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This edition of NACWA’s Legislative Update, current through August 2, 2016, 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 legislative activities, click on the web links in selected news items or visit NACWA’s website. Please contact NACWA’s This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 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

Congress Leaves for Summer Recess with Unfinished Business

Congress left for an extended summer recess July 15 – September 5 without completing work on FY 2017 Appropriations or getting floor action in the House or Senate on the 2016 WRDA bill. As a result, when Congress returns in September it will be under pressure to quickly pass a continuing budget resolution before the Fiscal Year ends September 30th in order to avoid a government shut-down, as well as to move quickly on WRDA.

Although the past few months have exposed bitter partisanship, Members of Congress did come together on comprehensive energy legislation before leaving Washington. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) enlisted a group of Senate conferees to join their House counterparts in crafting a joint energy reform bill. If signed into law, the bill would be the first major revision in federal energy policy in nearly a decade. The Senate version (S.2012)  includes a number of provisions related to the energy-water nexus that NACWA supports, and the Association will work to ensure these provisions are included in any final package.

With regards to federal funding, the House passed its FY17 Department of Interior, Environmental Protection, and related agencies’ Appropriations bill, H.R. 5538  , following debate over 130 amendments despite Democratic opposition. Of interest to NACWA members, the bill includes provisions to fund the Water Infrastructure Financing and Innovation Act (WIFIA) at $50 million dollars, which could potentially provide up to $5 billion worth of loan financing, and provides $6.5 million for Integrated Planning activities. However, the House package proposes steep cuts to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) Program of $400 million while proposing a slight increase of $100 million for the Drinking Water SRF. Overall, spending for both SRF programs would be reduced by nearly $400 million should the House package be adopted.

On the Senate side, the Senate Appropriation Committee’s bill (S. 3068)  restores nearly all the Administration’s proposed cuts to the CWSRF ($1.35 billion) while increasing the DWSRF slightly to $1.02 billion. The Senate package also includes funding for WIFIA ($30 million) and $3 million for Integrated Planning activities. Unfortunately, the Senate was unable to complete work on its spending bill before the recess.

Finally, despite a promising start and significant advocacy from a wide range of stakeholders including NACWA, both chambers left Washington without floor consideration of the 2016 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). The House WRDA package (H.R. 5303)  contains authorizations for 28 Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) projects and several policy-related provisions, including a stormwater provision proposed by NACWA that would increase coordination between the ACOE and municipal stormwater agencies. The much broader Senate (S. 2848)  package includes numerous provisions related to clean water and drinking water infrastructure investment, as well as provisions addressing affordability challenges related to the Clean Water Act.

NACWA has compiled key resources related to WRDA here, including relevant factsheets and outreach letters to Congress. Association members are strongly encouraged to use these resources when meeting with Members of Congress during the summer recess to push for prompt consideration of WRDA in September.

NACWA will spend the rest of the summer continuing to meet with key Congressional staff and coordinating with other stakeholders to encourage Congressional action on priority legislation, especially WRDA, when lawmakers return in September.

Pollution Prevention

President Signs Toxic Substances Control Reform Law, NACWA to Track Implementation

President Obama signed into law H.R.2576, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, on June 22. The bill is named for the late New Jersey Senator who long-championed Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform. The legislation could have impacts on municipal clean water utilities, especially their pretreatment programs or local chemical regulation programs.

The final bill increases Federal preemption of state authority to regulate chemicals in certain situations – a key sticking point during negotiations. The Federal preemption was scaled back from what was initially proposed, which allowed the bill to garner broad support. Nonetheless, states and other stakeholders – including NACWA, which weighed in on the bill’s preemption language – will monitor how EPA implements the bill. The Association will remain alert for any issues POTWs encounter.

The original TSCA legislation, which dates to 1976, is widely criticized 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 bringing several highly-toxic substances under regulation. Questions on TSCA may be directed to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Manager, Legislative Affairs or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Director, Regulatory Affairs.

Federal Funding

NACWA Comments on WIFIA Materials

NACWA joined several national water associations in July in submitting comments in response to EPA’s Information Collection Request (ICR) regarding program materials for the Water Infrastructure Finance & Innovation Act (WIFIA). Authorized in the 2014 Water Resources Reform & Development Act (2014 WRDA), the WIFIA program is designed to provide low-cost loans and loan guarantees for clean water and drinking water projects. This new financing tool targets large, regional water-related infrastructure projects of national significance that may not be able to easily access financing under the State Revolving Fund Programs.

EPA is expected to launch the WIFIA program early next year in anticipation of Congress providing FY17 funding for the program. The House-proposed FY17 Interior and Environment spending package included $50 million for the program, and the Senate included $30 million in its package (amounts that could potentially provide up to $5 billion and $3 billion in loan financing, respectively). NACWA will continue to monitor and report on developments related to the WIFIA program rollout.