News
2024 Fiscal Year Appropriations for the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds
ACWA joined a broad coalition of water sector organizations urging Congressional Appropriators to fully fund the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (CW/DW SRF) at $3 billion each in Fiscal Year 2024.
Increased federal funding is needed to meet the growing demand for SRF subsidized loans, which has skyrocketed due to the increased cost of planning, design, construction and financing.
- Budgets for water infrastructure projects have increased by as much as 40% in just the last five years. While historic inflation has ebbed, the cost of planning, design and construction remains well above pre-pandemic levels, particularly in rural communities that can least afford it.
- In addition to repairing and replacing aging infrastructure, complying with more stringent water quality standards requires new investments in sophisticated and often expensive treatment technologies.
- Higher construction costs are compounded by higher financing costs from rising interest rates on the municipal market. The cost of borrowing has become a barrier to needed investment in water infrastructure.
Importantly, reliable annual federal appropriations are directly linked to an SRF’s ability to: - Maintain low interest rates on SRF subsidized loans to keep financing affordable.
- Provide principal forgiveness and grants to communities that couldn’t otherwise afford to build the water infrastructure needed to protect public health.
- Issue bonds to leverage their programs to meet higher demand for financing.
- Supplement state and local water quality programs that protect the sources of drinking water and train staff at local water utilities.
- Provide technical assistance to help small and rural communities comply with water quality standards, build physical, financial and operational resiliency, and develop water infrastructure projects.
- Build a permanent pool of loan repayments that can provide affordable financing for water infrastructure projects in the future.
Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap Community Initiative – 150 Communities Added to the Program
This week EPA announced expansion of the Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap Community Initiative. Originally launched in partnership with USDA as a pilot initiative, the program will advance the administrations environmental justice agenda and help thousands of Americans access the wastewater infrastructure they need. The Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap Community Initiative has helped provide communities with no-cost technical assistance that helps identify affordable options for accessing wastewater infrastructure. For example, technical assistance providers help the community conduct assessments of the community’s specific needs and submit applications for wastewater funding. So far, progress for the 11 pilot communities includes seven funding awards and 10 additional funding applications. Interested communities can request assistance by completing the WaterTA request form.
Draft Guidance for Future CSO Permits
This week EPA published a prepublication version of guidance intended to highlight available paths forward for permitting communities with CSOs at the next stage in their programs. It summarizes options under the Clean Water Act that are articulated in the original 1994 Combined Sewer Overflow Control Policy as well as the option to use EPA’s 2012 Integrated Planning Framework to look holistically at future investments. Once published in the Federal Register, the public will have 30 days to comment. A copy of the prepublication version of the guidance can be found here: Combined Sewer Overflow Control Policy | US EPA
EPA Updates Equity Action Plan, Adding New Priorities To Advance EJ
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has updated its Equity Action Plan, outlining eight strategies the agency plans to prioritize, including reducing cumulative impacts and strengthening civil rights compliance, in order to advance environmental justice (EJ).
The new plan follows the 2022 version, which outlined six priorities for EJ. According to EPA, four of the eight priorities in the plan are from the original version, and four are new.
“The eight priorities are for EPA to:
- Improve access for communities to federal assistance
- Reduce cumulative impacts and health disparities
- Strengthen our civil rights compliance program
- Protect children from exposure to environmental harms
- Address inequitable access to resources for rural communities
- Ensure public access to EPA programs to address environmental harms for people with disabilities
- Strengthen community-based participatory science to achieve environmental equity
- Improve data and analytic capacity to better identify and remove barriers.”
Association Updates
Notice – No Wrap Week of February 19th, 2024
In observance of the holiday, ACWA will not post a Weekly Wrap the week of February 19th, 2024. Look out for our next edition the week of February 26th, 2024.
2024 Mid-Year Meeting Registration
Dates: March 26 & 27, 2024
Venue: The Washington Marriott Metro Center DC
Registration is live for the upcoming 2024 ACWA Mid-Year Meeting. This year’s meeting will take place on March 26 & 27, 2024, in Washington, D.C. This will be a closed meeting intended for state members and federal guests. The agenda is in development and will be updated as appropriate.
Make your room reservations today! The reservation group room rate ends March 1st, 2024.
Check back here for more updates.
