Guest Columns

The National Rural Water Association (NRWA), which supports water and wastewater professionals that serve small and rural communities in the United States, said without additional funding, it will receive a “stop work order” on Nov. 1 for its water Circuit Rider program. “The National RuralRead More

In a decision earlier this month, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed all claims brought by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), an environmental group seeking to force the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prematurely issue regulations for certain PFAS in biosolids.  In the decision, the court held thatRead More

Water sector groups are reacting favorably to the reintroduction of the Water Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability Act. The bipartisan legislation would fund upgrades to drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure and make them more resilient against threats ranging from cyberattacks to extreme weather. The billRead More

The Water Coalition Against PFAS, a coalition of drinking water and wastewater sector organizations, is calling on Congress to pass legislation protecting passive receivers of PFAS from litigation after U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin called for new statutory authority in September. The WaterRead More

The House and Senate were unable to resolve their differences over the FY2026 appropriations process and sent the federal government into a partial shutdown on Oct. 1. The House passed a GOP-led funding extension Sept. 19 primarily along party lines. It was a “clean” continuingRead More

The U.S. Senate has confirmed Jessica Kramer as the next assistant administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Water. Kramer was first nominated by President Donald Trump in February and had been awaiting confirmation for seven months. Kramer worked in the OfficeRead More

American Water Works Association (AWWA) CEO David LaFrance and Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) CEO Tom Dobbins released the following statement on Sept. 12 regarding EPA’s request to the U.S. Court of Appeals to vacate the regulations and regulatory determinations for six PFAS (individuallyRead More

If you haven’t heard, there’s still a lot going on with regulatory and legal action related to PFAS and other “forever chemicals.” To get an update, we sat down with Ken Sansone, senior partner at SL Environmental Law Group, to discuss recent activity. Sansone focusesRead More

By Charlie Suse In November of 2021, the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) was passed, ushering in a historic infusion of federal funding to bolster the nation’s infrastructure. The IIJA appropriated roughly $43.5 billion for water infrastructure through the existing State RevolvingRead More

By John Ryan The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Corps Water Infrastructure Finance Program (CWIFP) is an original part of the successful 2014 WIFIA loan program statutory framework. CWIFP’s implementation has been much delayed (more on that later), but the program was finally able toRead More