2023 Winter Advocate

ADVOCATE

Navigating

Turbulent Times with Empathy and Engagement

IN THIS ISSUE

Is Your Clean Water Agency Ready to Meet the Environmental Justice Moment?

Real Action, Not Just Words on Affordability

Using Science to Gain Community Confidence

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Alexandra Dapolito Dunn

Andrew Lee

Chris Hornback

Joan Oppenheimer

Nathan Gardner-Andrews

Tom Sigmund

LOTT Clean Water Alliance, WA Louisville and Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District, KY

MANAGING EDITOR

Kindra Hemphill Director, Marketing & Outreach khemphill@nacwa.org

ART & DESIGN DIRECTOR

Sarah Bixby Creative Director, Thoughts Left On sarah@thoughtslefton.com

MEMBERSHIP

Kelly Brocato Sr. Director, Membership Development & Retention kbrocato@nacwa.org

PUBLISHED BY

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA)

CONTACT

NACWA 1130 Connecticut Ave, NW Suite 1050 Washington, DC 20036

(202) 833-2672 | info@nacwa.org

NACWA represents public wastewater and stormwater agencies of all sizes nationwide. Our unique and growing network strengthens the advocacy voice for the public clean water sector and helps advance policies to provide affordable and sustainable clean water for all. Our vision is to advance sustainable and responsible policy initiatives that help to shape a strong and sustainable clean water future. WWW.NACWA.ORG

For more than 50 years, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) has been the nation’s recognized leader in legislative, regulatory, legal and communications advocacy on the full spectrum of clean water issues.

Using

Ensuring

Louisville and Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District

NACWA AWARDS

Navigating Turbulent Times with Empathy and Engagement

BY THOMAS W. SIGMUND | GREEN BAY, WI

As I write this message, NACWA is organizing its Winter Conference taking place in Sonoma, California with the theme “Galvanizing Ratepayer Trust in Turbulent Times.” Turbulent defines the last few years well, but it is likely an understatement.

The forever-changed pandemic workplace, inflation, supply chain problems, thorny issues like PFAS and affordability, managing social, racial and political unrest, and the frequency of natural disasters and cyber-threats have all been thrown at us in a seemingly unending barrage of events challenging the nation and our sector.

I have heard our fellow utility leaders say they have never seen staff fatigue and burn-out like they are currently experiencing. The leaders have expressed their own exhaustion as well. But I know we are up to the challenge; let me tell you why.

Over the last several months I have had the pleasure of serving as the host/moderator of numerous NACWA Board, Utility Executive, and Regional Utility Zoom discussions. These have been structured as “Open Forums” where utility executives can discuss whatever is on their mind. It is no coincidence that many if not all these utility leaders have focused their remarks on the workforce challenge as the most pressing – why? The answer is simple — without a fully staffed team of trained and competent professionals we cannot sustainably fulfill our environmental and public health mission as utilities, we cannot galvanize ratepayer trust, and we will fail at our efforts to navigate these turbulent times.

But what I have heard in these discussions from our utility leaders gives me enormous hope. They are not allowing workforce fatigue or malaise to overwhelm them. They are working to secure

competitive salaries and benefits for their employees; they are conducting innovative programs like “stay interviews” to determine what makes a fulfilled employee want to stay with the utility; they are taking advantage of opportunities like NACWA’s Core Leadership program to get their staff networked, inspired and feeling tapped into something larger and meaningful in terms of their daily work; and they are finding opportunities through technology to improve staff efficiency, preserve the institutional knowledge being lost to retirements, and attract a younger, more tech-savvy workforce.

I can tell you that these are just a tiny sampling of the efforts that utility leaders are taking. But when you listen to these discussions and participate in them, what you hear overwhelmingly is how much utility leaders CARE. How much they care for the mental well-being of their staff; how much they care to create an attractive workplace for current and future employees; and how much they care about the importance of the job and mission to ensure that our ratepayers and communities have affordable, uninterrupted service so that we all can enjoy our treasured waterbodies.

I can tell you our member (and non-member) utility leaders are wrestling with Herculean fervor to navigate these turbulent times and galvanize ratepayer and community trust. I know that sharing these best practices through NACWA and other venues will shape positive outcomes and we will emerge stronger and more energized as a sector.

Sincerely,

Tom Sigmund | NACWA President Executive Director, NEW Water | Green Bay, WI

mission as utilities, we cannot galvanize ratepayer trust, and we will fail at our efforts to navigate these turbulent times.

NACWA honors the life of Marian Orfeo, former NACWA Board Member and NACWA President, who passed away in November 2022. Marian, who was NACWA President from 2008-2009, worked for NACWA Member Agency the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). During her time as President, Marian skillfully advanced NACWA’s core advocacy priorities while also helping modernize and bolster the Association’s finances.

