Community water systems are facing new requirements for water supply security, resiliency, and emergency response under the America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) released several tools in August to help utilities comply with AWIA requirements. The Vulnerability Self-Assessment Tool (VSAT) helps water providers prepare an AWIA Risk and Resilience Assessment. Read More
USEPA Announces Proposed Rule on Clean Water Act Quality Certification
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) issued a proposed rule in August to implement Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The USEPA says the proposed rule seeks to increase the transparency and efficiency of the 401 certification process and promote the timely review of infrastructure projects while continuing to ensure that Americans have Read More
USEPA Seeks Comments for Regulating Perchlorate in Drinking Water
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is seeking public input on a range of options regarding the regulation of perchlorate in public drinking water systems, specifically a proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for perchlorate to establish a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) and a health-based Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) at 56 micrograms per Read More
New Resource to Help States & Tribes Improve Public Hearings About Water Quality Standards
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) released a new resource to help States and Tribes maximize participation, simplify implementation, and reduce costs associated with hosting public hearings related to adopting new or revising existing water quality standards (WQS). “Public participation is an important part of decision making on water quality standards,” says David Ross, USEPA Assistant Read More
SD DENR Requests Water Quality Data for 2020 Integrated Report
The South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) requests water quality data by September 2, 2019 as part of its process to complete a biennial assessment of South Dakota’s lakes and streams. The 2020 Integrated Report must be completed and submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by April 1, 2020. The report Read More
What Does America’s Water Infrastructure Act Mean for Your Utility?
America’s Water Infrastructure Act (S. 3021), more commonly referred to as AWIA, was signed into law rather quietly in October 2018. The Update has previously discussed AWIA, and as further details from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) are set to emerge in early August, we are going to dive deeper into the details in Read More