News
Senate Releases Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026
On September 30, leaders of the Senate Environment and Public Works and Energy and Natural Resources Committees released the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026, a broad permitting reform package that includes several proposed amendments to the Clean Water Act (CWA).
Section 1202 would revise CWA Section 401 water quality certification requirements, including by limiting the scope of certification review to specified water quality requirements and establishing additional procedures governing certification requests, conditions, denials, and waivers. For interstate electric transmission lines and natural gas pipelines, the legislation would further limit Section 401 review to water quality impacts resulting from direct point source discharges and establish a review period of no more than nine months. The bill would also extend the maximum term of NPDES permits under CWA Section 402 from five years to ten years.
Additional provisions would amend CWA Section 404 by limiting the timeframe during which EPA may exercise its Section 404(c) authority and extending the duration of general permits, including Nationwide Permits, from five to ten years. The legislation also includes provisions addressing Nationwide Permits for certain utility, transportation, stormwater, and other activities, as well as judicial review of specified Section 404 actions. More broadly, the bill would establish a 150-day limitations period for certain legal challenges under the CWA and other federal environmental statutes and make additional changes concerning who may bring such challenges and the remedies available to courts. The legislation also addresses CWA Section 304(a) water quality criteria and judicial review of the definition of “waters of the United States,” including a requirement that EPA use notice-and-comment rulemaking when developing Section 304(a) criteria.
The Senate is expected to consider the legislation after the November elections, and ACWA will continue reviewing the CWA provisions and their potential implications for state clean water programs.
EPA/USACE Announce Supplemental WOTUS Rulemaking
On September 9, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) seeking additional public input on the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act. Comments on the supplemental proposal are due October 9, 2026, and may be submitted through Regulations.gov under Docket ID EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322.
The supplemental proposal builds on the agencies’ November 2025 proposed rule and presents additional alternatives for defining two concepts central to determining federal jurisdiction following the Supreme Court’s Sackett v. EPA decision: “relatively permanent” waters and wetlands with a “continuous surface connection” to jurisdictional waters. Under one new alternative, the agencies would generally limit “relatively permanent” waters to perennial waters—those with standing or continuously flowing water every day of the year under ordinary conditions—while allowing limited interruptions caused by drought, low tides, or a regularly occurring dry spell of up to 30 consecutive days.
The SNPRM also revisits the November 2025 proposal’s use of the “wet season” concept, under which a wetland could satisfy the continuous-surface-connection requirement if it abuts a jurisdictional water and has surface water at least during the wet season. EPA and the Army received comments questioning both the legal basis and practical implementation of that approach, including concerns that wetland inundation and streamflow may lag behind precipitation and therefore may not coincide with the defined wet season, particularly in areas affected by snowmelt or other seasonal hydrologic patterns. As an alternative, the supplemental proposal seeks comment on requiring perennial surface water in a wetland that is continuously connected to surface water in the jurisdictional water, subject to limited temporary interruptions, which would substantially narrow the circumstances in which wetlands satisfy the continuous-surface-connection test. The agencies acknowledge that the supplemental alternatives could significantly reduce the extent of federally jurisdictional streams and wetlands compared with the current baseline, with particularly significant effects anticipated in the arid West.
WateReuse Association Releases Water Reuse Regulatory Guide
The WateReuse Association has released Developing Water Reuse Regulations: A State-Level Guide, a new resource designed to help utilities, regulators, and other practitioners establish or update water reuse regulations tailored to state-specific needs. The approximately 90-page guide provides a flexible framework covering rulemaking pathways, phases of regulatory development, and strategies for stakeholder engagement, along with practical tools and guiding questions. Case studies from California, Florida, Washington, and other states illustrate different regulatory approaches and lessons learned. More than 200 stakeholders, including state regulators, utilities, consultants, and partner organizations, contributed to the guide through workshops, meetings, and focus groups. The guide was funded by WateReuse with support from AMWA, AWWA, NACWA, and WEF and is intended to serve as an evolving resource as states continue to expand and refine their water reuse programs.
Click here for more information.
CRS Report: Regulating PFAS Under the Clean Water Act
This week the Congressional Research Service published an update to their report on “Regulating PFAS Under the Clean Water Act.” The report notes that EPA has several CWA authorities the agency can use to address PFAS, including through NPDES permits. The CWA authorizes EPA to set pollutant limits and create monitoring and reporting requirements. To date, EPA has not finalized any ELGs to address any PFAS, has not set requirements for PFAS in biosolids, and has not designated any PFAS as a toxic pollutant or hazardous substance. EPA has published water quality criteria for certain PFAS, and in some instances has used NPDES permit authorities to address PFAS and has encouraged states to use such authorities. A copy of the report can be found here: Regulating PFAS Under the Clean Water Act.
