Thomas Sexton, P.E. FROM MWWA: The 2021-22 Legislative Session is underway and MWWA was fortunate to have a number of legislators sponsor bills on our behalf. We have refiled bills that did not pass last session and have filed two new bills to address priorities of our industry. We are requesting that you contact your State Representative and … Read more
For a roundup of recent PFAS actions in the Nation, including: EPA nominee promises “aggressive approach” on PFAS regulation EPA removes toxicity assessment on PFBS citing political interference EPA reissues final regulatory determinations under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in drinking water on the Contaminant Candidate … Read more
With the final rule officially taking effect his month, public water suppliers have 3 years to come into compliance with the new requirements of the Revised Lead and Copper Rule. As many suppliers are aware, this has already begun with the selection of new sampling sites, required by MassDEP when a Public Water System makes … Read more
In response to a February cyberattack on a water treatment facility in Oldsmar, Florida, EPA and DEP have offered resources and recommended a state of increased cybersecurity awareness. The cyber attack was prevented from causing serious harm by the quick actions of a water operator (see story: WTP Hack) and this Federal multiagency report: FBI_CISA_EPA_Joint_CSA-AA21-042A_Compromise_of_US_Water_Treatment_Facility. … Read more
from NRWA.org “On Saturday AM (Feb. 27), the House narrowly passed the White House-backed coronavirus relief bill (219-212 vote). Local governments of every size would receive dedicated allotments. Funds would be available until expended, awarded directly from Treasury within 60 days of enactment, and subject to eligible uses including to replace revenue lost, delayed, or … Read more
7/27/2020 from smartwatermagazine.com and The Guardian “In the United States, if you are a child from a household that gets its drinking water from a private well, you have a 25% higher probability of having high levels of lead in your blood than those from households that depend on municipal water services, reports The Guardian. … Read more
7/20/2020 ruralwater.org “Senate Water Privatization Bill Splits Environmental Community: The private water organization is using NRDC to advance the bill (S. 2596) they favor in the Senate, while Food & Water Watch has organized a coalition of over 300 advocacy groups and unions to oppose the bill. NRDC and the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) … Read more
from ASDWA.org July 24, 2020 Deirdre White Drinking Water Headlines “The Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC) has launched its online Risk Communication Toolkit for state personnel, other lead organizations, and stakeholders to understand and communicate risk associated with emerging environmental issues and concerns. The toolkit was developed by three ITRC teams: Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl … Read more
7/27/2020 ASDWA.org “House Passes EPA Spending Bill: The bill passed last week includes current funding levels for SRF and an increase in the rural water SDWA & CWA technical assistance programs. Also, the bill includes a special provision of $13 billion for EPA “emergency infrastructure investments” including more than $10 billion for the SRFs. This … Read more
Original release date: July 23, 2020 “Over recent months, cyber actors have demonstrated their continued willingness to conduct malicious cyber activity against critical infrastructure (CI) by exploiting internet-accessible operational technology (OT) assets.[1] Due to the increase in adversary capabilities and activity, the criticality to U.S. national security and way of life, and the vulnerability of … Read more