News White House Memo – Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery On August 31, 2020, OMB sent a memo to federal agencies providing guidance on how to implement Executive Order 13,924 Regulatory Relief To Support Economic Recovery. This memo compiled a list of best practices for assisting agencies with their review of processes and procedures. The… Read More »
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ACWA Weekly Wrap Vol. XI, Issue 29 (Week of August 24, 2020)
News New Report on Importance of Water Infrastructure Funding The American Society Civil Engineers and the US Water Alliance released a report entitled The Economic Benefits of Investing in Water Infrastructure: How a Failure to Act Would Affect the US Economic Recovery this week, which outlines the importance of infrastructure funding to economic growth. This… Read More »
ACWA Weekly Wrap Vol. XI, Issue 28 (Week of August 17, 2020)
News EPA Emergency COVID-19 Impact Study EPA is developing an emergency survey to gauge the current and anticipated economic and operational challenges faces by the nation’s drinking water and wastewater system during the coronavirus (COVID-19) national health emergency. A goal of the information collection is to assess whether water sector utilities have sufficient resources to… Read More »
ACWA Weekly Wrap Vol. XI, Issue 27 (Week of August 10, 2020)
News EPA/State/Tribal Webinar Series on Water Quality Certification Rule Changes The EPA is hosting a three-part webinar series for states and tribes to learn about the final rule and implementation considerations. Please note that this webinar series is open to states and tribes only. Webinar presentations will be recorded and posted on EPA’s CWA 401… Read More »
ACWA Weekly Wrap Vol. XI, Issue 26 (Week of July 27, 2020)
News House Passes FY21 EPA Budget with a Boost The House approved EPA’s fiscal year 2021 spending bill with a boost to overall agency funding by about 3 percent to almost $9.4 billion. The Environment-Interior Appropriations bill was joined in a “minibus” with funding for the Departments of State, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture and Interior, passing… Read More »
ACWA Weekly Wrap Vol. XI, Issue 25 (Week of July 20, 2020)
News Inspection Expectations During COVID-19 Public Health Emergency This week EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Assistant Administrator, Susan Bodine, sent a letter to states, tribes, territories, and local agencies to confirm EPA’s willingness to adjust inspection commitments due to COVID-19. Click here for a copy of letter. EPA recommends states “perform inspections, when… Read More »
ACWA Weekly Wrap Vol. XI, Issue 24 (Week of July 13, 2020)
News EPA Announces State WIFIA Program EPA announced the 2020 notice of funding availability under the WIFIA program, including funding for the new State infrastructure financing authority WIFIA (SWIFIA) program. This new program, which was authorized by Congress as part of the America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) of 2018, offers low-interest loans to state water… Read More »
ACWA Weekly Wrap Vol. XI, Issue 23 (Week of July 6, 2020)
News Spring 2020 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions Last week, EPA released the spring 2020 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. This list provides updates on all planned regulatory activities for the next 12 months. “EPA has mapped out our regulatory agenda through the first half of 2021 that will continue to reduce… Read More »
ACWA Weekly Wrap Vol. XI, Issue 22 (Week of June 22, 2020)
News ECOS Status of State Environmental Agency Budgets ECOS published its report on the Status of State Environmental Agency Budgets (EAB), FY2016 – FY2019 this week. The report notes that state environmental agency funding rose 18.9%, or a total of $2.56B, in 46 states and one territory over the reporting period. Based on data collected… Read More »
ACWA Weekly Wrap Vol. XI, Issue 21 (Week of June 15, 2020)
News EPA Announces the Release of the How’s My Waterway App EPA has announced the release of the How’s My Waterway App. From their press release: “EPA’s new How’s My Waterway provides unprecedented transparency that our partners and the public can use to learn about water, explore data and find out what’s happening to improve… Read More »
ACWA Weekly Wrap Vol. XI, Issue 21 (Week of June 8, 2020)
News Public Webinar for the Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Rule On June 1, 2020, the EPA finalized the “Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Rule” to implement the water quality certification process consistent with the text and structure of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The final rule establishes procedures that promote consistent implementation… Read More »
ACWA Weekly Wrap Vol. XI, Issue 20 (Week of June 1, 2020)
News EPA Issues Final Rule Revising 401 Regulations This week, the Office of Water released the long-awaited final rule revising the water quality certification process, Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Rule. The final rule establishes procedures designed to promote consistent implementation of CWA Section 401 and provide regulatory certainty in the federal licensing and… Read More »
