» Update Archive

 
This edition of NACWA’s Legislative Update, current through July 1, 2015, provides information on the activities of the 114th 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 Patricia Sinicropi 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.

Top Stories

Call or Write Your Members of Congress to Oppose Cuts to the SRF Program

NACWA urges Member Agencies to contact your Senators and Representatives to urge them to oppose cuts to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) program contained in the House and Senate’s proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 appropriations bills for EPA. The House EPA bill  contains drastic cuts to the Clean Water and Drinking Water SRFs providing $1.8 billion in total funding – a 23% cut from current levels. The CWSRF is funded at $1.018 billion and the DWSRF at $757 million – a 30% and 16% cut respectively. The Senate bill  calls for similar cuts providing the SRFs $1.852 billion -- $1.047 for the CWSRF and $776 million for the DWSRF (28% and 14% cuts respectively).

These spending bills are calling for steep cuts to clean water funding during a time when drinking water and wastewater agencies face increased regulatory and enforcement pressures, including in the Senate appropriations bill itself (see related story below on the stringent Great Lakes provisions that NACWA is working hard to get removed). At the same time, these cuts come at a time when utilities are also facing management and cost pressures from unprecedented droughts in one third of the country. For these reasons, it is critical that NACWA Members voice their opposition to these cuts to your Congressional delegation and urge that funding for the Clean Water and Drinking Water SRF programs be restored.

NACWA sent a letter, with six other water organizations, urging Congress to stand firm on funding for clean and safe water infrastructure for FY 2016. The letter specifically calls on Congress to fund the Clean Water SRF at $1.45 billion; fund the Drinking Water (SRF) at $1.186 billion; fully fund the Water Infrastructure Financing & Innovation Act (WIFIA) program at $25 million; and, provide $50 million for water reuse and conservation projects.

Visit www.house.gov and www.senate.gov for contact information for your Member.

Members are invited to use the coalition letter  to draft similar letters of their own to Congress. Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with any questions. 

Senate Appropriations Package Targets Great Lakes CSO Communities

The Senate Appropriations Committee’s proposed FY16 spending package for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) includes a provision that would prohibit all combined sewer overflows (CSO) to the Great Lakes and its tributaries and prohibit all direct and indirect dischargers from using any form of by-pass, including blending to manage flows during rain events. The provision, Section 428 of S. 1645 , was sponsored by Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) who has sponsored similar legislation in the past and who faces a difficult reelection campaign next year. NACWA sent a letter  in protest of this provision and is advocating its removal from the final FY16 EPA budget package, expected later this year. No similar provision is contained in the House proposal. NACWA members in the Great Lakes are urged to contact their Senators to express their opposition to this provision. NACWA is also asking its members in the Great Lakes to send us cost impact information of this provision to aid in our advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill. NACWA will keep members informed of our advocacy efforts going forward. Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with any questions.

Affordability

NACWA, Water Sector Groups Meet to Discuss Potential Federal Program to Address Water Affordability

The American Water Works Association (AWWA) hosted a meeting with NACWA and several other water sector organizations, including the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), the Water Environment Federation (WEF), and the National Association of Water Companies (NAWC), on June 25 for a discussion on a potential federal program or initiative to help alleviate water affordability concerns across the country. Read the full story from the Clean Water Current.

Climate Change

NACWA Participates in Senate Roundtable on Climate Change

NACWA participated in an invitation-only roundtable discussion hosted by the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee June 10 on the economic impacts of climate change. Patricia Sinicropi, NACWA’s Senior Legislative Director, represented NACWA at the event. Sinicropi addressed the risks and challenges that climate change poses to the nation’s clean water agencies. Read the full story from the Clean Water Current.

Water Reuse

National and Western Organizations Support Huffman Drought Legislation

Representative Jared Huffman’s (D-CA) proposed drought bill received support  from NACWA and five other water organizations, commending its focus on water reuse. NACWA along with other water organizations applauded the various provisions of the as-yet untitled act to both leverage existing federal policies and programs to enhance the development of new sustainable water projects – and create new programs to ensure adequate support for new recycled water supplies. Read the full story from the Clean Water Current.

NACWA Meets with Key Staff to Discuss Drought Legislation and Water Reuse

NACWA met with Democratic staff to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to discuss drought in the western states and the role of water reuse in addressing water supply challenges caused by the drought. Read the full story from the Clean Water Current.

Security

NACWA Signs Coalition Cybersecurity Bill Letter

NACWA joined five water organizations to send a letter  to the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 11 urging that language be included in S. 754, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015, to clarify that local government agencies performing public utility services – such as municipal water and wastewater systems – will enjoy the same cybersecurity incentives and protections as their private-sector counterparts. Read the full story from the Clean Water Current.