2024 National CAFO Roundtable – Registration Now Live!
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Date: April 30 – May 3, 2024
Purpose: The 2024 National CAFO Roundtable supports the implementation of animal agriculture programs nationwide by helping support states and EPA to further identify challenges & barriers to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) program implementation, sharing new technologies, best management practices, showcasing innovative state programs and initiatives, facilitating discussion on national program enhancements and improvements, identifying state resource needs including tools, training and guidance, and proposing solutions to challenges and barriers faced by the agriculture industry and other stakeholders.
Attendees: The CAFO Roundtable is a meeting of state AFO/CAFO regulators and EPA regional and headquarters representatives. Attendees generally include:
- State program managers, permit writers and inspectors involved in regulating AFOs/CAFOs
- EPA Headquarter and Regional staff involved in AFO/CAFO regulation
- Partnering state and federal agency staff that provide technical and/or regulatory assistance to AFOs/CAFOs
- Invited Guests
ACWA Meeting Webpage: 2024 National CAFO Roundtable – Association of Clean Water Administrators (acwa-us.org)
2024 Water Quality Standards Workshop
Dates: April 16-18, 2024
Venue: Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid North, Albuquerque, NM
ACWA will be holding the 2024 Water Quality Standards Workshop April 16-18, 2024, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
This workshop is a national meeting for State program managers and staff involved in water quality standards, as well as for both Regional and Headquarters-based U.S. Environmental Protection Agency managers and staff. This workshop will primarily feature case studies and presentations on how states have worked towards developing water quality standards for complex criteria.
ACWA does anticipate having travel support for state staff.
You may Register here!
View the draft agenda here.
Lodging is now available at the Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid North. ACWA has procured the local gov’t per diem rate of $141/night. Reserve your hotel room with this link.
Meetings and Webinars
Drinking Water Analytical Methods Public Input Request and UCMR 6v Pre-Proposal Webinar
Public Input Period for Methods: February 8, 2024 to April 8, 2024
UCMR 6 Pre-proposal Webinar: Wednesday April 17 or Thursday April 18, 2024
Topics: (1) Request for public input on drinking water analytical methods for emerging contaminants in drinking water, particularly those on the agency’s Fifth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 5) and (2) a pre-proposal webinar to discuss potential approaches for developing the sixth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 6)
(1) Public Input Details: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) request public input on drinking water analytical methods for emerging contaminants in drinking water, particularly those listed on the agency’s Fifth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 5). This Federal Register Notice (FRN) describes published drinking water analytical methods and EPA drinking water methods currently in development for the CCL and other emerging contaminants. EPA invites public input on drinking water analytical methods for these contaminants. EPA will accept public input related to the FRN for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. Comments must be received on or before April 8, 2024. Please refer to the FRN notice for more details about submitting comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2023-0469 using the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
A summary of public input regarding drinking water analytical methods will be available after the webinar in the docket.
(2) Webinar Details: The EPA will be hosting two identical pre-proposal webinars on Wednesday, April 17 and Thursday, April 18, 2024, to discuss potential approaches for developing UCMR 6, including: the status of drinking water analytical methods; contaminants being considered; possible sampling design; laboratory approval; and other possible monitoring considerations. The agenda will allow for public questions and statements.
The webinar will be held on April 17, and again on April 18, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Participants can attend online via the webinar links, which will broadcast the discussion and presentations. The same material will be presented twice to accommodate the limited number of webinar connections available for the meeting each day.
· To register for April 17th please use this link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/9172484874454969434
· To register for April 18th please use this link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4542600839076268125
After registering to attend the webinar, you will receive an email confirming your registration and email reminders as the date of the webinar approaches. To ensure that you successfully receive these emails, please add GoToWebinar.Notifications@citrixonline.com and UCMRWebinar@cadmusgroup.com to your “approved” or “safe senders” list. Questions regarding webinar registration should be emailed to UCMRWebinar@cadmusgroup.com.
To be scheduled to speak during the webinar, please identify your interest when you register using the online registration form above or send an email to: UCMRWebinar@cadmusgroup.com indicating that you would like to present a statement, along with any materials (e.g., PowerPoint slides or PDF document) that you plan to include in your presentation. Public presentations will be limited to 10 minutes each. The last day to pre-schedule to speak at the webinar is April 9, 2024. If there is additional time for public speakers after scheduling those who pre-registered, EPA will take requests during the webinar via the chat box. The EPA will accommodate requests to speak (via pre-registration and during the webinar) in the order received and as time permits.
