News
The REINS Act and the GOOD Act
There are currently two bills in Congress that could significantly change how administrative law evolves going forward. These bills have the support of a number of industry groups that have pursued major regulatory reforms for years, including long-sought legislation that requires Congress to approve “major” rules and requires transparency for guidance documents. The Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act or REINS Act (H.R. 3058, S.485) would require Congress to affirmatively approve any new “major” federal regulation before it can take effect. The current law requires Congress to disapprove a major regulation to stop implementation. While both versions of the bill are similar, S. 485 provides significantly more details on process. The bills define a ‘major’ rule as one that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) determines may result in an economic impact of $100 million or greater each year. Both versions appear to allow federal agencies to withdraw costly or burdensome rules without Congressional approval. The Guidance Out of Darkness or GOOD Act (H.R. 1515, S. 252) would establish a public web portal for each federal agencies’ guidance documents. Specifically, an agency must publish new guidance documents online on the dates they are issued in a single location on a designated website, publish all current guidance documents that are in effect and include a link to the guidance document itself, and indicate if the guidance document has been rescinded. These two bills appear to be almost identical.
2024 Tribal Reserved Rights Rule
EPA recently announced that it will no longer defend the TRR in ongoing litigation, recognizing a limit to its statutory authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA) to control how states develop water quality standards for waters within their jurisdiction. The agency reviewed the 2024 Tribal Reserved Rights Rule (TRR) in the context of ongoing litigation brought by 12 states in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota to ensure compliance with the law. As a result of this review, EPA determined that the 2024 TRR goes beyond the agency’s authority under the CWA. This week EPA notified the court that it will no longer defend the rule against plaintiffs’ argument that the agency lacks statutory authority to require states to consider and protect off-reservation reserved rights asserted by federally recognized Tribes. While EPA is no longer defending the rule, the remaining parties are likely to proceed with the case.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Throughout October, EPA will host a series of webinars to share sector-specific data and trends, providing tools, best practices, and training opportunities for water utilities, system operators, IT professionals, and local leaders. Learn more and register for the webinars here.
Cybersecurity Utility Talk
October 2, 2025, 1:00 – 1:30pm ET
Join EPA for a Utility Talk featuring EJ Water Cooperative, a rural Illinois water and wastewater provider serving over 75,000 people. Hear how they strengthened the cybersecurity posture of their IT and OT systems and enhanced their cyber resilience. Learn practical lessons and strategies that can help other water and wastewater utilities strengthen their defenses.
Cybersecurity Procurement Checklist Webinar
October 15, 2025 1:00 – 2:00pm ET
Join EPA for an informative webinar on our new Cybersecurity Procurement Checklist, a resource designed to help water and wastewater utilities incorporate cybersecurity into the procurement process.
Cybersecurity Vulnerability Scanning Webinar
October 30, 2025, 1:00 – 2:00pm ET
EPA and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) will provide the third quarterly overview of the most common cybersecurity vulnerabilities identified at water and wastewater systems via CISA’s Free Cyber Vulnerability Scanning for Water Utilities and EPA’s Proactive Vulnerability Identification Program for Water and Wastewater Systems.
Association Updates
ACWA 2026 Mid-Year Meeting – Lodging & Draft Agenda Now Available!
Dates: March 25-26, 2026
Location: Alexandria, VA
Reserve your room now by calling 1-800-Hiltons (1-800-445-8668) and using group code 92N, or click here.
Group Rate: $276/night
View the draft agenda here.
Check our event webpage for more information.
ACWA 2026 Annual Meeting – Save The Date!
Dates: August 5, 2026 at 8:00 am – August 7, 2026 at 12:00 pm
Board of Directors will meet August 4, 2026.
Venue: The Eldorado Hotel and Spa, Santa Fe, NM
Check back here for more information regarding registration, lodging, and agenda.
2026 Water Quality Standards Workshop – Save the Date!
Dates: April 21-23, 2026
Location: Little Rock, AR
We are excited to announce that the 2026 WQS Workshop will take place April 21-23, 2026 in Little Rock, AR!
This workshop is a national meeting organized by ACWA for state staff involved in state water quality standards programs, as well as for both Regional and Headquarters-based U.S. Environmental Protection Agency managers and staff. The workshop will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Little Rock. Reserve your hotel room here. ACWA does anticipate having travel support for state staff.
When available, more information can be found on ACWA’s events page.
