In Memoriam: David R. Williams

With the passing of David Williams, the wastewater community has lost a leader, a champion and friend. It is difficult to imagine anyone who could have had a greater influence on wastewater regulation, innovation and excellence than Dave. In addition to serving our community in numerous roles, including Director of Wastewater at EBMUD, Executive Director of BACWA, and Director at Central Contra Costa Sanitary District, Dave also gave generously of his time to CASA and its fellow associations. He served as President of CASA, President of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, Chair of BACWA and Chair of Tri-TAC. Beyond Dave’s accomplishments, “Many of us will remember him for his infectious laugh, vibrant curiosity, loyalty, humility and courteousness. He was a diligent and hard-working problem solver who was also tremendous fun to be with and a truly gifted and special person. He will be greatly missed, and long remembered for his contributions to our profession and our lives” expressed CASA’s former Executive Director, Bobbi Larson. CASA extends their deepest condolences and sympathy to Dave’s family, friends, and all those whose lives he touched. 

2023 Washington D.C. Policy Forum Recap

Thank you to all who joined us in the nation’s capital to hear from distinguished speakers and participate in Capitol Hill visits with our California Representatives and their staff! During the CASA Policy Forum in Washington D.C., we heard from congressional staff, political insiders and other policy experts on what to expect in 2023. We have already received wonderful feedback about this year’s event and hope all those who attended left feeling informed, inspired, and ready to tackle the new year! Many of the presentations and materials are available on the CASA website. As always, we were proud to advocate on behalf of CASA member agencies to advance clean water priorities. It’s never too early to save the date for the next CASA Conference, which will be held on August 9 – August 11, 2023, in San Diego.

Award of Excellence Nominations Open

CASA invites member agencies and associates to submit an Award of Excellence application now through April 28, 2023. Your organization works hard to do what’s right for California. Recognition from the leading clean water association honors your hard work and accomplishments. It’s a symbol of respect, credibility, and innovation. CASA seeks to recognize members who provide essential public services and go above and beyond to protect public health and the environment. Award recipients will be announced (and celebrated!) in August during CASA’s Annual Conference in San Diego. For more information about the award criteria and categories, please visit the Awards Program Webpage.

CASA Education Foundation Scholarship Applications

The CASA Education Foundation helps ensure clean water for Californians and energize the future of the clean water sector by awarding scholarships to promising students on a path to serving the environmental community. Does your local college or university know about CASA’s financial aid to students interested in a career in water? The Foundation is accepting scholarship applications through May 14, 2023. For information on how to apply, who is eligible and the scholarship guidelines, visit the website.

CASA Takes Positions on 2023 Legislation 

The CASA State Legislative Committee met on March 10^th to review and take positions on bills of interest that have been introduced in the 2023 Legislative Session. All bills were required to be introduced by February 17^th and are now in the process of being referred to the relevant policy committees for review and hearing. Over the next several weeks all bills need to be heard and passed in the policy committee process leading up to the final April 28^thdeadline. Several bills will take top priority in CASA’s advocacy efforts for the year, including the following:

NPDES Permit Term Extension Legislation Reintroduced In Congress; Call to Action!

Representative John Garamendi (D-CA) has reintroduced legislation to reform the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit term from the current 5 years to 10 years. The bill was bipartisanly introduced with Representative Ken Calvert (R-CA) as an original co-sponsor. As explained in Representative Garamendi’s press release, the bill (H.R. 1181) would reform the NPDES permit term to "better reflect the project construction schedules for public agencies." CASA originally worked with Representative Garamendi’s office when he first introduced the legislation in 2019. CASA worked with the office again this year on the introduction of H.R. 1181. The legislation has been referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure where it awaits consideration.

CASA sent a support letter for the legislation, along with other national water and local government associations, to Representatives Garamendi and Calvert’s offices. CASA is now calling on CASA members to send support letters to your House congressional delegations requesting Members co-sponsor the legislation. A template letter can be used to draft support letters.

CASA Submits Public Comment Letter on BABA

Last week, CASA submitted a comment letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in response to its solicitation for public comment on its proposed rule: notice of proposed guidance to the Office of Management and Guidance for Grants and Agreements for Build America, Buy America (BABA) mandates. While the proposed rule seeks comments on specific questions pertaining to construction product definitions and guidance under BABA, it also provides the opportunity to comment on other sections of the guidance including Federal awarding agency's issuance of a Buy America Preference waiver. CASA submitted comments addressing this section.

EPA Announces Two Upcoming Public Listening Sessions

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has announced two upcoming public listening sessions addressing the Agency’s activities relating to CERCLA regulation and the PFAS Strategic Roadmap objectives. The following summarizes the purpose of the upcoming sessions and how people can register for the events.

White House Releases Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request

The White House released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Budget Request. The request provides an overview of the funding levels the Administration would like to see federal agencies and departments funded at during the next fiscal year. The Budget Request supports the Administration’s policy priorities ranging from fighting climate change, investing in underserved communities, and supporting domestic manufacturing. The Administration will release its Budget Justifications next that will outline requested programmatic spending levels. However, the President’s Budget Request is a document that is broadly considered “dead upon arrival” in Congress, as lawmakers will work to develop spending bills aligned with their own fiscal priorities.

