Guest Columns

In January, Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.) sponsored legislation seeking to invalidate the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) through the Congressional Review Act procedure. According to the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), which reported on the Palmer bill, the CRA allows a simple majority ofRead More

Pittsburgh Water CEO Will Pickering has been appointed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to its National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC). His two-year term is effective immediately. “It’s an honor to join this distinguished group of professionals committed to safe and reliable drinkingRead More

The water sector got a brief scare last week when an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on his first day back in office appeared to immediately pause distribution of funds appropriated through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA, also knownRead More

On Jan. 14, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a draft risk assessment of the potential human health risks associated with the presence of toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) chemicals in biosolids, also known as sewage sludge. The findings for the draft riskRead More

By Anne Austin Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plays a critical role in modern infrastructure and everyday life. Used safely for nearly a century, PVC provides essential benefits in applications ranging from water and sewer systems to medical devices, flooring and even automotive components, where it helpsRead More

In December, associations representing the municipal water and wastewater sector submitted a letter to President-elect Donald Trump, urging his administration to prioritize water infrastructure in his second term. The letter was endorsed by the American Water Works Association (AWWA), Water Environment Federation (WEF), the AssociationRead More

By Mike McGill Back in 2017, I was in the middle of the GenX crisis that occurred in Cape Fear region of North Carolina. The discovery of it and other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) generated scandalous headlines – “Toxin Taints Drinking Water” – and fearRead More

…& Legal Impacts on Clean Water Act Enforcement A recent Clean Water Act (CWA) case, City and County of San Francisco v. EPA, has the potential to impact policy around CWA enforcement and could be significant for water quality regulation across the United States. ToRead More

Last week, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) reached a final agreement on the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (WRDA). The Water Resources Development Act is biennial legislation that authorizes theRead More

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General in October issued a report identifying nearly $1 billion in questioned costs and funds that it suggested could be put to better use in the agency’s distribution of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for lead service line replacement.  DueRead More