Meetings and Webinars
GSI Maintenance in Practice
Monday, September 29 at 12 pm PT / 3 pm ET
REGISTER HERE
In this 90-minute Green Stormwater Infrastructure Webinar, Nicole Joyce will share her recent Capstone Project from DePaul University titled, “Lessons from Public Sector GSI Maintenance: Programs in Practice.” King County WA and Palo Alto CA will also join the presentation to talk about their maintenance programs.The session will be recorded and live attendees will receive a letter of attendance for continuing education needs.
EPA Nonpoint Source Pollution Technical Exchange Webinar
Monday, September 29 at 12:00 pm ET
REGISTER HERE
On Monday, Sept. 29, at 12:00 pm ET, EPA will host a webinar, Post-Wildfire Monitoring, Coordination, and Recovery for NPS Management, as part of its Nonpoint Source Pollution Technical Exchange webinar series. Click here to register for the webinar.
SERA-46 Lunch and Learn Series – Basin Breakthrough: Early Career Leaders in Mississippi River Basin Water Quality Research
Monday, October 6, 2025, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm ET
REGISTER HERE
This three-part virtual seminar series will feature early career leaders in Mississippi River Basin water quality research to illuminate innovative solutions for improving agricultural water quality across the watershed. Each date will feature talks from three up-and-coming scientists across the upper, middle, and lower basins. Upcoming webinars will take place on October 20 and November 3. Click here for more information about SERA-46 events.
SERA-46 is Southern Extension and Research Activities committee number 46. It is one of a group of formal USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and land-grant university funded committees designed to promote multi-state research and extension activities. SERA-46 brings together researchers and extension specialists who share a common interest and expertise related to the environmental, social, and economic factors that contribute to nutrient loss from agricultural lands and hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico.
Ask Me Anything SRF Office Hours
This initiative will expand your knowledge and enhance your ability to navigate the SRFs. These sessions are tailored for state agencies, utility operators, and stakeholders who support water infrastructure projects. Each session will open with a specific theme, providing clarity, strategies, and practical insights for preparing and managing an SRF-funded project. The remainder of the session will be devoted to ‘Ask Me Anything’. Participants can attend all sessions or select those that best meet their needs. Submit your questions in advance or bring them to the session for real-time support from our experts.
Wed., 11/5, 11-1 EST: What is an Intended Use Plan?
Meeting Registration – Zoom
Mon., 10/20, 2-4 EST: What is this thing called Equivalency?
Mon., 11/17, 2-4 EST: Summary of what was covered over the AMA sessions
Meeting Registration – Zoom
ITRC: Overview of the Tire-Derived Chemicals 6PPD & 6PPD-quinone Training
Tuesday, October 7, 2025, 1:00PM-2:30PM EDT
REGISTER HERE
In October 2024, ITRC released the 6PPD & 6PPD-quinone Guidance Document to provide environmental professionals and communities with information about the current science and regulatory framework of 6PPD and 6PPD-quinone (6PPD-q). 6PPD-q is a contaminant of emerging concern and is a transformation product of the tire anti-degradant (6PPD), an antiozonant used in tires.
Join us for this ITRC training course to get a basic overview of the science and policy measures surrounding the Tire Anti-Degradants 6PPD and 6PPD-q. Attendees will gain insight into the current state of knowledge on topics such as: background and use of 6PPD in tires, toxicity in aquatic species and humans; occurrence, fate, and transport; measuring, mapping, and sampling; mitigation measures; and policy, regulations, and laws.
Currently, 6PPD is used in all tires and can contaminate stormwater and surface water anywhere tires are used. 6PPD-q was identified as a chemical fatal to coho salmon in 2020. Since that time, it has been documented as acutely toxic to multiple trout species found throughout the United States. 6PPD and 6PPD-q have been found in waterways, aquatic organisms, soils, air, and humans.
This training will introduce you to the ITRC 6PPD & 6PPD-quinone Guidance Document which provides more technical detail than can be covered in this training course.
ITRC: PFAS Chemistry Training
Thursday, October 9, 2025, 1:00PM-3:00PM EDT
REGISTER HERE
The Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council (ITRC) is presenting an introductory training on the basics of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) chemistry. This training supplements the ITRC PFAS Introductory training and ITRC Beyond the Basics Training sessions. You can find ITRC PFAS training resources online at https://pfas-1.itrcweb.org/pfas-training/.
PFAS are an emerging group of contaminants that present unique challenges in many areas including: widespread use and presence in the environment, sampling and analysis, fate and transport, and remedial approaches. This training session will provide PFAS practitioners with an understanding of the unique aspects of PFAS chemistry that guide fate and transport, treatment, regulations, and decision-making on PFAS sites.
Key focus areas of the training include the following:
- Why are PFAS different from other organic chemicals?
- How are PFAS defined?
- How are PFAS manufactured and why does that matter?
