NGWA’s Public Relations and Government Affairs Manager Ben Frech and Manager of Regulatory Affairs Chuck Job hosted a members-only webinar today (January 19, 2022).
Titled “Water Infrastructure, Policy, and Politics: Washington, D.C., in 2022,” Frech and Job covered the business economic opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for NGWA members.
The $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that was signed late last year includes more than $55 billion for water infrastructure. This includes funding for water-reuse programs, managed aquifer recharge projects, and money for public water systems to both improve their infrastructure and expand their services.
NGWA will be working with its membership this year on advocating for project funding that will recharge and revitalize the nation’s aquifers and increase groundwater quality in rural America. These efforts will prove especially critical in the western states that have been impacted by record-breaking droughts in the past decade.
NGWA will also be closely monitoring public water system expansion as it may correlate with increased “mandatory hook-up efforts.” NGWA will be working closely with its partners and state associations to track this spending and any new efforts to force well owners off their private systems.
Meanwhile, national efforts to address PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in water supplies remained a big focus for both lawmakers and federal regulators last year. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocates an historic $10 billion investment to fight PFAS contamination across the country. This funding will be focused on the following programs:
- $5 billion through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Assistance to Small and Disadvantaged Communities Program and State Response to Contaminants program to address emerging contaminants
- $4 billion through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund for emerging contaminants with a focus on PFAS
- $1 billion through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to address emerging contaminants.
The EPA also released its PFAS Strategic Roadmap, a multiyear plan to move toward increased regulations of PFAS in drinking water and create more safeguards to PFAS impacting public health with the goal of creating the final rule in 2023.
NGWA has long been a leader in advocating for increased funding for PFAS remediation and the push to regulate PFAS in drinking water. NGWA will be closely monitoring federal PFAS remediation funding and working closely with the EPA to ensure any new regulations are based in sound scientific research in the coming year.
Also on the horizon, beginning February 7, all entry-level operators of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in both interstate and intrastate commerce who are applying for an A, B, or C commercial driver’s license (CDL) must first satisfactorily complete minimum training requirements before taking their state-administered CDL examination.
This year, NGWA will be reviewing the impact of these new requirements on the industry and be exploring the potential for certain exemptions for groundwater-related CMVs.
Finally, while it may seem early, negotiations and congressional hearings for the 2023 Farm Bill will begin this year and NGWA plans to work with its allies in advocating for rural development funding, source water protection, and increasing support for the Household Water Well System Grant Program and Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program.
By providing strong support for groundwater protections in the 2023 Farm Bill, NGWA will ensure rural communities and the agriculture industry can continue to rely on groundwater for generations to come.
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A recording and copy of the PowerPoint® presentation will be sent to those who registered to attend the webinar. Click here if interested in becoming an NGWA member.
For questions or to learn how to become involved in NGWA’s government advocacy, contact NGWA Public Relations and Government Affairs Manager Ben Frech at bfrech@ngwa.org.