» Update Archive

This edition of NACWA’s Legislative Update, current through September 30, 2013, provides information on the activities of the 113th Congress of interest to the nation’s public clean water agencies.  For more detailed information regarding NACWA activities, click on the web links in selected news items or visit NACWA’s website.  Please contact NACWA’s Pat Sinicropi at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Hannah Mellman at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with any questions or information on the Update topics.

ISSUE AREAS

Federal Budget and Funding

Government Shuts Down; Federal Agencies Closed Until Congress Passes Spending Bill

Congress failed to agree on a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the federal government funded, forcing a shutdown on October 1. The government will remain shut until a compromise can be reached. Only “essential” federal employees are permitted to operate which includes only six percent of the Environmental Protection Agency’s workforce, according to its shutdown plan. To the extent this shutdown extends beyond this week, a number of NACWA events and efforts could be impacted but the Association will continue to aggressively pursue its agenda. NACWA is closely monitoring the situation and will continue to provide updates as negotiations to pass a spending bill continue.

NACWA Tells House Ways & Means Committee to Continue Tax-Exempt Municipal Bonds

The Association met with House Ways & Means Committee staff to brief them on the recent report  NACWA and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) released detailing the impacts that altering the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds would have on the water sector. Representative Dave Camp (R-MI), Chairman of the Ways & Means Committee, is planning to introduce a tax reform package by the end of the year, and the tax treatment of municipal bonds is a central issue at play. In the meeting, NACWA stressed that implementing a 28-percent benefit cap on municipal bonds, as included in the Obama Administration’s fiscal year (FY) 2014 budget request, would increase financing costs to water and wastewater utilities by $6 billion annually. Put another way, according to our analysis, it is likely that this policy change would result in a decrease of $6 billion in investment capital for water and wastewater infrastructure projects. Given the enormous infrastructure needs facing the water sector, NACWA emphasized to Committee staff that it is critically important that Congress maintain the tax-exempt status of the water sector’s primary source of financing, especially given the budget cuts likely to occur to the State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs. NACWA will continue to engage Congress on this issue and provide updates on the House tax reform package as they occur.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Signals Interest in SRF Reauthorization Bill

NACWA, along with members of the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN), met with Representative Tim Bishop (D-NY) to discuss growing interest in a State Revolving Fund (SRF) Reauthorization bill in the 113th Congress. Representative Bishop is the Ranking Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment. In the meeting, Bishop explained that he, along with Subcommittee Chairman Bob Gibbs (R-OH), and full Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) and Ranking Member Nick Rahall (D-WV) are all interested in introducing an SRF reauthorization bill once the House completes work on the Water Resources Development Act Reauthorization, though some policy details remain to be worked out.

Earlier this year, Representative Bishop and Representative Rahall introduced H.R. 1877, The Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act of 2013 , which would authorize approximately $13.8 billion over five years in investments for water infrastructure projects, authorize $2.5 billion over five years for sewer overflow control grants, and establish a clean water trust fund and loan guaranty program to fund the Clean Water SRF. Representative Bishop would like to see the final SRF reauthorization proposal resemble his legislation, but there remains a split among them on the application of local prevailing wage rules to the legislation. NACWA will continue to provide updates on this effort as they occur. 

Representative Earl Blumenauer Seeks Input on Draft Voluntary Trust Fund Bill

Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) finalized a draft of The Water Infrastructure Investment Act of 2013 , which would establish a voluntary clean water trust fund. Under Representative Blumenauer's proposal, the makers of water-based beverages and flushable products could receive the right to display a clean water logo on their products in exchange for a 2 to 3-cent per purchase fee. The revenue from this fee would go to the trust fund to replenish the Clean Water SRF.

Representative Blumenauer will be looking to NACWA and other members of the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN) to lead a congressional education campaign aimed at encouraging bipartisan support for the bill. The final bill is expected to be introduced in October and an overview of the bill can be found here . NACWA and WIN will be providing comments on the final draft and will keep members updated as progress on the legislation continues.

Climate and Resiliency

Cardin Reintroduces Water Infrastructure Resiliency & Sustainability Act

Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), along with Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Harry Reid (D-NV), reintroduced The Water Infrastructure Resiliency & Sustainability Act (WIRSA)  (S.1508) on September 16. The bill would offer competitive grants to help water and wastewater utilities undertake capital projects to improve utility resiliency during extreme weather events. NACWA has been a strong advocate for this legislation, and submitted a joint letter of support  with 13 other water and conservation groups this week urging broad-based support for this legislation. The Association has been consistently working with Congress and the Administration to ensure policymakers understand that climate change is fundamentally about water and the need to focus on resiliency challenges that clean water agencies face.  NACWA will provide members with any relevant updates on the WIRSA bill as they occur.

Water Sector Represented at Senate Roundtable on Climate Impacts

Ken Kirk, NACWA’s Executive Director, shared  views of the clean water sector on the economic impacts of climate change for communities in a roundtable discussion September 9 hosted by the Democratic Senate Steering & Outreach Committee. Kirk emphasized how important this issue is to NACWA members and the water sector’s commitment to ensuring our utilities are resilient and can withstand extreme weather conditions brought on by a changing climate. He also discussed the 2009 report  by NACWA and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) that provided an estimate of the costs faced by utilities to become more resilient – up to nearly one trillion by mid-century. The roundtable was chaired by Senator Mark Begich (D-AK) and attended by key Senate lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Senate Environment & Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Cal.) and Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Water & Wildlife. Twelve additional Senators joined the roundtable and engaged in the discussion – demonstrating the clear priority of this issue for the Senate’s Democratic caucus. As the Senate considers measures to address and better adapt to climate change, NACWA will be working to ensure the wastewater sector is fully engaged.

