Member Pipeline - Clean Water Current - November 3, 2006
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for the Clean Water Currents ArchiveNovember 3, 2006
NACWA, NRDC Send Letter to White House Urging Action on Peak Flows Policy
Concerned about the length of time the peak wet weather flows policy has been at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NACWA and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) sent a letter (http://www.nacwa.org/getfile.cfm?fn=2006-11-02ombltr.pdf) to OMB Acting Director Steven Aitken, urging its immediate release. The letter spelled out the importance of the policy to the clean water community and how the absence of clear direction for when utilities would be allowed to divert peak flows has led to paralysis across the country in matters of permitting, facility planning, and environmental progress. “Furthermore, the costs of not moving forward are exponential. Without clarity, countless permits will be held up and appealed, litigation costs will skyrocket, significant planned facility investments will be stranded, and environmental progress will stagnate,” the NACWA/NRDC letter said. “It would be, frankly, unconscionable to abandon a sound compromise by historic adversaries on a controversial environmental issue.”NACWA Encourages Member Participation in Dec. 12 Planning Session
NACWA announced plans this week for its Strategic Watershed Agenda . . . an Action Planning Session Dec. 12 in Kansas City (http://www.nacwa.org/private/membcomm/memupdate/mu06-21.cfm) to help the Association solidify its priorities for 2007. With the upcoming 35th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, the prospect of new leadership in Congress, and the belief among clean water agencies that partnerships and conservation efforts are a common-sense way to achieve workable, watershed-based results, this meeting will help guide NACWA’s advocacy agenda for the coming year.LaJuana Wilcher, former EPA assistant administrator for water and former secretary of Kentucky’s Environmental and Public Health Protection Cabinet, will facilitate the session and prompt participants to share their insights, opinions, and experiences on the roles and responsibilities of clean water agencies and the strategic next steps the Association should take on several emerging watershed-based issues. The information and perspectives gathered will help guide NACWA’s upcoming revision of its Strategic Plan and the Association’s advocacy agenda for 2007on key topics, including cross-cutting clean water and drinking water issues; storm water control challenges; nonpoint source controls and negotiations on the Farm Bill; the use of green infrastructure techniques; the use of wetlands for treatment; collection systems issues; and the growing water quality challenges posed by septic systems.
NACWA invites its membership to attend this important meeting. Please register online today (http://www.nacwa.org/meetings/06aps/) and reserve your room at the Kansas City Marriott Country Club Plaza by Nov. 20 to receive NACWA’s special room rate of $125. Registration is complimentary. More information is available from NACWA’s Adam Krantz at 202/833-4651 or akrantz@nacwa.org.
NACWA Board Member Billy Turner to Chair Key Sector Security Group
NACWA extends its congratulations to Billy Turner, NACWA board member and president of Columbus Water Works, Ga., who was elected yesterday as the incoming chair of the Water Sector Coordinating Council (WSCC). Don Broussard, the water operations manager for the Lafayette Utilities System, is the vice chair. The WSCC serves as the water sector’s policy, strategy, and coordination mechanism on homeland security issues with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and EPA. NACWA participated in a two-day meeting of the WSCC this week, which focused on several key national security issues. Highlights of the meeting included a report from EPA on the final editing process for the Sector Specific Plan (SSP) — which NACWA and other sector Associations have been ensuring reflects the needs of the clean water community.The SSP, scheduled to be completed in December, will provide an overview of sector activity to deter, protect against, recover from, and respond to terrorist and/or natural disasters. It will also identifying potential gaps that may exist relative to these efforts. The WSCC also heard from DHS contractors who are developing a cross-sector risk assessment methodology called RAMCAP. NACWA will be working with DHS, EPA, and these contractors to ensure this effort supports the work undertaken by utilities using the Association’s highly successful VSAT™ vulnerability assessment software. NACWA will also be holding a conference call of its Security and Emergency Preparedness Committee soon to discuss these and other security-related efforts. If you are not currently a member of this Committee and would like to join, contact Adam Krantz at 202/833-4651 or akrantz@nacwa.org.
NACWA Launches New Membership Campaign
NACWA kicked off its new Join NACWA Now! campaign this week with the goal of increasing Association membership and strengthening NACWA’s position as the leading advocate for clean water agencies across the country. Current members are being challenged to recruit new members by sharing how they have benefited from NACWA’s advocacy and member support services. The new campaign also offers several new marketing materials, a resource web page (http://www.nacwa.org/joinnow.cfm), and a list of “hot” prospective members.To encourage members’ recruitment efforts, NACWA will send out periodic updates with tips and incentives along with campaign success stories. In addition, for each new member recruited prior to September 30, 2007, the sponsoring agency will receive $725 NACWA Bucks to be used to purchase conference registrations, publications, or other NACWA merchandise. NACWA members that sponsor a new member from a state where NACWA is not currently represented (Miss., Mont., N.D., S.D., and Vt.) will receive $1000 NACWA Bucks. Growing NACWA’s membership strengthens our voice as the environmental practitioners and advocates for sound environmental regulations and policies. To order membership marketing materials or to discuss potential members or questions about membership, e-mail membership@nacwa.org or call Kelly Brocato, Director of Membership Development at 202/833-1449.