Guest Columns

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

In late July, the Senate released its Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) appropriations bill. Its release came with some anticipation in the water sector following a recent House version – a draft and final proposal – that would slash EPA’s budgetRead More

The House of Representatives has released a draft of the FY26 Interior-Environment appropriations bill, which includes proposals for federal water infrastructure appropriations in 2026. Of note, the draft bill calls for a 20% reduction to the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) and a 26%Read More

The Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) applauded the reintroduction of a bipartisan bill that the association said will make it easier for U.S. drinking water systems to finance the replacement of lead service lines with tax-exempt bonds. The legislation is the Financing Lead OutRead More

By David Cole The challenges those of us in the drinking water sector face in 2025 are many of the same issues that have faced utility engineers and operators for years now; namely how best to deliver clean, safe drinking water using the highest qualityRead More