» Update Archive

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) is pleased to provide you with the July 2016 Regulatory Update.

Top Stories

NACWA Plays Leadership Role in Advisory Council Recommendations on Water Sector Resiliency

The National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) voted June 24 to approve five recommended actions by the Federal Government to improve resilience in the water sector. The NIAC provides the President with advice on the security and resilience of the critical infrastructure sectors, including the water sector. The final report on Water Sector Resilience published July 11, will go directly to the President for his review.

As part of development of the report, the NIAC Working Group enlisted a number of experts in a Study Group, chaired by NACWA President Adel Hagekhalil, to undertake extensive subject matter expert interviews and literature reviews to inform the NIAC findings and recommendations. The Study Group determined, and the NIAC agreed, that the water sector is in major need of renewal and increased investment, much like many of the other critical national infrastructure across the United States. The report acknowledges that while it is not the Federal Government’s responsibility alone to strengthen the water sector’s resilience to uncertain risks, policy makers have failed to make reinvestment in water infrastructure a top national priority.

The specific recommendations for federal action suggested by the Study Group and approved by the NIAC are as follows:

1. Analyze and map the complex risks of major water disruptions and develop mitigation strategies;
2. Fortify Water Sector response and recovery capabilities
3. Increase federal funding, investment, and incentives to improve water infrastructure resilience;
4. Incerase technical and financial resources and expertise available to the Water Sector; and
5. Strengthen federal leadership, coordination, and support for Water Sector resilience.

The NIAC’s five recommendations underscore the need for more support from the federal government as public water and clean water systems struggle with maintaining a highly specialized workforce, cyber dependency, more severe weather and climate, and affordability concerns – all while also facing the need to address deteriorating infrastructure in a limited-resource environment.

NACWA will continued to stay closely engaged as the final report’s recommendations are considered by the White House and will keep the membership updated on developments.

Contact: Brenna Mannion at 202/533-1839 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

NACWA, EPA Discuss Path Forward on Recovered Resources

David St. Pierre, NACWA Secretary and Executive Director for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, joined NACWA staff on June 27 for a discussion with senior officials from EPA’s Office of Water to discuss a potential path forward on resources recovered from the wastewater treatment process. At issue is whether resources extracted from the wastewater treatment process, for example gold or struvite, could at some point exit out of the Clean Water Act’s biosolids regulations.

NACWA has been working on this issue for over two years and discussions at the meeting signaled that EPA may now be comfortable with an approach that ensures full compliance with existing regulations, but that could also evaluate recovered resources on a case by case basis to determine whether they can be deemed products and no longer regulated by the Clean Water Act. NACWA is optimistic that the Agency will take action to formalize this process before the end of the year. The Association will continue to work closely with EPA on this issue and report on developments as they unfold.

Contact: Chris Hornback 202/833-9106 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Clean Water Funding and Financing

EPA Leads Discussion on Water Infrastructure Funding Strategies for Communities in Need

Federal, state and local officials from across the country gathered in Washington, DC on July 19 to discuss water infrastructure funding and financing strategies for communities in need. In the wake of the events in Flint, Michigan, EPA convened the day-long forum to explore funding opportunities across the federal government, including at EPA and the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture and Commerce; to highlight innovative financing and community assistance programs; and to share other approaches to further leverage existing funding. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy kicked off the discussion with remarks on the importance of water to the nation’s economy, including a stern warning on the consequences of disinvestment in water infrastructure.

NACWA members speaking on the program and participating in the audience provided concrete examples where clean water utilities are already taking a leadership role. Louis Sheppard, Constituent Care Specialist with the City of Atlanta, Department of Watershed Management, shared his perspectives on community engagement and how Atlanta’s programs for low income customers are having a positive impact. Andy Kricun, NACWA Board Member and Executive Director/Chief Engineer for the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority (CCMUA), discussed how the CCMUA was able to use State Revolving Fund loans to upgrade their treatment plant, address odors and provide other benefits to the community with essentially no increase in rates. Andy also touted the importance of the Utility of the Future work the clean water community is leading and how that will continue to increase the sustainability of clean water operations across the country. Gary Brown, Director of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, highlighted their new customer assistance program aimed at helping low-income customers maintain essential water and wastewater services.

At this point it is unclear what EPA will do to follow-up on the discussions from the meeting, but NACWA and the Office of Wastewater Management have already begun to explore additional opportunities to work together to further expand funding and financing opportunities. At the same time, NACWA's Board of Directors recently approved a Targeted Action Fund project to develop a resource guide to federal funding opportunities for utilities seeking low-cost financing assistance with various clean-water related projects. The guide is intended to provide information of existing federal programs in addition to the Clean Water SRF for which clean water agencies may be eligible. The guide is expected to be released early next year.

