News
USACE Soliciting Public Input on Nationwide Permit Program
On March 13, President Trump issued an executive order – Removing Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Home Construction – directing (among other things) EPA and USACE to review and potentially revise several Clean Water Act permitting and water quality requirements that the administration says may be contributing to higher housing construction costs. The order calls for evaluation of requirements affecting stormwater, wetlands, and other waters with the goal of streamlining permitting and reducing regulatory burdens associated with residential development. Among the programs identified for review are EPA’s Construction General Permit for stormwater discharges from construction activity, federally established total maximum daily loads (TMDLs), and construction and post-construction requirements in municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) permits.
The order also directs the agencies to examine federal standards governing dredge-and-fill permitting and state or tribal program assumption under Clean Water Act Section 404. In response, USACE has announced that it will be soliciting public input on potential revisions to its nationwide permit program. In order to be considered, comments must be received by May 15, 2026.
SWC New Highlight: SWC Publishes Fact Sheet to Protect Groundwater Sources of Drinking Water
The Source Water Collaborative (SWC) has published a fact sheet entitled, “Protect Groundwater Sources of Drinking Water.” The fact sheet was developed by the SWC Groundwater Discussion Group and was adapted from the previous 2019 ASDWA-GWPC Groundwater-Based Source Water Protection Paper . The fact sheet includes a “Call to Action,” asking readers to a ct now to safeguard, maintain, and protect unseen and often vulnerable groundwater sources of drinking water and collaborate with partners, gather data and information on sources of groundwater contamination and threats, and educate and inform decisions to protect it.
It also has information about why groundwater is an important yet challenging resource to protect, a detailed table on federal, state and local programs that can be used to protect groundwater, a groundwater protection framework with steps and action items to achieve specific goals, and examples of proactive and model state strategies in Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Indiana, and Nevada.
For more information, read the fact sheet and check out the other resources and webinars on the SWC website by scrolling down to the groundwater section.
Call for Speakers/Posters for the 2026 Potomac Conference: The Future of Water Supply
The Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB) will hold the 2026 Potomac River Conference – A Dry Horizon: The Future of Water Supply in the Potomac River Basin on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, at The Crossvines in Poolesville, MD.
The 5th Annual Potomac River Conference will highlight the future of water supply in the Potomac River watershed by exploring drinking water availability (groundwater, surface water, river flows, reuse, etc.), emerging demands (data centers, power generation, energy use, etc.), projected stressors to the water supply system, and more.
We are now accepting speaker and poster abstracts on any of the topics listed above. The deadline for abstract submission is COB May 15, 2026.
Not interested in speaking but would like to stay informed about the event? Sign up here
EPA Targets Microplastics and Pharmaceuticals
This week EPA announced actions to safeguard the nation’s drinking water from microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and several other contaminants. Microplastics have increasingly been detected in the environment and the human body, and pharmaceuticals—from antibiotics to hormones—can enter water systems through everyday waste streams. This action is part of the proposed draft Sixth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 6), which identifies substances that may require future research, monitoring, or regulation to protect public health. The draft CCL 6 also includes PFAS, disinfection byproducts, 75 individual chemicals, and nine microbes that may occur in public water systems. Once published in Federal Register, there will be a 60-day public comment period. More information can be found here: EPA’s Draft CCL list.
Association Updates
2026 Water Quality Standards Workshop – Updated Draft Agenda Now Available!
Dates: April 21-23, 2026
Location: Little Rock, AR
Registration is open for the 2026 Water Quality Standards Workshop! This workshop will take place April 21-23, 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.
Registration is available here.
View the draft agenda here.
The workshop will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Little Rock. Reserve your hotel room here. The room block will close on March 30, 2026. ACWA does anticipate having travel support for state staff.
When available, more information can be found on ACWA’s events page.
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.
Meetings and Webinars
Annual NPDES Noncompliance Report (NNCR) Training
Date and Time: April 7, 2026, 2:30-3:30 PM EST
Register for this training on ZoomGov
This training focuses on the annual National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Noncompliance Report (NNCR) available on ECHO, which provides summary compliance and enforcement information for more than 450,000 permittees by state, tribe, and territory by federal fiscal year. It will provide an overview of what the annual NNCR is and why it was developed, background on the NNCR workgroup, metrics included in the reports, and a demonstration to access the report on EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance History Online.
EPA Tools & Resources Webinar: Virtual Beach
Date and Time: April 15, 2026, 3-4 p.m. ET
REGISTER HERE
To protect public health, beach managers need to continually assess the level of potentially harmful microbes in the water. However, traditional culture-based testing methods take about 24 hours to get results. This lag time prevents same-day, proactive decisions on beach closures, which could leave recreational swimmers susceptible to sickness or infection, or lead to unwarranted beach closures, thus incurring economic losses. EPA’s Virtual Beach (VB) software offers a solution. VB is a decision support tool that facilitates the development of statistical models of water quality at site-specific locations. It allows users to estimate any general response variable, such as microbial or blue-green algae concentrations, using commonly measured environmental data. Modeled water quality estimates can then be used to inform site-based management decisions, such as issuing swimming or shellfish harvesting advisories. This webinar will feature a live demonstration of the new version of Virtual Beach – ShinyVB – a browser-based application developed using the R-Shiny package. We will discuss how VB has been used to assist in advisory issuances in the Great Lakes states and to forecast water conditions using other recent case study examples.
Cybersecurity Refresher
Date and Time: April 15, 2026, 1-2 pm ET
REGISTER HERE
EPA’s Office of Water Emergency Response and Cybersecurity (OWERC) offers this refresher training to water and wastewater utilities to reinforce their foundational understanding of cybersecurity and how it applies to the water sector.
