Clean Water Current Archive

October 24, 2008

Stimulus Bill Talk Heats Up in D.C., NACWA Focuses on Wastewater Projects

With market instability continuing and unemployment on the rise, discussion of a second economic stimulus bill with a significant infrastructure component to help struggling municipalities, boost the economy, and put people to work has been gathering momentum.  Recent remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, as well as those by President Bush, noting their willingness to consider a second stimulus package are encouraging signs.  Similarly, the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee has scheduled an October 29 hearing titled Investing in Infrastructure: the Road to Recovery, focusing on the need for an infrastructure-based stimulus package.  NACWA, this week, provided written testimony to the T&I Committee for distribution to committee members and inclusion in the record of the hearing and will report on the proceedings in next week’s Current.

NACWA also met yesterday with a large group of organizations representing key infrastructure interests at a meeting hosted by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) to ensure that all key groups are on the same page in their support of a stimulus bill.  There was general agreement that a strong wastewater infrastructure component of approximately $10 billion in project funding, as recommended by NACWA, should be a part of the next stimulus bill.  Several groups plan to showcase NACWA’s ready-to-go project list in their testimony before the T&I Committee, as well as emphasize NACWA’s recommendation for $10 billion for wastewater infrastructure.

Over the course of this and last week, NACWA has delivered and e-mailed its October 15 letter and accompanying ready-to-go projects list to every Congressional office and to their key staff.  The response has been strong, with numerous House and Senate offices seeking to meet and discuss the issue further with NACWA and its members.  NACWA urges its membership to use the Association’s letter as a template to send to your Representatives and Senators urging them to support a stimulus package with a significant wastewater funding component. 

Currently, the timing of a stimulus package is uncertain because of the approaching elections.  While some on the Hill say that it would be better to get it done during a lame-duck session and demonstrate bipartisan support for such a package, others note that it would be easier to pass an infrastructure-based package after the election.  Regardless of the timing of the bill, however, NACWA will continue its work to broaden support for a strong wastewater infrastructure component in the stimulus package, building on the recent House-passed version (H.R. 7110), which provided $6.5 billion to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) but was blocked in the Senate.  If you have discussed the issue with your Members of Congress and received feedback, please share it with Adam Krantz at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

NACWA Highlights Clean Water Advocacy Priorities at WEFTEC

NACWA’s clean water advocacy priorities were well-represented this year at WEFTEC’08 in Chicago with two booths on the exhibit floor, its annual Hot Topics Breakfast on Tuesday, and an important presentation by Executive Director Ken Kirk on the impacts of the financial crisis on the nation’s clean water agencies and the need for a federal recommitment to sustainable clean water investment.

NACWA Executive Director Ken Kirk spoke on a Monday morning panel regarding the need for a strong, revitalized partnership with the federal government and urged Congress to pass a second stimulus package, pointing out that a renewed federal commitment would not only benefit the environment and public health, but would provide thousands of jobs to help bolster the sagging economy.  Also speaking on the panel was Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who spoke of the importance of clean water infrastructure to Chicago as well as to local economies nationwide and also discussed the many financial challenges communities face under current economic conditions.

NACWA’s booth focused on the benefits of Association membership and provided visitors with a unique opportunity to preview the Association’s redesigned advocacy-based website, which will go live in November. 
NACWA also teamed up with the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and the American Public Works Association (APWA) in hosting the Clean Water Advocacy Center (CWAC), which was one of the most popular exhibits of the show.  More than 2,000 visitors stopped by to have their photos taken with images of the presidential candidates, affording a unique opportunity to speak to them about NACWA and the clean water community’s priorities in the legislative, regulatory and legal arenas.  Specifically, visitors to the booth were given joint advocacy position papers in four key issue areas --- funding, wet weather, climate change, and chemical security.  Significantly, the three organizations also collected more than 500 signatures on an open letter to the next president of the United States asking that sustainable funding and sound policy-making in the clean water arena should be top priorities in the next administration.

The Association’s annual Hot Topics Breakfast was well-attended and featured Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water, Ben Grumbles, as well as his key office directors, Jim Hanlon, Craig Hooks and Ephraim King.  Nutrient issues were the top focus, led primarily by Ephraim King, with specific attention paid to the recent Natural Resources Defense Council petition, as well another petition seeking stricter nutrient controls for the Gulf of Mexico watershed.  King noted that both petitions would technically apply nationwide and thanked NACWA for its comments on the NRDC petition, for working with the states to increase the amount of data the Agency has on nutrient removal issues, and its overall leadership on this critical issue.  A NACWA member representative from the City of Olathe, Kansas – who is also a part-time farmer – highlighted the need for better collaboration between point and nonpoint sources, noting that funding levels for farmer-led conservation efforts are not has large as some may think and that there needs to be a greater push for trading and offsets where treatment plants can work with farmers to get nutrient reductions upstream.  NACWA member, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago's leadership on looking at wetlands and nutrient capture downstream from their plants was also mentioned, and both Grumbles and Hanlon expressed an interest in the work of the Association’s Strategic Watershed Task Force and sought to further discuss how the Task Force’s recommendations could be put into action.

Law Seminar Hotel Registration Deadline TODAY!

Today is the deadline to reserve a room at the special conference rate for the 2008 Developments in Clean Water Law Seminar, scheduled for Nov. 12 - 14 at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington, DC.  A Special Edition Current sent earlier this week provides additional details on the conference program as well as hotel and registration information.  The Seminar promises to deliver an exciting and engaging agenda with many of the best clean water attorneys from around the nation featured as speakers.  Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits will be available to all Seminar attendees.  The conference has already received accreditation from California, Colorado, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, and Wisconsin, with credits from other states expected soon.
Again, Friday October 24 is the deadline to reserve your room at the Fairmont at the special conference rate, and Oct. 31 is the registration deadline for those participants that would like to be included on the conference participants list.  So hurry and make plans now to join us in November!