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Happy New Year!
As we continue into 2025, we want to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude to each and every one of you. Your continued support and dedication have been the foundation of CASA’s success, and we are excited to carry that momentum into the new year. Take a look back at our Year in Review Summary and Graphic, which highlight some of our many achievements in 2024. We truly appreciate your unwavering commitment to California’s clean water community and we look forward to seeing you next week in-person at our Winter Conference in Palm Springs.
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CASA Winter Conference: Sold Out
Thanks to the incredible support of our members, we are completely sold out for the CASA Winter Conference this year! This is the first time in recent memory we have had to cap registration, so we thank you for your understanding. Looking ahead, we're excited to share that next year we'll be hosting our event at a larger venue, and we can’t wait to welcome all who are interested in joining us. Be sure to mark your calendars and join us July 30 - August 1, for our 70th Annual Conference in beautiful San Diego.
We look forward to seeing you next week in Palm Springs for what is sure what to be a memorable event!
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CASA Washington D.C. Policy Forum
Registration is open for the 2025 Washington D.C. Policy Forum. This year’s event will feature an excellent program with speakers that include Congressional staff, reporters, and national water association leaders providing their perspective on what to expect in the coming term and other developments of importance to California’s clean water professionals. We have again set aside time for agencies to make their own appointments for Congressional visits, with the assistance of our federal advocates Eric and Sarah Sapirstein. Join us in Washington D.C. to strengthen our advocacy and promote our collective federal agenda on February 24-25, 2025. We hope to see you there!
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Resources Available for Wastewater Agencies Affected by Fires
CASA would like to express our deepest sympathy and solidarity with all those who have been impacted by the recent fires in Los Angeles. We understand the tremendous challenges that the recent fires have brought to many communities and recognize the impact these events may have had on your agency and the essential services you provide.
Joe Schiavone at the City of Santa Rosa, who has been involved in several FEMA fire responses for water and wastewater utilities, including in Santa Rosa, Maui and the Marshall Fire in Colorado has offered to consult with any agencies in need. Their City Manager and Emergency Coordinator are also available to provide assistance beyond the scope of water/wastewater – and have been involved with this type of peer-to-peer assistance several times before.
Please email us directly and let us know if we can put you in touch with Joe and his team. The CASA team wishes you strength and resilience in the days ahead.
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Committee Seeks Suggestions for Potential CASA Board Members
The CASA Nominating Committee, chaired by CASA Past President Roland Williams, will convene in early spring to consider CASA Board of Directors candidates for the August 2025 ballot. The committee will be recommending candidates for four of the twelve elected seats. CASA attempts to include geographic diversity as well as a balance of agency managers and elected officials on our Board. This year, all four incumbent CASA Directors whose terms are expiring are up for renewal and interested in staying on the Board.
However, we are always interested in gathering a list of potential candidates for future consideration! Ideal candidates will be familiar with CASA as an organization and preferably will have served on or actively participated in CASA workgroups, committees and events. If you know someone who would be a valuable board member in future years, please send a brief email to Nominations@casaweb.org with their name, agency and a few sentences about his or her qualifications. Please send your recommendation by March 15, 2025.
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CASA Agency Salary Survey
CASA would like to encourage your agency’s participation in the annual Agency Salary and Benefits Survey which will be distributed on Monday, January 27. The survey provides valuable information for our members. The more responses we receive, the more accurate the statistical summary we can create. If your agency participated previously, your data is important for those agencies that use benchmarks. For those of you who have not participated in recent surveys, or have never participated, you will find this information very helpful when conducting a salary classification and review. Monterey One Water has again graciously volunteered to coordinate and produce the survey report. We look forward to providing as much comprehensive benefit information as possible with the distribution of the results. Please complete the survey by February 28.
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Senate Committee Reports Out EPA Administrator Nominee
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works favorably reported out the nomination of Lee Zeldin to be the Administrator of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). On a mostly party-line vote of 11-8, with Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) joining Republicans, the action sends the nomination to the Senate Floor for debate and a vote. Earlier this month, the committee held the confirmation hearing, during which Zeldin fielded questions as to how he would lead the Agency if confirmed.