NACWA sends it deepest condolences to Marian’s family, friends and colleagues and thanks her for her many years of service to the clean water sector.

The answer is simple — without a fully staffed team of trained and competent professionals we cannot sustainably fulfill our environmental and public health

Understanding Environmental Justice: A Seattle Perspective

BY ANDREW LEE | SEATTLE, WA

On January 7, 2022, residents in Seattle’s South Park neighborhood woke up to a historic 10-year storm during an extraordinary 12-foot-high tide. When I arrived at the neighborhood, I saw entire streets engulfed with stormwater – stormwater that had nowhere to drain until the tide receded.

Over several hours, my co-worker Sahba and I knocked on the doors of impacted homes. Residents showed us their basements with furniture moved around and drywall cut up because of sewer backups, overland flooding, and groundwater intrusion. Some shared their experiences trying to manage their sewer backups all night long. They were tired and yet still had more work ahead of them.

That day, I left South Park with a strong sense of community resilience and fortitude, and a call to action.

Environmental Injustice in South Park

South Park is located along the tidally influenced Duwamish River and is one of the most racially diverse neighborhoods in Seattle. More than twothirds of the neighborhood identify as people of color, including a thriving Hispanic population. In a city with tremendous wealth, and headquarters for Amazon and Starbucks, almost 30% of South Park’s residents live below the poverty level. Residents have a shorter life expectancy and higher rates of asthma and diabetes.

South Park’s environmental burdens are significant. The neighborhood’s northern boundary is the Duwamish River; this waterway is a treasured part of the community, a Superfund site and the frontline of sea level rise for Seattle. The neighborhood also has fewer formal roads, sidewalks, and drainage infrastructure than most neighborhoods in Seattle.

Environmental Injustice Has its Roots in Racism

Nationwide, communities of color endure greater environmental damage and health disparities compared to wealthier white neighborhoods. Every major city across the county has its own version of South Park. And, unfortunately, the water infrastructure in these neighborhoods has been reinforcing racial inequities rather than protecting people, public health, and the environment.

A spotlight is on environmental justice in our water sector. It is exposing systemic problems through communities like Jackson and Flint. As with any spotlight, the more it shines, the more we become aware of how environmental injustice is deeply rooted into the fabric of our country.

Changing How We Make Decisions

Making decisions is and has been a big part of my career as an environmental engineer. Now, as General Manager of a utility, I’m working to ensure that our decisions address systemic injustice.

This year, I attended a training held by the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond. We talked about how public employees are community gatekeepers

because we are empowered to make significant community decisions. To be a gatekeeper who strives for justice, I need to be a “liberated gatekeeper” who centers marginalized communities in decisions, focuses on reducing burdens, and builds community health and well-being.

Becoming a Liberated Gatekeeper Starts with Relationships

Liberated gatekeepers go beyond just knowing the names of the community members and their leaders. They are in deep, sustained relationships with impacted communities; they witness community priorities in action, attend celebrations, and show up in times of crisis. They are intimately familiar with how environmental harm has fostered strength and resilience and created deep community ties. With their strong connection to community, they reflect their care through consistent and meaningful actions.

As Seattle Public Utilities’ executive, I am striving to guide organizational change in our work with environmental justice communities. My journey began with a simple commitment to spend more time with leaders in South Park. That relationship-building led to significant self-reflection on my department’s role in perpetuating environmental injustice, and several short-term and long-term actions that begin to address entrenched harms.

We’ve hired community members as partners, increased community-focused inter-agency coordination, and pushed to complete longstanding infrastructure improvements. We’ve increased our advocacy for community-led initiatives, including being mindful of the South Park community when we meet with federal, state, and county officials. While I’m pleased with what we’ve recently done, our journey has just begun.

For me, January 7 was a painful call to action. It reminded me that my responsibilities matter. Clean water leaders and institutions hold true places of power and influence that must be harnessed for justice – regardless of how difficult it may be. Start by building real relationships in overly burdened communities. Show up when the infrastructure you manage is, again, burdening a vulnerable community. Do whatever you can to become the liberated gatekeepers that our cities and communities need.

Andrew Lee is General Manager/Chief Executive Officer of Seattle Public Utilities and a member of the NACWA Board of Directors.

Is Your Clean Water Agency Ready to Meet the Environmental Justice Moment?

BY ALEXANDRA DAPOLITO DUNN | WASHINGTON, DC

The Biden Administration has made environmental justice (EJ) a centerpiece of its environmental policy since day one. Throughout 2021 and 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) laid a significant foundation of EJ policies and guidance documents, created offices, and conducted extensive community outreach.

In 2023, the federal government, and states –through funding agreements with EPA and their own priority drivers – are poised to use this foundation to bring more EJ-driven administrative, civil, and even criminal enforcement actions.