NNCR Advanced Training: Effluent Exceedance Violations
Date and Time: April 16, 2026, 2:00-3:30 PM EST
Register for this training on ZoomGov
This training focuses on effluent exceedance violations on the quarterly National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Noncompliance Report (NNCR), which provides a comprehensive list of Clean Water Act violations and their resolutions to the public. It will provide an overview of when effluent exceedance violations are generated, criteria for assigning Category I versus II noncompliance, resolution of effluent exceedance violations, and a demonstration of searching and filtering effluent exceedance violations on the quarterly NNCR.
This is an advanced training and assumes you have attended or watched a recording of the quarterly NNCR training before attending.
NNCR Advanced Training: DMR Reporting Violations
Date and Time: April 21, 2026, 2:00-3:00 PM EST
Register for this training on ZoomGov
This training focuses on DMR reporting violations on the quarterly National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Noncompliance Report (NNCR), which provides a comprehensive list of Clean Water Act violations and their resolutions to the public. It will provide an overview of when DMR reporting violations are generated, criteria for assigning Category I versus II noncompliance, resolution of DMR reporting violations, and a demonstration of searching and filtering DMR reporting violations on the quarterly NNCR.
This is an advanced training and assumes you have attended or watched a recording of the quarterly NNCR training before attending.
The Safe Drinking Water and Clean Water Acts: Connecting Water Regulations to Laboratory Practice
Date and Time: April 22, 2026, 2-3 pm ET
REGISTER HERE
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA) are two landmark federal statutes that protect water supplies from naturally occurring and man-made contaminants. These regulations are essential for safeguarding public health by preventing waterborne illnesses and ensuring communities have access to safe, clean water. Environmental laboratories play a critical role in enforcing the SDWA and CWA to protect communities from contaminated water, as they conduct testing and monitoring required for maintaining water quality standards and detecting pathogens. This webinar will provide information about the history of the SDWA and CWA, associated regulations and the relationship to the work of environmental laboratories.
Contact Nikita Kheni for more information.
NNCR Advanced Training: Schedule Violations
Date and Time: April 30, 2026, 1:30-2:30 PM EST
Register for this training on ZoomGov
This training focuses on schedule violations on the quarterly National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Noncompliance Report (NNCR), which provides a comprehensive list of Clean Water Act violations and their resolutions to the public. It will provide an overview of when schedule violations are generated, criteria for assigning Category I versus II noncompliance, resolution of schedule violations, and a demonstration of searching and filtering schedule violations on the quarterly NNCR.
This is an advanced training and assumes you have attended or watched a recording of the quarterly NNCR training before attending.
Building Cyber Resilience Using EPA’s Water and Wastewater Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan Template
Date and Time: April 30, 2026, 1-2:30 pm ET
REGISTER HERE
EPA invites water sector professionals to learn about its new Drinking Water and Wastewater Systems Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan Template. This fully customizable template is designed to help all utilities prepare for, respond to, and recover from cybersecurity incidents affecting both information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) systems.
NNCR Advanced Training: Single Event/Other Violations
Date and Time: May 5, 2026, 3:00-4:00 PM EST
Register for this training on ZoomGov
This training focuses on single event/other violations on the quarterly National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Noncompliance Report (NNCR), which provides a comprehensive list of Clean Water Act violations and their resolutions to the public. It provides an overview of when single event/other violations are generated, criteria for assigning Category I versus II noncompliance, resolution of single event/other violations, and a demonstration of searching and filtering single event/other violations on the quarterly NNCR.
This is an advanced training and assumes you have attended or watched a recording of the quarterly NNCR training before attending.
Water Cybersecurity Assessment Tool (WCAT) Webinar
Date and Time: May 13, 2026, 1-2:30 pm ET
REGISTER HERE
EPA’s Office of Water Emergency Response and Cybersecurity (OWERC) will demonstrate how to use EPA’s Water Cybersecurity Assessment Tool (WCAT) to conduct cybersecurity assessments at water and wastewater systems.
How Water Sector Utilities are Building Resilience to Natural Hazards: Utilities Recount their Engagement with EPA SWIFT Technical Assistance
Date and Time: May 20, 2026, 1-2 pm ET
REGISTER HERE
Join US EPA’s Strengthening Water Infrastructure for Tomorrow (SWIFT) initiative to learn how water sector utilities are benefitting from natural hazard risk assessment technical assistance. The technical assistance provided by SWIFT’s experts is tailored to meet the needs of each utility request, from improving the understanding of natural hazard impacts to their system to quantifying the potential reductions in risk that specific projects can deliver. Hear directly from utility representatives across the country that have engaged in the process to build system resilience to various natural hazards.
Job Opportunities
Wastewater Enforcement Coordinator – Analyst 3
Location: Boise, ID
Closing Date: April 19, 2026
For more information and to apply, click here.
Environmental Analyst or Engineer – Training and Technical Assistance Specialist
Location: Lowell, MA
Closing Date: Open until filled
To apply, email your cover letter, resume, and a brief writing sample to jobs@neiwpcc.org. Please reference #26-Lowell-001 in the email subject line. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, accepting applications until the position is filled. A full position description and benefits may be viewed at: https://neiwpcc.org/about-us/careers.
Watershed Management Section Manager
Location: Thurston County – Lacey, WA
Closing Date: Continuous
If you’re interested in applying for this position or reading additional information, please follow this link:
Watershed Management Section Manager (WMS2)
Be sure to check out other opportunities on ACWA’s Job Opportunities page.
