Guest Columns

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

Washington Report, Water Finance November 9, 2023 at 9:35 am

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

Public Utility Finance, Washington Report, Water Finance November 6, 2023 at 10:19 am

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

Legal Corner, Water Finance October 30, 2023 at 7:24 am

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

Rates & Affordability, Washington Report, Water Finance October 19, 2023 at 10:24 am

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

Washington Report October 9, 2023 at 7:05 am

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

Washington Report October 4, 2023 at 12:33 pm

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

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

Legal Corner, Washington Report September 11, 2023 at 10:45 am

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

Water sector reiterates call to fully fund SRFs in 2024

Water sector reiterates call to fully fund SRFs in 2024

Washington Report, Water Finance September 5, 2023 at 7:45 am

In August, 18 water sector organizations including those representing U.S. utility systems, wrote to Congress to reiterate support for funding the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs) to the maximum authorization in federal law, $3 billion each, for fiscal year 2024. InRead More

Commentary: Climate Initiatives Stifle with Stuck-in-the-Past Equipment Purchasing

Commentary: Climate Initiatives Stifle with Stuck-in-the-Past Equipment Purchasing

Commentary, Public Utility Finance, Water Management August 21, 2023 at 10:45 am

By Soren Rasmussen Protecting the environment has never been so high on the agenda. So, isn’t it peculiar that in the wastewater industry, almost everything is still archaically structured to purchasing the cheapest possible equipment, which can all too soon end up as waste thatRead More