Clean water agencies can meet this EJ moment with confidence. Many agencies have built trust with communities over decades through education and outreach efforts related to infrastructure siting, expansion, and rehabilitation projects. In fact, clean water agencies have had more opportunities than many entities to absorb what their communities need and expect, and to refine their public engagement tools. 2023’s EJ focus provides clean water utilities an opportunity to build on past community involvement successes, assess the health of existing community relationships, and proactively reinvest in those relationships.

Laying the EJ Foundation: 2021-2022

President Biden’s executive order, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,” laid out an executive-level framework to implement a “whole of government approach” to EJ and equity. The order and related developments resulted in the Justice40 Initiative, the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, improvements to EJScreen, the restoration of supplemental environmental projects, and EPA and DOJ strengthening tools and policies to focus on environmental violations with disproportionate impacts on underserved and overburdened communities.

The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law made more resources available to EJ communities than ever before. In 2022, both DOJ and EPA established dedicated higher-profile EJ offices. EPA also issued a working definition of cumulative impacts and a list of mitigating actions permitting authorities can take to address disproportionate impacts, such as: requiring continuous monitoring or increased reporting; establishing real time and public facing websites; adding pollution controls; setting up hotlines; and even third-party monitoring of community complaints. 2022's passage of the Inflation Reduction Act makes an estimated $40 billion available to communities with EJ concerns.

Leveraging the Foundation: 2023

Both EPA and DOJ have been clear that they will focus on providing greater transparency

and information to the public, faster relief from environmental burdens, and proactive attention. This focus should be familiar to clean water agencies – for the most part, utilities are household names in their communities and have deep experience in dealing with core EJ issues, such as ensuring communities have meaningful and early input to planning decisions, reducing nuisance issues such as odor, truck traffic, and noise, and increasing the benefits to communities through employment and community investment. Many clean water utilities regularly include communities in infrastructure decisions, seek their input on alternatives, and provide consultation on consent decree modifications and permit modifications. By seeking and valuing the input of their neighbors and ratepayers, a utility can build a reservoir of community trust to draw upon when difficult issues arise.

EJ will loom larger in permitting decisions going forward. Upgrades or expansions will be more heavily scrutinized in communities with a history of EJ concerns. Clean water agencies can expect the government to evaluate the cumulative impacts of industrial activities concentrated in a geographic area. A focus on cumulative impacts provides an impetus for utilities to take greater stock of

surrounding infrastructure and industrial activity, as total community burden may become more of a focus in the agency’s permitting and consent decree discussions. 2023 kicked off with EPA's release of an addendum to its EJ Legal Tools document on incorporating cumulative impacts. Further, through renewed deployment of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the federal government has increased local community group power to petition for redress when federally-funded permitting agencies fail to thoroughly consider EJ issues in these types of decisions.

The EJ focus makes it more important than ever for clean water agencies to ensure their compliance house is in order. Environmental violations open the door to broader inquiries by regulators about a utility’s overall state of affairs, investment decisions, and community commitment. Working with internal teams to ensure that paperwork, monitoring, and reporting is compliant will serve a utility well in a time of heightened enforcement attention.

The reality is, when it comes to community trust, it only takes one misstep or poorly-handled incident to jeopardize the relationship. When regulators and communities focus on EJ, it is an opportune time to go back to basics and examine compliance and communication systems with a forward-looking perspective. What permit changes are anticipated? What infrastructure changes are planned? What procedures are in place to prevent a violation and respond if one occurs? It is never too early to look ahead and to engage the community in such conversations.

Conclusion

These are just some of the positive steps that clean water agencies can take to seize the EJ moment. EJ’s evolution as a central priority provides a clear opportunity to leverage long-standing community trust, honestly assess internal policies and procedures, and continue serving communities.

Alexandra Dapolito Dunn is a Partner with Baker Botts L.L.P. in Washington, DC. Ms. Dunn appreciates the assistance of Evan Neustater in the preparation of this article.

Environmental Justice will loom larger in permitting decisions going forward.

2023 Upcoming Conferences & Events

APRIL

JULY

Real Action, Not Just Words on Affordability

BY CHRIS HORNBACK & NATHAN GARDNER-ANDREWS | WASHINGTON, DC

For nearly two decades, NACWA and its public utility members have been working to raise awareness and make real policy changes to address the affordability pressures mounting in communities across the country as a result of mandated federal spending on Clean Water Act (CWA) requirements.

Over the years, some in the federal government and many environmental activist groups suggested that NACWA and its members were simply using the affordability issue as a way to get more time to complete the required investments – or as a ruse to get away with doing less. But the reality is that the affordability challenge is real and has deep impacts in many communities across the nation – often hitting the poorest households and households of color the hardest. At a time when environmental justice (EJ) issues are, appropriately, taking center stage in debates over environmental policy, affordability is very much an EJ issue in many communities. And the reality is that NACWA and its public utility members have been largely responsible for the significant policy changes that we have seen over the last few years on this issue.

