President Trump signed the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2018 (H.R 7279) on January 14, 2019. The bill codifies EPA's current Integrated Planning and Permitting Policy to allow municipalities to develop a plan that integrates wastewater and stormwater management. A summary of the bill can be found here, including a link to the entire bill.

An amendment to the Clean Water Act enacted by Congress eight years ago clarified that federal facilities can pay "reasonable" stormwater utility fees.  But that issue remains in dispute in Wilmington, DE.  Although the validity of the fee has not yet been determined based on its merits, an order of a federal judge instructed the military to explain how it determined it was not required to pay reasonable fees used to control stormwater pollution, rejecting the Justice Department's arguments that documents sought by the City are subject to attorney-client privilege and are not relevant to the litigation.

In July 2018, SESWA published an article identifying potential issues on how the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) is interpreting language in the U.S. EPA Phase II Remand Rule.  Specifically, FDEP is attempting to introduce new permit requirements related to TMDLs through the Notice of Intent (NOI) process without modifying, through appropriate rulemaking under Florida law, the Statewide Phase II Generic Permit.  In Florida, Phase II MS4 permittees must meet the requirements of the Statewide Generic Permit which outlines the six minimum measures and specific language relative to TMDL implementation.  Since the July 2018 article, a number of Phase II MS4 permittees met with FDEP to encourage the agency to go through proper rulemaking as outlined under Florida Statutes, and not to rely on authority the agency interprets as coming from the adoption of the U.S. EPA Remand Rule "by reference" - an expedited optional process in Florida law.  Through negotiation, the Phase II entities have been successful in that FDEP will now go through rulemaking.  This will assure that the TMDL implementation requirements for Phase II permittees will be consistent statewide, and reasonably reflect the contributions of the Phase II permittees in the needed reductions.

North Carolina's Construction General Permit has been delayed until March 1st as NCDEQ works on some online documentation processes. The permit will not change much but its administration will experience some significant changes. Most notably, permittees will need to obtain permit coverage through an online Notice of Intent application process.  Previously, permittees applying for and complying with the State's legacy Erosion and Sediment Control program received parallel coverage with an additional application. NCDEQ has prepared a summary of the changes permittees should be aware of in the new general permit.