money in the House bill is that each state would be required to use no less than 20 percent and no more than 30 percent of the amount of its capitalization grants to provide additional subsidization. This is the first time Congress has provided any funding to enhance utility preparedness and it sets an important precedent for future recovery bills.

The bill will now move to the Senate, where a vote is expected for some time next week.  It is unclear at the moment if the Senate will be voting on the House bill as is, or if they will be amending it first. We will keep members informed of any updates as they arise.  For questions on the Sandy relief package, please contact Hannah Mellman at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

EPA and environmental activist groups on Jan. 15 jointly dismissed a lawsuit seeking an EPA response to a petition for nutrient controls as part of federal secondary treatment regulations, an action that was expected after EPA denied the petition request last month.   The lawsuit , filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and other groups in March 2012, sought to compel an EPA response to a 2007 petition requesting that the Agency include nitrogen and phosphorus removal as part of the secondary treatment regulations applicable to all wastewater treatment plants.  The litigation was placed in abeyance in October 2012 when EPA agreed to respond to the petition by mid-December 2012.  EPA’s answer to the petition last month fulfills the underlying request of the lawsuit and renders the litigation moot, leading to this week’s dismissal.

EPA issued a very strong denial of the petition on December 14, citing both technical and cost concerns with establishing uniform national nutrient limits.  NACWA had advocated aggressively against the inclusion of nutrients as part of secondary treatment, including significant engagement with EPA as the Agency considered the petition.  The denial is a major victory for NACWA’s utility members and the clean water community.  Additional information on the denial is available in NACWA Advocacy Alert 12-14.

While dismissal of the underlying lawsuit ends this chapter in the legal battle over secondary treatment, there is still the possibility that activist groups could file a future legal challenge to the substance of EPA’s petition denial.   NACWA will track developments closely and stands ready to aggressively respond to any future litigation surrounding this issue.

NACWA brought its advocacy message this week to hundreds of utility leaders at the California Association of Sanitation Agencies' (CASA) midyear conference, Today's Waste Tomorrow's Resources. In line with the conference theme, NACWA provided some insight into some of the key resource recovery related actions that have been discussed as part of the NACWA/WERF/WEF The Water Resources Utility of the Future – A Blueprint for Action initiative. The draft Blueprint is being finalized and will be released to NACWA members before the end of the month.  Energy production, water reuse, and resiliency to climate change (including lessons learned from the Congressional response to Hurricane Sandy - see related story) were at the forefront of the discussion at the CASA meeting.

NACWA also emphasized the importance of collaboration between its national organization and advocacy-driven state organizations, like CASA, to help drive change on Capitol Hill, and at EPA and other federal agencies.  As part of its effort to foster collaboration and build relationships with state/regional groups, NACWA will also be speaking at the New England Water Environment Association meeting later this month and at the New York Water Environment Association conference in early February.

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) held a briefing on Capitol Hill Thursday to announce the release of the final installment in their Failure to Act series of economic reports. The series details the impacts of failing to address America's deteriorating infrastructure, which was given a D grade in ASCE's 2009 Report Card for America's Infrastructure.  The previous four Failure to Act studies focused on specific types of infrastructure including airports, inland waterways, marine ports, surface transportation, electricity infrastructure, and water and wastewater.

At the Briefing, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) introduced the report , Failure to Act: The Impact of Current Infrastructure Investment on America's Economic Future, which explores the overall economic costs of failing to fill the investment gap by 2020. In his opening remarks, Blumenauer emphasized the importance of investing in our nation's infrastructure and expressed hope that this once bipartisan issue can be taken up and acted upon in the 113th Congress. Other speakers at the briefing included Gregory E. DiLoreto, ASCE President, and Janet F. Kavinoky, Executive Director, Transportation & Infrastructure at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

In the report, ASCE found that an additional $157 billion is needed per year between now and 2020 to avoid significant economic consequences such as job losses, a drop in GDP, and reductions in annual personal income. The report also discusses significant needs in terms of water and wastewater infrastructure, including an $84 billion funding gap, and $59 billion in costs to businesses and households. NACWA will update the membership when ASCE releases the 2013 Report Card for America's Infrastructure on March 19, 2013.

Since NACWA’s launch of Engage^TM last July, the Association has continued to expand this internal social network for the clean water community.  This week, the Association's Standing Committees were migrated to virtual workspaces on Engage^TM.  These online workspaces will save time and effort by keeping all committee discussions and working documents in one easy-to-access place that is available at any time. Committee members now can:

• Easily contact other committee members;
• Collaborate on documents under committee review;
• Access archived resources;
• Register and keep track of committee meetings and conference calls;
• Share their knowledge and experience with others; and,
• Receive regular updates on committee activities (immediately, daily, or weekly).

 

Don’t forget, Engage^TM also offers issue-focused groups that will provide a forum for more general discussions critical NACWA issues, many of which parallel our Standing Committees.

We invite you to visit www.NACWAengage.org.  Access is as simple as using the e-mail address and password used to access the Member Pipeline section of NACWA’s website.  If you have not already done so, once you have logged in, be sure to fill out your profile.  Should you have any questions contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it at 202.530.2758.