December 2014, Vol. 69, No. 12
Newsline
Senate Holds Hearing On Utility Of Future; NACWA Members Testify
The Senate Environment and Public Works Water and Wildlife Subcommittee held a hearing to discuss the innovative advances being made in the clean water arena as well as the challenges faced by clean water agencies that are seeking to embrace the concept of the Water Resources Utility of the Future.
Four public agency leaders and members of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) testified about their experiences in taking a more holistic approach to clean water compliance as they transition from “sewerage agencies” to “resource recovery agencies.”
Tom Sigmund, Executive Director of the Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage District in Green Bay, WI, will represent NACWA at the hearing. Also testifying are Harlan L. Kelly Jr., General Manager of San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California; Andy Kricun, Executive Director of Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority, New Jersey; and Jerry Johnson, General Manager of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission in Maryland.
As Tom Sigmund notes in his testimony, “In the 40 years since the passage of the CWA, a lot has changed: unit removal costs are high we’ve done the easy things; existing infrastructure is old and needs replacement; new regulations, especially on wet weather flows, layer on compliance costs; the federal intergovernmental financing system that underwrote so much of our past water quality gains has all but disappeared. . . . Clean water agencies are transforming the way they deliver clean water services. At the heart of this transformation is the emergence of new technologies and innovations that can stretch ratepayer improve the environment, create jobs, and stimulate the economy. The most progressive of today’s clean water agencies are defining what is
meant by the Water Resources Utility of the Future (UOTF).”
The hearing, entitled “Innovation and the Utilities of the Future: How Local Water Treatment Facilities are Leading the Way to Better Manage Wastewater and Water Supplies” was held on December 2, 2014 at 9:30AM in 406 Dirksen, the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Hearing Room. Please direct any questions to Pat Sinicropi at psinicropi@nacwa.org.
Testimony should be available on the EPW website.
Comments