Guest Columns

Last week, more than 750 water utility professionals from across the United States convened in the nation’s capital for the annual Water Week, featuring Congressional office visits and policy updates from sector leaders and regulators. The anchor event of Water Week is the National WaterRead More

The Trump administration has placed a 10% baseline tariff on most imports, effective April 5, with additional tariffs on goods from select nations going into effect on April 9. Canada and Mexico are exempt from these tariffs due to the fact they are currently payingRead More

By Wayne Hofmann On Jan. 27 of this year, I traveled across the country to talk to strangers about federal funding, something I do occasionally. As I drank my morning coffee and prepared my remarks, a colleague sent an article titled “White House budget officeRead More

Jessica Kramer, the nominee to serve as the next assistant administrator for water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), participated in a Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hearing last week, garnering some water sector support. Kramer was nominated by President Donald TrumpRead More

U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) this month re-introduced two bipartisan bills to support rural water systems in emergency preparedness and cybersecurity. The Rural Water System Disaster Preparedness and Assistance Act, co-led by Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), would help rural water and wastewater utilities prepare andRead More

The U.S. House of Representatives’ Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee held a hearing Tuesday on “Water Infrastructure Financing: WIFIA and the Clean Water State Revolving Fund,” featuring four water sector experts who testified on current challenges and needs with the programs. The four witnesses whoRead More

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), which represents public wastewater and stormwater agencies of all sizes nationwide, said it supports the recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that will strike down “vague” language in Clean Water Act permits. The Supreme Court rulingRead More

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under recently confirmed Administrator Lee Zeldin is targeting a 65% reduction in agency spending, according to a White House spokesperson who clarified a remark by President Donald Trump last week after he seemed to suggest the cuts applied toRead More

Jessica Kramer has been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as the next assistant administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Water. Kramer worked in the Office of Water during the first Trump administration and has recently been working for theRead More

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin said his agency under the Trump administration intends to overhaul the WaterSense labeling program for water-efficient products. “The Biden Admin weaponized energy efficiency rules to restrict consumer choice with home appliances,” Zeldin wrote on X on Feb.Read More