NACWA Submits Testimony on President’s Climate Plan

NACWA submitted testimony  for a House Subcommittee on Energy & Power hearing on the Obama Administration’s climate change policies and activities. The Association’s testimony emphasized the critical role wastewater utilities play in helping the nation adapt to climate change and calling out the need to focus attention on the enormous costs associated with ensuring a resilient water sector. NACWA urged Congress to ensure that wastewater sector representatives play a key role in the Administration’s Climate Action Plan, which was released in June, and also recommended that climate legislation fully account for the impacts on water sector utilities. NACWA will keep members apprised as Congress and the Administration move forward with climate-related policies.

Farm Bill and Nutrients

Congress Slowly Slogging Thru Farm Bill

With the current Farm Bill now expired, reauthorization of a new five-year Farm Bill is a top legislative priority for Congress to complete this year though how it is resolved is still uncertain.  When the House of Representatives returned from August recess, it completed work on the Supplemental Food Assistance Program (SNAP), more commonly referred to as the Food Stamp Program, which the House split off from the other titles of the Farm Bill package in July to appease conservative members who believe the Food Stamp policy should be dealt with separately.  The House must now appoint conferees so that Conference negotiations with the Senate over a final package can occur.  The Healthy Waters Coalition, led by NACWA, will is urging conferees to maintain several provisions related to nutrient management and water quality improvements that were included in the Senate’s proposed Conservation Title and specifically part of a newly created Regional Conservation Partnership Program.  Several House members sent a letter  to House leadership urging support for maintaining these provisions and NACWA has been in touch with key Senate sponsors of this language to offer our help with Conference strategy.  Final negotiations over a full five-year reauthorization of a Farm Bill will likely occur as part of overall budget negotiations for Fiscal Year 2014.  NACWA will continue to track and report developments on the Farm Bill as they occur.

Miscellaneous

Water Resources Reform & Development Act Passes in House Committee

The House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I Committee) unanimously approved H.R. 3080, The Water Resources Reform & Development Act (WRRDA), which would authorize $8 billion in new U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects and $2 billion to modify existing projects, and de-authorizes $12 billion for inactive projects. The bill was introduced by T&I Committee Chair Bill Shuster (R-PA), Ranking Member Nick J. Rahall, II (D-WV), Water Resources & Environment Subcommittee Chair Bob Gibbs (R-OH) and Subcommittee Ranking Member Tim Bishop (D-NY). In May, the Senate passed its WRDA package  which included a $50 million Water Infrastructure Finance & Innovation Act (WIFIA) pilot program to provide financing for both flood control projects and regionally significant water and wastewater projects. The House package  does not include a  WIFIA pilot program. The WRRDA bill now awaits full consideration from the House of Representatives and NACWA will provide updates on the bill as it proceeds.

Senator Udall to Propose Key Amendment to Energy Efficiency Bill

Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) with Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) have plans to introduce an amendment that would strengthen links between water and energy consumption to The Energy Savings & Industrial Competitiveness Act (S. 761), a bill to spur the use of energy efficiency technologies across the residential, commercial and industrial sectors. The Udall-Chambliss amendment, well aligned with NACWA’s Water Resources Utility of the Future (UOTF) initiative, would establish a grant program for municipal water and wastewater utilities to demonstrate innovative technology-based solutions to increase water and energy efficiency. NACWA, along with nine other national associations, submitted this letter  to Senator Udall, thanking him for his effort on the amendment and encouraging the Senate to adopt the proposal. NACWA will keep members updated on this proposal as the Senate begins consideration of the Energy Savings & Industrial Competitiveness Act later this year.

NACWA Moves Forward with Congressional Clean Water Caucus

Congressmen John Duncan, Jr. (R-TN) and Timothy Bishop (D-NY) submitted a letter  to the House Administration Committee in September officially requesting approval for a Congressional Clean Water Caucus. As called for in the Water Resources Utility of the Future . . . A Call for Federal Action, the bipartisan Caucus will bring focus to Utility of the Future (UOTF) priority advocacy issues and advance related technologies and innovations in Congress.  NACWA has made progress on many of the actions outlined in the Blueprint and subsequent Call for Federal Action, as discussed in a recent Member Update, and NACWA anticipates that the House Administration Committee will approve the request this month, or in early September following the congressional August Recess.  Once the Caucus is approved, the Association will reach out to Member Agencies to contact key Representatives to sign onto the Caucus.  NACWA also plans briefings on Capitol Hill in line with the Caucus’ UOTF-related mission.

NACWA Conferences

Law Seminar Registration Is Open – Join Us In San Antonio!

Registration is open for NACWA’s 2013 National Clean Water Law Seminar, with an agenda that promises to deliver timely and informative perspectives on the hottest topics in clean water law. This year’s Seminar will be held November 20 – 22 in historic San Antonio, Texas. The conference program will feature some of the top clean water attorneys from around the nation speaking on variety of critical utility topics, including integrated planning, consent decrees, stormwater, effective negotiation and advocacy strategies, and wet weather developments. As always, Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits, including ethics credit, will be available.

NACWA’s Law Seminar is the only conference of its kind to focus exclusively on legal and regulatory issues impacting municipal clean water attorneys and managers, so don’t miss it! Additional details on the Seminar, including registration and hotel information, conference agenda, and CLE information are available on NACWA’s website. Register now and we’ll see you in San Antonio!