An updated “common-sense” definition for what the phrase “waters of the United States” means under the Clean Water Act (CWA) has been proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The proposal follows the Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency in favor of Idaho landowners who sued USEPA over its CWA interpretation that classified the Sacketts’ property as a wetland. The key proposed revisions to the WOTUS Read More
Proposed Changes Aim to Reduce PFAS Reporting Burden
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has announced a proposal to improve its perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) reporting regulations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The goal of the proposed changes is to make the reporting requirements more practical and implementable. The update aims to improve a Biden Administration era PFAS reporting and recordkeeping regulation under TSCA section 8(a)(7) that required manufacturers and importers of PFAS to Read More
New Cybersecurity Tools for Water Systems
Water systems have access to new and updated tools to help prevent and respond to cybersecurity incidents. The U.S. Environmental Agency (USEPA) tools can assist public drinking water and wastewater systems by protecting access to safe water and aid systems conducting risk and emergency planning for cybersecurity. To better address potential vulnerabilities and ensure all water systems have the best information and emergency safeguards available to maintain protection for drinking water and Read More
How Does Your State’s UCMR5 Lithium Results Compare?
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) recently published its ninth set of national drinking water data collected under the fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5). The UCMR 5 requires sample collection for 30 chemical contaminants between 2023 and 2025. The collected data helps measure the amount of lithium in the nation’s drinking water as well as 29 Read More
Federal Shutdown Halts NRWA Circuit Rider Program
The National Rural Water Association (NRWA) pleaded for the Federal government shutdown to end, as the organization’s Circuit Rider Program faced a “stop work order” on November 1. NRWA issued a news release on October 30, one day shy of the one-month mark since the shutdown began. “The Circuit Rider Program is a cornerstone of Read More
PFAS Study Indicates Widespread Contamination
Researchers at the PFAS Project Lab at Northeastern University have made an unsettling discovery – per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in the United States is more widespread than previously thought. Researchers at the PFAS Project Lab released updates to their Known PFAS Contamination Site Tracker and the Presumptive PFAS Contamination Dataset. The tools identify Read More