Sign up for CASA’s Regulatory Updates

CASA’s Regulatory Workgroup regularly puts together a comprehensive e-newsletter to share all regulatory updates on key issues and workgroup initiatives with the CASA membership. If you are interested in receiving these regulatory updates, please contact Jared Voskuhl. The latest edition is available here.

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Welcome to CASA - Ramona Municipal Water District

EMWD Honored with WateReuse Award for Excellence

Last week, the Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) was honored by the national WateReuse Association with its Award for Excellence for its innovative recycled water retrofit and landscape transformation at The Lakes at Hemet West community. EMWD received the award at the WateReuse Symposium in Atlanta. The awards recognize individuals and projects that have made significant contributions in support of greater adoption of recycled water usage. For The Lakes at Hemet West retrofit, park management had sought to bring recycled water to the community and its nine-hole golf course for more than a decade, but faced significant challenges, such as an outdated irrigation system, regulatory issues, and the need to bring a recycled water line across a state highway. EMWD and The Lakes worked hand in hand to develop a plan and design that enhanced golf playability, minimized non-functional turf, and incorporated state of the art irrigation system components and management. “EMWD is appreciative of the WateReuse Association recognizing the work that helped transform this community and help them use water efficiently and responsibly,” EMWD Board President Phil Paule said. Congratulations to EMWD! Read more in the full press release here.

AEHS West Coast Conference

The Association for Environmental Health and Sciences Foundation is hosting their 32^nd Annual International Conference on Soil, Water, Energy and Air next week, March 20 – 23 in Sand Diego. For the past thirty-one years, this annual conference has helped bring the environmental science community closer together by providing a forum to facilitate the exchange of information of technological advances, new scientific achievements, and the effectiveness of standing environmental regulation programs. CASA’s Greg Kester will be presenting Tuesday, March 21 on PFAS issues from the wastewater and biosolids perspective. There is still time to register!

Ensuring DEI in the Water Workforce

Join the Office of Water at EPA for their next Water Workforce Webinar on next Tuesday, March 21, 2023 from 11:00am - 12:30pm, entitled It Really Matters: Ensuring Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Water Workforce. The March webinar will highlight the steps that two leading water workforce leaders took to develop workforce programs that recruit talented individuals. Speakers include:

• Sharise Horne, Chief of Equity & Community Partnerships, Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) 
• Julianne Jones, Senior Manager, Education and Training, InFLOW, Water Environment Federation (WEF) 

This is part of an ongoing series of webinars to provide information across the water sector on ways utilities and others are addressing the challenges of building and maintaining a sustainable water workforce for the future. A link to previous webinars can be found here.

AWWEE Virtual Events

The Association of Women in Water, Energy and Environment is hosting the final webinar in their three-part March Water Series on March 28 from 11:00am to 12:00pm. When the Storms Surge: San Diego County's Innovative Solutions to Stormwater Capture & Use will wrap up the series with a look at how one county is implementing innovative solutions to capture stormwater for future use. On April 18, from 11:00am to 12:00pm they are hosting the second AWWEE “Salon” event, Don't Just Sponsor Women and People of Color. Defend Them. For this salon event, they will be discussing the February 14, 2023, article by Rosalind Chow published in the Harvard Business Review, Don’t Just Sponsor Women and People of Color - Defend Them.  For registration to these events, please visit: https://awwee.org/events.

WELL 11^th Annual Statewide Conference

The Water Education for Latino Leaders (WELL) is hosting their 11th Annual Statewide Conference on March 31 - April 1, 2023, in Van Nuys, CA at the Airtel Plaza Hotel. This year’s theme is Adapting to a New Normal: California Water Strategies for the 21st Century. The conference will bring together leaders from all over California, including California’s mayors, city council members, county supervisors, school board members, and water district directors to learn about this critical public policy issue and help support residents and their local economies as the state faces a potential fourth year of drought. Click here for registration.

2023 CWEA Annual Conference and Expo

Be sure to register today for the 2023 CWEA Annual Conference and Expo, April 18 – April 21 in San Diego, for a chance to hear from CASA’s Greg Kester sharing updates on SB 1383 implementation along with many other great topics and speakers! See the conference webpage for more information: CWEA AC23

Save the Date - PFI Event

Save the date for the CWEA and CASA Partnering for Impact (PFI) event happening on June 6, 2023, from 9:00am to 4:15pm in Berkeley, CA. The goal of Partnering for Impact is to build stronger utility, university, and industry collaborations for innovation and find areas where we can create a positive impact together. At this year’s event, we’ll discuss ways we can implement innovative solutions even faster. This year’s featured topics include the risks and rewards associated with various technologies, and what we’re learning about innovations in biosolids resource recovery.

CASA represents more than 130 local public agencies engaged in the collection, treatment and recycling of Wastewater and biosolids to protect public health and the environment. Our mission is to provide trusted information and advocacy on behalf of California clean water agencies, and to be a leader in sustainability and utilization of renewable resources.