Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - July 29, 2005
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for the FaxAlert ArchiveJuly 29, 2005
NBP and WaterISAC Receive
FY ’06 Funding, Clean Water Revolving Fund Sees Cut
The House-Senate conference committee approved a $26.3 billion Interior and Environment spending bill earlier this week. The legislation includes funding for both the National Biosolids Partnership (NBP) and the Water Information Sharing & Analysis Center (WaterISAC). NACWA was successful in collaborative efforts to secure $1 million for the NBP’s Environmental Management System (EMS) Program, and $2 million for WaterISAC’s continuing operations in FY ’06.The legislation includes $7.9 billion for EPA’s fiscal year (FY) ’06 budget, signifying a cut of nearly $195 million from current levels. The vast majority of the reduction was achieved by slashing the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) from $1.09 billion in FY ’05 to approximately $900 million in FY ‘06. This marks the second consecutive year the CWSRF has been cut and reflects a $440 million reduction from FY ’04 when the program was funded at $1.35 billion. The Association’s efforts, along with a broad coalition of stakeholder groups, were critical in averting the Administration’s $500 million reduction proposal and preventing even deeper cuts to the CWSRF. It is anticipated that President Bush will sign the bill into law next week.
NACWA will continue to urge Congress to increase funding for the CWSRF and work with lawmakers to generate support for The Clean Water Trust Act of 2005. The Association’s Clean Water Funding Task Force continues to garner grassroots support for this trust fund legislation through Clean Water America (www.cleanwateramerica.org), with over 60 ‘Supporters’ joining its mission.
Association Membership Invited to 2005 Fall Leadership Meetings
NACWA will be holding its 2005 Fall Strategic Leadership Retreat September 19 - 20 at the Hilton Washington Embassy Row in Washington, DC. This meeting serves as an annual forum for NACWA’s Board Members and Committee Leader to discuss issues of strategic importance to the Association. This year, interested NACWA members are encouraged to attend and join the discussions which will focus on two critical issues – the State of Clean Water Security and Demystifying the Clean Water Trust Fund. Next week NACWA will forward a Member Update providing additional details, including hotel information. There is no registration fee for the Strategic Leadership Retreat.Sustainable Utility Management
Receives Attention at Washington Forum
EPA’s Office of Water (OW) and invited representatives from the water and wastewater community met in Washington, DC this week to discuss the attributes of sustainably managed utilities and the promotion of sustainable utility management. Participants shared their experiences with different management initiatives including the ISO 14001, Environmental Management Systems (EMS), Capacity, Management, Operations, and Maintenance (CMOM), QualServe, Optimized Asset Management, National Biosolids Partnership EMS, Balanced Scorecard and others. The day and a half long meeting concluded with a discussion of actions and initiatives that may support the promotion of sustainable utility management nationwide. The Association’s Utility Management Committee was represented at the meeting and will continue to lead NACWA’s efforts in this arena.Submit Your 2005 Financial Survey Today!
The deadline to submit your agency’s 2005 Financial Survey is August 5. An online form is available on the CleanWater Central™ website (http://cleanwatercentral.org) where members can electronically submit their survey results. Members can also fax the completed form to NACWA’s Director of Regulatory Affairs, Chris Hornback, at 202/530-7191.