State bills to address the labeling of wipes continue to gain momentum, with a bill in Washington state passing both legislative bodies and another bill introduced in Minnesota, said the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA). Washington’s bill, HB 2565, requires “Do Not Flush” logos on non-flushable wipes, with languageRead More

Bipartisan legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives last week to establish and fund a federal Advanced Research Projects Agency – Water (ARPA-H2O) to provide funding assistance to drinking water and clean water systems, private sector entities, academic research institutions, and nonprofit organizations. The bill would support theRead More

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with federal partners, has released the National Water Reuse Action Plan: Collaborative Implementation, a collection of bold actions developed in collaboration with water sector organizations that will reshape the way communities around the nation manage water. The plan identifies 37 actions across 11Read More

In an important legislative achievement for clean water, House and Senate negotiators released their compromise Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) earlier this week and excluded the most problematic PFAS provisions. The full report and summary are viewable online. Significantly for the clean water sector, the final package does not include a provision toRead More

If you’re looking for a public utility leader who’s respected by her peers for her leadership style, passion about water and engagement across the industry to effect change in water resources management, Diane Taniguchi-Dennis checks all the boxes. As chief executive officer of Clean Water Services serving Oregon’s second-largest county,Read More

The Senate Appropriations Committee recently passed a fiscal year 2020 (FY20) Interior & Environment Appropriations bill, which funds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and key clean water programs. The full House previously passed its FY20 Interior & Environment Appropriations bill earlier this summer and now awaits passage of the Senate version beforeRead More

On June 3-4, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) hosted its third annual Strategic Communications:H2O (StratComm) conference in Cleveland, Ohio, highlighting outreach and communication in the U.S. water and wastewater utility sector. The conference drew more than 120 national participants, the most so far for this fairly newRead More

U.S. House Representatives Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) and Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) — co-chairs of the bipartisan House Municipal Finance Caucus — introduced The Investing in Our Communities Act (H.R. 2772) in May, which would amend the federal tax code to reinstate the option for a single advance refunding of municipal bonds. NACWA joinedRead More

The American Water Works Association, National Association of Clean Water Agencies and Water Environment Federation have together produced a report that proposes a new approach for assessing community and household affordability for water services. The report, “Developing a New Framework for Household Affordability and Financial Capability Assessment in the Water Sector,” buildsRead More

The House Appropriations Committee passed its Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) Interior & Environment Appropriations bill in May, which funds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and included a significant increase for key EPA programs. This occurred on the same day President Trump broke off discussions with Congressional leaders on aRead More