CISA Offers Training on ScubaGoggles
ScubaGoggles is a no-cost, open-source automated tool developed by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to assess, audit, and evaluate Google Workspace (GWS) tenant configurations against established federal security baselines. Key functions of this tool include:
- Baseline Verification: It checks an organization’s Google Workspace settings against CISA’s Secure Cloud Business Applications (SCuBA) Secure Configuration Baselines.
- Coverage: It evaluates security controls across nine core GWS services, including Gmail, Google Drive and Docs, Google Meet, Calendar, Classroom, and Groups.
- Reporting: It executes a three-step process—exporting settings via APIs, verifying them using Open Policy Agent (OPA) Rego, and generating visual HTML and JSON reports that highlight vulnerabilities and misconfigurations.
- Companion Tool: While ScubaGoggles targets Google Workspace, its counterpart ScubaGear performs the exact same assessment function for Microsoft 365 environments.
See training details below in the call/webinar section.
(Summary above provided by Google AI.)
Save the Date-EPA’s December 2026 Virtual Water Quality Standards Academy
The EPA has announced its December 2026 session of the virtual Water Quality Standards (WQS) Academy. The session will be held December 7-11 and on December 14. The 6-day virtual WQS Academy session will run from approximately 11:30am to 4:30pm, Eastern Standard Time, to allow for participation from multiple U.S. time zones.
Water quality standards (WQS) are provisions of state, territorial, authorized Tribal or federal law approved by the EPA that describe the desired condition of a water body and the means by which that condition will be protected or achieved. The WQS Academy is designed for WQS professionals associated with federal, state, Tribal and local agencies as well as the private sector. This highly structured and interactive training course ensures that attendees have access to the most up to date WQS information to effectively develop and implement a WQS program consistent with the Clean Water Act.
Registration for this upcoming session will begin in October. Stay tuned for future updates via the WQS Academy webpage and the WQSnews listserv regarding registration.
Association Updates
ACWA 2027 Spring Clean Water Act Regulators Summit – Save The Date!
Dates: March 24, 2027 at 8:00 am – March 25, 2027 at 12:00 pm
Board of Directors will meet March 23, 2027.
Venue: The Hilton Alexandria Old Town, Alexandria, VA
ACWA has provided a draft agenda for attendee travel approval purposes. View the draft agenda here.
Check here on our website for more information regarding registration, lodging, and agenda updates.
2026 Water Quality Modeling Workshop
This week, ACWA, in partnership with EPA, held the 2026 Water Quality Modeling Workshop at the EPA Region 4 Offices in Atlanta, GA.
This year’s workshop brought together state program managers and staff involved in water quality modeling, with representatives from 19 states in attendance. Participants engaged in a modelers forum, which featured case studies, demos, and group discussions, as well as a HAWQS/SWAT+ hands on training.
More info may be found on ACWA’s Event Page here. View the agendas here.
2026 National NPDES Program Efficiency Workshop – Registration Now Open!
Date: November 2 – 6, 2026
Time: 12:00pm – 5:00pm Eastern
Purpose: The 2026 National NPDES Program Efficiency Workshop supports implementation of federal and NPDES permitting programs nationwide by highlighting administrative efficiencies, sharing best management practices, showcasing innovative federal and state programs, improving data quality, highlighting new approaches and technologies, facilitating coregulator collaborations and identifying challenges and barriers. Program areas to be considered for the workshop include jurisdictional determination, permit application, public process, permit issuance, monitoring and reporting, data management, compliance monitoring, inspections, violations and response, enforcement, and oversight.
Virtual Registration: Meeting Registration Here
Meetings and Webinars
Cybersecurity Exercises and Technical Assistance Courses
The Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan and Tabletop Exercise sessions remain one of the best ways to provide a structured foundation and practical tools for building a comprehensive Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan. Facilities can take the Cybersecurity Incident Action Checklist and align it with their operational needs, develop actionable procedures, and generate a complete department-coordinated plan that integrates with their existing Emergency Response Plan. EPA’s clear explanations and real-world insights make it easier to turn guidance into something functional and site-specific. EPA remains committed to providing exercises and technical assistance on cybersecurity topics to the Water Sector. View the upcoming schedule through December 2026 and register here.
