Washington Report – April 15, 2024

The U.S. House and Senate are not scheduled to be in session during the week of April 22 so the Washington Report will next publish April 29. Follow APWA Government Affairs on X and LinkedIn for updates.

APWA Joins ‘Save the SRFs’ Coalition to Protect Water Funding

• The Save the SRFs Coalition is composed of state agencies, associations, and other partners that support the pledge to fully fund the Clean Water and Drinking Water SRFs at congressionally authorized levels of $3.25B each for 2025;
• The coalition seeks to increase public and policymaker awareness of the importance of full funding for both accounts and the impact of diverting funds for earmarks.

EPA Finalizes PFAS Drinking Water Standards

• This is the first-ever, national, legally enforceable drinking water standards for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and part of the PFAS Strategic Roadmap;
  • PFOA and PFOS will be regulated as individual contaminants with maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) of 4 parts per trillion (ppt) while PFNA, PFHxS, and GenX chemicals will be regulated at 10 ppt
  • PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS, and GenX Chemicals will also be regulated using a hazard index to account for combined and co-occurring levels of PFAS, which cumulatively could have health impacts even if each individual chemical comes in below its limit
  • Public water systems have 3 years to complete initial monitoring (by 2027), which will be followed by ongoing compliance monitoring and systems must provide the public with information on the levels of these PFAS in their drinking water beginning in 2027
  • Systems also have until 2029 to implement solutions that reduce PFAS if monitoring shows that levels exceed MCLs and, beginning in 5 years, systems that violate any of these MCLs must take action to reduce PFAS levels and notify the public of the violation
• EPA says 6,700 of the 66,000 public drinking water systems may have to take action to reduce PFAS to meet the new standards and the rule will cost $1.5B/year to implement, twice what EPA said the proposed rule would cost;
• While the finalized rule notes higher costs than the proposed rule it still does not accurately capture the costs of compliance based on studies and implementation of varying standards at the state level, which may invite legal challenges;
• Simultaneous with the press release, EPA announced $1B in additional funding to address PFAS in drinking water and provided a toolkit of communications resources for water systems;
• EPA has promised continued engagement through the course of implementation and encourages systems to take advantage of water technical assistance for help especially for small, rural, and disadvantaged communities.

House Passes Landmark Workforce Development Re-Authorization Legislation

• In an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote (378-26), the U.S. House passed H.R. 6655, A Stronger Workforce for America Act to re-authorize the 2014 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA);
• While the Senate has yet to consider the proposal, the House vote marks the first concrete step towards re-upping the 2014 law, as previous attempts to introduce the bill failed (the last attempt came in 2022);
• The House bill would heighten accountability for job-training providers and state and local workforce boards
  • It would also expand the use of training accounts for individuals to access programs to enhance job skills
• The core of WIOA is administered by the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the U.S. Department of Labor;
• APWA will continue to track the progress of this and other workforce-related legislation.

Next APWA IIJA Webinar with CISA, April 23

• Learn how the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) impacts public works with a free webinar;
• Tune in at 11 a.m. ET, April 23, to hear Alaina Clark, CISA’s Assistant Director for Stakeholder Engagement, speak about the agency’s role in protecting critical infrastructure and its impact to public works;
• Register for the webinar here.

Homeland Security Seeking ENS Information Collection Comments

• The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is seeking feedback on how to streamline the Emergency Notification System (ENS);
• Use the Federal eRulemaking Portal and include the docket ID: FEMA-2024-0009 to provide feedback;
• The deadline to submit comments is June 10.

FTA Updates Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans Regulation

• The Federal Transit Agency (FTA) has issued an updated regulation on Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans;
• Additionally, the National Public Transportation Safety Plan (2024) was revised;
• Updates include seven new safety performance measures for all transit providers, performance measures for a safety risk reduction program, and voluntary minimum safety and performance standards of public transportation systems.

National Work Zone Awareness Week—April 15-19

• This week is National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW);
• NWZAW, established in 1999, is focused on protecting workers in highway work zones by educating drivers to exercise extra caution when approaching highway work zones.

On the Horizon

All times ET.

• April 16 at 10 a.m., the House Committee on Homeland Security will hold a hearing to review the President’s FY25 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS);
• April 16 at 10:15 a.m., the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a hearing on Artificial Intelligence in Transportation;
• April 17 at 10 a.m., the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee’s Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials will hold a hearing on Getting to Work: Examining Challenges and Solutions in the Commuter Rail Industry;
• April 17 at 10:30 a.m., the House Appropriations Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee will hold a hearing on FY2025 Request for the Army Corps of Engineers (Civil Works) and the Bureau of Reclamation;
• April 18 at 10 a.m., the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing to review the President’s FY25 budget request for DHS;
• April 22 at 2 p.m., the National Weather Service (NWS) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) will host a webinar on the NWS HeatRisk tool;
• April 23 at 4 p.m., Road to Zero and the National Highway Traffic Safety Admin. will host a webinar about April being Distracted Driver Awareness Month. Register here;
• April 24 at 1 p.m., the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) will host a webinar on Building Resilience, The Power of Multifactor Authentication in Public Safety Communications.

Explore APWA’s Member Advocacy Tools:

• APWA Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Resource page
• APWA Government Affairs LinkedIn
• APWA Government Affairs on X
• 118th Congress Public Policy Priorities and Policymaker Primers
• Legislative Action Center
• “What is Public Works?”
• Tell Your Story
• Public Works Research