At the heart of the affordability challenge for clean water utilities is EPA’s 1997 Financial Capability Assessment (FCA) guidance that relies on percent of median household income (MHI). MHI cannot capture the impacts of the required spending on low-income households and is simply too blunt of a tool.

As soon as NACWA members began to raise the use of MHI as an issue, we started to engage policymakers in DC. We knew that getting EPA to change its methodology – to move away from MHI and look at the true impact on low-income ratepayers – would take some time (19 years and counting since NACWA’s first real push in 2003). But NACWA’s members also knew that regardless of how affordability was ultimately calculated, their communities would be facing very real challenges. More needed to be done to address the impacts this spending would have on low-income customers, and addressing these affordability concerns is a critical component of gaining and maintaining community trust.

That’s why NACWA’s advocacy has always proceeded on two tracks – to revise EPA’s financial capability assessment methodology AND to identify and seek a real solution to the low-income affordability challenge.

Following the economic downturn in 2009-2010, which further highlighted the challenges facing the nation’s communities, NACWA, along with the rest of the water sector and joined by municipal groups led by the US Conference of Mayors, advocated strongly for EPA to take action. The result was the 2012 Integrated Planning Policy, which would later be incorporated directly into the CWA thanks in large part to NACWA’s advocacy efforts. The adoption of integrated planning by EPA and Congress was an extraordinary achievement in and of itself, resetting the important federal, state, local partnership. But as soon as the Integrated Planning policy was issued, it was clear the affordability question still needed to be addressed.

In 2016, NACWA initiated its first comprehensive analysis of a potential federal low-income water ratepayer assistance program, followed shortly thereafter by an initial analysis of the cost of such a program and proposed funding sources. NACWA used the report and its findings to advance nascent conversations on Capitol Hill around the need to address the growing affordability issue. The following year, the National Academy of Public Administration issued a report calling on EPA to revise its 1997 FCA guidance, reinforcing points NACWA had been making for nearly 15 years.

Building on the report from NAPA, NACWA, together with its water sector and municipal partners, worked with EPA from 2017 to 2020 to craft a revised FCA document that addressed the concerns of the municipal and water utility community and those of other key stakeholders. A proposed revision which would have addressed many of the water sector’s concerns was poised for release before being withdrawn by the incoming Biden Administration in January 2021.

Unfortunately, the Biden Administration's EPA has more recently made fundamental changes to the carefully crafted guidance without meaningful engagement or input from NACWA or its partners. The changes EPA made effectively rewrite the core tenets of the document in multiple detrimental ways, including:

• Instead of looking at the actual impacts on individual low-income ratepayers – specifically what percent of a low-income household’s spending will go to water and wastewater bills – the new methodology uses community and national level benchmarks to measure whether a program or new requirement is unaffordable. Examining household level impacts is essential to any meaningful dialogue on affordability.

• Hard scheduling caps, in some cases allowing less time than even the existing guidance, are included in the latest version. The maximum length of time EPA will now allow is shorter than many existing schedules for communities that have previously demonstrated affordability impacts.

• Most troubling is EPA’s addition of a new Financial Alternatives Analysis that utilities are required to complete – potentially involving expansive efforts like the establishment of completely new rate structures, among a long list of other potential actions – before even being eligible for the relief the FCA shows they deserve.

At press time, NACWA has learned that OMB has freed up EPA to finalize the FCA proposal despite NACWA and its water sector and municipal partners’ requests to pause all efforts to finalize the guidance. EPA plans to walk key groups

But NACWA’s members also knew that regardless of how affordability was ultimately calculated, their communities would be facing very real challenges. More needed to be done to address the impacts this spending would have on low-income customers, and addressing these affordability concerns is a critical component of gaining and maintaining community trust.

through the final guidance, but we understand the concerns discussed above have likely not been fully addressed. Work on the FCA document seems to have taken a step backwards, but NACWA’s efforts on establishing a permanent low-income water assistance program have taken off over the last few years.

While NACWA’s early work on the need for a federal water ratepayer assistance program got some traction, the COVID-19 pandemic put the seriousness of the issue on a major national stage for the first time and compelled the federal government to act by creating a temporary LowIncome Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) in 2020 as part of COVID-19 emergency relief legislation. Housed at the federal Department of Health & Human Services, the program marked the first time the federal government has provided specific assistance to low-income households for drinking water and clean water costs.

However, the current program is only temporary in nature, and NACWA is leading the charge to create a permanent one. The Association is coordinating an effort with other water sector partners to develop a detailed report and policy recommendations outlining how Congress can establish a permanent water assistance program and what key elements the program should include. If the federal government deems food and heating/energy needs important enough to provide assistance to low-

income households, why not water? The report and recommendations will be rolled out in early 2023 and will provide a strong foundation for continued NACWA advocacy on this issue.

