Washington Report – October 16, 2023

The U.S. House and the U.S. Senate return to business this week, with the election of a new Speaker of the House topping the House agenda;
The chamber has been without an elected Speaker for nearly two weeks, and without a Speaker, legislative business cannot be conducted;
The federal government is operating under a continuing resolution (CR) in effect through Nov. 17;
The CR was passed to allow Congress more time to complete FY24 appropriations bills;
FY24 began Oct. 1 and FY24 funding measures must be passed by Congress and signed by the President by Nov. 17 to prevent a shutdown.

APWA’s first ever cybersecurity education program is coming;
The pilot program, “Foundational Cybersecurity Concepts for Public Works Professionals,” will be held from 12 p.m. until 2 p.m. ET, Oct. 24-26;
The course is for ANY public works professionals seeking to increase their understanding of how they may better protect the critical infrastructure systems and data they oversee and operate;
The pilot program will focus on:
- Helping to ensure public works professionals are better able to avoid, react to, and anticipate threats
- Providing a platform for knowledge-sharing, including real-world incidents from public works professionals
Additional information, including on how to register for the program, is available here.
The last day to register is Oct. 19.

Join the APWA Government Affairs team hosting the 6th Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) webinar, Oct. 19, and this time featuring two members of the U.S. House;
Representatives Garret Graves (R-LA-06) and Scott Peters (D-CA-50), both leaders in congressional permitting reform efforts, will discuss permitting changes included in IIJA, the debt ceiling agreement passed earlier this year, and their continued efforts to improve processes;
The webinar is free to members and nonmembers;
Register here.

Applications are being accepted under the Water and Waste Disposal Technical Assistance and Training Grants program, which helps rural communities improve household and business water and waste disposal facilities;
The program offers:
- Qualified, private nonprofit organizations with technical assistance and training to identify and evaluate solutions to disposal problems
- Assistance to communities as they prepare applications for construction financing, such as water and waste disposal loans and grants
- Improvement for associations in the operation and maintenance of water and waste disposal facilities in eligible rural areas
Applications are being accepted under the Solid Waste Management Grant program, which provides funding to reduce or eliminate pollution of water resources in rural areas, and improve planning and management of solid waste sites in rural areas;
Applications for both are due by Dec. 31, and if you need water or wastewater assistance for your community, you can also contact the Rural Community Development (RCD) grant recipient, which covers your state or region and provides training and technical assistance.

The rule requires manufacturers and importers to submit data on chemical structure, exposure, production, use, byproducts, health effects and disposal on at least 1,462 PFAS, 41 more than the proposed rule;
This finalizes EPA’s 2021 proposal and a directive from Congress to create the largest, first-ever dataset on PFAS made and used in the U.S.;
The rule’s definition of PFAS though has drawn criticism from advocates, who say it is too narrow and argue chemicals with one fully fluorinated carbon atom are PFAS though EPA estimates 23,000 more substances would be captured by that definition and says adopting it would mainly serve to significantly add reporting burdens on many substances that are not likely to cause harm similar to some of the most notorious substances;
Other changes included in the final version are less stringent reporting requirements for manufacturers and importers that made or used “small quantities” of PFAS solely for research and development, plus exemptions for certain industries, including some waste management systems that argued they are “passive receivers” of contamination;
Chemical manufacturers have said the rule “represents an unprecedented request for information”;
Most covered entities have 18 months after publication in the Federal Register to submit required data to EPA. Small manufacturers will have two years after the effective date.

EPA issued an interpretive memorandum in March that required cybersecurity assessments to be part of states’ reviews of water systems through the existing sanitary survey program and required utilities to fix any significant vulnerabilities;
If a state didn’t sufficiently fix problems, EPA said it would use its enforcement authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act to force changes;
Missouri, Iowa, Arkansas, and water groups including the American Water Works Association and National Rural Water Association challenged and the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the requirements in July;
The plaintiffs allege the move to implement the rules through interpretive guidance was illegal, and industry groups said the mandate would strain resources and duplicate measures they were already taking to protect water systems;
Despite withdrawing due to the litigation, EPA remains committed to cybersecurity and encouraged states to voluntarily review their water systems’ cybersecurity and vowed to use “available tools and resources” to address cyber threats.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced the availability of $1.8B through the following hazard mitigation grant programs:
- $1B through the Building Resilient Infrastructure Communities (BRIC) grant program, and
- $800M through the Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant program
This additional funding is available because of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)
The application period runs through Feb. 29.

FEMA released its 2024 Emergency Management Institute (EMI) virtual tabletop exercise (VTTX) schedule last week;
VTTX include key personnel from the emergency management community covering a pre-packaged set of exercise materials;
These four-hour tabletop exercises include a simulated disaster scenario;
Communities seeking to participate should submit a request to the Integrated Emergency Management Branch at fema-emi-iemb@fema.dhs.gov or to Reginald Godfrey at reginald.godfrey@fema.dhs.gov or (202) 880-0544, with the preferred date of participation.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) leads a national campaign recognizing October as National Pedestrian Safety Month;
In its fourth year, the effort is aimed at educating the public and providing resources to reduce and prevent the number of pedestrians injured or killed, which in 2021, according to NHTSA, accounted for 7,388 pedestrians in traffic crashes;
Resources are available at NHTSA Pedestrian Safety.