Document 2ydV4XRbBRDyG9mvownbOL4p

NACWA January 4,2018 Dear Administrator Pruitt, The National Association o f Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) would welcome the opportunity for the Association's Executive Committee - made up o f senior leaders o f public clean water utilities from across the country - to meet with you and discuss several critical issues currently impacting the regulated public clean water utility sector. NACWA advocates on behalf o f public wastewater treatment and stormwater management agencies, with nearly 300 public utility members nationwide representing a wide diversity o f geographic location and utility size. NACWA members are on the front lines o f implementing the Clean Water Act (CWA) and are among the most heavily regulated dischargers under the CWA. The primary mission o f our utility members is protecting public health and the environment, which we do by collecting and treating the majority o f wastewater generated each day in the United States. NACWA applauds your commitment to meeting with entities regulated by EPA, and agrees with your position that it is important for EPA to listen to the stakeholders that must implement the regulations developed by the Agency. As you complete you first year as Administrator, we believe a direct meeting with our leadership highly regulated municipal utilities whose work is critical for both environmental protection and economic development - would provide you with a valuable and necessary stakeholder perspective. As outlined in our previous letter to you from September 27, NACWA very much appreciates the meetings we have had thus far with your career and political staff but it is critical at this point for a meeting directly with you. Key topics we wish to discuss with you are infrastructure funding and regulatory reform. NACWA greatly appreciates your efforts as Administrator to protect federal funding for municipal clean water utilities, especially the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund. This is a critical source o f funding for many o f NACWA's members to meet their CWA obligations. As President Trump prepares to roll out his infrastructure proposal, we look forward to continued work with EPA to preserve and increase funding mechanisms for clean water infrastructure. We also appreciate your focus on smart regulatory reform o f existing CWA regulations. As NACWA previously mentioned in our comments to EPA's regulatory reform docket, there are opportunities to improve CWA implementation that would reduce the burden on our public member utilities, as well as the ratepayers they serve, while ensuring maximum flexibility at the local level to prioritize competing compliance requirements and improve environmental and public health protections. Additionally, we would like to share with you how many clean water agencies are now innovating beyond just achieving CWA compliance to become Water Resources Utilities o f the Future, endeavoring to become agents o f innovation, economic growth, and technological advancements. We believe you would benefit from meeting with some o f our utility leaders directly and hearing first-hand about this important progress being made by N&tkmsi of Chirn W atsr A g lid es 1816 k fW w : P!;:e.} NW vV..kahi:'p;ii>:>i`: DC 20D3& 3S0S p 202,833.2( 72 i 2.02..S 3 ':>.4ii. vvV A V .U iK .V C i: o v , W W W U lW ii.. Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 5 ED 002061 00096850-00001 the municipal clean water utility sector, as well as some o f the areas where EPA action could further enhance these efforts. We look forward to meeting with you as soon as possible to discuss these issues further. Please don't hesitate to contact Adam Krantz at 202-833-4651 or akrantz@nacwa.org to schedule a meeting. Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to working with you to improve our nation's water resources and continuing the productive history o f collaboration between EPA and NACWA. Sincerely, David St. Pierre NACWA President Executive Director, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District o f Greater Chicago Adam Krantz NACWA Chief Executive Officer CC: David Ross Susan Bodine Sarah Greenwalt Lee Forsgren Andrews Sawyers Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 5 ED 002061 00096850-00002