Further information about the drinking water analytical methods and participation in the webinar can be found in the Federal Register notice published Thursday, February 8, 2024 (89 FR 8548); FRL-10857-04-OW.
Key Dates:
• Submit comments for drinking water analytical methods on or before: April 8, 2024.
• Register to speak during the pre-proposal webinar by Tuesday, April 9, 2024. EPA encourages commenters to provide the agency with an advance copy of their presentation/remarks by emailing them to UCMRWebinar@cadmusgroup.com. Any presentation materials must also be received by this date to be included in the presentation/webinar.
• The identical webinars will be held Wednesday, April 17 and Thursday, April 18, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time).
EFAB Water Affordability Public Listening Session
Date: Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Time: 1:00 – 3:00 pm Eastern
Register: HERE
EPA’s Environmental Financial Advisory Board will hold a public listening session via a webcast for its Water Affordability Workgroup on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern. The purpose of the listening session will be for the EFAB to solicit public comment on research, data, and case examples that demonstrate approaches to reduce the capital intensity of meeting communities’ water and wastewater service needs. These could include technological innovations that reduce the required scale of capital projects, innovative procurement models that reduce overall capital costs, or policy innovations that enable communities to meet regulatory requirements more efficiently. The listening session will be conducted fully virtual via webcast.
Click here to learn more about EFAB
U.S. EPA on Water and Wastewater Threat
Date: Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Time: 2:00pm – 4:00pm eastern
Registration: Meeting Registration – Zoom (zoomgov.com)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Water Infrastructure and Cyber Resilience Division (WICRD), along with partners from the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center (WaterISAC) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), are offering a virtual threat briefing that will be held on February 27, 2024. The briefing will be unclassified; no clearance is required. It will provide an overview of information on the following topics related to water and wastewater sector security threats and preparedness:
• Potential threats to critical infrastructure (cyber and physical)
• What to do in the event of a cyber or physical intrusion
• Water security and preparedness products and services
Creating the Water Workforce of the Future: Webinar Series – Veterans in the Water Workforce
Date: February 29, 2024
Time: 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Register: HERE
As part of EPA’s commitment to helping build a diverse and sustainable water workforce, today’s veterans can provide a very important set of skills as well as benefit from a range of programs designed to help them build a meaningful career in water. Please join us on February 29th to hear from organizations that are reaching out to and training these veterans so they can play a key role in protecting our nation’s critical water infrastructure.
This webinar is part of an ongoing webinar series hosted by EPA, in partnership with leading water sector organizations around the country. More information on this webinar series can be found here.
EPA Healthy Watersheds Learning Exchange – Webinar Series and Listserv
EPA’s Healthy Watersheds Program has announced a new quarterly Healthy Watersheds Learning Exchange webinar series, aimed at highlighting watershed protection approaches and facilitating discussions among healthy watersheds practitioners to promote the sharing of experiences, lessons learned, and tools. State, Territory and Tribal water quality programs; other government agencies; non-profit organizations; colleges/universities; and those interested in joining a community of practice focused on healthy watersheds protection are invited to join.
Click here for more information including the Zoom registration link for the first webinar on Tuesday, February 27, at 1:00 pm ET, Introduction to Healthy Watersheds Protection, featuring presentations from:
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- Ali Dunn, CA Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program
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- Pamela Toshner, WI Department of Natural Resources
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- Sophie Waterman, EPA Chesapeake Bay Program
Additionally, EPA announced the return of its the Healthy Watersheds Protection email listserv, HWP_info. To receive more updates from the Healthy Watersheds Program, please subscribe here.
Nutrient Losses from Agricultural Fields
Date: February 28, 2024
Time: 2:00 – 3:00 pm ET
Register: HERE
On Feb. 28, 2024, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm ET, the EPA Office of Research and Development will host a Water Research webinar, “Effectiveness of Nutrient Management for Reducing Nutrient Losses from Agricultural Fields.”
This presentation will discuss two investigations focused on nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) and emphasizes the need for government agencies to work together to address potential economic losses due to implementation of lower fertilizer rates for water quality improvement.
