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NACWA is urging its member agencies to reach out to their members of the U.S. House of Representatives to solicit their support and co-sponsorship of the Water Systems Adaptation Act of 2009 (H.R. 2969), as well as the American Clean Energy and Security Act  (H.R. 2454 or the Waxman-Markey bill). The Water System Adaptation Partnerships Act of 2009, introduced June 19 by Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), recognizes the critical role that wastewater, water and stormwater utilities can play in helping our nation adapt to climate change by establishing a competitive grant program at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to support these utilities’ efforts to adapt to climate change. NACWA has offered its full support for the Waxman-Markey climate legislation provided that it is amended to include the Capps bill.

Background Information

NACWA and a coalition of water associations and environmental organizations worked with Cong. Capps’ staff to develop the Water Systems Adaptation Act of 2009, which is intended to amend the American Clean Energy and Security Act, introduced by Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee, and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), when it comes to the floor of the House later this week. NACWA sent a June 19 letter  in support of the legislation to Capps, Waxman and Markey.

Specifically, the Capps bill would provide competitive grants “to assist in planning, designing, constructing, implementing, or maintaining any program, strategy, or infrastructure improvement” in several categories, including preservation or improvement of water quality; increased energy efficiency or the use and generation of renewable energy; as well as water reuse and green infrastructure projects. Original co-sponsors of the measure include: Reps. Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Allyson Schwartz (D-Penn.), Doris O. Matsui (D-Calif.), Grace F. Napolitano (D-Calif.), Donna Edwards (D-MD) and Jay Inslee (D-Wash.).

Congresswoman Capps tried to get this proposal included in the Waxman-Markey bill at the E&C Committee markup; however, the amendment was not offered because of jurisdictional concerns over the wastewater provision. She has now asked NACWA to help shore up support in the House with the intention, as mentioned previously, that the Water Systems Adaptation Act of 2009 would become part of the manager’s amendment for the Waxman-Markey bill before the vote on the House floor.

Please contact your Members and let us know how the discussions with them go. NACWA will then follow up individually with offices and provide them with more detail. If your members are interested in supporting or co-sponsoring the bill, please let them know that the staff contacts working in Capps’ office on the legislation are Elia Herman and Jonathan Levenshus. Again, it is likely that the full House will begin floor consideration of Waxman-Markey by Friday or Saturday, so doing this critical outreach as soon as possible is vital to the success of this effort. Please contact 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 for more information.