Regulations and Legislation Features, Insights, & Analysis
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Congress Ends The Year With A Splash
12/20/2019
Congress ended 2019 with a splash, culminating in a budget for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY-20), House passage of the U.S-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on trade, and impeachment of the President of the United States.
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What To Watch As The Texas Legislature Takes Up Climate, Energy, Water, And More
4/23/2019
We’re past the midpoint of the Texas legislative session and the bill filing deadline is behind us. Because the legislature only meets for five months every other year, there’s a lot to accomplish in a short span.
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EPA's Looming Risk Resilience Assessment (RRA) And Emergency Response Plan (ERP): What You Need To Know
4/11/2019
The U.S. EPA has a new Risk Resilience Assessment (RRA) and Emergency Response Plan (ERP) compliance deadline coming for water systems across America. These key plans are set to come due in 2020 and 2021 with varying deadlines as per the size of the utility’s service areas. This article will give you tips to be ready for the EPA deadlines.
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How The EPA Reacts To A Government Shutdown
12/15/2018
Did you know that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had a published Contingency Plan in anticipation of the current government shutdown? I guess in hindsight, you would have expected it for an agency with 134 facilities dotted across the country. And in fact, it’s required by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under Circular A-11, Section 124 that all government agencies have plans for an orderly shutdown “in the event of an absence of appropriations.”
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Getting Serious About Lead Service Line Replacement
10/29/2018
It has been 32 years since the amended Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) banned the installation of lead pipes in water systems nationwide. Unfortunately, that decision has not yet translated into action for every lead service line (LSL) installed before that point. Fortunately, someone has done a lot of legwork toward getting a handle on that process. Here is a preview of the help they have to offer.
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Activated Sludge Treatment In A Municipal Sewage Treatment Plant
8/1/2018
A design/build contractor needed a quiet, efficient aeration system for a 250,000 GPD field erected WWTP that was to be located adjacent to a school. A restriction on ambient noise at the location of the proposed WWTP required a quiet aeration process. Read the full case study to discover how Mazzei solved the problem.
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New Hope For Water Infrastructure Funding
3/23/2018
America has very frightening water problems. The country’s resources are inadequate in many states. Water quality is so poor in some areas that citizens are in danger. Another Flint, MI, could occur at any time. Water pipelines passed their anticipated life expectancy decades ago in about 80 percent of the country. If ever we should be focusing on water infrastructure, it is now.
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U.S. Water Strategy: Think Locally, Act Globally
1/24/2018
A new plan has been created by the U.S. government to bring safe drinking water, sanitation services, sustainability, and resiliency to the world’s most water-stressed countries, with benefits for the U.S. as well.
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Three Common Compliance Errors And How To Avoid Them
1/16/2018
Wastewater treatment operators spend countless hours working diligently to ensure their effluent complies with state and federal regulations. But some common errors can get in the way of their best efforts.
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3 Things My Climate-Skeptic Dad Taught Me About Clean Energy Advocacy
12/13/2017
As an advocate for the air, water, and economic benefits that clean energy provides, I find some of my most challenging — and maybe most rewarding — work is trying to engage climate-skeptic lawmakers at the Texas Capitol in Austin.