Guest Columns

Tackling PFAS with Innovation: Orange County Water District’s Approach

Tackling PFAS with Innovation: Orange County Water District’s Approach

December 4, 2023 at 9:12 am 0 comments

| By Craig Butt & Prem Parmar For the past 90 years, the Orange County Water District (OCWD) has provided a safe and reliable local groundwater supply to Southern California. As regulations and requirements for water quality have changed dramatically since 1933, OCWD has continuouslyRead More

What’s next for WOTUS following Sackett ruling?

What’s next for WOTUS following Sackett ruling?

November 20, 2023 at 9:16 am 0 comments

| By Susan Bodine On Jan. 18, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Corps of Engineers published a final rule defining “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act despite the fact that a case on that issue wasRead More

A shot of the Sacramento River near Redding, Calif., just north of Red Bluff where the river came within a foot of its highest recorded level this past winter.

Bureau of Reclamation invests in reuse, desal projects

November 9, 2023 at 9:35 am 2 comments

The Bureau of Reclamation recently announced the selection of 31 planning projects to receive more than $28 million in appropriated funding to support potential new water reuse and desalination projects. The 31 projects are in California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. The projectsRead More

House passes EPA spending bill that would reduce SRFs

House passes EPA spending bill that would reduce SRFs

November 6, 2023 at 10:19 am 0 comments

The U.S. House of Representatives recently approved an appropriations bill that would reduce total funding for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and some of the agency’s key funding programs, although the measure is unlikely to get very far. The measure would reduce EPA’s fundingRead More

Maine sewer district files lawsuit over PFAS-contaminated wastewater

Maine sewer district files lawsuit over PFAS-contaminated wastewater

October 30, 2023 at 7:24 am 0 comments

Maine’s York Sewer District announced last week it has filed a lawsuit against 3M, DuPont and other manufacturers for the presence of PFAS in the district’s wastewater. Representing York Sewer District is SL Environmental Law Group P.C., a New Hampshire-based law firm that focuses exclusivelyRead More

AMWA, other sector orgs support continued LIHWAP funding

AMWA, other sector orgs support continued LIHWAP funding

October 19, 2023 at 10:24 am 0 comments

The Association of Metropolitan of Water Agencies (AMWA) recently joined more than 150 national, state and local organizations in writing to congressional leaders to express strong support for continued funding for the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) at Department of Health and Human Services inRead More

EPA announces $20 million in grants to help bolster water workforce

EPA announces $20 million in grants to help bolster water workforce

October 9, 2023 at 7:05 am 0 comments

The Biden-Harris administration is announcing the availability of more than $20 million in grant funding to support training and career opportunities for water and wastewater workers through the U.S. EPA’s Innovative Water Infrastructure Workforce Development Grant program. Frontline workers at water and wastewater treatment utilitiesRead More

EPA finalizes rule to require PFAS reporting

EPA finalizes rule to require PFAS reporting

October 4, 2023 at 12:33 pm 0 comments

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule in September that it said will provide the agency, its partners and the public with the largest-ever dataset of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) manufactured and used in the United States. The agency said rule buildsRead More

Commentary: Now is the time to amend WIFIA

Commentary: Now is the time to amend WIFIA

October 2, 2023 at 6:05 am 0 comments

By John Ryan Congress certainly looks like an exciting place this fall, with plenty of political fireworks and intense drama over spending. But there’s no doubt legislators and their constituents will also want to see progress on some basic things that are clearly beneficial, aren’tRead More

EPA Headquarters building at the Federal Triangle in Washington, DC.

WOTUS amended to conform to Supreme Court decision

September 11, 2023 at 10:45 am 0 comments

In late August, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of the Army (the agencies) announced a final rule to amend the definition of “waters of the United States” to conform with the recent Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA. The agenciesRead More