ASDWA Member Meeting Held Last Week

March 24, 2017 Anthony DeRosa

ASDWA would like to extend a big “Thank You!” to all of you who were able to come to the Member Meeting held last week in Alexandria, VA. Approximately 130 participants attended the meeting representing 42 states, all ten EPA Regions, and EPA Headquarters. Highlights from the meeting included:

An opening welcome from Randy Ellingboe, ASDWA President and Administrator of Minnesota’s Drinking Water Program who highlighted the need to emphasize the value and importance of drinking water as we face a vast array of water system challenges that can cause potential disruptions for schools and services;
Introductory remarks from Mike Shapiro, the Acting Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Water, and Peter Grevatt, the Director of EPA’s Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, who spoke about the importance of our work during this time of political transition, budgets, and policy, as well as the continuing need for states and EPA to work together to address lead issues, aging infrastructure, and move forward with electronic reporting;
Remarks from Tom Poy, the Drinking Water Branch Chief for EPA Region 5, who provided an update on continuing efforts to address the lead problem in Flint Michigan, as well as work in additional areas to address HABs, emerging contaminants, and other issues;
Partner organization perspectives from the Environmental Council of States (ECOS). the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), and the American Water Works Association (AWWA) on drinking water challenges, the federal budget, state program funding and infrastructure needs, risk communication on PFCs, and USDA funding for source water protection.
Many other presentations and discussions from and between state drinking water programs and representatives of EPA on all aspects of drinking water including: emergency preparedness and resiliency, infrastructure funding, source water protection, data management and enforcement, rule development and implementation, small systems and sustainability.
Special sessions for states to discuss the direction of the Trump Administration, as well as member communications and enagement.

ASDWA will be providing the presentations and summaries from the meeting to our members in the near future. Stay tuned!