Looking Back at 2021
As I look back on 2021, there are many accomplishments of which ASDWA members and staff can be very proud. In our second year of the COVID-19 Pandemic our list of accomplishments is long. At the top of the list is the successful completion of our virtual Member Meeting and the Annual Conference. Although I know we all missed the in-person interaction with other ASDWA members, one of the benefits of the virtual format was the opportunity for more state staff to participate. We had 300 attendees at the Annual Member Meeting in March and over 300 participated in the October Annual Conference. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all the State staff that provided presentations at both events, and to the ASDWA staff for their outstanding coordination and technical support. ASDWA is a stronger organization because of your efforts. Because of our success conducting virtual events, I anticipate future meetings will continue to have a virtual component to provide opportunities for maximum state participation.
The most notable achievement of 2021 was the work completed for the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR). ASDWA established 8 workgroups comprised of state staff subject matter experts to review and comment on the various components of the LCRR. A BIG thank you goes out to the 123 staff representing 27 states that participated in one or more of the workgroups. The saying “many hands make light work” is certainly true when it comes to implementation of the LCRR.
Other accomplishments of note during 2021 include continuation of the “Everything But The Bagel” series, enhanced visibility on The Hill, support for state PFAS MCL development, and successful submission and approval of an application for an EPA Innovation Grant through the Office of Research and Development. The Innovation Grant will look at approaches states can take to streamline the review and approval of new technologies for small systems and private wells, while insuring public health protection. ASDWA is the lead organization on this initiative in partnership with the Water Research Foundation, the Rural Community Assistance program, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. A Workgroup of 14 states also provides support to the project. I look forward to hearing more about this project over the next 3 years.
We said farewell to Tom Maves and Wendi Wilkes in 2021. Tom is now in Florida enjoying a well-deserved retirement and Wendi departed ASDWA to continue her career in water at EPA. We all wish them the very best.
Looking ahead to 2022, we are in good hands with Lori Mathieu as our next President. Thank you for the opportunity to represent ASDWA as your President this past year. It has been my distinct pleasure to work with the ASDWA staff, Board, committees, and members. You are an amazing group of people. I am continually impressed with the passion you all demonstrate every day to protect the health and welfare of the people served by public water supply systems across the country.
Looking to the Horizon
Looking ahead to the year 2022, ASDWA and drinking water administers face extraordinary opportunities and challenges. I feel so honored to be in this space during this year to work with each of you, and the excellent ASDWA staff as we navigate the significant workload that lies ahead. COVID-19 has interrupted our work and our lives for two years; however, we have found a way forward and we are emerging as stronger individuals and as a stronger organization. Together we can shape and guide how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s historic and largest investment in public drinking water is spent and invested. Together we can work with each other and EPA to guide this unprecedented investment and work to address and incorporate the new Lead and Copper Rule. We work in a special moment in time where the decisions that we make today will have long lasting impact to safe drinking water, protecting public health and maintaining a high level of public trust in public drinking water. Thank you, Cathy Tucker-Vogel, for your thoughtful leadership through a very challenging year. I look forward to working with Cathy, Bill Moody, the ASDWA Board, ASDWA staff, and all Administrators as we provide safe drinking water.
2021 Brought Changes in the Tide
With the ebb and flow of the ongoing pandemic and COVID-19 variants, ASDWA has remained flexible, adaptable, and creative in its operations, all while staying at the helm on drinking water regulatory and emerging issues. This year, ASDWA used its staff and membership to address the proposed revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR), continued to share information, provide comments, release published material on emerging contaminants such as PFAS, and voice concerns over existing regulations, including the Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), the fifth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 5), and the fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5).
ASDWA continued the majority of its convenings remotely, bringing together state drinking water programs at record numbers for the 2021 Member Meeting and Annual Conference. ASDWA rose to meet the challenge of virtual meeting fatigue by hosting its first hybrid Board Meeting during the summer with a combination of in-person and virtual attendance. As the country continues to paddle together towards a healthier future undoubtedly on the horizon, ASDWA will continue to test the waters with future hybrid meetings to maximize attendance, improve networking opportunities, and promote safety precautions.
A Lifeline For the Cyber Security Swell
This year cybersecurity, which has always been a concern in the water sector, quickly became a national priority. With cybersecurity receiving more attention from Congress and EPA and cyber-attacks exponentially increasing, ASDWA has made addressing cybersecurity one of its core focuses. Despite the growing awareness of cybersecurity as an emerging threat, the water and wastewater sector continue to experience cyber-attacks at an alarming frequency, including ransomware and exploits of Industrial Control System vulnerabilities.
Given this increasingly dangerous issue and the support from our membership, ASDWA established a series of virtual cybersecurity trainings in partnership with the American Water Works Association (AWWA). The trainings were intended to provide state staff with basic cybersecurity knowledge, covering the threat environment, regulatory requirements, tools available, and the growing need for increased cybersecurity. The cybersecurity trainings were offered to nearly 170 drinking water primacy agency staff, with an even spread of virtual attendees from across the country.
