EPA held a series of five public workshops over the past several weeks to “assist EPA in developing an integrated planning approach framework that could be used to help municipalities prioritize their infrastructure investments in order to maximize water quality benefits and consider various innovative approaches, such as green infrastructure, that may be more sustainable.” Workshop discussions focused on EPA’s “Draft Integrated Planning Approach Framework” (http://amwa.net/IPFramework), with EPA staff giving their perspective on the framework while engaging stakeholders in conversation on how to improve the approach. Input from the workshop discussions and other public comments are expected to be reflected in a final framework document.
Although the framework and workshops are generally focused on Clean Water Act (CWA) issues and AMWA has been supportive of the flexibility embedded in the framework, we continue to closely monitor this process and advocate for inclusion of drinking water issues in any integrated planning process. Many participants in the workshops, including several AMWA members, expressed concern that large capital commitments to meet CWA obligations, however managed, could crowd out equally necessary drinking water regulatory compliance and infrastructure and investment costs.
Reports back from the workshops and follow-up discussions with staff at EPA’s Washington, D.C. headquarters indicate that EPA is hearing the message for greater drinking water consideration in the process, but it is unclear to what degree it intends to address the concerns expressed. To further express our position, AMWA and the American Water Works Association submitted a joint letter to EPA (posted athttp://www.amwa.net/cs/sustainability/integrated_planning) to be considered as it finalizes its integrated planning framework. AMWA members are also encouraged to follow up with their appropriate local and regional authorities involved in the integrated planning process to ensure that drinking water is part of the integrated planning discussion.