August 2014 CASA Connects

SAVE THE DATE:

October 16 & 23, 2014

Funding Opportunities in the Wastewater Sector Seminars

January 21-23, 2015

September 5, 2014

October 8, 2014

& January 14, 2015

Congratulations to CASA’s New Officers and Board Members

CASA Concludes Successful 59th Annual Conference, Presentations and Materials Now Available

Last week, over 300 members traveled to Monterey to attend CASA’s 59th Annual Conference.  During the event, members were given the opportunity to participate in committee and workgroup meetings, attend several presentations on issues such the recently adopted water bond and emerging environmental challenges, and engage with an expert panel on regional collaboration. This year’s conference focused on topics relevant to CASA member agencies, including the state of the water and wastewater industry in the United States, new infrastructure finance mechanisms, and sustainable practices.

Members who are interested in downloading materials from the Conference may do so by clicking here.

The Bay Planning Coalition will be hosting an all day Energy and Water Nexus Summit on Friday, September 5th at the PG&E Auditorium in San Francisco.  Attendees will be provided with the opportunity to gain insight from elite guest speakers and panelists which will include: Wade Crowfoot, Deputy Cabinet Secretary & Senior Advisor to Governor Brown; Felicia Marcus, Chair of the State Water Resources Control Board; Nancy Skinner, California State Assembly Member; and more. Speakers and panelists will focus on the 2014 Water Bond, emerging renewable energy opportunities, and other crucial topics surrounding energy and water policies.

To get more information and register for the Summit, click here.

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN: CASA to Host Two, One-Day Seminars on Funding Opportunities in the Wastewater Sector

Date: Thursday, Oct 16, 2014 Time: 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Location: Orange County Sanitation District Click here to register

Date: Thursday, Oct 23, 2014 Time: 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Location: Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District Click here to register

AB 371 Defeated: Bill to Mandate Additional Testing on Biosolids in Kern County Done for the Year

The California Legislature passed a $7.5 billion water bond on August 13th, barely meeting the deadline for the November ballot.  The measure, which passed unanimously in the Senate and with a 77 to 1 vote in the Assembly, will allocate $725 million of dedicated funding for water recycling projects and activities.  Other categories will include groundwater sustainability funding, storage, stormwater capture, and more.

Most recently, CASA joined several other organizations to express our support for the allocation of dedicated funding for recycled water.  As one of the most sustainable, environmentally sound water resources available to the state, CASA member agencies will significantly benefit from this new funding in the California Water Bond.  During CASA’s 59th Annual Conference, organizations like the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), and Eastern Municipal Water District presented an overview and highlighted the impacts of the California Water Bond.  Caitrin Chapelle of the PPIC warned against treating the bond as a cure all, noting that even if the new bond passes, agencies will continue to “face funding challenges” due to the needs of California’s water system.

To read more about the California Water Bond, click here.

California Legislature Aims to Wrap Up 2013 – 2014 Session

Although the Constitutional deadline to pass bills is Sunday, August 31 at midnight, the Legislature is expected to wrap up all remaining business for the 2013-14 Session tonight, with final adjournment expected in the early hours of Saturday morning.  The final two weeks of the Legislative Session were devoted to lengthy floor debate in each house, wherein hundreds of remaining pieces of Legislation were considered.  CASA was involved with several measures that remained in the final days of Session, including some which emerged as completely new bills in the final week. Two of these so-called “gut and amends,” which CASA opposed, included a measure requiring that only certified personnel would be allowed to apply protective coatings and linings on steel and concrete for public works projects, and another measure that could potentially lead to an increase in citizen suits under the Clean Water Act.  These and several other last minute  bills have generated contentious and fast paced ongoing negotiations that will last into the final hours tonight.  Upon final adjournment, the Governor has until September 30 to act on all bills sent to him in the final weeks of the Session.

USEPA Announces Changes at Senior Management Level

USEPA Administrator Gina McCarthy recently announced a series of personnel changes at the agency’s senior management level.  The action follows the early August announcement that Deputy Administrator Robert Perciasepe would be leaving the agency in August.  Following the Perciasepe decision, Acting Assistant Administrator of the Office of Water, Nancy Stoner, notified the Administrator that she was stepping down after several years serving as the chief water official at the agency.  The Administrator took the opportunity to announce that Kenneth Kopocis, the President’s nominee to serve as Assistant Administrator of the Office of Water, would become the Deputy Assistant Administrator of the Office of Water.  The action is considered a decision to make Kopocis the de-facto head of the Office given the inability of the Senate to consider the nomination because of policy disputes surrounding proposals to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and waters of the U.S.