An Overview of the ScubaGoggles Assessment Tool
Date: Thursday, October 8, 2026
Time: 2:00pm – 4:00pm eastern
Link: Webex Meeting Registration
Description: The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is proud to offer the Securing Systems Training awareness webinar, An Overview of the ScubaGoggles Assessment Tool. We are excited to share this information with stakeholders across the Federal enterprise and nationally. This webinar is intended for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) governments as well as private industry, small business, education sector, critical infrastructure, and nonprofit organizations. This course provides guidance and instructions on how to retrieve, install, configure, and run CISA’s ScubaGoggles tool.
U.S. Symposium on Harmful Algae – Travel Funding & Fee Waiver Opportunities
October 25-29, 2026; Cedar Rapids, IA
The U.S. Symposium on Harmful Algae focuses on enhancing our understanding of harmful algal blooms and their effects on aquatic ecosystems, public health, and communities. Through scientific sessions and specialized breakout discussions, participants will engage in conversations about emerging challenges, innovative approaches, and updates in HAB science, management, policy, and programs. This dynamic four-day event features plenary sessions, breakout discussions, and scientific poster presentations covering key topics such as bloom dynamics, monitoring and management, prevention and mitigation strategies, emerging technologies, community engagement, and modeling and forecasting. The primary goal is to facilitate knowledge sharing, address emerging issues, and drive progress toward effective HAB management. Attendees also value the many opportunities to network, connect with colleagues, and discuss the latest developments in the world of HABs. The 13th U.S. Symposium on Harmful Algae will take place on October 25-29, 2026 in Cedar Rapids, IA.
Water Sector Utility Case Studies for Building Resilience to Natural Hazards
Date and Time: Wednesday, December 9, 2026, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EST
REGISTER HERE
SWIFT technical assistance is tailored to meet the needs of each utility’s request, from building risk and resilience assessments, to updating emergency response plans, to quantifying the potential reductions in risk that specific resilience projects can deliver. Learn how water sector utilities are benefitting from SWIFT technical assistance. Hear directly from utility representatives across the country that have engaged in the process to build system resilience to various natural hazards.
For questions or additional information about the webinar, please email ramming.audrey@epa.gov.
Please note that continuing education units (CEUs) are not available for this webinar; however, supporting documentation can be provided to attendees who choose to approach their respective state agencies.
Building Winter Weather Resilience for Water Sector Utilities
Date and Time: Wednesday, January 13, 2027, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EST
REGISTER HERE
Ready for the winter season? SWIFT’s experts can provide customized technical assistance to help your utility build resilience to winter weather hazards through risk-informed project planning and investment. Review this winter’s seasonal outlook, learn about the SWIFT technical assistance experience, and explore tools that can help your utility better understand and assess system impacts and identify resilient solutions.
For questions or additional information about the webinar, please email ramming.audrey@epa.gov.
Please note that continuing education units (CEUs) are not available for this webinar; however, supporting documentation can be provided to attendees who choose to approach their respective state agencies.
Job Opportunities
Environmental Analyst – Lead Testing in Schools
Location: Providence, RI
Closing Date: October 4, 2026
To apply, submit your cover letter, resume, and a brief writing sample by email to jobs@neiwpcc.org by October 4, 2026. Please reference #26-RIDOH-001 in the email subject line. Accepting applications until the position is filled. A full position description and benefits list may be viewed at: https://neiwpcc.org/about-us/careers.
Deputy Director (Deputy/Chief 6)
Location: Portland, OR
Closing Date: October 5, 2026
For more information and to apply, visit Oregon Job Opportunities.
Senior Hydrogeologist – Scientist 4 – 26481
Location: Boise, ID
Closing Date: October 10, 2026
If you’re interested in applying for this position or reading additional information, please follow this link.
Environmental Scientist for Watershed Management
Location: Bismarck, ND
Closing Date: October 23, 2026
For more information and to apply, please follow this link.
Information Officer – Land Acquisition Specialist
Location: Albany, NY
Closing Date: Open Until Filled
To apply, submit your cover letter, resume, and a brief writing sample by email to jobs@neiwpcc.org. Please reference job code #26-NYS-SW-DEC-006 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.
Environmental Hydrogeologist 2
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Closing Date: Open Until Filled
For more information and to apply, visit this link.
Manager, Office of Stormwater Permitting & Compliance
Location: Richmond, VA
Closing Date: Open Until Filled
This position leads DEQ’s construction and municipal stormwater programs. For a full position description and information on how to apply, please follow this link: Manager, Office of Stormwater Permitting and Compliance.
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.