While environmental activist groups have been strong supporters of a federal water customer assistance program, they continue to put pressure on utilities, seeking to penalize the very utilities leading the conversation on providing assistance for not taking enough action at the local level. Case in point was EPA’s addition of the Financial Alternatives Analysis to the latest revision of the FCA, which was the focus of a comment letter from a coalition of environmental activist groups on the draft FCA revisions from 2020.

But without the actions of NACWA’s clean water utility members over the last 20 years to push for a federal program and to shine a light on the impacts CWA spending was having on low-income customers, where would we be? The reality is that actions speak louder than words, and it is NACWA’s members who are the ones that are actually working on the ground – and will be for years to come – to address the affordability challenge.

Chris Hornback is NACWA’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, and Nathan Gardner-Andrews is NACWA’s Chief Advocacy & Policy Officer.

Maintaining Community Trust Through the Evaluation Process for PFAS Pollutant Mitigation

BY JOAN OPPENHEIMER | PASADENA, CA

Community trust in clean water utility environmental services is dependent upon continual achievement of routine high-performance operations. This trust can rapidly diminish when service providers face emerging challenges that threaten to disrupt established systems and protocols.

Publicity focused on the ubiquitous occurrence and potential toxicological impacts of environmentally persistent perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are forcing many clean water utilities to view these compounds as critical drivers of change to their existing operations. PFAS concerns are particularly impactful to utilities because their facilities act as watershed collection and redistribution centers of these recalcitrant compounds. This has put clean water utilities in the difficult position of addressing a problem they did not create as they find themselves “holding the bag” in terms of PFAS management.

Charting a prudent future course of action requires clean water agencies to characterize the concentrations of PFAS in their effluents and biosolids, engage in scientific and regulatory dialogue around PFAS treatment and disposal options, and effectively communicate planning activities being implemented to mitigate community risks. NACWA has been actively engaged in PFAS advocacy efforts due to their broad implications

to existing utility operations and the potential misalignment of PFAS management options with other sustainability objectives – including reducing energy demands and greenhouse gas emissions.

NACWA published an initial study in 2019 on the cost impact of PFAS to clean water utilities, but the geographic scope was narrow and monetization impacts were restricted to biosolids handling issues within the regulatory guidance in place at the time. But the rapidly evolving PFAS regulatory landscape prompted NACWA’s recent decision to fund a follow-on study of potential cost impacts on clean water utilities, which will be completed by Stantec’s Institute for Water Technology & Policy. Recent regulatory developments include proposed federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) designation of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) as hazardous substances, regionally implemented biosolids

This NACWA study is a crucial step forward in understanding the cost implications of PFAS mitigation solutions and the potential risks and benefits of viable alternatives.

land application restrictions, regionally mandated PFAS monitoring and source control activities, and EPA’s lowering of the public health goal for PFOA and PFOS in drinking water by three orders of magnitude.

This new study will provide an update on PFASdriven cost impacts via a survey of NACWA utility members. The survey will solicit broad geographic coverage on the costs attributable to monitoring and source control activities. Additionally, it will update current costs of biosolids treatment and handling activities.

Presentation of the statistically aggregated survey data will provide relevant clean water sector PFAS cost impacts while ensuring response anonymity. The data will be parsed in multiple ways to better understand key cost drivers. Associated meta data will be displayed to clearly define the completeness and representativeness of the reported information.

Cost impacts obtained from clean water utilities without PFAS impacts will also be collected to serve as negative cost controls. Budgetary level cost evaluations will also be performed for a small number of subsequent case studies to capture a more detailed understanding of ongoing response activities as well as treatment and cost uncertainties.

The investigation intends to also capture planning level activities related to emerging PFAS

destruction technologies (i.e., pyrolysis, gasification, thermal oxidation, super critical water oxidation, hydrothermal liquefaction, etc.). Value added services include a qualitative triple bottom line impact analysis of alternative PFAS management strategies. The economic data from the survey and the subsequent case studies will be incorporated into the report and a technical brief summarizing promising treatment systems under evaluation for PFAS capture and destruction will also be included.

Many clean water utilities will continue to face PFAS-driven challenges related to implementing cost-effective treatment alternatives. The ability to make these decisions in a manner supportive of public trust – and with ratepayer affordability in mind – is highly dependent on the acquisition of defensible industry data and an understanding of critical knowledge gaps in a transparent and credible fashion. This NACWA study is a crucial step forward in understanding the cost implications of PFAS mitigation solutions and the potential risks and benefits of viable alternatives. Its findings will be even more important as PFAS regulatory guidance is outpacing scientific knowledge and detailed understanding of engineered treatment solutions.

Joan Oppenheimer is a Board Certified Environmental Scientist with AAEES and Vice President and Principal Scientist for Stantec.