Job Opportunities
Advanced Monitoring Team Scientist
Location: Santa Fe, NM
Closing Date: February 21, 2024
Job ID # 140534
Position # 12122
This position serves as an Advanced Monitoring Team Scientist and supports the mission of the Surface Water Quality Bureau by planning and conducting surface water quality surveys to collect chemical, biological, and physical habitat data across the entire state of New Mexico. In addition to collecting data, this position is also responsible for developing, tracking, and ensuring implementation of field sampling plans; quality control, quality assurance, and review of data collected by monitoring staff; water quality data management; report writing; standard operating procedure development, review, comment, and adherence; and requested data analyses to support the Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 305(b) assessment of state waters, the CWA Section 303(d) list of impaired waters, TMDL development, water quality standards refinement, and criteria development. This position also exists to mentor and direct work efforts and provide technical guidance to lower-level monitoring staff to ensure SWQB’s mission and related grant deliverables are met.
If you are interested in finding out more and applying, please visit NM’s Careers site to review the job posting and complete your application!
Water Quality Scientist (TMDL Planner)
Location: Helena, MT
Closing Date: February 29, 2024
For more information and to apply, visit State of Montana Careers.
Water Reuse Program Developer
Location: Portland, Oregon
Closing Date: February 25, 2024
For more information and to apply, visit Oregon Job Opportunities.
Eastern Region Administrator
Location: Bend, Klamath Falls, Pendleton, or The Dalles, Oregon (finalist may choose work location)
Closing Date: February 25, 2024
For more information and to apply, visit Oregon Job Opportunities.
Environmental Compliance Inspector
Location: Helena, MT
Closing Date: February 27, 2024
The Environmental Compliance Inspector performs scientific and technical analyses, calculations, assessments and determinations essential to the implementation of water quality programs in the State of Montana. Responsibilities include: Providing compliance assistance, training, and support to facilities to comply with water quality rules and permit requirements; Conducting inspections of various industrial, commercial, residential, and municipal wastewater treatment facilities; Responding to alleged Water Quality Act complaints and violations for permitted facilities; Determining whether facilities are operating in compliance with water quality rules and permit requirements; Composing clear, concise, and legally defensible documents that support DEQ’s mission and the program goals, objectives, and priorities; and Acting as a liaison for the Department to the public and industry on water quality compliance; and Initiating enforcement action and managing the subsequent action for facilities outside of compliance.
For more information and to apply, visit State of Montana Careers.
Environmental Analyst – Aquatic Invasive Species Outreach Specialist
Location: Warrensburg, NY
Closing Date: February 28, 2024
Submit your cover letter and resume by email to jobs@neiwpcc.org by February 28, 2024. Please
reference #24-LCBP-003 in the email subject line. Accepting applications until the position is filled. A
full position description and benefits listing may be viewed at: https://neiwpcc.org/about-us/careers.
Forest Practices Specialist
Location: Thurston County – Lacey, WA
Closing Date: Continuous
For more information and to apply, visit State of Washington Job Opportunities.
General Permit Manager/Permit Data Specialist
Location: Spokane, WA
Closing Date: Continuous
For more information and to apply, visit State of Washington Job Opportunities.
Water Quality Standards Specialist
Location: Portland, Oregon
Closing Date: March 6, 2024
For more information and to apply, visit Oregon Job Opportunities.
TMDL Program Analyst
Location: Portland, Oregon
Closing Date: March 3, 2024
For more information and to apply, visit Oregon Job Opportunities.
Youth and the Environment Program Coordinator – Wastewater Division Intern
Location: Lowell, or Lawrence and North Andover, MA
Closing Date: March 8, 2024
To apply, submit a cover letter and resume by email to jobs@neiwpcc.org by March 8, 2024. Please reference #24-Lowell-004 in the email subject line. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, accepting applications until the positions are filled. A full position description may be viewed at: https://neiwpcc.org/about-us/careers.
Water Quality and Business Operations Intern
Location: Lowell, MA
Closing Date: March 10, 2024
To apply, submit a cover letter, resume, and writing sample by email to jobs@neiwpcc.org by March 10, 2024.
Please reference #24-Lowell-003 in the email subject line. Accepting applications until the position is
filled. A full position description may be viewed at: https://neiwpcc.org/about-us/careers.
Be sure to check out other opportunities on ACWA’s jobs page.
