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CASA Opens New Headquarters Office!
Effective July 1, 2013 CASA will move into its new office in downtown Sacramento. The new office is within easy walking distance to both the State Capitol and the Cal EPA building.
Our website address, e-mail address nor our phone number are changing. We invite our members to stop by the CASA office when you are in Sacramento.
California Association
of Sanitation Agencies
1225 Eighth Street
Suite 595
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 446-0388
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CASA’s 58th Annual Conference to be Held in San Diego
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Registration is open and final program development is underway with a strong line-up of speakers with presentations focused on the utility of tomorrow. Themed, Leading a Utility in Changing Times – Exploring Innovation, sessions will focus on innovation in California’s clean water agencies. Real life success stories will be combined with thoughtful forward thinking sessions on renewable resources – water, energy and biosolids. The conference will include a session on building your organization’s leadership team, which will be a great opportunity for governing officials to learn how to identify leaders and attract new staff.
To encourage an opportunity for fun networking, CASA is working with PETCO Park to allow CASA attendees to purchase discounted tickets to the Friday, August 23, 2013 game with the San Diego Padres taking on the Chicago Cubs.
Make reservations now to be in San Diego from August 21 – August 24, 2013 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt for CASA’s 58th Annual Conference.
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CASA to Participate in White House Forum on Infrastructure Financing
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The Council on Environmental Quality is convening a forum of experts drawn from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the President’s National Economic Council and the Government Accountability Office to brief national leaders on the future of innovative and alternative financing for water infrastructure. As the leading voice for California’s wastewater agencies, CASA has been invited to participate in the session, which will also include representatives of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies and the Water Environment Federation. Read more.
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CASA and Tri-TAC Submit Informal Comments on Three Biological Objectives Draft Technical Documents, Continue to Participate in Policy Development
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On June 19, 2013, CASA and Tri-TAC provided comments on three biological objectives draft technical documents (Assessing Reference Network Performance, Maximizing the Applicability of Bioassessment Scoring Tools in Environmentally Complex Regions, and Causal Assessment Evaluation and Guidance for California) prepared for the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board). All three of these draft documents are intended to assist State Water Board staff with the development of a statewide biological objective policy, a policy that will ultimately provide narrative or numeric benchmarks that describe conditions to protect aquatic life beneficial uses. Read more.
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Federal Climate Change Update
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Following through on a campaign commitment to address climate change President Barack Obama laid out his plan this week without the input of Congress. After years of congressional debate over whether climate change is impacting the nation, the Administration has decided to implement a strategy to bypass Congress and through Executive Orders impose new standards on coal burning utilities among other regulatory initiatives. In addition to the regulatory approach, the plan seeks to use various federal programs to jump start innovative energy technologies. Within the plan, a thrust of the effort is to direct federal agencies to work with local coastal communities to address the impacts of rising sea levels on infrastructure. Read more.
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Public Records Act Developments – New Legislation in Play
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Early in June, as the Joint Budget Conference Committee wrapped up its deliberations, language originally proposed in the Governor’s January Budget that suspended the State’s obligation to repay local governments for certain compliance provisions in the Public Records Act was adopted and placed in the general government Budget Trailer bill, AB 76. Interestingly, during the months-long Subcommittee and Conference Committee process no groups were recorded as opposing the language and it was agreed upon as a noncontroversial item, supported by both Democrats and Republicans. Read more.
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CASA Presents Resource Alignment Proposals to the State Water Resources Control Board, Receives Positive Feedback on Efforts to Date
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On June 18, 2013, CASA representatives presented members of the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) with a revised draft of proposals to reduce the costs of compliance with regulatory requirements as part of ongoing involvement with the “resource alignment” initiative. CASA initially submitted draft proposals in February and May of 2013, and in the intervening months we have refined and focused those proposals into a document that details several important concepts as well as cost savings estimates, specific examples and potential implementation approaches. If implemented, these ideas could maximize the utility of permitted compliance actions and could allow agencies to focus their resources in a more efficient manner. Read more.
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Layperson’s Guide to Wastewater Now Available
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The Water Education Foundation (Foundation) has announced the release of the Layperson’s Guide to California Wastewater. Through funding made possible by CASA, Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District and the Clean Water Summit Partners, the 28-page guide is an in-depth, easy-to-understand publication that provides background information on the history of wastewater treatment and how wastewater is collected, conveyed, treated and disposed of today. CASA contributed to the development of the guide in recognition of the need to have a credible, readable resource on wastewater. Though CASA staff and members provided input, the Foundation exercised editorial control, as with all their layperson’s guides, and is responsible for the final content. Read more.
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