» Clean Water Current Archive

June 27, 2014

Clean Water Agencies Benefit From Supreme Court Greenhouse Gas Ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this week in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA  contained positive news for municipal clean water utilities, limiting EPA’s ability to impose certain Clean Air Act (CAA) permitting requirements based solely on emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs).   The Court’s decision will keep many clean water agencies out of the CAA Title V and Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) programs altogether – and allow others to narrow the scope of their Title V obligations.  NACWA has long pushed to exempt POTWs from CAA permitting requirements based solely on GHG emissions, and this week’s ruling by the Supreme Court is consistent with the Association’s ongoing advocacy. Additional analysis of the decision and its impacts on Member Agencies is available in Advocacy Alert 14-14.

Finance Dialogue Opens Door to Public/Private Sector Collaboration

NACWA hosted a Clean Water Finance Dialogue in New York City this week with approximately 40 representatives from private investment firms, NACWA Member Agencies, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Emily Lloyd, the recently-appointed Commissioner for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, provided welcoming remarks and expressed appreciation for NACWA’s role in both convening the Dialogue – and to finding innovative ways to address an increasingly complex regulatory regime and growing affordability challenges.

The facilitated session on June 24 focused on the potential for the public clean water sector to partner with the private sector on mutually beneficial projects, but with the understanding that the issue of utility privatization was not on the table for discussion. There was general agreement that a new injection of major federal funds in the near future was unlikely and that utilities and cities across the country face significant affordability challenges as their infrastructure continues to age and regulatory and enforcement pressures continue to mount. All of these factors make private capital a potentially important part of the water infrastructure picture.

It is apparent that the finance paradigm is changing and there will be increasing pressure for the public and private investment interests to partner. The Dialogue also underscored the importance of NACWA’s advocacy efforts on the Water Resources Utility of the Future (UOTF) initiative, with UOTF-type projects in the reuse, energy production, and resource recovery arenas also being the most likely candidates for public-private partnerships. The Dialogue demonstrated that private and public interests can set some philosophical differences aside and engage in very productive discussions. NACWA plans a summary of the Dialogue and will build on this initial effort to ensure a meaningful, long-term collaboration with private sector investors. For a more detailed discussion of the Dialogue by NACWA’s Executive Director, Ken Kirk, in this week’s blog post at The Water Voice.

Reuse Working Group Discusses NACWA Advocacy Role & Collaboration

NACWA has been increasingly involved in water reuse issues recently, largely as a part of its Water Resources Utility of the Future initiative – with activity in this arena increasing as the drought in the West continues and member needs and federal interest in this area expand.  This week, a Water Reuse Working Group comprised of interested and active NACWA member utilities held its first conference call to help determine the scope of – and to strategically guide – the Association’s advocacy around water reuse and recycling issues.  Over 15 agencies from across the country were represented on the call.  Participants acknowledged that water reuse is an increasingly important, but also highly complex, issue.  There was general consensus that there should be an expanded NACWA role to raise the profile of reuse, secure funding, overcome permit process inefficiencies, and connect utilities to appropriate resources to streamline reuse project execution.  Members agreed that any actions taken should be collaborative, and not duplicative of initiatives underway by other organizations, especially the WateReuse Association.  Regional reuse partners were also identified. NACWA is working on a one-pager based on the conference call that will discuss the scope and strategic advocacy priorities on reuse for the Workgroup to review.

EPA Plans Expo, Hosts Green Infrastructure Summit

On Tuesday, EPA convened a meeting of a group of green infrastructure partners, including NACWA, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the Low Impact Development Center, American Rivers, American Forests, and the Water Environment Federation (WEF) to discuss EPA’s interest in hosting a Green Infrastructure (GI) Expo on Capitol Hill. The Expo would both explain and highlight GI for Members of Congress and their staffs. Although in its very early stages, the Expo will likely be held in September, and feature selected community programs and projects that utilize sustainable infrastructure to address stormwater and other wet weather issues. The GI Statement of Intent NACWA and its partners have been developing over the past few months, with EPA, will likely be highlighted as part of this Expo. NACWA will update members as details for the GI Expo are finalized.

EPA also announced this week that it will partner with NACWA Member Agency, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD), to host the 2014 Community Summit on Green Infrastructure (Summit) on October 26-28 at Cleveland State University in Ohio. At the Summit, EPA partner communities and technical assistance recipients will engage in peer-to-peer exchanges about the issues that they are encountering in developing and implementing GI programs. The Summit also provides an opportunity for NEORSD to highlight its leadership in the use of sustainable infrastructure to address wet weather concerns.

Join us as we Rock the Current

Have you registered for the Rock the Current Fun Run, July 13 in Portland, OR? Join you clean water colleagues as we get a little exercise in before the official kick off of NACWA’s 2014 Summer Conference & 44th Annual Meeting.  The event will begin promptly at 8 am in Gov. Tom McCall Waterfront Park.  Not only is Rock the Current a great way to stretch your legs, the proceeds from the run benefit Water for People – Oregon.  Register today by visiting www.nacwa.org/RTC.

Have You Gotten Engaged?

The Engage network is available to all NACWA members as a way to virtually discuss issues and program ideas at your utility. Issues discussed from recent posts include:

• • Hauled Wastes
  • Public Access to Sewer Maps
  • Green Infrastructure Management Plans
  • Human Resources

The discussions are searchable and a great way to exchange information. If you are having issues logging on or using Engage, contact Robin Davis, Director of Marketing & Digital Media at 202.533.1802 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

In observance of the July 4th holiday
there will be no Clean Water Current next week.
NACWA wishes all of its members a happy, fun
and safe holiday weekend!