Contact: Chris Hornback 202/833-9106 or  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

NPDES Program

NPDES Updates Rule- Comments Due August 2

On May 18, EPA published a proposal to update certain elements of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) regulations. The stated intent of the draft rule is to modernize the NPDES program and increase transparency, while adding additional clarification to key provisions. Several substantive provisions – on Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET), antidegradation, and design flows - could alter how states set water quality based effluent limits (WQBELs). The true potential impact of many provisions, however, will depend on how a particular authorized state is currently implementing the permit program.

The most controversial proposal is a provision that would give the EPA Regions additional leverage to compel states to address permits that have been administratively continued for extended periods of time. EPA is seeking comment on the proposal by August 2. NACWA will be submitting comments informed by member feedback, but encourages members to submit comments directly to the Agency as well. Read NACWA’s Advocacy Alert on the proposal here.

Contact: Brenna Mannion at 202/533-1839 or  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention

EPA Publishes Effluent Guidelines Plan; NACWA Requests Member Input

EPA announced its Preliminary 2016 Effluent Limitation Guidelines (ELG) Program Plan on June 27. The Plan and a fact sheet are posted on EPA's website. In the Plan, EPA indicates that it will conduct further reviews of the Battery Manufacturing Category and the Electrical and Electronic Components Category. The Agency will also continue its detailed studies of the Metal Finishing and Centralized Waste Treatment (CWT) Categories.

NACWA’s Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Committee previously provided EPA with input on the Metal Finishing study during a March 8 conference call and at the NACWA Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Workshop in May. The Committee also provided input on the CWT study during the Workshop. Although the CWT detailed study is currently focused on oil and gas extraction wastewater, EPA could consider making this study broader. The Committee supported expanding the study due to the problems utilities have experienced with discharges from CWTs.

NACWA will plan to send comments on the Preliminary Plan by the July 27 due date. Any members with additional thoughts or concerns about the regulations should contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Contact: Cynthia Finley at 202/533-1836 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

President Signs Toxic Substances Control Reform Law, Agencies to Implement

President Obama signed into law H.R. 2576, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, on June 22 which reforms the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and is named for the late New Jersey Senator who long championed the modernization of TSCA. The previous TSCA legislation, which dated to 1976, had been widely viewed as ineffectual at regulating new chemicals. The new law provides EPA wider-ranging authority to test and regulate chemicals, and no longer requires the Agency to prove that regulation of a particular chemical for public health or environmental reasons is cost-effective – a requirement that had prevented EPA from regulating certain highly toxic substances.

Read the full story from the Clean Water Current.

Contact: Cynthia Finley at 202/533-1836 or  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Water Quality

Concerns Remain Over Revised Selenium Criteria

EPA published its revised water quality criterion for selenium in the Federal Register on July 13, concluding a multi-year process during which the Agency worked to develop criteria values that better reflected how selenium affects aquatic life. Consistent with NACWA's comments, the final criteria include a stated preference for using the fish tissue based values. However, there is also concerning language that suggests EPA may be backing away from this preference in the permitting context.

Read the full story from the Clean Water Current.

Contact: Chris Hornback 202/833-9106 or  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Wet Weather

CWA 404 Nationwide Permit Revisions Could Impact TMDL, CSO Programs

The Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has proposed a revised draft Nationwide Permit 27 (NWP 27) for public comment. NWP 27 is the primary national 404 permit dealing with work in streambeds and comes into play when clean water utilities restore streams such as part of their existing combined sewer overflow (CSO) or total maximum daily load (TMDL) programs. This memo contains more background on the 404 program and why NWP 27 is significant to clean water utilities. The deadline for comment on the draft NWP is August 1, and NACWA is considering a collaborative comment effort drafted by other local government groups and wetland managers.  Read the full story from the Clean Water Current.

Contact: Brenna Mannion at 202/533-1839 or  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Resources, Upcoming Events and Comment Periods

• Register now for the World Water-Tech North America Summit, October 18-20, 2016 in Toronto. NACWA is a partner for the event and Association members receive a $300 savings on registration. Just type in NACWA16 when registering at www.worldwatertechnorthamerica.com. 
• Save the Date! Plan now to attend NACWA's 2017 Winter Conference, February 4-7, 2017, in Tampa, Florida.