Using Science to Gain Community Confidence

BY LOTT CLEAN WATER ALLIANCE | OLYMPIA, WA

LOTT Clean Water Alliance treats wastewater for the communities of Lacey, Olympia and Tumwater in Thurston County, Washington. LOTT also produces Class A reclaimed water that is reused for irrigation, water features, and groundwater replenishment.

While reclaimed water has been used safely for groundwater recharge elsewhere in the US, the local community had questions about the safety of the practice, in part because our climate differs from areas where related research has been conducted.

In response to community questions, LOTT recently completed a multi-year scientific study to investigate residual chemicals that may remain in reclaimed water, and what happens to them when reclaimed water is used to replenish groundwater. Residual chemicals refer to compounds from pharmaceuticals, personal care and household products, and commercial/industrial sources.

The key study question was:

What are the risks from infiltrating reclaimed water into groundwater because of chemicals that may remain in the water from products people use every day, and what can be done to reduce those risks?

To ensure a scientifically credible study that engendered community trust, there were multiple layers of review and input, involving both scientific experts and community representatives.

The Reclaimed Water Infiltration Study began with a scoping process that included active public engagement. Community input, gathered through stakeholder interviews, a phone survey, focus groups, and public workshops provided the framework of the study. A Community Advisory Group, formed in 2012, consisted of local residents with diverse backgrounds and interests. This group was heavily involved in scoping and provided feedback throughout the study effort; most members participated through study completion in 2022.

The study team consisted of LOTT staff and a primary consultant, HDR Engineering, Inc. Expertise from sub-consultants in risk assessment and other specialties rounded out the team, who developed work plans for each element of the study based on accepted scientific practices. Work plans and findings were reviewed and refined based on input from two groups: the Science Task Force of technical staff from LOTT’s partner jurisdictions, the Squaxin Island Tribe, and the State Departments of Health and Ecology; and the Peer Review Panel, a group of national experts in health, toxicology, hydrogeology, and wastewater treatment. The LOTT Board of Directors fully supported the work, investing $6 million and significant staff resources in the effort.

The study entailed extensive field work and analysis, including testing for 134 residual chemicals in wastewater, reclaimed water, surface water, and groundwater. Toxicologists predicted possible risk for humans and wildlife, based on field data, computer modeling, and toxicology information for each chemical. Alternative treatment options to reduce residual chemicals in reclaimed water were also evaluated, comparing costs to risk reduction.

The study involved numerous stakeholders, and outreach was designed to keep all of these audiences informed of progress. Key audiences included jurisdictional partners, water and wastewater professionals, reclaimed water users, state agencies, local tribes, scientists, and community and environmental groups.

To ensure transparency and trust, LOTT made information available throughout the ten-year study period, including:

• Posting technical memos, fact sheets, and Peer Review findings on the website.

• Opening meetings of the Peer Review Panel and Community Advisory Group to the public.

• Providing updates on the study at publicly open Board meetings and to an email distribution list.

• Presenting and receiving feedback at professional conferences.

As the study progressed, information was also

What are the risks from infiltrating reclaimed water into groundwater because of chemicals that may remain in the water from products people use every day, and what can be done to reduce those risks?

available as an exhibit in LOTT’s WET Science Center, and routinely provided as part of public presentations and tours. As the study concluded, communication and public involvement efforts were ramped up to present results to key audiences and stakeholders. These efforts included a community forum, an online open house with survey, media releases, completing a series of fact sheets, and presentations to partner jurisdictions, professional and community groups. LOTT also worked with a video company to produce a 10-minute video to explain study results.

This extensive research effort resulted in over 2,500 pages of scientific reports, available on LOTT’s website. Key findings include:

• Residual chemicals are found in our environment, in areas where reclaimed water is used for infiltration, and in areas where reclaimed water is not used for that purpose.

• Residual chemicals from infiltration decrease with time and distance as water moves underground away from the recharge site.

• Risk assessment experts found a very low risk to human health and no risk to ecological health.

Study findings indicate that LOTT’s long-range wastewater management strategy of using reclaimed water for groundwater replenishment is safe and responsible. This study provides a solid foundation to monitor changing conditions and further explore treatment options if warranted in the future. LOTT plans to monitor key residual chemicals and keep tabs on industry research, new regulations, and the changing chemical landscape to update the study in the future based on new information.

For more information about LOTT’s study, visit lottcleanwater.org/projects/reclaimed-waterinfiltration-study/

LOTT Clean Water Alliance is located in Olympia, Washington and received a National Environmental Achievement Award for this study.

Ensuring Equity in Contracting and Procurement

BY LOUISVILLE AND JEFFERSON COUNTY METROPOLITAN SEWER DISTRICT | LOUISVILLE, KY

In March 2020, as employers in Louisville, Kentucky and across the United States were having workers stay at home in attempts to curb the spread of COVID-19, the police shooting death in Louisville of 26-year-old Black medical worker Breonna Taylor during a raid on her apartment prompted hundreds of people to take to the streets in protest. Months of daily demonstrations also focused attention on the history of economic injustice faced by minorities in Kentucky’s largest city.