Importantly for CASA’s policy concerns, Zeldin fielded questions about how he, as USEPA Administrator, would handle the issue of PFAS contamination and CERCLA PFAS liability for passive receivers if he is confirmed. Specifically, Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) questioned Zeldin on how he would address passive receiver liability if confirmed. Lummis cited the example of municipal water utilities’ vulnerabilities to third-party lawsuits that could result in local governments going bankrupt and, or increases in utility bills for ratepayers. In his response, Zeldin explained he heard the passive receiver liability concern on a bipartisan basis during meetings with committee membership ahead of the hearing. He also noted the relevance of this issue because of local experience in his New York district. Overall, the discussion signals the continued interest within the committee to address the issue of passive receiver CERCLA liability in the 119th Congress.
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President Trump’s Inauguration Followed by Slew of Executive Orders
Hours following his inauguration on January 20, President Trump issued a slew of Executive Orders (EOs) through the issuance of one overall EO, “Harmful Executive Orders and Actions.” By doing so, it effectively eliminated a myriad of Biden Administration’s EOs that encompassed economic and social policies, and put forward the Trump Administration’s own directives. The EOs’ ultimate impacts will depend upon whether they survive legal challenges, as well as the federal budget process. Additionally, Trump signed an EO entitled “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review” that pauses all federal rulemakings that have not been published in the Federal Register as of January 20. It also places a hold on all ongoing rule development activities and calls for a 60-day pause to provide determination of whether a rule should be reviewed or reproposed. Importantly, with any new Administration, the outlook is subject to change.
Among the EOs signed that put forward the Trump Administration’s agenda directives, notable ones include:
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EPA Releases Draft PFAS Risk Assessment for Biosolids
On January 15, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) released its Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS). The draft risk assessment will be open for public comment for 60-days. Comments must be submitted to the Agency on or before March 17, 2025. The draft risk assessment is not a regulation nor is it enforceable. The purpose of the risk assessment is to provide an understanding of the potential impacts of PFAS contamination in sewage sludge and for possible future regulatory actions under the Clean Water Act.
Upon its release, USEPA published a series of informational fact sheets for different stakeholders impacted by draft risk assessment:
The draft assessment reflects the Agency's latest scientific understanding of the potential risks the chemicals pose to human health and the environment via the chemicals' presence “associated with land application, surface disposal, and incineration of sewage sludge.” The document defines "land applied" to be "soil conditioner or fertilizer (on agricultural, forested, and other lands), surface disposed or incinerated." Importantly, the draft focuses on impacts to those residing on or near impacted sites or those who "rely primarily on their products (e.g., food crops, animal products, drinking water)." The draft does not model risks to the general public or to the food supply.
Importantly, in Section IV, the draft states that "[r]egardless of the management practice to use or dispose of sewage sludge, exposure and risk reduction is possible through pretreatment at industrial facilities discharging to a WWTP." And thus, USEPA "recommends that states, Tribes, and WWTPs monitor sewage sludge for PFAS contamination, identify likely industrial discharges of PFAS, and implement industrial pretreatment requirements, where appropriate." The Agency maintains the understanding that the PFAS contamination is not due to wastewater utilities’ process, rather from industrial, upstream residential communities, and leachate from landfills. Finally, USEPA plans to conduct the next National Sewage Sludge Survey in collaboration with publicly owned treatment works Influent PFAS Study. This endeavor will focus on understanding the national occurrence and concentration data on PFAS in sewage sludge and help inform future risk assessments and management of sewage sludge.
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CASA represents more than 135 local public agencies engaged in the collection, treatment and recycling of Wastewater and biosolids to protect public health and the environment. Our mission is to provide trusted information and advocacy on behalf of California clean water agencies, and to be a leader in sustainability and utilization of renewable resources. | | | | |