- What are the differences between perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances?
- What are the naming conventions used for the different types of PFAS?
- How are short-chain and long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) defined?
- What are precursors and why are they important?
- What are some of the unique chemical properties of PFAS and why do they matter?
Resources and further details included in this training are in the ITRC Guidance Document (PFAS-1).
ITRC: Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC) Identification Framework Training
Tuesday, October 14, 2025, 1:00PM-3:00PM EDT
REGISTER HERE
In 2023, the ITRC Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC) Framework was published to help environmental regulatory agencies and other stakeholders identify, evaluate, and manage CEC’s while acknowledging uncertainties in their environmental fate and transport, receptor exposure, and/or toxicity. Such an approach can be conducive to improved allocation of regulatory response resources and provide a foundation for communicating potential risk to stakeholders.
The ITRC framework is comprised of a white paper and four associated fact sheets. In the white paper, CEC are defined as: “substances and microorganisms including physical, chemical, biological, or radiological materials known or anticipated in the environment, that may pose newly identified risks to human health or the environment.” The framework is meant to help environmental regulatory agencies and other stakeholders by providing examples of CEC monitoring programs and guiding the user through the process of identifying CEC key characteristics, how to communicate real and perceived risk from CEC to the public, and how laboratory analytical methods can be used in the identification process.
The ITRC CEC training presents this entirely new framework for identification, prioritization, and communication of CEC. This course includes the following topics:
- An overview of the framework, how and why it was developed, the factors that influence the creation of CEC management units at the state level, and a listing of existing CEC monitoring programs.
- A discussion of key variables that may be used as criteria to identify and prioritize CEC for response actions. This portion of the course includes a case study that illustrates how the identification and prioritization process works with an “unknown” chemical CEC.
- Practices and methods for stakeholder messaging and how to share incomplete information on CEC that could impact human health and the environment. This portion of the short course builds upon the ITRC Risk Communication Toolkit by providing additional detail addresses communications plans, message maps, and audience identification.
- A paradigm for how laboratory methods can be used to identify CEC ranging from:
- “Is compound X in the sample and at what concentration?” (i.e., known knowns) to
- “Which compounds from the list are in this sample?” (i.e., known unknowns) to
- “What is in the sample?” (i.e., unknown unknowns).
CEC are typically compounds or substances whose occurrence or effect is unknown but may or may not be understood through similar compounds or substances. This module includes a discussion of the use of targeted and untargeted analysis to identify a CEC.
Participants will learn the elements of the CEC framework and gain an understanding of the framework application from case studies. Participants are encouraged to review the ITRC CEC Framework prior to the class.
ITRC PFAS Introductory Training
Thursday, November 6, 2025, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST
REGISTER HERE
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large and complex class of anthropogenic compounds whose prevalence in the environment are an emerging, worldwide priority in environmental and human health. The ITRC PFAS Team, formed in 2017, has prepared readily accessible materials to present PFAS information to stakeholders, regulators, and policy makers. The PFAS team represents a diverse cross-section of expertise and experience working on PFAS.
This training will include emerging science on PFAS, including topics such as Properties of PFAS, Fate and Transport, Sampling and Analysis, and Treatment Technologies. The technical presentations will be focused on those who are relatively new to PFAS. The training will last approximately 90 minutes and include time for questions.
ITRC: Microplastics Training
Thursday, November 13, 2025, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST
REGISTER HERE
In response to one of the biggest emerging environmental concerns, ITRC formed the Microplastics Team in 2021 to develop the Microplastics Guidance Document. Plastics have become pervasive in modern life and are now used in a wide range of commercial and industrial applications. Microplastics may result from the degradation and fragmentation of larger plastics, or they may be intentionally produced for specific applications and products. Regardless of their origin, microplastics are now ubiquitous in our environment. Because of their small size and pervasiveness in the environment, microplastics, along with any other contaminants which are adhered to the microplastics, may be inadvertently consumed by humans and other organisms.
The online ITRC Guidance Document is geared toward an audience with reasonable level of scientific understanding, but not microplastic-specific knowledge. The guidance provides a user with information on microplastics and the state of the applied science without having to go to the scientific literature.
The target audience for the guidance and this training course includes state regulators and environmental consultants, as well as community and tribal stakeholders.