The city’s then-mayor, Greg Fischer, decided to confront the economic issue head-on. To do so, Fischer recruited leaders of the local utility sector, most prominently the heads of the Louisville and Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District, Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities Company.

Fischer created an Equity in Contracting and Procurement Task Force. He noted that while Black residents accounted for 22 percent of the city’s population, they owned only 2.4 percent of businesses. He also cited a Brookings Institution statement that “At $171,000, the net worth of a typical white family is nearly 10 times greater than that of a Black family ($17,150) in 2016. We must address the unconscionable wealth gap that exists between Black and white America,” the mayor said.

At the time there was a projection of more than $5 billion in public and private infrastructure investment over the next five years. The plan was to provide an equitable share of the contracting for those projects to businesses owned by minorities, females, disabled, and LGBTQ persons. “It’s critical

that we support minority, female, and disabledowned business enterprises and ensure they have access to contracting opportunities that can give them the chance to grow and build community wealth in a more equitable way,” Fischer said.

Metropolitan Sewer District Executive Director Tony Parrott and then LG&E Chief Executive Officer Paul Thompson were tapped to co-chair the task force. The September 9, 2020, task force announcement noted that “both MSD and LG&E have a significant history of promoting supplier diversity through their own procurement policies.”

Also on the task force roster are the local water company, airport authority, city housing authority, public school district, transit authority, and the University of Louisville, along with the city council and executive agencies and community partners

It’s critical that we support minority, female, and disabled-owned business enterprises and ensure they have access to contracting opportunities that can give them the chance to grow and build community wealth in a more equitable way.

ranging from the Urban League to the Greater Louisville Inc. Chamber of Commerce.

Three months before the task force was formed, MSD updated its three-decade-old Supplier Diversity Program with higher minority contracting targets along with a Community Benefits Program aimed at having contractors provide opportunities in workforce development, skilled trades training, small business outreach, and mentorship.

In 2021, collaborating Task Force participants spent over $700 million in capital expenditures with 12.1% of that being spent with local diverse businesses, including 3.9% spent with Black-owned businesses. Through the second quarter of 2022 Task Force participants spent close to $260 million in capital expenditures, with 13.2% of that being spent with local diverse businesses, including 4.0% spent with local Black-owned businesses.

The Task Force also identified discriminatory barriers to the expansion of doing work with diverse businesses, and specifically, Blackowned businesses. Subcommittees brainstormed recommendations to reduce and/or eliminate these barriers. The Task Force also contracted with a national consultant to provide analysis, review and recommendations for policies and programs that will increase the utilization of diverse businesses.

There are subcommittees focused on data collection and reporting, community benefits, workforce development and local labor expansion, local diverse business utilization, and outreach.

The Task Force was asked to accomplish the following:

1. Establish goals/timetables directed toward increasing expenditures with, and the utilization of, Black and diverse-owned businesses. The results from these efforts are to be included in quarterly reports on the utilization and effectiveness of policies and practices.

2. Develop Local Labor Utilization Guidelines to increase the number of local jobs and employment of local labor in the Louisville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).

3. Develop a Community Benefits Guideline to invest in local non-profits engaged in missions to increase Black-owned and Minority-, Female-, and Disabled-owned Business Enterprises (MFDBE) capacity and workforce development in the Louisville MSA.

4. Solicit input from and collaborate with local businesses.

Progress has been made to improve economic inclusion in the community, and there is still more to accomplish. A long history of commitment to supplier diversity at Louisville MSD positioned the public utility to help lead the continuing effort.

Louisville and Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District is located in Louisville, Kentucky and received a National Environmental Achievement Award for its efforts on equity in contracting and procurement.

Celebrating Innovation and Environmental Service

At the Winter Conference this February, NACWA will celebrate its 2023 National Environmental Achievement Award (NEAA) honorees – a collection of individual and Member Agencies whose innovative initiatives, service, and contributions to clean water, their communities, and the environment have made a significant impact. The program offers multiple award categories with the goal of celebrating outstanding contributions to environmental protection and the clean water community.

NACWA awards programs like the NEAA provide great opportunities for Member Agencies to formally recognize their staff or governing officials who are doing remarkable things for the utility, their community, and the clean water sector. Additionally, they can be used to build trust and confidence within the community, to support new programs or rate increases, or to promote the positive impact a utility is having on its ratepayers’ lives.

NACWA encourages all Member Agencies to participate in the Awards Programs. The Association will begin accepting 2024 NEAA applications in September 2023.

Visit nacwa.org/awards to learn more and apply.