Riding the Wave of Initiatives
LCRR
At the start of the year, ASDWA formed eight workgroups to tackle the ambitious revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR). These workgroups used the knowledge and expertise of ASDWA’s membership to develop letters for EPA on the different components of the LCRR and suggested changes to improve primacy agency implementation. The workgroups, made up of over 100 state volunteers from 27 states, produced a series of six letters for EPA on the different pieces of the LCRR and suggestions from the primacy agencies to make implementation of the proposed rule more realistic.
Additional Regulatory Initiatives
Resiliency Summit
ASDWA used its Security Committee to identify the most pressing drinking water security issues facing state programs that led to the first Resiliency Summit. This Summit brought together over 150 state employees, EPA, and partners: AWWA and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to discuss projects and strategies federal organizations and states are using to address chemical supply chain issues, drought, and cybersecurity.
Innovations Project
ASDWA, in partnership with the Water Research Foundation, Rural Community Assistance Partnership, and University of Massachusetts initiated a research project, through EPA’s Office of Research and Development, with the intent to develop and validate approaches that states can use to obtain approval for new or alternative technologies for very small drinking water systems. ASDWA's research will expand our understanding of barriers to innovative treatment technologies approvals and will explore collaborative solutions to minimize state-by-state testing protocols without compromising public health protection.
Seeking and Sharing Treasure
PFAS
ASDWA worked with 15 states to develop its Lessons Learned from States and Challenges Ahead in Setting State-Level Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Standards. The White Paper provides an overview of current state PFAS efforts and seven topic sections on the key components of the regulatory setting process for states that are developing or considering developing PFAS drinking water Maximum Contaminant Level regulatory standards/guidelines or want to take other actions to assess and address PFAS.
Source Water Protection
ASDWA partnered with the Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC) to develop its Progress Report on Agriculture and Forestry Coordination since the Passage of the 2018 Farm Bill. The report covers our collective efforts to share information about the accomplishments of state source water protection (SWP) programs in coordination with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), state foresters, the US Forest Service (USFS) and other partners, as well as challenges and tips for success with state examples of potential solutions for making further progress.
Legionella
The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) partnered with ASDWA to develop the Legionella Communications Factsheet, which provides information that state health agency and state environment agency staff can use when talking to building and facility personnel about Legionella and other opportunistic biofilm pathogens. The Factsheet provides information to increase building owner awareness of the potential for pathogens to grow in building water systems, including resources that can help them reduce or minimize pathogen growth in their plumbing, and outline proactive Legionella-related communications methods for state agencies to consider.
Wave of Funding
In November, Congress passed the single largest investment in water that the federal government has ever made, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The sweeping bipartisan infrastructure package supports $1.2 trillion for public transportation, roads, bridges, ports, railways, power grids, broadband internet, and water systems. The $55 billion in water infrastructure funding will go towards lead service line removal, tackling PFAS contamination, and needed infrastructure improvements for water and wastewater systems.
The BIL includes $11.7 billion to the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF), $15 billion to the Drinking Water SRF for Lead Service Line Replacement, $4 billion to the Drinking Water SRF for Emerging Contaminants, and $5 billion to Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Grants to address emerging contaminants. With this exciting and historic use of resources to improve the nation’s drinking water, ASDWA and its membership are looking forward to working with EPA and partners on the implementation of this new funding.
From Your Captain
With the last three years in our wake, I note that “change” and “uncertainty” were the main themes. As I chart our course ahead, I continue to anticipate some significant chop. We are still figuring out how to best meet the needs of ASDWA’s members during this transition that never seems to end. How can ASDWA provide forums and events that maintain the relationships and connections that we used to build at in-person meetings? In 2021, we continued the monthly “Everything But the Bagel” series and the Summer Book Club. We will continue to be nimble and innovative and we will challenge ourselves to think about how to best communicate with the primacy agencies and to provide events to grow connections.
The cyclical processes of the SDWA regulations continued and as you know, cybersecurity became a key issue in 2021. But the white whale was a series of stakeholder meetings on the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) and a decision by EPA to keep the existing LCRR in place, while, at the same time, immediately start on the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI). It is confusing to say the least!
In addition to these efforts on SDWA regulatory processes, we had to shore up to address the priorities of new Administration such as environmental justice and equity, and the Federal funding in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Drinking water programs will be getting an injection of funds over the next five years – more than the total of the DWSRF capitalization grants since its inception 25 years ago!
My deepest thanks Tom Maves and Wendi Wilkes for their valued service to ASDWA and with their departures brings our chance to tap into the experience and fresh thinking that our new employees Stephanie Schlea and Ashley Voskuhl bring aboard. I am also grateful for the support of ASDWA’s members and the sage advice that I get from you on a regular basis. I am looking forward to working with Lori Mathieu and the rest of the ASDWA Board in 2022 and am especially looking forward to seeing ASDWA’s members in person soon.
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