The guidance and this associated training course uses a conceptual site model to navigate microplastics in the environment and explore the following general areas:
- An introduction to microplastics, their sources, and worldwide distribution
- The pathways through which microplastics can enter and travel in the environment and their distribution in various media (water, soil, sediment, air, and biota)
- A current look at the most common techniques and best practices for sampling and analyzing microplastics
- Potential human health and ecological risks associated with microplastics in the environment
- An overview of existing regulations related to microplastics and macroplastics at the state, federal, and international levels
- Examples of prevention and mitigation strategies and best management practices to reduce microplastics from entering the environment and the emerging technologies to abate, treat, and remediate microplastics once they exist in the environment
- Identification of data gaps and the need for further research
- Several case studies illustrating a range of current microplastics-related topics
Prior to attending the training class, participants are encouraged to view the associated ITRC Microplastics Guidance Document.
ACWA / EPA Water Reuse Webinar
Wednesday, December 3, 2025, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm ET
REGISTER HERE
ACWA and EPA will host a second Water Reuse Webinar on December 3, 2025 at 2:00 pm ET. This second webinar for state regulators will focus on water reuse issues surrounding data centers. Presentations and discussions will include considerations for permitting, treatment and cooling technologies. Participation in this event will be limited to state and federal regulators.
Job Opportunities
Construction Stormwater Program Coordinator
Location: Salt Lake County, UT
Closing Date: Continuous
The Utah Division of Water Quality Construction Stormwater Program Coordinator oversees Utah’s more than 5,000 construction stormwater UPDES permits. You will serve as the state’s technical and policy expert on construction stormwater permitting by preparing permits, inspecting sites, and providing technical assistance and outreach to permittees.
For more information and to apply online click here.
Environmental Scientist 3
Location: Carson, Minden, Gardnerville, Genoa, NV
Closing Date: September 29, 2025
The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection Bureau of Water Quality Planning is seeking an Environmental Scientist in the Nonpoint Source Pollution Program (NPS Program). The NPS Program’s role is to coordinate, collaborate, and build key partnerships with a wide variety of stakeholders and partners to effectively address NPS impacts to surface waters in the State. The NPS State Management Plan (SMP) describes priority NPS Program goals and objectives and outlines how we will work with partners to address NPS pollution to improve and protect surface water quality across the State.
Specific duties of this position include communication and coordination with stakeholders, developing plans to improve watershed health and water quality, coordinating grant supported efforts that address improvement of watersheds. Additional work includes administering grant subawards- including the development of workplans and budgets and managing contracts to ensure successful outcomes and compliance with grant terms and conditions; assisting with special projects (e.g. updating the SMP); informing audiences about NPS pollution, watershed stewardship, and water quality protection; reporting quarterly and annually as well as record keeping within EPA’s Grants Reporting and Tracking System.
For more information and to apply, click here.
Agricultural Runoff Section Manager
Location: Madison, WI
Closing Date: September 29, 2025
This position has primary responsibility for managing agricultural runoff, which includes Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) permitting at large farms under the Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) and agricultural nonpoint pollution abatement at non-permitted farms. This program manager is responsible for the leading the establishment of policy, standards, and procedures to ensure statewide consistency of program activities for the CAFO and nonpoint subprograms. This position oversees activities that include permit drafting, permit compliance inspection and enforcement protocols, nutrient management plan review, hydrogeology assessment and engineering reviews, and nonpoint planning and grants management. This position is responsible for administrative rule and guidance development, legislative testimony, public hearing activities, general budget, and related information technology. The position also has supervisory responsibilities for the policy and support staff assigned to the Agricultural Runoff section.
For more information, please see the Agricultural Runoff Section Manager position description. Click here to apply.
Student Worker
Location: Duluth, MN
Closing Date: October 2, 2025
For more information and to apply, visit Minnesota Careers.
Science Communicator – Long Island Sound Partnership
Location: Lowell, MA
Closing Date: October 5, 2025
To apply, submit cover letter, resume, and two writing samples by email to jobs@neiwpcc.org by October 5, 2025. Please reference #25-LIS-Lowell-001 in the email subject line. Accepting applications until the position is filled. A full position description and benefits may be viewed at: https://neiwpcc.org/about-us/careers. Additional information about LIS Partnership can be found at: https://lispartnership.org/.
Environmental Specialist III (TMDL Developer)
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Closing Date: October 6, 2025
For more information and to apply, click here.
Remediation Project Coordinator – Environmental Specialist 4
Location: Duluth, Brainerd, St. Paul, Rochester, Detroit Lakes, Marshall or Mankato, MN
Closing Date: October 7, 2025
For more information and to apply, visit Minnesota Careers.
Environmental Specialist 1 or 2 – Inspector
Location: Mankato and Brainerd, MN
Closing Date: October 7, 2025
Please note that this posting will be used to fill 2 vacancies. Visit Minnesota Careers for more information and to apply.
Be sure to check out other opportunities on ACWA’s Job Opportunities page.