2023 National Environmental Achievement Award Honorees

The National Environmental Achievement Awards recognizes individuals and NACWA member agencies that have made outstanding contributions to environmental protection and the clean water community.

Individual NEAA Awards

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE

Gordon Pederson Chief Technical Officer Gulf Coast Authority, TX

LOCAL PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD

Kirsten Holzheimer Gail Mayor City of Euclid, OH

Member Agency NEAA Awards

OPERATIONS & ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE

City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities, VA

RVAH2O Green Infrastructure Master Plan

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, WI

MMSD Freshwater Monitoring Program

Prince William County Service Authority, VA

Asset Management Analytics - Sewer Pipe Business Risk Exposure

Renewable Water Resources, SC

Dig Greenville

UTILITY LEADERSHIP

James “Jim” Herberg General Manager Orange County Sanitation District, CA

Daniel “Dan” Thompson Division Manager, Business Operations City of Tacoma Environmental Services Department, WA

PUBLIC INFORMATION & EDUCATION: EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

KC Water, MO

Water Education Program

Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, MO

MSD Project Clear Creates Warning to Fear the FOG “Official U.S. Trailer”

NEW Water, WI

The “Unflushables:” Something Had to Give!

WSSC Water, MD

Introduction to Wastewater Treatment Virtual Unit

PUBLIC INFORMATION & EDUCATION: E-MEDIA

Metro Water Recovery, CO How We Transform Wastewater

Prince William County Service Authority, VA

H2GoKids

PUBLIC INFORMATION & EDUCATION: VIDEO

Des Moines Metropolitan Wastewater Reclamation Authority, IA

Des Moines WRA Facility Tour Video Series

Eastern Municipal Water District, CA Patrick the Poo Video

Great Lakes Water Authority, MI

Where Does the Water Go? How Water Flows Through GLWA’s Regional Collection System

Hampton Roads Sanitation District, VA

Providence Road Offline Storage Facility & Woodstock Park Improvements Video

Louisville & Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District, KY

MSD Cornerstone Course and Video

Narragansett Bay Commission, RI

NBC Water Works Video

PUBLIC SERVICE

Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, MO City of Springfield, MO

KC Water, MO

Missouri Collaboration for Statewide COVID-19

Wastewater Testing Program

RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY

Hampton Roads Sanitation District, VA DC Water, DC

Taking a DETOUR for Shortcut Nitrogen Removal: Partial Denitrification-Anammox (PdNA)

LOTT Clean Water Alliance, WA

Reclaimed Water Infiltration Study

WATER RESOURCES UTILITY OF THE FUTURE

Louisville & Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District, KY

Equity in Contracting and Procurement

Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission, OR

Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) Project

WATERSHED COLLABORATION

Beckley Sanitary Board, WV

Piney Creek Watershed Monitoring Collaborative

Louisville & Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District, KY

Maple Street Greenspace – Alberta Jones Park

Metro Water Recovery, CO

South Platte River Aquatic Life/Habitat Improvements Project

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Des Moines Metropolitan Wastewater Reclamation Authority, IA

Des Moines WRA Operator Specialist Apprenticeship Program

Hampton Roads Sanitation District, VA

Hampton Roads Workforce Council, VA

HRSD Youth Summer Intensive (YSI) Program

Jefferson County Commission, AL

WRF Operator Apprenticeship Program

King County Wastewater Treatment Division, WA

Operator-in-Training Program

Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District, WI

O&M Workforce Development Program

Mount Pleasant Waterworks, SC

Mount Pleasant Waterworks Managing Team

CLEAN WATER CHAMPIONS

CLEAN WATER STEWARDS

Influence

As emerging issues arise and the landscape of clean water evolves, we are all tasked with the challenge of staying proactive and primed for the uncertainty of the future. You have the power to influence the decisions and policies that will affect your utility both now and for years to come.

Voice

As the only national association that solely represents public clean water agencies, NACWA is the collective voice of utilities from across the country. We advocate on your behalf to ensure regulators and lawmakers hear each utility’s perspective. Our members help shape national policy to benefit every community, including yours.

Connection

When you join NACWA, you are immediately connected with an unparalleled nationwide network of small, mid-size and large public utility executives to collaborate and share innovative strategies, common challenges and successful solutions.

Resources

NACWA members have access to the latest legislative, regulatory, legal, and communications expertise and analysis. We keep you informed of the significant shifts and developments in the sector, through online resources, interactive meetings and webinars presented by clean water thought-leaders and experts.

For more than fifty years NACWA has advocated on your behalf, consistently offering an unmatched return on investment. Our most valuable resource is the collective impact of our members.

Now is the time to add your voice.

For more information on membership, contact Kelly Brocato, Sr. Director of Membership at kbrocato@nacwa.org or visit nacwa.org/membership.

Join NACWA and have an active role in shaping the policies that will directly impact your utility.